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The green chili. Without fail, someone will ask each meal if something is too spicy for me. I really have not eaten anything very spicy since I have arrived. They use spice and I notice it sometimes but nothing really hot. As a joke, when people tell me something is hot, I eat the whole thing before they tell me to only take a small bite. I have done this with chilis and various dishes. It is usually not very hot. I met my match. I had dinner on the train and there was a small green chili as part of the meal (later I found out the the 'leaner' the chili, the 'meaner' it is). After I had finished my meal, I bit off most of the chili and began to masticate thoroughly. After about 10 seconds my mouth began to get warm. I decided to not eat the rest of the chili at this time. 5 more seconds and I remove the pulp that I had chewed from my mouth. 5 more seconds and I am frantically searching for anything to quench the fire that has overrun my mouth. I had already finished my meal so for the next 15 minutes I sucked a mouthful of water until it too burned the entirety of my mouth and then swallowed to repeat as soon as possible. All this I did while successfully attempting to withhold my tears. Painful then, really funny now.
I hung out of a moving train. I don't know why I wanted to do this but when the train was going full speed I grabbed some handles and projected my body out into the rushing hot air. Liberating.
D.P. Singh and I talked for about 8 hours during the course of the 37 hour journey. If I ever go to Varanasi, I now have a place to stay. We talked about Indian Politics, American Politics, Indian history, and also Agriculture in which he worked as a plant physiologist. I learned a lot from him in his heavily accented English.
The other part of the time I spent reading. I was able to read a lot in the Book of Mormon and also in the Lonely Planet book for India. I truly have been blessed.
Train rides are GREAT, but 37 hours is a bit long. Lamont Jr & I used to plan our train rides in China to coincide with sleeping. We'd board in the evening and sleep the night ride away. In the morning, we'd arrive at our destination rested and ready for a day of sight-seeing. Saved a lot on hotel expenses. Hanging out of the moving train brought to mind the joy that dogs must feel when they stick their heads out of moving cars.
ReplyDeleteYour chili story reminded me of my first time tasting Mad Dog sauce the kids gave me for Christmas one year. You can also watch Joy (on You Tube) painfully abandon her attempt to meet a hot wing eating challenge while in Seattle earlier this year. I am SO going to try that one of these times that I am up there. You have to eat 7 wings in 7 minutes, with NO FOOD, NO WATER (or other drink), NO NAPKINS, and you HAVE TO LICK YOUR FINGERS at the end to ensure you get all the sauce in your mouth. If you can do it, you don't have to pay the $7.77, and they give you a T-shirt (probably announcing how stupid you were). You can also do a simpler version where, if you eat just ONE wing in one minute (for $1.99), they will take your picture and mount it on the wall (for all to see who was so stupid).
Lamont