Comments on Tales from a Vicar: Bana Mwana

Hi Carmen,I just wanted to let you know that I sta...

2008-08-02T02:03:00.000-11:00

Hi Carmen,

I just wanted to let you know that I started reading your blog a few months ago in preparation for coming to Zambia to complete a public health internship and it made me feel much less nervous and more excited. Thanks for all of your thoughtful and entertaining posts. I look forward to reading more and can appreciate everything you say even more now that I'm in Lusaka.

Love your thoughts on consumption - so true. It's...

2008-07-30T08:43:00.000-11:00

Love your thoughts on consumption - so true. It's a vicious cycle we have gotten ourselves into to convince ourselves we "need" more, acquire it, adjust our lives to accommodate the "more", feel empty, convince ourselves we need more... Bleh is right. And I'm living in the midst of it with little thought on a daily basis.

Yep - strange foods all around. "Tripe" I believe ...

2008-07-30T00:54:00.000-11:00

Yep - strange foods all around. "Tripe" I believe - that is the nicer name for stomach? Or a part? I'll stick with the suggestion from the guy - steak! Here's the def. of tripe for your edification:

Beef tripe is usually made from only the first of three cow's stomachs, the rumen (blanket/flat/smooth tripe), the reticulum (honeycomb and pocket tripe), and the omasum (book/bible/leaf tripe). Abomasum (reed) tripe is seen much less frequently, owing to its glandular tissue content. Tripe is also produced from sheep, goats, and pigs. Unwashed (or "green") tripe includes some of the stomach's last content, smells very unappetizing and is unsuitable for human consumption, but is a favorite of many dogs and other carnivores and is often used in dog food. It is called green, although its colour is often brown or grey, because of its high chlorophyll content from undigested grass. For human consumption, tripe must be washed and meticulously cleaned.