11.10.09

Alright, now it's been a couple of months (roughly 2.5) since I've been in Florida, but still find myself going through small culture shocks. I'll go ahead and list them, just keep in mind that if it sounds dumb, it's really not.

1. Tamarind - I haven't talked to anyone from the states yet that actually knows what this is. But it's actually very popular back home and in the rest of the Caribbean. It's a  tangy brown, pulpy fruit encased in a thin brown shell/pod when ripe (about the size of your finger). It tends to be very stringy and have large seeds, but you can separate the pulp and make what's commonly known as tamarind balls (the pulp rolled into a ball with sugar). Another use for it (what I actually use it for) is in the making of hot sauce. So yummy! Another way to eat it, though not as popular, is to put salt on the flesh when it's still green. 

2. Breadfruit - Not as scary as it sounds, I promise! It's a fibrous-fleshed fruit that has a green skin (about the size of a volleyball). When ripe, some people like to bake or boil it, then butter just like you would a potato. I'm not really fond of it that way, so I found another way to cook it like a potato. Chips! I cut the flesh into triangular pieces (thick if you want it to be soft, thin if you want it crispy), and fry them in really hot vegetable oil for 2 minutes a side. Once out of the oil, they're dusted with Adobo--an essential seasoning in the Caribbean. It's just about the easiest and most delicious thing to make EVER!

3. Paper or plastic? That's not a question back home. I've never been into a store where you had a choice between what kind of bags you can use. It doesn't sound too drastic, but it's just one of those *whoa* moments. The closest thing to anything like that is this one store where there are no bags. Instead, you pile your groceries into boxes left-over from unpacking the items you're buying. I always thought that was a great idea because nothing was going to waste, and then you always have large boxes incase you need to pack things up at home for whatever reason.

4. How big are snowflakes? I have no clue. The last time I asked this question, I just got laughed at. But how else am I supposed to know?! I've never seen the snow. When I think of snow, all that comes to mind are those giant snowflake paper cut-outs that we did in elementary school. By the way, I still never got an answer.

 Today's words: Don't ask, don't say. Everything lies in silence.