African Food

Well I am not starving by any means. I admit that I was a little worried whether I would have to ease into the food again- for the taste and for my stomach. SO far the food has been delicious and I have had plenty. For the first couple days I had 4-5 lunches and 4-5 dinners per day. This made the kids and our security VERY happy as they were able to eat a good portion of it. I thought when I arrived I would be able to loose weight quickly but at this rate... My dear friends Emmanuel and Fatty (who also happen to work for JCCM) brought me a wonderful welcome dinner that was actually a feast last night. I was also to go out to dinner with my friend Violet- so even though the mothers at the home are now on a rotation to feed me each day the food is still coming in. I feel very taken care of. This past Sunday I was able to worship with my friends and family at my church here again. It felt great to be back. The number of people who came to greet me- even while the service was on- surprised me. There is one area here that is difficult for me to get used to (and to even blog about it but in full honesty- here it is). One's size and weight is free topic of converation here. You know at home we never mention it and if so it is very carefully stated- whether you are skinny or larger. Here they walk right up to me and say "Oh- you are so fat." or the word they will use often is bump. Some comment how good I look and say I look fresh. Others say I am even more beautiful like this. Some say you will reduce as you stay here longer. Others say oh- what happend... the comments go on and on. To all of them I just say "I know" or "Thank you". I do not know how to respond- and in this area I am very much an American- I do not talk about it and don't like to. So even though church was good and it was great to see people I was a bit exhausted and ready to be home. This is the way it will go for a time now and then it will stop for a bit. As I loose weight and people notice- it will start again for a little while. I guess in some ways it is healthy, others... it is just a part of the culture here. So yes I am loving the food- yes people are very thankful to have me back- and yes I will try to walk more and enjoy the gifts of food in small portions.