[Gbarnga, Liberia]
This week end, I went to Gbarnga [pronounced Banga], the second biggest city, 4 hours of bumpy road away from Monrovia. With my colleagues Norma and Pauline we went there to present the Logos Hope and explore some opportunities to send teams in the interior during the visit.
One of my expectations from that trip up country was to get a tribal name. Most of the Liberian have an English name and a local name attached to their ethnic group. Since Gbarnga is located in the Bong county, mainly populated with Kpele people, we all received names after a meeting with pastors. Norma is now Garmane – “The ruler”, Pauline: Gormah – “Long neck, adventurous” and I am Narmo – “the tall guy”.
These few days were also a unique cultural experience. We tried a famous Liberia dish: Fufu. Personnaly, I would compare fufu is like escargot, in the sense that it has a very funny texture, and the best part in the dish is definitely the –over spicy – sauce. Visually, Fufu looks like a big ball of slimy paste made from cassava. But the experience is neither in the aspect, nor in the taste, not even in the smell. Fufu is unique because of the sensation. The secret of Fufu is that it is not supposed to be chewed, but should be swallowed straight. Glurps… I can still feel it going down my throat.
