Friday, March 26, 2010

The Inner Anatomy of a Walleye


This is a papaya. It is a fruit in abundance around here these days. The insides of a papaya remind me of the stomach or some part of the inner anatomy of a walleye. Ah, the memories of watching my dad fillet his catch of the day. Gross. I find that papayas taste like "dirty socks" to quote my mother. For some odd reason though, I want to come to enjoy the taste - I like a challenge. And isn't there a fact like you need to taste something 22 times before you actually like it? I don't remember that with dark chocolate or Grape Nuts, but I will think about this "fact" to help me persevere. So, every week I buy a papaya. I learned that a little lemon juice and a bit of sugar helps. Jovie likes papaya, with or without the condiments, but I do think they add. The rest of my family, besides Jovie, is opposed to joining me in my, "love papaya as my own child" challenge. Sometimes you just need to climb the mountain yourself...



For some odd reason we haven't mentioned our newest vehicle purchase - a motorcycle. When we moved to the new house, walking to work or school became impossible. So, along with the rest of the 1,139,964,932 people in India, we now own a motorcycle. We also transport our children on the motorcycle. Ani comes home every day from school on it - helmet on of course. Two children on with dad is my limit, and Jovie has not taken a spin yet. All though it is common to see up to five on a motorcycle here. I am pretty sure all these extra passengers would be illegal in the States. So, the motorcycle has been a fun part of making memories here, a season that will not be repeated. I can handle the motorcycle mainly because we never go over 30 miles per hour here, which for some reason makes it safer to me. I know that's not necessarily comforting to some, but for me, it is, so I am just going to have to go with it. One last thing about the motorcycle. Our other vehicle, the car/van/can, has a great name - something that just popped. But the motorcycle is feeling a bit blue about not having a name. There really is nothing funny about it though. It's a black motorcycle - its hard to go anywhere with it. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share them. P.S. Sarah, did you know that when your dad was here, he got a lift from Jayson on the motorcycle? I wish I would have had my camera to see Denny and Jayson together on the motorcycle.



The photo below is Saraa. Saraa comes over on Fridays to hang out with us. Her mom and dad are our friends who run the animal rescue center. Saraa is not yet two. Saraa knows three languages. Her mom is Finnish, her dad is Tamil (the state that we live in) and in their house, they speak English. Tamil, Finnish and English. She is smarter than me. The multiple language deal here knocks my socks off. Most Indians know at least three languages, if not four of five. Usually Hindi, English, their state language and their village dialect. Crazy. James is a bit confused on the whole language front. We had a 10 minute "argument" about how he things that we speak American and I think we speak English. He's very ethnocentric. At the end of the discussion he finally waved the white flag of surrender, but I think he did it with reluctance. I don't think he is quite sold on that fact that he now speaks English, instead of American.


I hang my head low. Kansas lost in the second round. I had them going all the way! I don't want to talk about it anymore.

Oh, I need to retract my statement about how high we live. Our friend Mark, let me know, that if we were at 7,000 meters, we would need oxygen masks. Meters, feet, is there a difference? So, its 7,000 feet about 2,400 meters. Sorry people. On this very undramatic note, I will leave you. We are having seven extra kids for pizza/movie night tonight, so I am going to get the dough a risin'.

Eleven kids plus one dad equals a good time in the car/van/can

10 comments:

James.kutnow said...

Jayson...I like the bike. Good work.

Jenny said...

Tarrah, my mom used to eat papaya in Viet Nam growing up, so we always had it in the states too.. it's really good with lime squeezed on the top.

I can't remember if I told you that I read your blog religiously. I do. :) So nice to hear about your life!

Unknown said...

The motorcycle is a sweet ride! Tarrah...does that mean you can now call yourself a biker chick?

Anonymous said...

Hi Palms,
Nice bike. How about some chaps and possibly a jacket to match. I agree with you Tarrah about the papaya. I think it makes better juice, but don't forget the rum.
Everyone looks great. Tarrah, do I have to come to India to loose weight?
Aunt Sue

Eric S said...

Great motorcycle! I didn't think Jayson could get any more manly in my book... but that picture did rasie the bar for me.

As for names, I immediately thought of Knight Rider. I'll keep pondering though. Every beloved vehicle needs a good name.

Love you guys!!!

Eric

Julie Frizzell said...

Black Jedi comes to mind...but were the Jedi's in fact black? Goes to show how much I know about Star Wars. I see Eric has suggested Knight Rider, & my vote goes to that one...Especially since I think I remember Jayson liking to watch the show. =)

Way to go Tarrah, with the continuous trying of Papaya. I think we'll go to the grocery store & get one to have the experience with you...assuming they are in season. We may have to wait until the summer. I'll let you know if I I agree with the stinky feet taste.

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

As Jenny already mentioned, I grew up with papaya for breakfast almost every morning with fresh lime. I love it. I am surprised you don't like it, Tarrah, you like so many healthy foods. I do remember people saying it was an acquired taste. Don't give up . . . :)

Dad said...

Tarrah...The whole naming thing had weighed on my sleep last night. I was thinking it's to small to be called a "hog" & "piglet" really doesn't capture much. Than there's the whole scooter naming aspect..maybe the "scootsmobile" in recognition of the family's quite frequent adominal issues..Or there's the modified version of "chopper"..."the chipper"..well anyway I'll keep pondering...

Kara said...

So it isn't enough to have family night with four of your own kids ages 7 and under in a foreign country - lets add seven more?! :) Way to go, Tarrah and Jayson. You brave party people you! Miss that hospitality you two revel in - even with the youngest tykes. Love you guys! Fun to see the kids on the bike.

Unknown said...

We can related. Papayas were not our favorite fruit while living in Central America. It took a while to get used to. Of course, now that we live in Chicago and a papaya costs $5, the kids crave it!

It's great for your bodies though!

And one question- how does your mom know what dirty socks taste like?