Creature Comforts

Since becoming a vegetarian three-ish years ago, my eating habits have shifted a bit from their carnivorous upbringing. Most people joke that vegetarians eat like rabbits, but that doesn’t quite describe me completely. Sure, I eat about 2+ pounds of spinach a week (I am not exaggerating, and I have Costco receipts to prove it) and salads are works of art around here, but what has really changed is what looks good to me now. For example, apple cores.

And corn cobs.

And the white part of the orange peel. 

And lemon rinds.

And tree bark. 

Or the little bean pods that are on the trees.

My friends actually offer me their apple cores when they “finish” their apple; until recently during a very long hike, I politely declined their offers as they made me feel like a pig on a farm. If we have corn on the cob with dinner, my family has to throw the cobs away before I can get them, otherwise they suffer through the sight of me gnawing on them like...well, a pig on a farm. And don’t even ask me what the tree bark thing is--I am not doing it for attention (like the kid in everyone’s kindergarten class who would eat sand or grass on the playground), I am just genuinely freaking curious! 

So I guess I would describe my diet as more like that of a woodland creature. Not a rabbit, but a squirrel. Or due to my tendency to pretty much eat garbage--not like junk food garbage, but actual garbage--and random foliage, I guess raccoon would actually fit best. 

Ha, and you people thought this was a travel blog!

No, really, it does tie in a bit. Check out this transition from eating bark to traveling the world:

First, I leave in 4 days and I can tell you that besides my family,  one of the number one things I will miss is spinach. I drink a spinach shake every single morning, I eat spinach salads for every lunch, and last Saturday, I made a chocolate cake with spinach and garbanzo beans. Don’t judge, it was freaking delicious. So there is the rabbit speaking.

Second, with the raccoon in my head constantly suggesting I eat some strawberry hulls, tree branches, or apple stems, I am looking forward to all of the new foods I will get to try while abroad, especially in Benin. I will probably be eating some meat just to maintain social politeness, but I am also absolutely fascinated by the idea of eating bugs. Most of the world does this with no qualms whatsoever, and yet even the people in the U.S. who are all about reducing carbon footprints and being green and saving the planet by consuming less would probably gag a bit if they watched this video about some of the insect dishes in Benin (http://www.southsouthcooperation.net/dvd/88-edible-insects-from-benin-to-costa-rica.html). So, I am not necessarily saying I will be chowing down on garlicky grasshoppers or maggot soup, but God help my friends and family here if I do try these things and enjoy them. Then they would have to not only stop me from indiscriminately sampling the random flora, but also from lifting up rocks in the yard to find a snack. 

On another note, FedEx was true to their word last week, getting my visa application to the the Benin embassy in Washington D.C. just 12 short hours after I dropped it (semi-frantically) off last Thursday. I called the lovely gentlemen at the embassy Friday morning and they said they were working on it. Just keep up the prayers that anything was in order, otherwise, I will have to start my bug eating experiments in my backyard instead of in the bush of Benin. Not quite as socially acceptable...

And now...some pictures of recent developments in my life. 

        Welcome to my fumigating tent. I had to spray my clothes with some beyond strong mosquito repellent called Permethrin. It says it is non-toxic, but it's about 100% DEET so add a little prayer to the one about my visa that I don't grow an eleventh toe or get hair on my stomach or anything else unnatural as a result from this life-saving spray-human lives that is, the mosquitoes die on contact (I made that last but up I think, but it is a funny thing to visualize)

Also. My puppy was born this weekend. And here it is. Feel free to put this as your desktop background and die a little bit from happiness every time you open your computer. That is what I do at least =D

For the honor and glory.