and now, a brief interlude about food

okay, so my last post might not have quite followed Tom's request, but i'll start on Dolores'.  because if there's one thing I'm learning in the Philippines, it's the importance of obeying your parents.

Maybe not a lesson that will stick, but while it lasts!

So:  FOOD.  A few random notes on food:

- I still have to repress some repulsion and moral qualms every time I eat meat... because it's weird, you know?  It's gross!  I don't like it!  It came from an animal!  that died so I could eat it!  But I feel way worse if I order it and don't eat it, and as long as I'm eating it I might as well enjoy it, so I do my best to quash those objections.

There's really only one exception to this ew-gross-animal-flesh reaction, and that's with the fresh fish.  Oh my goodness, the fresh fish.  The first few times, when I faced an entire animal sitting on my plate, head on, eyes clouded, mouth open in what I personified as a death groan... I'll confess, I freaked out a bit.

But then I started to eat, and oh my gosh.  Fresh bangus or tilapia flaking off the bone, dressed with garlic, calamansi and soy sauce, grilled and served hot with plain rice - OH MY GOSH.  So good.  So good that it has overcome not only my repulsion (I now eat everything except the eyeballs.  And soon maybe I will eat that too.  Because as I grow braver and eat more and more of the fish - and get better at picking out bones - it is all AMAZING.) but pretty near overcome my moral objections. So I understand, factory-farmed-steak lovers.  I understand.  Because I am almost willing to declare it a-ok for a sentient being to be tortured as long as I get to eat delicious, delicious fish.

- jackfruit!

This is jackfruit.  It seems to be part of a strange class of fruits here where a really hard, spiky exterior surrounds fruit that consists of clumps, each being one big seed surrounded by a bunch of fruit.  That was a terrible description.  Anyway, they're kind of a challenge to eat at first.

And jackfruit is extra strange because it tastes like BUBBLEGUM.  seriously, like bubblegum!  google it, other people have made the same observation (i checked to make sure I wasn't crazy!)   it is a really bizarre experience.

- I previously mentioned buko halo-halo... were you wondering what it looks like?  wonder no more.

And in case you were doubting my hypothesis that halo halo was the invention of stoners, here is more evidence: the other day I ate halo-halo with queso ice cream.  CHEESE FLAVORED ICE CREAM.

QED

- and I still haven't tried balut... less than 2 weeks left!  I don't know if I can work up the nerve.

What's balut?  Oh, you know.  Just a duck egg.  A fertilized duck egg.  A fertilized duck egg allowed to mature.  So that there's a fetus inside.   Yup, just a duck fetus, that's all.

Yeah, I'm not quite ready for that yet.