Prior to my arrival at ABO I had been given a couple warnings.

#1: The schedule is intense.

TRUE. Breakfast is at 7:30am. Our first session begins shortly after that and we’re in learning mode for the majority of the day until around 4:30 or 5pm. I must admit, however, that the schedule here is better than a typical workday. At work in the states you don’t have morning and afternoon tea times. Around 10:30am and 4:30pm we have tea time consisting of a snack, coffee, and chai tea. The snacks have been things such as fried pockets of meat and veggies called samosas, pancakes, muffins, and mandazis which best resemble a mix between semi-sweet donuts and beignets. All have been delicious and very appreciated. We have lunch around 12:30 and reconvene for sessions around 2pm. Dinner is around 6:30pm, so depending how I’m feeling throughout the day, I will use the extra time before and after meals to read, visit with others, or nap. The sessions are very informative covering topics such as African culture and worldview, security issues, spiritual warfare, HIV/AIDS, and so on. While I know I won’t remember everything, they are great reminders for cross-cultural ministry and I hope that when certain situations arise, I will remember the training from my time here.

#2: ABO food is not good.

FALSE. I have really enjoyed the food at ABO. All of it has been more than manageable. The portion sizes are smaller than I’m used to, which means that they are probably appropriate portion sizes for meals. Breakfast would be the only exception, typically offering only crumbly bread with either peanut butter, honey, or jam. Sometimes they’ll serve hardboiled eggs or sausage. I had the sausage once. Once was enough. I am a bit picky when it comes to eating meat. Nonetheless, I’m eating well and there are always a at least a couple items I really enjoy during meal time. Lots of veggies, potatoes, rice, sometimes pasta, and so on. And like I mentioned before, tea time has supplied plenty of tasty treats. We’ve even had ice cream, brownies, and funfetti cake to celebrate a birthday. That was a delight!! Needless to say, I am not starving. I think my body is quite enjoying the menu. The food is fresh with plenty of vegetables. Rarely will they serve anything fried or super fatty. It is a refreshing change from what we often eat back home, although there are definitely items I would begin to crave if I started thinking about them too much.