Greetings!
Passing through my gallery today, I smiled when I saw some photos I took recently during a group meal. Growing up, eating with non-family members was something I was never fond of. It made me feel like external hands on the food made it taste like it was cooked in other houses....and that's because I also avoided eating food from other people's homes, except for food cooked in my house or bought outside.
I felt external hands on the food made it taste like dirt was entering it. I know I wasn't the only one that felt this.
However, this lifestyle changed immediately when I got admission into higher institutions. Even when we lived privately, we couldn't avoid eating with others. Someone would always knock at your door as soon as food was ready. Such situation, there was no way to tell the person not to join you. School life has a way of changing someone's lifestyle.
This year, I've traveled home twice for ceremonial events. On these occasions, I ate to my satisfaction and wished I had extra space in my stomach to store more for later so that when I get hungry in the future, I would activate the ones stored in my stomach. Lol
- First trip:
The photo above was taken in the morning. We had just returned from arranging the venue for the event when my mom thought it wise to thank us with plates of soup and wrapped fufu(African food), served directly from the portion arranged for the event. In such situations, the people in charge of the food, with my mom as the overseer, know that after portioning the food for the event, some parts must be kept for miscellaneous purposes.
At this spot, we were up to eight guys (including teens) who worked, with three being my siblings and the others from our compound. We ate to our satisfaction while talking and laughing, knowing that some spits probably entered the food due to the loud conversations and laughter. In such settings, table manners don't come into play. You can't even check someone's hygiene because a passer-by in the compound could just step in without washing their hands and begin to eat. You can't chase them off because it's a celebration day.
- Second trip:
The last group meal I had was still at home when I traveled during Easter. It was the same kind of food and the same time, after we had just finished arranging the event at the back of our house. Since the event place was close to our house, we had more food in the plate because there were more people in the compound.
I remember taking these photos, and some people jokingly washed their hands and ran away because they didn't want to appear in the photo.
In case you haven't tried this kind of eating, you should give it a try. It's fun and somehow creates bonds between friends and families.
Thanks for reading.
All photos are mine