Food is a big part of traveling and can be a great experience or a bad one. Being a lover of food, I am always ready to discover the food dishes and types of food unique to the city or country I am visiting. Because of this, I have been able to taste and often enjoy foods that I normally would have not eaten or that would have never been available to me near my home in Atlanta. 
Some of the most exotic food I have eaten have been discovered in Asia. At a dinner one night in China, we were served seaweed and eel. The seaweed was really terrible. I must have tried to chew it for over five minutes, but it was so tough that I was never able to get it into small enough pieces to swallow it without choking. I eventually had to remove it quietly and discreetly from my mouth into my napkin. The eel, however, was actually tasty. It was difficult at first to put it in my mouth since it did look like a sea snake cut up on the platter, but I had to try it anyway. It tasted a little like chicken but sweeter. I was able to consume a few bites pleasantly and was pleased that I had tried something that did not look too appetizing. 
On a Chinese boat sailing on the Li River, I observed the crew washing the shrimp we would be served later in the dirty river. Naturally, this act disturbed me at first. I did not want to ruin my holiday by getting sick from food. The crew reassured us that the boiling fresh water in which it would be cooked would kill any bad bacteria. The meal was also supposed to include an unusual soup. However, this is one thing I refused to eat. When we first got on the boat, a fairly large tortoise jumped out of a big container of water. He fell very near my feet. He was so cute, and I immediately became emotionally attached to this cute little creature. I even named him Tom. Little did I know that thirty minutes later I would see Tom in a condition that would completely upset and sadden me. One of the Chinese crew was holding the body of Tom that was now minus his shell and was moving around the side of the boat asking the passengers in broken English, “How many for turtle soup?” Needless to say, I was not happy to see this dreadful sight. I spent the next few hours convincing my fellow tourists not to dine on the turtle soup, and most people honored my wishes. The shrimp that was served was also a unique experience. The entire shrimp had been deep fried in hot oil with the shell and the head of the shrimp still attached. I love shrimp so I had to try it no matter what. I carefully removed as much of the shell as I could and broke off the head as neatly and completely as I could. Once I did this, the shrimp was actually delicious. 
In Great Britain, a favorite dish is fish and chips that can be found in every pub restaurant. However, I did also sample some other traditional dishes there: steak and kidney pie, Yorkshire pudding, (a batter consisting of eggs, flour, and milk and usually served with roast meat), mincemeat (a mixture of spiced and finely chopped fruits such as apples and raisins, usually cooked in a pie), scones (a type of pastry biscuit filled with butter, jellies and/or jams), and a delicious dessert called a sherry trifle made from thick (or often solidified) custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice or jelly, and whipped cream. Kippers (smoked herring fish) were also very common on restaurant menus, but I never ordered these. Haggis was another dish that I did not eat. It is a Scottish dish made from chopped lamb’s heart, lungs, and liver mixed with suet, oats, onions, and seasonings, which is packed into a round sausage skin and usually boiled. 
Back in the 1980s while traveling in the Scandinavian countries, I was encouraged to try one of their specialties—reindeer meat. At first this thought was very upsetting to me. What if one of these precious animals belonged to Saint Nicholas (Santa Clause)? The thought of little children all over the world not receiving their gifts because of a missing reindeer was more than I could handle. 😉 However, I was reassured by the chef of the restaurant that his reindeer were not related, so I did dine on grilled reindeer one dinner in Norway. It tasted a little wild to me, but I did enjoy it and was happy that I had tried a new meat.
Years later during my January 2011 adventure in Kenya, I would get the unique opportunity to sample some of the animals I had seen on our game drives that day. Exotic meat, such as camel, ostrich, cape buffalo, and crocodile as well as chicken and beef were served on long wooden sticks, or big sections of meat would be brought to our table, and pieces would be sliced onto our plates with large knives. It was a gourmet carnivore meal. We ate and ate until we were full. It was a gala feast and was followed by local Kenyan dancers and performers to complete a perfect evening. 
My other travels in Africa have also been amazing culinary treats. From delicious couscous and fresh mint tea in Morocco to whole South African lobsters large enough to feed two people well to koshary—my favorite dish in Egypt, Muluakiya, pita bread, lentil soup, and wonderful Egyptian tea, I have learned to love foods that I had never eaten before. There are actually many days that I crave koshary now. My Egyptian friends actually tease me about my passion for koshary now. 
France, especially Paris, is the perfect place for the most delightful and delicious pastries in the world as far as I am concerned. I could never get enough croissants or crepes. You could buy them on almost every street corner. I always found it so difficult to resist them, and in fact, I usually didn’t. I lost count of how many I actually ate, but it was much more than I should have. We, of course, have these things here, too, but they never taste the same. There is something different about their flour or the way they make them that makes them literally melt in your mouth. As far as the main courses I ate all over France are concerned, I can honestly say that I never had a bad meal in France. The French are truly expert in their culinary skills. 
German cuisine is one of my very favorites. Goulash is a delicious beef and potato soup that will warm up any cold winter day in Germany. I love to dine on Wiener Schnitzel topped with a warm butter sauce and lemon juice with sides of sauerkraut and spaetzle (a yummy noodle dish). Of course, for lunch a bratwurst or knockwurst sausage with a hard German roll and spicy mustard and some cooked red cabbage are so great. Then for dinner I would finish the day with a huge piece of fabulous Black Forest cake or rhubarb pie. Of course, I will never forget the delicious spicy foods of Thailand, Singapore, and Mexico. They were all similar to what I could find in the USA but with just a little bit of the special touches and unique spices and sauces found and used in these countries. When in Rome, Italy, I had to dine as the Italians do with pasta and pasta and more pasta with side dishes of pizza, of course. After dinner gelato was a must. In Belgium and Switzerland, much chocolate was consumed as well as many varieties of cheeses. Greece provided great feasts consisting of Greek salad with feta cheese, octopus, gyros, moussaka, stuffed grape leaves, and baklava for dessert—just to name a few of the wonderful foods I enjoyed there. 
Many other foods have provided me with so much happiness on my travels, but these were the most memorable. As you can see, I love food. To me, food is one of the pleasures of our lives. Thus, when I travel, food definitely becomes a big part of my cultural experiences. In my opinion, it helps to define the people who live in the city or country as much as their history. Sharing a meal with the locals in their homes is also something that I have had the privilege to experience. The dialogue between people while enjoying a delicious meal is so revealing and entertaining. So do not be afraid to experiment with new foods during your travels. This is part of your cultural experience and is actually so wonderful.
Randi D. Ward
November 12, 2013
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