FLASHBACK - Who Needs Food?

Do you ever find yourself focusing a lot on food?  Special meals for the holidays, favorite meals as a child, or your favorite restaurant...I remembered dreaming a lot about the first meal we'd all have when we came back home from Ghana.  We had eaten so much of the same kind of food during our time there.  As time went on we must have talked about the foods that we missed from home almost every night at dinner.  It occurred to me though a few days ago that I never really thought about the drinks that I had in Ghana.  More so than even food though, my experience with drinks in Ghana hold some of the fondest, and often funniest memories!  It was around drinks that friendship was built for me there...not necessarily food like it might be here in the United States.

Some drinks just seemed to taste better in Ghana than they did at home.  Some say it's because they are made with real sugar and served in glass bottles...maybe it was the laughter and friendship shared while enjoying them that made them taste so much better.  Fanta and Coke were a real staple.  Some I had never tried before visiting Ghana like Alvaro, Malta and Vitamilk, and others reminded me of home - enjoying a good local beer with friends.  

You could always tell what kind of day I had had by what I was drinking.  Let me translate for you...

Orange Fanta: Was my treat to myself after having a good day at placement and looking forward to another day out in the villages. http://www.fanta.com/en_US/pages/landing/flavors.html

Vitamilk: Vitamilk on the hard days when all I wanted was a cold glass of milk to remind me of comforting cookies and milk from home.  

http://www.greenspotco.com/interbus/default.asp?topic=product&dataid=106

Gulder: My favorite African beer, was always a fun way to celebrate friendships on the weekend with music and dancing at a local hangout Obama Gardens.  http://gulder-nigeria.com/homepage.html

Malta: A local favorite it seems...I avoided as much as possible, though I did feel honored to have been given it as a gift of thanks after a community presentation (more to come on this soon).  It is an acquired taste I think for most people from the US as we don't really have anything like this at home.

http://stores.xnicstore.com/-strse-651/Malta-Guinness/Detail.bok

Alvaro: This was a non-alcoholic carbonated drink.  It came in different flavors like Pineapple and Passion Fruit.  It was always good for when you were having a special meal.  Pineapple was my favorite!

http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/101092931/Alvaro_Soft_Drink.html