October 18, 2008
I Just Ate What?!
Okay, I’m not going to make a big deal out of
this or drag it out like a suspense novel. I’ll just tell you, because it’s
really no big deal. I mean, everybody eats it over here. Mostly at celebrations
and special occasions, I’ve been told. Don’t ask me why it’s only eaten at
celebrations and special occasions. Maybe it’s too expensive to eat on a
regular basis. I know it’s not a big deal because I thought I was eating
something else. In fact, what I was really eating tasted just like what I
thought I was eating. Well, maybe not exactly, but very, very close. Close
enough that I didn’t know what I had eaten until hours later when my host
mother asked me if I had tasted it. I said yes, and it was very good. That’s
when she told me it was only eaten at celebrations and special occasions.
Again, I don’t know why. Okay, like I said, I’m not going to string this out
like I know I could, I’ll simply tell you I have a new favorite red meat; leaner
than beef and tastes just as good. It’s horse. If I only had some A-1 Sauce to
top it off. Mmmmm.
On a related topic, I’ve been wondering if my 20
lb. weight loss is the result of my Kyrgyz diet (fruits, vegetables, horse meat
[did I mention they usually only eat it at celebrations and special
occasions?]) or because, for the past four months, I’ve not had a drink? I
think it’s the latter, because the last time I lost this much weight (1992,
grad school) I didn’t have a drink for, hey, whadya know, four months. Also, in
both situations, I was living at or below the poverty line. I’m sure that has
nothing to do with it, but it is another similarity.
Also in the book, other interesting foods I've eaten in other countries, the only food I've been offered that I didn't eat and the most weight I've heard that a volunteer lost. She lived in Talas near me.
