As I was making breakfast this morning, I thought about how the notion of food hygiene is very subjective across all cultures. In developed parts of the world, we are very cautious of sanitation while in developing countries, hygiene is not a choice. After having visited Cambodia in 2011 and more recently Vietnam this year, when you see first hand how food is handled all around the world, I'll have to say, gross or not (by your standards), if I drop food on Australian ground, 9 times out of 10 I would eat it anyway. This tolerance is different for everyone and for me I call this the "Banana Fritter Threshold".
CAMBODIA - 2011
I remember back in 2011 travelling around in Cambodia on a design study tour, our tour guide took us to a rural village. When I say village, I mean that they had houses all made out of every imaginable part of a banana tree. From the trunks acting as stumps and structural support to the leaves acting as roofing and woven into the walls. Chickens, goats and cows ran amok with the naked children stirring dust into our eyes and sweaty skin. We were not used to it but it is their way of living.
WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND - Karma is...interesting?
We were told by our tourguide Pich that it would be a good idea to buy some confectionery, stationery and sanitary goods from the local markets to give to them. Not to act like we are saints but upon recieving these items, the village people were indeed very happy. They kept on expressing their thanks by following us as we walked through the village towards the Mekong River. Although we couldn't understand what they were saying, by the end of it, it seemed like as if the whole village knew that we were the "gift-bearing visitors". The path wound on but towards the end of our journey nearing the bus, there was a tiny little wooden shack. When I say tiny, it's measurements were perhaps 1m x 0.5m; enough for just one hard working grandmother to make banana fritters whist nursing two of her grandchildren in her arms. They were both adorable but both of them were naked and one of them had a snotty nose. With immense kindness that one would show towards accommodating guests, using her bare hands, she offered her edible wares to us.
THE "INTERNAL STRUGGLE" I
No words were exchanged but her eyes were insistent. Having all the villagers look over at us with expectant delight really put us on the spot. How does one even respond in a situation like this?! While all of us appreciated the gesture, we were hesitant about the hygiene as we considered how our spoilt Western stomachs might react to the way these fritters had been prepared and handled. We were contemplating in our hearts what might happen in our stomachs later if we abided by the unsaid protocols of the moment.
THE "INTERNAL STRUGGLE"- STAGES
Finally, as if by some sudden rote force, we just all took one. It was as if diplomacy outweighed our personal wellbeing. The stages of this process were surreal, I still remember it to this day:
1. In the moment when my hand's actions betrayed my gut instincts and I took one of the fritters.
2. Then the next moment when my mouth defies the fear in my head of getting sick in a foreign country.
3. The moment your jaws and your epiglotis combine habitual forces to unwittingly force percieved pathogens into your system.
4. The point of no return. I had swallowed it. I felt sick but I knew it was all in the head - but I still felt sick.
Although I describe the process in four stages, really it all happened within about 10 seconds and it was over before we knew it. We walked on worried while the villagers looked happy. Bottom line is. none of us got sick and we are all alive till this date. Yes, hygiene standards are different all over the world, but it really is just a construct of our own context of things. I wouldn't go around unconditionally eating just anything, but after this experience, everytime I try a new food, I always think of the 'Banana Fritter Threshold'.
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