Cadbury, Rusks & Five Roses Tea

Yes, this post is going to be about the treats I discovered in South Africa.

First of all, did you know that in the rest of the world Cadbury has an array of candybars that are incredible!? Why don't we have these in the States??? I actually found a candybar that is the Cadbury Creme Egg in a candybar! If you know me- you know this is my favorite candybar. Anyway... there were gobs of different candies to pick from and they are all tasty.

Another yummy treat were the Rusks that Dana bought us for the mornings. They are a biscotti-like breakfast snack. You dip them in your tea or coffee and munch away on these dried bread sticks with a hint of sweet. I love the buttermilk flavor and brought a box back with me. This morning my new roomies and I enjoyed them with our coffee/tea.

Finally- the Five Roses Tea. Okay, I am officially a tea drinker! This is a black tea from South Africa that has more flavor than any tea I've tasted here in the States. Rumor has it that American tea and coffee is the last scraps, so the flavor is lacking. I brought back two boxes of 100 teabags each of Five Roses! I LOVE this stuff! I've been drinking it everyday. Now, it does have caffeine so I think I should be careful about being one of those who needs it in the morning. :) They also make an herbal tea called Roobois. It is chockfull of all kinds of good things for your health. It is so healthy people feed it to their babies! --cooled down, of course! I also read online that you can use it on your face to clear up breakouts. Yahoo for herbal tea from South Africa!

There were edible foods in SA that were less exciting. The chicken feet, for instance. The volunteers, Patience and Nelly, told Logan and I about how they boil chicken feet and eat them. We were amazed and Patience agreed to make some for us. On our last day in the township Patience showed up with plenty of chicken feet for everyone to try it... what a sweetie. haha. We were a very brave group- every person, except the kiddos, tried at least a bite! It was SO FUN! They were the most disgusting looking things I've ever had placed in front of me to consume, but it was a blast doing it together. The locals kept telling us to think of it like "Fear Factor"! ha! So, here's the catch... you eat the ENTIRE foot- nails, bones and all! EW! They were boiled, so there wasn't even a little batter deep fried to cover up the fact that they were feet. The way to eat them is to bite off the entire foot at once. I bit one toe off and ate it. Woah- it was crazy! Andy kept saying, "It really is that the texture is so different." What a sweet guy- trying to find a softer way to express our disgust. I will say the bones were brittle and chewy, so it wasn't impossible to chew. Andy was right, though, it felt very strange.

Those chicken feet cost Patience around 7Rand. That's equal to about one US dollar. She brought a bowl of them and the volunteers were excited for the treat. TREAT! man. I think about the things we consider to be treats and it is so different. Anything with protein is considered a treat to the people in Soshanguve. Can you imagine tuna being a treat??? I think of offering my nephew that after dinner and what his reaction would be... hahaha no way. But, these beautiful South African men, women and children would delight in it. Delight.

I do want to provide you all with the opportunity to give to Pfunekani and the people in Soshanguve. I have been asked to post details of how to make that happen, but at this point we've not set up a clear way to give to them. We are working hard to get the details together so that you could contribute to the program that feeds orphans and cares for the sick in Soshanguve. I love you for your eagerness to reach out to these precious people... these people I have come to love deeply and pray you have too through me. Thank you for being patient and know that I will shout it from the rooftops as soon as I have a way for you to give.

Be blessed, my friends!