Although I enjoy the routines that I have established in my almost two months here in Koudé, some of my favorite experiences have been moments that have arisen more spontaneously. One highlight began a few weeks ago, on a Monday morning when Edwin and I were spending time with Cyrille, with whom we teach at the school. Cyrille loves to eat dog meat, and he had told us nearly every day how delicious it is and that we needed to try it. On that particular Monday, Cyrille told us that he had an especially strong craving for dog, and he suggested that I call Charlie that very moment to ask him if we could go to the market in Pagouda (a neighboring village) the next day to try dog meat. Charlie accepted, but the plan was not fully formulated and Cyrille told us he would call us the next day to let us know what time we would leave. We waited for hours in the afternoon, playing soccer with some of the kids who were around, until I got a text saying to go wait for Paketam by the car. So we went and waited for Paketam by the car for another 45 minutes with no idea what was happening. By this point it was almost six in the evening, so we doubted whether this impromptu market experience would happen, but sure enough Paketam soon came by on a moto and told us to follow him to the car. After finally heading to Pagouda, we were confused to have not reached the market at all but rather a homestead in the village. We had no idea what we were doing there, but happily accepted the calabashes we were offered and greeted our hosts in Kabiye.
Eventually, we made it to the market. We made a beeline for the meat section, where we were given a small taste of dog from a vendor before deciding whether we would buy the meat. We all really enjoyed the small taste and bought enough of the meat to serve as our dinner. Jordan decided to buy some pork, which was also delicious, and Candler got some bread to round out our feast. We found some tables and sat with Cyrille, Paketam, and some of their friends to enjoy what we had purchased. We sat for two or three hours talking after we had finished eating, and although we got home a bit late that night after the hour-long hike up the mountain, it was a great suggestion from Cyrille to attend the market.