I'm going to have to be omnivorous in The Gambia.

To avoid unduly shocking my system, the general advice is to start eating things before I leave. I started eating eggs when I got my teeth out. Eggs are soft and nutritious, so they seemed like a logical post-operative food. I've been sticking to organic, cage-free because it makes me feel less bad about it. I don't know that "cage-free" actually means anything, but I don't have access to anything better.

At the recommendation of my neighbor, I went to the farmers' market today and purchased some meat. What a strange experience. I mean, I'm sure everything was pretty normal on the outside, but I experienced it as being very surreal. A frozen lump of flesh in a vacuum-sealed package. I wanted to ask the farmer about her cows, about how they live, but I didn't because I also just wanted it to be over with.

I don't even know how to cook it.