Mr. Thang's eldest granddaughter got married this week. She is the one in red who doesn't look like she wants to strangle me. Weddings are three-day extravaganzas in Cambodia. There is the actual wedding ceremony, a series of lunches and dinners, dancing, etc. Different people are invited to each part of the celebration, depending on how close they are to the bride and groom. Over the course of the three days, literally thousands of people will show up at one point or another. This is the second luncheon to which I have been invited. Many of the other teachers from school came as well.
The wedding meals usually take place outside, near someone's house, under rented pink canopy tents with about a hundred tables surrounded by chairs that are covered in cloth. They serve rice and several meat dishes. Since everyone knows I'm vegetarian, they always make a special vegetable plate and bring it to my table.
The appetizer platter was less than appetizing. It contained various meats, something pickled, and fried insects. I was a little surprised at the presence of bugs. My impression of eating insects seems limited to two groups of people in this country: the older generation who grew up eating grasshoppers, locusts, and beetles in order to survive, and the tourists who looking for something weird to eat. Out of all the items on the platter, the grubs were the least popular.
Is it weird that I refused to touch the fish, but I immediately grabbed the biggest, fattest fried grub worm and shoved it in my mouth? No...of course not. You know me better than that by now. I've seen Bear Grylls eat these things raw and alive on t.v. and wondered about them. I am positive that frying them does wonders on their palatability. The grub wasn't disgusting, but it's not something I'd eat every day either. I tried two just to make sure I was getting an accurate taste. Overall, they have the consistency of tofu and taste like dirt.
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