drinking malta

9/22/2001:
Omaru never showed up to take me to his compound. oh, well... some other time. instead, i spent most of the day with “Bali-people.” Samuel invited Paul and I (a teacher from GTHS as well) to his place for a quick lunch. they caught me right after i’d finished cleaning the house. room is partially arranged. this is actually the 1st time i write on my new table and use my chair. they’re nice... a little “rough.” not sanded well. splinters.

anywho... we ate fufu-corn and okro-soup at Samuel’s. enjoyed it. spicy. took me a while to finish it. slimy. later in the afternoon we joined Kenneth and his wife at the Bali Cultural & Development Association meeting. i think they call they call the group a njangi... the concept isn’t totally foreign to me only b/c i’ve read about such groups in Achebe’s books. specifically in No Longer at Ease.

they meet, exchange news, work on projects, share ideas and resources, drink and dance. these last 2 are worth commenting on. i’d be willing to bet that Cameroonians can drink anybody under the table... is that how the saying goes? and i wonder how the irish would feel about that? now, dancing... a few drums, a couple of shakers, a chant or two, and much rhythm is all it takes to party here. oh, and much drink of course.

it was great watching the atmosphere progress from the slow, not tense or nervous but shaky start of the meeting to the unbridled merriment at the end. palm wine, corn chaff, kola, fufu-corn and njamma-njamma, and beer. i drank malta. slowly. b/w that and achu and okro-soup i’m not sure which i’ll adapt to 1st???