try new things

Last weekend, I went to a pig roast and (even though I cannot eat pig) ate a nice big chunk. I wanted to see what spit-roasted pig tasted like! I’ve been to other pig roasts before, but I had never tried the centerpiece. It was delicious, tender, juicy, flavorful. And it made me very ill. But I think it was worth it. :)

Last night, I went to an erotic performance venue and had an amazing and surprisingly comfortable time. Maybe 75 other people, huge variety of dress.. tuxedos, thongs, chains, birkenstocks, netting, spats, vinyl, corsets, flip-flops, polo shirts.. I mean EVERYTHING was kosher, all ages, all dresses, all sexualities, all ethnic backgrounds, all body types. We, the participatory audience, painted the bodies of naked models with tempera paint in cocktail glasses. We danced to funk music. We watched stunning aerial performance pieces, put wigs and costumes on, tutus and feather boas, for fun. We watched extraordinary martial-art-like dancing, heard erotic poetry, an opera aria. And we were annointed with fragrant oils, brushed with feathers and foxtails. It was an evening of sensual rituals with strangers, but it was art and people were friendly and I never once felt uncomfortable or threatened. It felt natural, every body shape looked normal, Hollywood beauty ideals were purposeless. And sensuality didn’t mean sex. I want to go again.

Had a nice tango lesson from Reinhart late last night in the upstairs studio of a neighbor’s barn. The hardest part for me isn’t necessarily learning the steps and patterns (the art of tangling and untangling your legs in a graceful way), but letting myself be led. I’m a crummy and resistant follower, but I’m learning. :)

I’m on the island of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean right now, and there are so many new and different things to try! I’ll keep adding to the list in this entry throughout the next two weeks.

-Drank Ricqlés, an extremely minty French soda. Tastes like a fizzy non-alcoholic Creme de Menthe.

-Tried bokit, a sort of fried flatbread sandwich of the West Indies. My bokit came with morue, aka saltfish or salted cod. Typical local street vendor food.

-Drank ti’punch, a very common alcoholic beverage in the French Antilles made with local rum, cane sugar syrup, and lime.

-Ate accras, deep fried fish balls with spices.

-Swam in the Caribbean Sea!

-Ate a pastry filled with lambi or conch.

-Had a drink made with the juice and seeds of homegrown passionfruits from a friend’s yard and local rum: passionfruit rum punch. Delicious!

-Tried freshly churned coconut juice sorbet.

-Drank a local Guadeloupen anise-flavored soda, called L’Ordinaire. It comes in a very festive yellow, orange and green can, and tastes like a fizzy non-alcoholic Ricard.

-Snorkeled among bubbly volcanic reefs with fish and turtles.

-Saw living iguanas and land-crabs in the wild! (And not as roadkill.)

-Drank sugarcane juice. Not as sweet as orange juice, and throughly refreshing. Wish it was available elsewhere.

-Hitchhiked with Rastas on the island of Dominica.

More first firsts to add to my “new things” list:
-Went out for vegan dim sum. (Who knew it was possible?)
-Ate water buffalo milk yogurt.
-Attended a Metropolitan Opera Regional Competition.
-Crocheted for the first time! A short & sadly uneven chain.
-Ate a chocolate bar flavored with curry and coconut!
-Hand-knitted a care package

I think I’m already pretty good about trying new things. This goal is among my 43 Things mostly so that I can keep track of them.

First firsts to add to my “new things” list:
-Saw first American football game, Seahawks vs Chargers
-Saw first semi-pro hockey game, Thunderbirds vs Sivertips
-Baked a bundt cake
-Ate cherimoya, sometimes known as “custard apple”