Friday, March 16, 2007

Eating bugs

I saw Jay Leno last night. I'm usually a Letterman girl, but I was buried under a pile of notes and books and didn't bother to dig out to change the channel when Leno came on. But, I digress. One of Leno's guests, Andrew Zimmern, came with a host of bizarre foods (bugs, testicles, etc.) for Jay and the other guest, Dan Rather, to try. Mr. Zimmern talked about how trying these foods is one way to experience different cultures.

This all reminded me of the last time I chomped on a fried bug. It was during undergrad in Dr. Steve Smith's cultural anthropology course. I was not a sociology major, but this was one of my favorite courses. One day, Dr. Smith passed around a can of fried insects. Unfortunately, I don't remember all of the specifics. I think that they were crickets and a favorite snack food of Japanese kids. They were salty. Although I'm a little fuzzy on the details, I am grateful for the experience. It represents the best of my liberal arts education. I learned to think about things--bugs and other cultures--differently. Hell, I just learned to think.

Dr. Smith and the creepy-crawly snack prepared me well for my future. I thank Mr. Zimmern for reminding me of the lesson.
And, more importantly, I thank Dr. Smith for teaching me.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

While normally a vegetarian, when playing "suvivor girl" in the Cascade mountains I prefer my crickets over an open lighter flame.
You also have to remember to pull their legs off, or they'll choke you by sticking in your throat on the way down. (I always get a funny mental image in my head when I think of a cricket trying to stop his descent into the bowels of a human.)

Yeah, I'm a little weird, but some how I've managed to live with it.
-P

Terroni said...

That is a very funny image! I'm going to remember it as I'm studying the GI tract tonight. It'll help me visualize digestion; and, when I'm sick of studying, I'll remind myself, "It could be worse. I could be a cricket in close proximity to a hungry proxima!"

Christine G. said...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/429194091_e71ec0c92e_m.jpg

ha! Please visit my link and check me out freaking while Andrew eats a Blaut in Cambodia or someplace...

Andrew Zimmern's show on Monday nights is must see TV in our house. Followed by our main main Anthony Bourdain. We love them both.

Eric said...

I can't watch Zimmern, it's not what he eats, but that he does it with his mouth open.