The Lunch Club

Here are work, we have something called the Lunch Club. Every month, people will chip in 500 kwacha (equivalent to about $3.75) and we get lunch for the month. Of course, those of us in the Lunch Club have to prepare the food, and we're not eating Wolfgang Puck quality food here. I don't even think it can qualify as fast food quality. haha. It is pretty much nsima and some side dish, usually vegetables or these tiny little fish called usipa (which my coworkers never feed me anymore because I almost gagged the first time I ate it). Anyway, the women always make fun of the guys when they try to cook because quite frankly, they are not very good. Even the guys will say "We cook like bachelors. Just well enough so that we can eat it." Well, today, there were no girls around, so all the guys were in charge of preparation and cooking. And let me just say, it is true. Guys cook just well enough so that the food is edible, but it's pretty much the blandest, unsightly looking food you'll ever eat. hahaha!

On another note, Malawians have hands of steel. They will just take the lid (that has no knob or handle!) off a boiling pot of water without the use of towels. And to test the temperature of the water, they'll just stick a spoon in there and drip some water on their arm! They wanted to drip some water on my arm to give me the full Malawian experience. Heck no!!! I saw that water boiling like crazy in the pot! Ain't no way I was putting that on my arm!