Beef Tongue for Dinner, Anyone?
- By Indu Shanmugam
- Published 07/5/2008
Indu Shanmugam
Indu Shanmugam is a 20-something, college student from Oregon, USA. She is majoring in English literature and language. She also studied Theology for a short period. She wants to be a teacher. As a literature enthusiast, she enjoys literature of all types and from writers of various backgrounds from the classics, French realists, Christian writings like C.S Lewis and South Asian literature. As for her own writings, "I am still trying to find and develop my own voice." She sees the art of the written word as a way to speak about Christ and explore truth. Before she met Jesus Christ, she has been searching for the meaning of life through experimentation of other religions, philosophies and ideas. At the age of 17, she accepted Christ after a powerful encounter with God through a miracle. God's presence and deep truths in the Bible fuel her creativity. She is involved in church activities and has a love for the church and would like to see every believer grow, become closer to God and live fruitfully. She loves traveling, sipping bubble teas, theatre, music, films and hanging out with friends and has a weakness for cheesecake.
I haven´t had it yet but my friend did. As for me, I´m getting better used to the food and environment. I´m getting over my brief culture shock and want to experience more of this place.
The italian food here is the best I´ve had so far. I´m sure it wouldn´t beat being in Italy (where I´ve never been). I love italian food so I felt I was in heaven. I had canneloni with spinach and chicken and homemade white sauce and Argentine white wine. Their wine is good.
The next day, I ask my friend what she had. Her host mom cooked a South American delicacy - Beef tongue! At first she didn´t realize what she was eating. She said it really tasted like steak only a bit more tougher. She felt gross only after her friend told her what it was as she was eating. She said she continued to eat but tried her best not to think about it. I´d say she did better than me. Even though I´m generally an adventurous person, I´m not that adventurous when it comes to foreign food. I was glad that it wasn´t me.
I´m warmed up to the Argentine culture. I´m starting to fall in love with Latin America. Here, when I´m asked where I´m from most people are a bit surprised when I say United States or speak English with an American accent. Most people assume that I´m a Latina, which I don´t mind at all and at times I find flattering. Some people have asked me about Indian culture. My Spanish professor recently visited India on a vacation. I love exploring different cultures and enjoying the differences, similarities and unique flavors (including the good, the bad and the ugly).
