Pearls from Africa: Ensenine Everywhere

Rainy season in Kisoro

Rainy season has come early this year. The locals tell me each year that the short rains come on August 15th, on the dot. This held true for last year when we finally got some much-needed rain in mid-August after months of drought, but nowadays with climate change, the weather is hard to predict. The heavy rains started in mid-July, and along with the rain comes grasshoppers! Some days it feels like a plague of locusts has descended on us, with grasshoppers spinning in the air and covering every inch of the ground. The local word for grasshopper is ensenine [en-SEN-ni-nay], and the local delicacy is to fry 'em up and eat them like chips. They're delicious, so long as you remember to break off the antennae. They taste a bit like crunchy fried potato chips.
In order to catch as many ensenine as possible, all the locals will set up giant flood lamps to attract as many grasshoppers as possible, and then catch them with their hands.
Rainy season has also brought flowering crops, including beans, sorghum and potatoes. Kisoro is so unbelievable green this time of year that it feels like everything is in Technicolor. In my village, everyone is out digging in their fields, preparing them for planting season.

Virunga volcano range

In other news, I'm a proper farm girl now! Last week, Justice called me down to the cow pen to see a newborn that had just been born that morning. An hour later, another female went into labor and I got to help deliver the calf! Now Justice has three newborns, which I've named Samson, Chester and Lola, who I helped deliver. I brought Jim down the following morning so he could practice milking one of the cows, which was highly entertaining.

Jim and I also went for a visit with Peace and Golden, a lovely family who live in Bukinda. We spent the afternoon drinking tea, eating ensenine, and talking about local and American politics.
My blog has been nominated for Peace Corps' Blog It Home competition. Please vote for my blog by clicking "Like" here. Top winners of the contest get a trip to Washington, D.C. Thanks for the support everyone!