One of the first things that I do when we get to a new place is find the grocery store or in Chad, the market place.  Here in Iriba there is market day once a week.  As opposed to Abeche, where I could get most things at any time since the market was open everyday, there are many things which I must buy on Thursday, since it is the only day we have market.

Our first week here I decided to ask the women if I could get meat on other days besides Thursday.  I love how a question like that puts me in a category they can understand.  I’m no longer the strange white lady. Now I need meat, just like them.  So a girl pointed in one direction and another woman motioned in the same direction, so the girls and I headed out of the house the next morning to try and locate that place.

The first open door we saw we walked in. “Sabah al Kheer!” The woman lying in the sand didn’t move. The kids all stared. No one said anything. I greeted them again and then asked them if they knew where I could get meat. No one answered so I told Evangeline, “I guess we just move on to the next house.” We continued walking and then one of the boys from the first house ran in front of us, pushed open the next door and then came out with a big smile. It was like he was helping lead us to the place. So we went into that house. Inside a dark room lay an old woman and a young woman. We were able to tell them that we were the new neighbors and that we wanted to say hello. Then I asked them where to get meat. That question caused them to get up and take me out onto the street and point to a tree. They told me you can get meat Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings between the hours of 6 and 8 am. Then on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday you can get it really early, like 5 am.  This was the tree:

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Wednesday morning came and I wandered over to the tree. On the way I asked a woman how to say in the local language, “I want a kilo of meat.” “Eni kilo gergi.” Yes, there was in fact meat there. I hadn’t specified which kind of meat but it was obvious to me by the hooves and goat heads collected into piles that this was goad meat. Our favorite :-) I tried out my new Zaghawa phrase and took out my Chadian money. The guy handed me back Sudanese money which I have since learned is what people use here. I had no idea of the conversion or whether or not I was getting back the correct change but in the end I found the place where I can get meat.

Mission accomplished. Meat purchased.

Some of you might wonder what we did with the meat. I am no gourmet chef and so I did what any amateur cook would do. I stuck it in the oven with some potatoes and carrots and hoped for the best. We had to sort through all the bones and fat and other wierd intestinal pieces but we enjoyed a goat pot roast that day.cialis online mastercard