Jasmi

I am sure that you noticed by now that I see a lot of cultural things during my home visits.  Well, here is another one. 

I went on a home visit, just as I was finishing up, the family used gestures to communicate with me.  They signed fish, pointed to their stove so I said ok.  The father is a fisherman (what male here isn't..) and they have given me fish to take home in the past.  Well, this time it was a bit different.  

The parents got up and went outside. They told me to stay inside.  Of course I was curious what was happening outside so I went outside after a while.  The father was sharpening his knife and washing fish. He had a box of maybe 5 fish in it.  The mother told me to go back inside and wait.  So I did.... 

The mother came inside with me, we chatted a bit and she started cooking the rice.  I asked her what was going on, she said "Jasmi" and when I gave her a puzzled look, she said wait.  So wait I did... 

The father gave me a plate with cleaned up fish; the head and tail cut off.  The fish's skin was cut diagonally to the bone so the top part of the meat was cut but still attached to the bone.  The mother told me to try it.  I took very little and tasted it.  I had never tried raw fish before so of course I was a bit nervous.  

We waited a bit more, she told me to add lemon and salt to the cut parts of the dish.  I did so with her guidance, then we waited... The rice was still cooking. 

I was getting worried because I had to get back to the office before 5 to pick up my stuff before it closed.  It was getting close to 4.  I was also wondering how I could eat it without something to drink.  I usually bring my water bottle, but of course the day I don't, I need it and it's not safe to drink unfiltered water. The family offered to buy me a drink, problem solved!

The rice was finally ready so they gave me some rice and we ate the fish with rice.  It wasn't too bad actually.  The lemon and salt softened the fish so it was  easy to take off and eat.  The taste of the fish went well with the lemon and salt so all the flavors blended together, making it taste good.  I ate the top half of the fish, the family gave me the bottom half to bring home and eat later. 

So... That is what Jasmi is!

By the way, I got to the office just in time before it closed.

Food

Since Abby has been asking me for a new post, I thought I would post about food.  Not much is new on the work or personal front, so I do not have much to report other than moving back into the dorm.  Fingers crossed that the pipe situation really has been taken care of for good. 

Now about the food.... There are two food stores on the island that I frequent due to their cleanliness, variety and quality of food.  They are basically smaller versions of food stores in America.  So, what we eat depend on what the store has, and it varies from shipment to shipment.  If the store is out of a specific food item, we have to wait for the next shipment to come in.  Food is shipped in from America, Australia, and Asia, depending on the item.  

Now that we all are on the same page about food supply and demand... This past weekend and the weekend before that, BOTH food stores were out of fresh fruits and vegetables.  We were able to manage our dietary needs by using up some vegetables that we had left over. Today, I went to one of the food stores to find that fruits and vegetables have been restocked. It was like Christmas Morning and bought several items, including spaghetti squash!  I can't wait to cook it and eat it!

I have become a semi-vegetarian since moving here.  Meat (other than fish, and I am not comfortable cooking fish yet) here is very expensive, and the quality is not the best since it has to be shipped, similar to vegetables.  So I have been eating lots of vegetables. When I eat out at one of the two restaurants we frequent, I usually enjoy some kind of meat dish because I don't eat it when I cook.  I try to be creative with my cooking because there is not a great variety of fresh vegetables available.   They have canned vegetables but I prefer to avoid that if possible.  I do use frozen vegetables though, sometimes freezing the fresh vegetables I buy.

I really appreciate the food that some people have sent in from America.  It is a nice treat to have something that is not found on the island, especially almonds and almond butter!  I wish strawberries and grapes could be mailed to me.  Those two fruits are my favorite fruits, and they are usually not in the best shape when they arrive here, and at ridiculous prices. My second or so week in the dorm, I was thrilled to see a bag of grapes in good condition so I got a bag without looking at the price, it ended up costing me $12! 😳. You bet I made sure to eat every grape in that bag! 

We really take food for granted in America!  Please enjoy some grapes and strawberries for me! 😄