What I Learned From… Er, What Was That I Just Ate, Anyway?
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[Note: This is my entry for this month’s What I Learned From… group writing project. The topic is Travel. If you’ve ever learned anything from traveling (and who hasn’t?), then why not write your own post and send me the link? We’d love to read it!]
Ever had a sudden realization that what you just ate isn’t what you thought it was? That deep, sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that’s wired directly to your forebrain and screams I have no idea what I just ate!
Yep, been there; done that. (By the way, in case you can’t see it clearly, that little piece of paper reads, “That wasn’t chicken”.
As I was preparing for my sudden trip to Taiwan (I had exactly four days’ notice!) for a three-month stay (this was back in December of 1999), I really wanted to make the effort to mentally prepare. I was looking forward to an interesting adventure –after all, Asia would be a completely new experience for me.
But you know what I was worried about the most? No, not the language barrier (turned out not to be a problem – most people speak at least a little English). Nope, not the completely different culture (I thrive on variety). Duh-uh (sound of buzzer – so sorry; but here’s a nice parting gift), it wasn’t even the incredible distance I would be from Mrs. MZM (being clear around the world was definitely a factor, but we actually were able to communicate far better than the time I spent in Venezuela).
Nope, it wasn’t any of those things. It was the… food (sound of terrified scream).
Here’s the thing. I admit it: normally I’m pretty much the poster boy for picky eaters. I’ve never been fond of salad-type stuff (“rabbit food”, you know) or for that matter most gourmet (that’s pronounced gore-met, don’tcha know). In fact, if all I ever had put before me was meat and potatoes, I’d be a happy man.
But I knew things had to be different this trip, and that would require a change in outlook. So I began to mentally make up my mind to at least be adventurous in the food area as well. Sortof like visualizing myself eating new and different stuff. OK, so far so good.
Finally I was packed, passport and visa clutched in my hot little hand. I kissed Mrs. MZM soundly on those gorgeous lips, and was off for three months to the exotic Far East! This was gonna be something!
At first, I did pretty well. Even on the first leg of the trip (I flew Continental non-stop from Houston to Tokyo, then Northwest to Taipei), I made up my mind to try something completely different when selecting my dinner entrée; choosing a selection of Japanese hors d’oeuvre instead of the usual steak. (I was flying business class, thanks to my accumulation of air miles. Believe you me, it’s the only way to fly overseas!)
My first dinner at the hotel restaurant (sweet and sour pork) included boiled peanuts on the side, something I’ve always loved anyway. But the real challenge was in learning how to use chopsticks. You don’t know real triumph until you can successfully and repeatedly pick up small, round and very smooth objects with ‘em! Talk about your shining accomplishments!
Along about two months into the project, though, I started getting tired (understandably, I think) of the box lunches that were provided at the jobsite. Ever single day, it was the same old thing, more-or-less: a bed of very gooey white rice, a vegetable of some kind (never was sure what), and either a veal(?) cutlet or a chicken breast. It was just getting old.
One day, my box had the above items in it, but there was something else on the side I didn’t recognize. It was small, white and soft, and made me think of white gelatin. In keeping with my “at least try everything” outlook, I thought to myself, “OK, let’s give it a whirl.”
Big mistake. Now, you’re probably thinking, “OK, he probably means it was not very good.” But no, what I really mean is, it was a HUMONGOUS, BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!
It was without a doubt the most disgusting thing I’ve ever put into my mouth (and that includes the mud pies I made as a kid – made out of real mud!) and clearly remember thinking to myself, “I have no idea what I just ate,” all the while attempting not to lose everything else with it.
It was sortof like… hmmm, I don’t want to totally gross everyone out here… a big gob of fat… without the delicious taste. It was awful!
That was the last straw as far as my adventures with food went. After that, my two favorite restaurants were Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken (both of which were fortuitously less than two blocks away from my hotel). For variety, I could go to the local Haagen-Daaz.
Ah well, I gave it a good run, even if I do say so myself.
What I learned? Well, that even a picky eater like me could learn to try new foods was actually quite a landmark! The fact was, virtually all the food was pretty good. Except for that one really bad experience, it wasn’t so hard after all.
Truth be told, the hardest thing to change was my… mind.
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18 responses so far
Middle Zone Musings is a comfortable place to stop, have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. I don't ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Have a seat, take a load off, and relax...
Trying new food is half the fun of travelling! I think so, anyway.
When travelling in a group of eight in Thailand a number of years ago, I was the one who wanted to eat Thai food all the time, and didn’t understand why everyone else kept going to McDonald’s and the like.
After all, the local food was good and McDonald’s can only barely be called food anyway, right? Plus, McDonald’s was easily double or triple the price of everything else. Just didn’t make sense to me.
Bob,
Normally I’m gung ho to try new foods, but in Taipei and Hong Kong there were some items that I tried and, like you, realized should not have been served as food!
Good thing I don’t have a meal coming up for several hours.
Mike
[...] Edited so it won’t look like I’m having a go at Robert Hruzek, self-confessed meat-and-potatoes man. He’s from Texas, if that’s relevant. These icons link to social bookmarking sites [...]
What I learned about the difference between amusement park and National Park vacations:
http://www.helium.com/tm/439290/natures-amusement-parkmy-years
Markk: You have to understand just how… brave this new outlook was for me. Mrs. MZM just sighed and shook her head when I told her what I planned.
Mike: Have some Rolaids! I’ve always been a bit envious of those who would pretty much eat anything you put in front of them. No so with me *sigh*…
So didja ever find out what that white stuff was?
Robert - it can’t have been that bad… it was probably only some seafood or gelatin-type thing. At worst it was some meat byproduct or offal. You can’t have done too bad - you’re still upright and breathing!
When I was in China, I think I ate dog… but I can’t be sure… I was too drunk (and therefore hungry) to ask.
Sterling: Well… actually, this is one of those instances where I figured ignorance was bliss!
themolk: Yes, that’s true - I am still here to talk about it. Frankly, I would have cheerfully and knowingly eaten dog (at least someone else’s dog).
But what did you eat? Did you ever find out?
I will try virtually anything once. This policy has served me well on most occasions, but I have certainly paid the price once or twice.
Nic, see comment #8 above. I decided I didn’t want to know…
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[...] Rosa Say at Joyful Jubilant Learning … the Passing Lane, by William Tully at LOGICal eMOTIONs… Er, What Was That I Ate, Anyway?, by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone MusingsFeeling inspired to travel after all that reading? Don’t [...]
The whole ‘at least try it’ thing, hahaha! I too tried to do this while working abroad last year in Malaysia and yep, your story here certainly brought back memories for me!
Yeah it has happened to me a few times. I think there are times when you just try and pretend that it has not happened.
But I always make it a point to find out what I ate
I dunno; after this experience, I think there are some things I’d rather not know!
good on ya for trying new stuff. my girlfriend always plays it safe on holiday. sometimes i wish i did too
Denny W- car hire majorcas last blog post..Flying from the UK to Majorca Airport
Hey, thanks for dropping by, Denny!