Nancy Reagan Advises to "Just Say No"

When I was in 9th grade I ate an earth worm for extra credit in a science class. Being that it was worth 100 extra credit points and the mounting pressure from my classmates that had already eaten one I chewed it up and swallowed the little guy with little to no hesitation. Peer pressure is often an amazing incentive and eating a grasshopper here in Uganda is of no exception.



I did my research on Uganda before arriving and thought that I was relatively educated on the culture and food; however no where in any of the research were grasshoppers mentioned. In a conversation one evening Daphne asked me if I had ever eaten an insect. I told her my story of the earth worm. She looked at me in disgust and could not believe I would do such a thing even for extra credit! It was beyond her comprehension. Not even a moment later she, nonchalantly mentions that grasshoppers are good and they are eaten in Uganda frequently. I laughed and shrugged it off as a sarcastic attempt to poke fun of my worm eating adventure.

The following day while we were having a drink at a local restaurant/bar a man strolled by with a container filled with crispy looking things resembling the shell of something fried. Daphne motioned the guy over and he gave us a handful of the fried items on a napkin. Daphne was not fibbing; sprawled out before me were fried grasshoppers! Since I am in a new place I decided to be bold and try one. Much to my surprise they were actually pretty good.

Sold by street vendors and eaten as if they are lays baked potato chips, grasshoppers are indeed a commonly eaten snack. With the head and body in tact, legs pulled off, deep fried, smothered in spices; these little guys serve as a decent appetizer. Apart from the black beady eyes staring at you before you pop them in your mouth and the crunchy dilemma of knowing one is eating a grasshopper, they are better than I would have imagined.