A Goat Roast

        If you may recall my first experience with goat in Rwanda did not go over so well. (Life Lesson #1- if you accept food, don't ask what it is until you've swallowed it and there's no chance of it making another appearance at the table). Fast forward 11 months and I was on my way to Medie and Robbin's for a goat roast. I was less apprehensive of this meat mainly because this time around, it wasn't going to be wrapped in intestine and everything Medie and Robbin make is absolutely delicious. Two HRH colleagues, Claire and Isobelle came down from Kigali with Simone, a visiting Community Health Nursing Student from University of Maryland. We arrived about 4:30 pm and low and behold, the goat was indeed roasting away over the pit.

     I was excited. Medie has been working in Rwanda longer than the majority of us and loves doing this type of thing. Robbin had bought the goat that morning and had it slaughtered in their own back yard. Someone then skinned it and Robbin stuff it with lemon and rosemary. It smelled incredible when  we showed up.

Zingalo Appetizers

We started to mingle with the crowd a mix of mzungus and Medie's friends from the neighborhood and hospital. It wasn't long before Adolf, the grillmaster came around with appetizers. Having just told Isobelle the story of my first goat/intestine encounter, I was not going to ask what exactly he was offering. But Isobelle did. Zingalo as it turns out is not only the intestines but also the stomach of the goat. I'm not going to lie, I took one piece of the skewer and ate it all. Rather chewy as it turns out and not the best plan. Since I find it extremely difficult to waste food, the second piece I ate I attacked differently. This time instead of eating the entire thing I nibbled the intestine slowly unraveling it until I was left with what I assume was a piece of stomach. MUCH better. My sisters and I have always been texture freaks (I couldn't stand tomatoes for the longest time) so this was the much better approach to zingalo. It was pretty tasty actually.

Robbin and his goat

Yes, that is hair on the tail of said goat

Finally, after about 8 hours of roasting the goat was ready! Medie had sterilized some banana leaves and spread them on the table and the men lifted the bamboo poles and got to work carving the meat off the bones. It was quite a site to be seen. We ended up making goat tacos with asian cabbage salad on the side. It was so delicious.

Claire holding the bamboo poles as the goat
is removed for serving

After dinner the fire was built up and Medie's friends played guitar and sang. The women who play traditional drums joined in too. The women are part of the group Ingoma Nshya (A New Drum), an all female drum troupe based in Butare. Playing the drums is traditionally done by men here in Rwanda as it is a symbol of authority. I can say that this was the first time I'd witnessed women openly playing. The group formed after the genocide as a way for women to express their emotions and is open to survivors of both sides of the genocide. It was great to see them playing and singing with the guitar players and afterwards having some of the young men ask the women to show them how to properly beat a drum.

     If you want to learn more about the troupe, watch the documentary "Sweet Dreams." I have yet to be able to watch it but it tells the story of the troupe and probably gives a great background (at least a better one than I can give). One of the troupes partners is our local ice cream shop, Inzozi Nziza (Sweet Dreams). The shop provides education and business to the women in the troupe and is still the best ice cream in all of Rwanda (and just one of Butare's claims to fame).
     After hours of fun with old friends and new Claire and I called it quits and came back to my home to crash. It had been one of the coolest Rwandan experiences of my time here.

Lessons Learned:
1) It's good to get out of your comfort zone, whether that's mingling with new people or tasting new foods.
2) There's just something about a bonfire that brings people together.