ACT I - SCENE I: GARI
Characters:
Dima
Philemon
The stage is set in a schoolyard, as the students rush out
of class for break on Monday. Philemon spots the fair-skinned lady and runs
over to her.
Philemon: Madame Dima! How are you? I didn’t see you yesterday.
Dima: Hi! I’m good! Well where were you during dinner? I
passed by the boarding house at night.
Philemon: Oh I don’t eat dinner.
Dima: What? Why???
Philemon: Two reasons. Firstly, I was told that when you eat
too much, your body becomes lazy or heavy. Since I want to work hard to achieve
my goals of becoming a footballer or President one day, and the Bible says we
should all take care of our bodies, I want to take good care of mine. So I
don’t want to overeat. I eat Gari directly
after school instead of a night meal.
Dima: [In disbelief] So you sleep on an empty stomach? And
you don’t have breakfast, and you’re so physically active during the day doing
all the boarding chores and you love to play football… So how do you last until
lunch? As a 24 year-old man, doesn’t your body need more than 1 ½ meal a day? If anyone needs the most food around here, it would be you!
Philemon: I’m used to it.
Dima: Don’t you get tired of eating Gari everyday anyway?
Philemon: No, it’s my favorite.
Dima: Ok, so what’s your second reason? [as she secretly
hoped he had a stronger, or at least healthier, one]
Philemon: Well, it’s my parents who pay for my schooling and
meals, and so if I’m used to eating a lot and I lose my parents, then it will
be a problem for me in the future. It would be very difficult.
Dima: [Wide-eyed, in greater disbelief] Huh? I don’t
understand! You’re thinking of your parents’ death and living your life in
anticipation of that potential “difficulty”?
Philemon: Well, here, many parents die young. And I depend
on mine right now. So I don’t want to be heavy in life. I want to stay light,
in body and spirit.
[Dima’s face fell as a wave of sadness washed over her L She couldn’t help but give him a piece of her mind! Even if the average life expectancy of a Ghanaian is roughly 57 - that's no way to live your life!]
APPENDIX:
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| The cassava plant |
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| Suicide Watch: When eaten raw, the human digestive system will convert this to cyanide poison! |
Gari is made from fresh cassava, which is grated and the excess liquid is then squeezed out. The remaining cassava is then fried over an open fire, on a broad metal pan that has been greased with a little oil, could be palm oil or other vegetable fat. The resulting product is crisp and crunchy to taste, and is stored easily and can be eaten with stew or soup or shito and fish. In schools, it can be soaked with water, milk and sugar and consumed cold (as seen here). Sometimes people add peanuts. It's a truly versatile food and affordable too.
Dima's attempt at stomaching it:
sniffitysniffsniff
she... er... slightly... hesitates, eyeing it with caution
she braces herself for impact
but much to her relief, she realizes she wasn't poisoned to death!
I was thankfully warned so I was cautious not to consume a problematic quantity.
It tasted, er, quite herby/wheaty/nutty.
I know some of you have been asking for videos and this woulda been a good one to share,
but these screenshots are the best I could do given the internet speed here.
so was it good?
ReplyDeleteummmmmmm? Let's just say I wouldn't request to eat it again. It's a little outa of my palate's taste.
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