Insects and why you should eat them

An ode to insects
I love the market. There is food, tons of activity, and did I mention the food? I can sit there for hours drinking coffee and watching the action unfold. It’s better than TV. Today a woman was carrying a basket full of mudfish when one of them decided to make a break for it. She had to put down all of her other stuff and go chasing after her fish. These are the fish that can sort of walk. They look like catfish and can survive out of water for a while. During the dry season they sometimes scamper about on land to look for food when the ponds dry up. Luckily for the fish it is rainy season and the floor of the market is basically a thick layer of mud, so he was in his element. I like it when food fights back.

You can also meet lots of people at the market. They can get really friendly, asking for your phone number after knowing you for five minutes. You can get felt up at the market, too. It is an extremely homo-social culture, and personal space doesn’t exist. Your friends will come up to you and hug you, lay on you, hold your hand, admire your arm hair, grab your boobs to see if they’re real, etc.

This may make me a bad person, but I think the best part of the market is that if you sit there long enough, someone will give you crickets. I love crickets. We in the US are seriously missing out in our fastidious refusal to eat creepy crawlies. I’m sure most of you don’t consider insects to be a food source, unless you’re maybe starving in a cave or are an anteater. But you really need to broaden your horizons. Insects are packed with protein, low in fat, and like Lucky Charms they are magically delicious. Crickets fried in hot pepper oil are a dime a dozen in rainy season. Cambodians will tell you to take off the heads and legs before eating, but I think that this detracts from the crunchy goodness so I leave them on. Coming in a close second in the most delicious insect contest are ants. They have a certain kind of flying ant here that is huge and sweet. This is often served as main dish, rather than a snack. The best thing about ants is that they put larvae, juveniles, and adults all in the same package, so you have a plethora of ant choices. Rice and larva. Definitely better than it sounds. Another incredibly delicious insect is tarantulas. They are also fried, and served on a stick like a lollipop. A big juicy lollipop. The problem with tarantulas is that they’re kind of hairy. Sometimes they singe the hair off, but sometimes they don’t, and if you take a big bite the hairs can get caught in your throat. I think crickets have a lighter, more delicate flavor than tarantulas, but tarantulas are very filling. You could almost make a meal of them.

Really exciting: My pregnant friend asked me to choose baby names for her. So I listed off a bunch of names in my family and she decided on John for a boy and Lelah for a girl. I’m sad that she won’t have the baby until January, so I won’t get to see, but hopefully she’ll be able to send me pictures. Naming the baby before it’s born goes against tradition, so I’m really proud of her for doing it. Cambodians are extremely superstitious, especially when it comes to kids. I think it’s because in the past infant mortality rates were so high. They say it’s bad luck to name the child before it’s born, because this alerts the evil spirits to the impending birth. After the baby’s born, and until it starts to walk, everyone who sees it must lament about what a hideous little creature it is. When the evil spirits hear this, they will think the baby is bad and leave it alone. If you compliment the baby and the spirits hear, they might try to steal it.

But that's all for now! Today is my last full day at site, sad story.
Love and miss you all!