CouchSurfing the World

My napkin was already stained with drool as I displayed one of the most puerile episodes in my adult career, like a dog watching his master eat the juiciest t-bone, my tongue flooded with excitement, I couldn’t stop frolicking the table cloth and subconsciously ripped my beer label into a tiny mess inside the ashtray before sending the table to shiver with my impatient leg shaking vigorously like the last seconds of a death row story ‘where the hell is my curry’?  Finally a homely smell graced my nostrils yet when I opened the Shaffer I had to bend my eyes over the rim to catch a glimpse of the curries location, like a packet of ‘Walkers crisps’ I felt tricked by the 30% extra only to discover I had in fact 40% less. On the menu it had said ‘Tandoori style’, my dish was no more Tandoori than I was ‘religious’, yet I found myself accepting it anyway, it’s hard to make a really bad curry, I thought! I left completely woebegone. The pregnant owner holding her new born child asked me to sign the guestbook. Rather than leave a tip I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and left an empty page on the balcony.

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Journal 50

There’s a huge disagreement between both countries as to who’s is best, it was time for me to make my own opinion. The initial difference in both dishes is that Peruvians don’t pre cook the fish; instead the citric- acid of the lemon causes the proteins in the seafood to become denatured, which pickles or cooks the fish without the heat. Also Peruvians despise the fact that Ecuadorians add mustard and ketchup to the dish believing they had simply stolen the essential ingredients and disrespectfully massacred it with others. Modern style ‘Ceviche’ is served relatively quickly once prepared whereas traditional methods would often marinate the fish for three hours or so. I must admit, whilst watching Rafael’s father prepare the dish, I was a little concerned about the speed at which it was served, my tongue naturally curled back in my mouth with the sight of the still pink centered fish.

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