The biggest difference I have noticed? That it's summer in the States and winter here. WINTER. The sun goes down at 6 every evening (which is a constant all year since we're close to the equator), and it's cloudy and rainy always. Yuck. So I'm wearing my rainboots and scarves and carrying my umbrella and my new inhaler to avoid getting bronchitis again from the humidity and smog. I'll keep you posted on how that goes!
Alright, so another difference I am reminded of is the different food, specifically fruit. While visiting friends in the States, my friend Tiffany and I were comparing fruits of Costa Rica and of Indonesia, where she is currently living and teaching. She mentioned rambutan as being red and hairy and I made a connection to what we call mamón chino here in Costa Rica. Wikipedia confirms for me here that we were talking about the same fruit! Apparently it is an Asian fruit that has made it's way to Costa Rica.
So here's a quick lesson in what it is and how to eat it :)
Yup. Weird-looking, I know.
So to eat it, you have to break the peel with your thumbnail 
and pull the two halves apart.
Then you see the grape-looking (or eyeball-looking) inside.
Put just the white inside part in your mouth
like this. Notice the red hairy peel is still in my hand.
Swish it around to take the white part off the seed. Don't swallow the seed!! It's just really big and would hurt going down.
Maybe keep it in your cheek for a couple seconds to enjoy the flavor fully.
and then spit the seed back into the peel.
I highly doubt you will find these in the States, but if you do, now you can educate whoever else is in the grocery store about what to do with these strange-looking fruits!
1 comment:
It's rare, but I think you can find them in Asian markets in certain cities. I loved eating mamones chinos in CR!
Post a Comment