July 13-15, 2013
I wanted to return the favor to some of my friends for
having taken care of me so well throughout my first few months here in
Cameroon, so I prepared them an “American meal.” I decided to make breakfast
sandwiches. They are my favorite food, and also very American.
On Saturday, I went to the market, bought eggs, meat,
tomatoes and lettuce. I got bread from a bakery. And the cheese I got from the
“supermarket.” Obviously, because this is Africa, I couldn’t replicate exactly
an American breakfast sandwich. The biggest complication was the meat. There is
nowhere I could get processed or cured ham, or even pre-packaged bacon or
sausage like you can find at the grocery store. So I had to buy raw cow and pig
meat from a butcher in Kumba’s central market. I sliced it as thinly as
possible and pan-fried it. It was a bit tough, but still sufficed. And if you
can believe it, the most expensive ingredient was actually the cheese. To begin
with, dairy foods are not common at all in Cameroon. Also, given that cheese
needs to be refrigerated, and refrigerators are not plentiful here in Cameroon,
cheese is therefore expensive.
On Sunday, I prepared breakfast sandwiches for my friend Lucas and a few of his housemates. On Monday, I prepared the food for seven of my housemates. Below are pictures:
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| My Cameroonian homie Lucas housing an American sandwich. |
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| The house gathers for its feast. |
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| My man Killian, a Cameroonian enjoying his sandwich American style. |
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| The mother of the house, Julie, struggling with the enormous size of an American sandwich. |
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