Sitting Down To An Authentic Ethiopian Meal
Sitting Down To An Authentic Ethiopian Meal
Author Country :Tanzania
Genre Type :Story
Location :Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Year of Publication :0/
Publication :
Sub Theme :Hospitality, Humor, Traveling, Visiting/
Author Name :Father Joseph Healey, M.M./
Author City :Dar es Salaam
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Sitting down to an authentic African meal can be
quite an experience. When I visited the Catholic Archbishop in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia I was invited for lunch in his monastery–like dining room where there
was no talking. Next to my plate appeared to be a brown napkin folded over. When
I picked it up to and put on my lap I discovered that the "napkin" was really a
type of folded flat pancake. This really got smiles from the other guests. It
was the slightly sour, fermented, dough-like meal called "njera" that is the
staple Ethiopian food. Next I tried a very hot meat dish that made me
immediately grab for a cold glass of water. I didn’t dare taste the sauce.
During the rest of the meal I looked down to avoid the stares of the other
visitors.