MB Meets World

I left you all before I finished telling you about some odds and ends!

As you know, eating wonderful food was a highlight of my trip. Since the countries I visited had very different cultures, the utensils for eating varied quite a bit.

I expected to mostly eat with chopsticks. I fancy myself an expert, having been taught how to use chopsticks July 5, 1976, in Chinatown, NYC, when we went to visit the tall ships for the Bicentennial. Another story for another day.

It turns out I am only ok with chopsticks. I hold them too high up. Johne received high praise for his skills, though. I will need to practice.

Of the places I visited, chopsticks were used in Taiwan and Singapore.

Cutlery or flatware like I use in the US was used in Qatar.

In Thailand, we typically had just a spoon and fork. Both items were held in one’s hand the whole time and the spoon pushed items onto the fork, or allowed easier eating of rice and curry.

The bamboo cutlery below was carved with a machete in front of our eyes while the curry cooked on the open fire. This was the day in Thailand when I met my love Abuela, the 72 yo elephant and my kindred spirit.

Finally, in both India and Sri Lanka it was the custom to eat with one’s right hand. Not the left hand, though, because that is reserved for toileting matters.

I wasn’t great at eating with my hand, but I worked hard at it. I kept wanting to throw my head back like a baby bird; incorrect. Yet, I love the sensual nature of feeling the food and I love the messiness. (Though, those with more practice were not as messy as me!). Napkins weren’t plentiful, but sinks were, for washing up after the meal.