Piment in Burkina Faso

Sunday, 25 July 2010

Wow!

I almost died today.

Died I tell you!!

Martine and I are making the family dinner tonight so we decided to make spaghetti - easy enough, right?

• 1000 onions
• 2 bundles of green onions / chives
• 3 green bell pepper-like things
• 8 cloves of garlic
• 2 small purple eggplants
• 1 itty bitty orange pepper / piment

So I'm cutting the onions and boy do they clear up the sinuses! I was sniffling and tearing up like never before...gosh. Onions. Diced. Done. Then I cut the green peppers. Diced. No Seeds. Done. Next I tackle the itty bitty pepper... I ask Martine if she knows how hot/spicy it is - she doesn't know - so I cut into it and try to smell it but can't smell a thing. So I cut it up like a spice and we're done preparing our veggies for dinner. I know not to touch my eyes because of the onion but I wipe my mouth and nose because of the onion making me shed some tears. Not 5 minutes later I'm RUNNING to splash water on my face!

My mouth and nose are

ON FIRE

I'm in so much pain I run outside to the spicket and splash water on my face - which makes it worse because I'm just spreading it all over ... so I RUN back inside and Martine is all sorts of worried and is trying to tell "splash water in your eyes!! Splash water in your eyes!!" I get soap and RUN back outside and start washing my hands and face - by this time my father is walking over to me to see what all the ruckus is - and he just looks so confused like: why's this crazy, non-French speaking American freaking out? And I turn off the water and just look at him and he just laughs and says okay - and I have no idea how to tell him that my face is on fire from a damn pepper!! I splash more water on my face and get a little in my eyes - so I'm thinking I'm gonna go blind now! Oh gosh - it was terrible. I rushed back inside to wipe my face and Martine is still trying to tell me to splash water in my eyes! I finally just give up and give into the burn. And boy - does it hurt. Martine finally is like: it's not toxic - it's just food, it'll go away. hah. It's still BURNING! But it's subsided a lot.

And that's my death, near death, experience.

Moral of the story - NEVER touch your face or body with the same hand that cut or touched piment in this damned hot country.

Never.