“You arrived already! I thought it was only eleven o’clock.” Christina approaches us and gives a warm welcome. She speaks in chewa and I’m embarrassed not to understand every word. She laughs at me and says finally “Karibu” in a friendly tone. We enter the house.
It’s hot as usual around this time of the day. We sit down in the dark living room. I dream of a fan. Christina brings us cool water and juice. There’s no electricity in the house so she must have asked help from her neighbour. Again she welcomes us, but quickly disappears outside to cook the lunch she promised for us. We hear her sing and shout something to her grandchildren.
Finally it’s time to eat. She brings us water to wash our hands. Nsima is hot and burns my fingers, but I refuse to use the spoon she offers. It’s not as good, if you don’t’ use your fingers. There’s also relish and some chicken. The latter is for my friend – I haven’t eaten chicken since ’98.
After two chunks of nsima I’m full, but apparently I ate too little. Our hostess looks at me with a worried expression on her face. I have to convince her that I am truly full and that the food was delish. Both are true. Again water for hand wash. Some pictures later we’re off.
At this time of the year where ever you look there’s maize growing over a meter high by now. Maize flour and nsima, which is cooked from it, are key factors in Malawian kitchen. The popularity though spans over to the neighbouring countries. By now I know the basics on how to use the flour, but until I’ve had more practice I’ll stick to Christina’s cooking.
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