Adaptations to Life in SE Asia

There are many things that I have adapted to since moving abroad to this area of the world. As a Westerner, you are raised with certain "standards" in your living quarters, food preparations, quality, service, privacy etc...almost a culture of sterile cleanliness. (Please pass the hand sanitizer) It's difficult to change the preconcieved notions of right and wrong, or in better terms- correct ways of doing things.

Is there a "correct way" to do things? My Father would say that there is a correct way to mop the floor. My Boss would say there is a correct way to organize my computer. My college friends would say that there is a correct way to drink tequilla. But is there a correct way to live? Now, don't take that heavy-handed. It's more of a live in the cultural aspect than lifestyle and judgement calls.

For instance, is it unacceptable to eat dog? Westerners say a unanimous "Hell yes!" While Vietnamese lick their chops while saying "Unacceptable, you mean decadent." Is it acceptable to have sex with a pre-pubesent girl? Some cultures embrace it while we Westerners cringe at the thought, Child Protective Services dialed in the phone's keypad.

One has to accept that differences exist; there is a great big world out there, filled with cultural juxtapositions. Who are we to cast judgements?

I thought I'd do a little series on:

ADAPTATIONS OF A TRAVELER
-adaptations in Thailand

#1. Knarly meat:

As a child I would sit at the kitchen table performing surgery on my pork chop. If even the slightest vein of fat resided in my medialian of pork - it had to go. Fat on the edge of a steak? Puh-lease. I'll nibble on the meaty heart of the slab leaving a 1/2 inch border to the slimy lard. Biting into fat was as bad as getting a swirly in the toilet, but even more repulsive. The idea of chewing fat- the chewy nub secreting the foul juices into your mouth, resisting all attempts to swallow and forget - had to be promptly removed and tucked into a napkin (or fed to the awaiting cat).

Here, I've learned to happily suck the meat off bones, ignoring tendons and dark areas of meat (before deemed off-limits) as I chew and enjoy. I casually remove chunks of cartiledge, bristled shards of bones, and uncompromising pieces of fat without blinking an eye. Normalcy of accepted dining practices of removing these obtrusive objects and putting them on your plate mid-munch has helped greatly. No one scowls at you as you pull out the rib of a fish- good thing you pulled out that rib of that fish!

Honestly, the "quality" (I put it in quotes because it is referring to the accepted quality of my culture and not of others) is completely different. If I was as picky as I once was, I don't think I could eat. Why, I'd starve! Hunger forces you to change standards, and all standards are different across the globe.

Next... bugs.