Day 1422: Peanut Sauce and Citrus Maxima

Food. 

Mmmm… it really is the true benefit of living overseas.  Trying things you’ve never tried before… discovering new foods you never want to live without again.

In Serbia, it was Kaymak (a kind of spreadable cheese butter) and Ivar (a roasted red pepper spread).

In London, it was the English breakfast and Mincemeat Pie.

Islamabad introduced me to Naan and a delicious dish called Karahi Chicken.

And now, my culinary life in Paramaribo is no different.  There is actually a lot of variety here.  Indian Roti, Indonesian Bami and Nasi, and this really delicious Javanese salted fish (that Serena thinks is disgusting).

However, there are two simple delicacies here that really speak to me… and I don’t know how I will survive without them.

1) Peanut Sauce.

Oh man!  The peanut sauce here is amazing!  I put it on everything from rice to vegetables to French fries.  It is just so good.  It’s so sweet and spicy… and yummy.  Now, I know I can make my own peanut sauce… it probably isn’t too hard.  However, they sell it here dried in these pouches.  All I have to do is add a little water and boil.  AMAZING! 

Oh man… this morning I ran to the store to pick up some milk for my coffee and I couldn’t help myself.  I bought another pouch of peanut sauce.  I think I’m going to get some Bami for dinner and smother it in sauce… so-darn-excited!

2) Pomelo (or ‘pompelmous’ as they call them here… or Citrus Maxima if you prefer dead languages)

Now, I’ve never been much of a fruit eater, but I just LOVE-LOVE-LOVE pompelmous!  It’s basically this gigantic grapefruit.  Seriously, there is a reason they call it ‘maxima’!  I can only eat about a quarter of one in a sitting… and I have quite the appetite… so that should give you some gage as to their size.

It really is quite something.  It’s not nearly as bitter as a grapefruit and it has a very nice mild sweetness to it.  And it’s so darn huge that the meat of the fruit is something you can really sink your teeth into, which is a rare sensation for citrus fruit. 

Oh man… I’m going to miss you pomplemous and peanut sauce!  We will meet again.  Just like the time I found Ivar in at the Chinese market a couple months ago… or when Serena found a jar of mincemeat in Belgrade.

This is not goodbye… this is an ‘I’ll see you later my dear sweet friends’

Day 1416: Poisonous Greens

Back on Day 643 I told the tale of the Poisonous Vietnamese River Fish.  A culinary adventure I never thought I would be able to top… until now… with our families ingestion of poisonous greens.

A few weeks ago Serena made the most delicious, and somewhat out of the ordinary, dinner.  She had picked up a fresh loaf of fresh Italian bread from the market and made the most wonder omelet sandwiches.  Eggs, with melted cheese, bacon, and cooked greens.

It was really delicious. 

And then, about thirty minutes later Serena started complaining about a stinging sensation in her mouth… and a prickling sensation on her skin. 

I didn’t think much of it at first… but then I started feeling the same symptoms.

Now, by the time I started feeling the effects, Serena was already in full blown panic mode, so I made a point of keeping my cool… and my symptoms a secret… for the time being.  But I did do a little research.

I dug the plastic bag that had held the greens Serena bought out of the trash and I examined the handwritten name of the plant written on the bag and preformed a simple Google search.  Well… hmmmm…

Before I tell you what I found, I want to be clear and tell you that Serena bought these greens from the produce section of a store in Suriname where most folks do their grocery shopping, especially the expat community.  So, in my opinion, they should have been vetted as safe to consume.  However… they weren’t.

Now, I can’t remember the exact Dutch name for the plant, but when I preformed my search, it came back as a relative of the Elephant Ear, the beautifully decorative plant found outside many landscaped homes.  However, what I also discovered is that the Elephant Ear is not fit for human consumption.  In fact, if you ingest Elephant Ear, you are advised to contact Poison Control!

Apparently, the plant is toxic.  And even if you get the oil from the plant on your skin it is known for causing irritation and a burning sensation.

So… what happens when you ingest it?  Well… let me tell you.  It makes your mouth very sore, tongue a bit swollen, and your skin crawl like you’re having a serious allergic reaction.

That said, I also read that Elephant Ear is safe to consume as long as it is cooked.  Which is was… at least when I ate it.  Serena admitted to eat some of it raw just to see how it tasted… and she of course handled the raw plant while she was preparing it.  So, Serena’s symptoms were understandable.  But what about my symptoms?  Were they simply psychosomatic? 

What do you do?

Well… being in Suriname with no access to American Poison Control we did the next best thing.  We called our Embassy nurse who is a local.  Her reaction was calm and understanding.

“This happens.  I have had issues with this plant before.  Even after cooking it.  Your symptoms should pass in a few hours.”

Yeah… in a few hours.  And our symptoms did pass in a few hours.  We were fine.  But that still didn’t put us at ease.  In a country that has plenty of options for greens we couldn’t understand why these plants were for sale at grocery stores.  Or why people would buy them if they are known to sometimes cause issues when consumed (even if they are cooked).

Thankfully the boys are going through a phase where they would rather play than eat the delicious meals Serena makes for the families, so they weren’t affected.  Only Serena and I were affected by the toxic plant.

It’s a shame really… because the meal was quite delicious.

Day 1413: Suriname International School

Celebrating Gilliam and Grayson’s milestones is amazingly awesome.  And with Grayson it has become doubly awesome because he’s finally at that age where he is developing lasting memories; especially surrounding moment of significant personal impact.  Like his first day of school.

Now, due to the fact that we’re living overseas, these milestones can be pretty interesting… well… different.  They can be a lot different… at least compared to what I remember of my own similar milestones.

Let’s just say my kindergarten experience at Murdock Elementary was very different from Grayson’s Suriname International School (SIS) experiences.

For starters, Murdock had around 800 students spread-out from kindergarten through fifth-grade.  Each grade level had multiple classes and each class had between 24 and 32 students.

SIS has around 35 students spread-out from pre-k through twelfth-grade.  Multiple grade-levels are combined to make each class (for a total of six classes) and no class has more than ten students.

So yeah… size can really changes your perspective on things. 

Now, in comparison, most international schools are a lot smaller than your average suburban American public school.  But even compared to international schools SIS is very small.  Then again… SIS is only two years old and it usually takes a few years for a school to gain traction. 

That said, I’m not really sure how much SIS will be able to grow; Suriname does not have a large expat community.

There is actually another international school in town catering to expats.  They were established in 1966, but only have around 85 students (K – 12).  They have a really nice facility too, however, Serena and I shied away from this school because of their very strong evangelical Christian affiliation.  Serena and I feel that religion is something best taught at home, so we went with SIS.

Oddly enough, this is exactly why SIS was created in the first place.  SIS was actually founded by parents from that other school who felt the religious message had cast a shadow over the academics.    

Although Paramaribo doesn’t really have a large enough market for two international schools, SIS has been able to take over 30% of the expat market in just two short years.  I think that’s pretty amazing. 

But still, despite its size, Grayson was able to do some really cool things… like learn a little Dutch, play Santa Claus in the SIS Christmas Showcase, and even serve as the kindergartener’s representative to student council.

As parents, it’s been fun being involved, even at such a small school.  Serena was voted in as PTA president and I was asked to help revamp their website.  It’s been a while since I’ve built a site, but it has been a fun project.  I’m just now finishing it up and a few pages still need content, but I’m pleased: www.suriname-internationalschool.org.

It is kind of a shame.  We really thought we were going to be with SIS for three years… but in the end it was only for one school year.  Oh well.  At least we were able to contribute to the legacy. 

Day 1034: Help with Satellite Internet... in Suriname

I am in desperate need of help and guidance.

There is no such thing as a perfect location and I have recently discovered a significant drawback for my next assignment in Paramaribo, Suriname: Internet is slow AND cost prohibitive.

The best (Platinum) DSL internet package in Suriname runs at a speed of .5 Mbsp, which is pretty much dial-up and folks already there say it’s impossible to upload pictures… So, SchutzHappens is pretty much going to be dead in the water at these speeds.

Plus, this extremely slow speed comes at a price: $150 per month!!!!!

Yeah, NO THANK YOU!

So!  I’ve started researching alternatives in the form of Satellite Internet providers (HughsNet, WildBlue, Skyway, and Starband).

Now, the thing to keep in mind is that DishNetwork and DirectTV are both available in Suriname, so, in theory, I should also be able to use one of these Satellite Internet providers, especially Skyway or Starband because they use the EchoStar Satellites (Dish Network) to deliver their service.

Anyway, I would love to speak to someone who has had experience using one of these providers in the Caribbean, Central American, or Northern South America… or any someone who has advice on an alternative I haven’t looked into yet.

Please email me at SchutzHappens@gmail.com

THANKS!