Snacking

In the States there’s a big culture of snacking. I would snack simply out of boredom. Here it’s not that easy; it’s culturally unacceptable to eat or drink in public. If you want a quick snack it must be discreetly consumed. Even just walking down the road with food or drink in your hand prompts everyone from kids to old women demanding you give them whatever you have. A PCV in my region said he once saw two students sneaking away behind the school saying, “Do you have the stuff?” only to reveal they were talking about food. This lack of eating in public has created few opportunities for snack foods, though they do exist. Fruit, sambusas/samosas and peanuts are among my favorite Rwandan snack foods. Sometimes they turn from snack food to meal food. I mean if you start cutting into a pineapple then you might as well just finish the thing off. The best snack meal for my money is the avocado sandwich, preparation shown below.

Buy avocado (three for 100RWF, about five cents an avocado)

Cut avocado

Mash avocado

Season mashed avocado with salt, sriracha and lemon pepper

Buy and cut bread (25RWF, about four cents)

Spread faux-guacamole onto bread

Eat

Follow up with peanuts