Food
Over the last 9 months I have had the incredible privilege of indulging in some ethnic food.
I mean, come on, that is all part of the adventure.
Month 1: Cambodia
Dog.
Walker and I don’t speak any Khmer (the language the people of Cambodia speak). We picked up a few words here and there but nothing conversational.
However we do speak food.
So when the opportunity to eat dog with 20 of the boys from the Children’s Home, we left team time to engage in some bro-bonding with the kids over food.
Yep…Did it…
To be honest…it wasn’t that good. But also to be honest, the way they treated dogs was awful.
But it was a great bonding experience with the kids. Also the sauces weren’t that bad
Month 4: Philippines
Balut: a fertilized duck egg.
As I would get into conversation with any young adult from the Philippines they would insist I eat Balut. As our last days of ministry approached the two teams who were living/squatting together in local empty house hosted Pastor and his family for a dinner. We cooked, and of course Pastor and his Wife brought Balut.
Enough for everyone. Hardboiled fertilized duck eggs.
New Food, it is all part of the experience. So I ate 3. You crack the shell, suck the juice out. Peel the shell off. Eat the yoke, and the little baby duck fetus sits in your hand. And then I ate that too.
..
Oh we also killed Chickens in the Philippines too. You just cut the head off. Lots of blood. NBD.
Month 5: Zimbabwe
Worms.
Our host, a big African pastor said we were going to have his favorite food one night. I could see the glean in his eyes, as he looked around the room. He was trying to intimidate us.
Not me. Watch me eat anything.
This pastor was a big boy, to say the least. His wife piled the worms nice and high for him. Mariah, took one. Conner took 2. I took a handful. Mariah took one bite, and let me finish hers.
It wasn’t too bad. It also wasn’t good either. I would be okay if I never ate worms again.
Later in the month, we were doing manual labor. Tough work. After every day I was legitimately hungry. My body absorbed every ounce of nutrients it could scrap together.
So when one day they served us worms again, my team looked at the food with sour faces, and I didn’t care.
I took 2 big handfuls of worms and I ate them. I ate all of them.
I was so sick the next day. I felt awful. Feverish and tired. Odds are it was something going around and not the worms. But, still to this day, talking about the worms makes me squirm, and my stomach go to knots.
…
Also killed a goat. It was like killing a chicken, but much bigger, and louder.
Month 9: Romania
Being in Europe has been amazing. Cheese. Meat Sticks. More Bread then you know what to do with.
I am not complaining about the food at all. In fact through parts of Africa, and more prevalent in Eastern Europe, my new favorite food as emerged. Shawarma. A Turkish style burrito stuffed to the brim with more stuff. So much stuff actually, that it is impossible to eat this in a tidy, polite manner. Which is amazing. (The only comment against it, is that spicy around the world does not compare to classic Californian Mexican Habanero Spicy. The so spicy you cry out of fear, pain, and enjoyment. But that is neither here nor there. So the spicy everywhere else is in fact mild. Just be warned.)
However the story I want to tell has nothing to do with Shawarma’s, I just really enjoy them.
The story I want to tell is about our first Sunday in Romania where I thought they were going to have to roll me out. Our first Sunday, they marched us out to a small village tucked away in the rolling forrest of Romania, where we attended a very conservative church service.
I was actually quite started by the giant crown of thorns they had constructed and placed on the pulpit podium.
After the service, which was quite lovely, they all insisted they feed us. (At this point we were two teams strong, 13 people)
They gathered us up in twos and threes and sent us off into the little homes of the church members. I was fed, you guessed it, cheese, meat, and bread. They also had a stuffed bell pepper, random, but awesome.
I ate more then my fill. (Grandma’s enjoy when you eat a lot of food, and I was not hear to disappoint. I may not be able to speak Romanian, but I can show love and gratitude by eating all the food)
We left the house happy and full, only to get into a car, and get dropped off at another house.
“Oh okay, I guess we will just go inside and say hi.”
I was ushered in with smiles and Romanian greetings. Quickly they cornered me, and sat me down. Before I could fully comprehend what was happening I was being served a three course meal. Soup. Odd looking Nachos. Cucumber salad. All toped off with some dessert.
I have never blacked out from eating too much food. But this was close.
My team looks over at me, wide eyed, pleading for help to finish their food.
As I heard Walker’s voice echoing down the hall, I knew he was here to rescue me.
“Time to go”
I didn’t know if I could get up. Is it possible for me to be rolled out of here.
We eventually made it back to the church, where we were staying. I fell into a deep sleep.
The WorldRace makes you do weird things and experience things that are new and exciting. Way out of your comfort zone. But that is all part of the experience. Food included. As the writer of Ecclesiastes says: So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.
