Stepping to the Bad Side...

Ethiopian food is very distinct, different from the food of most other African countries. Partially due to the fact that the country is 40% Orthodox Christian (who fast approximately 200 days out of the year), the diet is rich in vegetables. Orthodox Christians either give up food entirely during fasting seasons and on fasting days (Wednesday and Friday) or abstain from particular foods and ingredients, including oil, butter, flour, sugar and meat. Don't be fooled; Ethiopians love their meat, too. At major holidays, animals are slaughtered and their meat is shared among several families within the community. Notice I didn't mention the word "cooked". That's because Ethiopians also eat raw meat. Not every Ethiopian and not all the time. But they do eat it. Either ground raw meat, mixed with butter, or slabs of meat cut into pieces. I was told by one of my Ethiopian co-workers that eating raw meat is addictive (after he asked me if I had tried it). For me, that was enough reason NOT to eat it because I don't need any type of addictive situations in my life. But it's part of the culture and everyone asks you if you've tried it. Mind you, Americans tell other Americans to avoid the raw meat at ALL costs, largely because it can make you sick and/or you can get tapeworm.

**I was going to put a picture of a tapeworm here but my skin literally started crawling when I even hit the Google button**

Anyway, I decided to finally give it a go. Hell, Ethiopians keep suggesting that if I keep eating Ethiopian food, I'll lose weight, so what's a little tapeworm and quick 20 lb weight loss between friends (Yes...they said that. Verbatim. I've not expressed a desire to lose weight but you gotta give them credit for being proactive about MY health. Or not). I made plans with Sema and Habtish to go to this town called Nazaret (or Adama...it's tribal name) for the best raw meat in all of Ethiopia. We meet up with one of their friends and head to the restaurant. I already wasn't sure about said friend (who lived in the US for eight years), largely because he seemed to be extra and making blanket statements about the US. For example, he says "Oregon is the most democratic state in the US". I try not to burst into laughter because that's rude. And I have no issues with Oregon. Seriously. It's green, I hear it's nice. But you can't just claim one state out of 50 to be the most democratic (and I wasn't sure he meant democratic as in the epitome of democracy or a blue state). So I ask him why he says such and he proceeds to tell me how 75,000 people gathered to hear President Obama speak when he was campaigning for office. Okay, great. But a large turnout doesn't represent democracy. Honestly, it doesn't even represent whether a state is largely Democrat or Republican. He counters that democracy is more than a word (agreed)...but people gathering don't make a state democratic either. Shoot, people gather to hear Sarah Palin speak-- that can either represent democracy or idiocy. You be the judge. Actually, don't. I'll judge for you. It's not democracy.

I digress. So we go to this meat place and they order something close to 2 kilograms of meat. I thought that was all raw meat at first. I had to state that I couldn't commit to that. I planned on trying a few slices and calling it a win. Most of the meat they brought was cooked. The raw portion, however, looked like this:




You see that white part? That corresponds to the hump on the back of the cow...which is essentially marbled fat.


Yeah..that's the good stuff.

They essentially bring you some knives, enjera and various spicy sauces and let you go to work. I was a little overwhelmed. Sema tried to convince me that it would taste like chocolate. Lies. I knew it wouldn't. It didn't have much of a taste though. Kinda like firm air. Maybe? Yeah I did it...you should know it. I can cross that off of my list. And as far as tape worm, no symptoms so far so I think I'm okay.

An awkward moment, however, was when the friend of Sema and Habtish offered me "Gusha". Apparently, gusha is a cultural tradition of feeding someone. He grabbed some raw meat in enjera, dips it into some spiciness and holds it in front of my mouth. Sema and Habtish are chuckling and saying "You have to eat it". I did see him wash his hands so I'm not ABSOLUTELY disgusted and I had heard about this tradition. I didn't want to be rude so I ate it. He sits down and explains that it's how someone says "I like you". He then tries to quickly follow up with "It's how we say welcome". I mention that I've eaten out with Sema and co. and none have them have offered me gusha. He goes ON to explain that its also what people in relationships do as well as married people to say "I love you". Cue my awkwardness. I was like..um...what? What the hell did I just do? He literally tried to give me gusha two more times. I'm looking for some sort of support from my friends but they are offering no assistance. Mind you, he's been winking at me throughout lunch. Awkward awkward awkward. So he goes back to "this is what married people do" and I try to explain that in America, married couples feed each other cake at the wedding. I also explain that usually a lot more has transpired between the two people before they start feeding each other...like learning the other person's last name. Just a suggestion. Anyway, no more gusha or raw meat for me (I hope). The sad part is that cooked meat supposedly loses some of its nutrients; so theoretically this raw red meat should have been rich in iron. But all I wanted to do the next day was sleep :(