So everyday at "work" lunch is a big production. There are 3 seemingly distinct lunch groups and every morning people ask me where I'm eating lunch today - almost in the hopes of getting to me first. I always play dumb and just wait for someone to lead me to food at noon.
Last week I was completely disturbed by what and how people eat lunch. This week I'm oddly coming to terms with it. So here's a little run down - sticky rice is eaten only with your hands. There are baskets full of it that everyone shares. You use your hands to dig some out and roll it into small little balls about the size of a quarter. Then you take this ball and either dip it in a plate of food or use your fingers to scoop up food using the ball of rice almost like a tortilla chip and salsa. (Why did I just type that? That sounds amazing). Anway, I find it a little unsanitary how everyone's hands are touching all the food and there is no soap or toilet paper in the bathroom. I try not to think about that too much. There are plates of insects and crickets as well. Those are just picked up and eaten like handfuls of M&Ms or peanuts. There are always ants crawling over all the food - that's a normal occurrence. What I find most disturbing is when ants crawl all over a plate of crickets. There is just something intrinsically wrong with that.
Anyway, there is this mushroom and ant larva soup they always eat - it's a regional speciality. I can't believe I'm about to type this, but I'm actually starting to like it. Once you get past the fact that dead ants are floating in the broth amongst white ant eggs, it's not too bad. And believe it or not, the balls of sticky rice aren't too bad either. The only thing I can't stomach yet is the curdled pork blood that looks like black tofu. I need some more time to accept that as edible and delicious.
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