China 5
Weird foods: Duck intestine and quail eggs
homesick dream: I dreamt my dog died w/o me there
Obviously food has been a major cultural experience for everyone in the group. Whether its experiencing weird foods or dealing with dietary restrictions, everyone has at multiple times throughout any given day realized the omnipresence of food in our lives. For me, I have made to rules to live by in regard to my education of culinary culture. I proudly title them the Diarhea Right of Passage:
1) Try everything on the table. Don't ask question until after the food is consumed.
2) Finish everything set before you.
Both rules are hard to follow, believe me. Personally, I find the second much harder because the Chinese tend to set about three meals worth of food before you at any given moment, not to mention it might include a dish that is less than appetizing. However, upon making these rules (before I arrived in China mind you) I decided that "unappetizing things" must taste good to someone and all I really had to do was imagine myself in that person's shoes. For example, I'm not the biggest fish fan especially the kind of fish that reaks of......well, fish. Of course my second day here the main dish was, what do ya know, fishy fish! Well, I pulled pulled out my perverbial Chinese food shoes and put myself in them. I imagined myself having eaten this food for my entire 18 years of being and all of a sudden I caught a somewhat paletteable taste in the pungent fish. Needless to say, this strategy is also very useful in eating things that normally wouldn't be eaten like cows stomach.
Anyways, in my study of Chinese culture I've realized that in order to learn about a culture one has to be the culture. I believe my first big step in the Oriental culture has been to "xi guan" myself, or become accustomed, to real Chinese dishes. Luckily for me, my light Chinese eating habits in the United States (as my father is 中国人）has guarded me from the negative effects of cultural culinary immersion. However, some members in the group have overcoming the hardships of their immersion. These obstacles include gagging, choking, stomach aches, burning mouths, etc. Yet, none is more rewarding to overcome than diarhea (i know that can't be spelled right). The loosening of one's bowels is something that requires the utmost discipline and concentration, and yet, because of its effects, even the most weak minded of people tend to rise to the occasion.
In fact, I almost wish I could have gone through the Diarhea Right of Passage if only to have that marking moment of "this was when I became culinarily immersed in China." Alas I am without such a trophy, but can proudly claim that even a Boca Grande burrito sounds a little foreign to me.
posted by dAVID @ 1:07 AM
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