OMG Archy...

That scale is a HOOT!!!

When I lived in Beijing on the campus of a large university, there was a scale in the dining hall so the girls could weigh themselves before or after a meal. I don't think it had the red light, tho!

I also loved the fruit stands in China. So good and soooo cheap.

as far as the meat is concerned I think if anyone saw how their beef was aged they would be vegetarians.. take me for example Well.. I eat fish but im too prissy for 3rd world countries. I may die there.

Please, please, tell me you're not indulging in this:

Frog juice in high demand in Peru

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070504/...u_frog_juice_1

LIMA, Peru - Carmen Gonzalez plucks one of the 50 frogs from the aquarium at her bus stop restaurant, bangs it against tiles to kill it and then makes two incisions along its belly and peels off the skin as if husking corn.

She's preparing frog juice, a beverage revered by some Andean cultures for having the power to cure asthma, bronchitis, sluggishness and a low sex drive. A drink of so-called "Peruvian Viagra" sells for about 90 cents.

Gonzalez adds three ladles of hot, white bean broth, two generous spoonfuls of honey, raw aloe vera plant and several tablespoons of maca — an Andean root also believed to boost stamina and sex drive — into a household blender.

Then she drops the frog in.

Once strained, the result is a starchy, milkshake-like liquid that stings the throat.

At least 50 customers a day ask for steaming beer mugs of frog juice at Gonzalez's countertop-only restaurant in eastern Lima, and many treat the concoction as their morning — and afternoon — cup of coffee.

Rebeca Borja, a 53-year-old housewife and mother of five, originally from Lima's central highland city of Huancayo, where the beverage is common, said simply: "It gives you power."

Wow - I'm really jealous of the fresh fruits and veggies. Up here in Michigan we're just starting to get into the few months of the year when we can get really fresh produce. But the meat is a little scary...

Good luck staying healthy and safe in such a different environment

alinell............... ................ ................

Jay

Ijust had two large slices of watermelon for about $0.30. Yummie!

smisen - I go to grad school in Urbana, Illinois. The absolute lack of fruit there drove me nuts. And how expensive it was! Strawberries for $3 for a tiny bit? In California I could go to a farmer`s market and get a large flat for $5!

alinell - no. The only time I have knowingly killed frogs was when one of my pits was about 3 meters deep and frogs kept on falling there and sometimes landing on my head (sometimes I slapped at them and killed them...).

We do eat guinea pig, though. It`s tasty, but fatty.

Ewwww.....poor little guinea pigs!!! LOL

Don`t make me post pictures of fried guinea pigs! They`ll give me cravings! Sheesh!

archy - I've seen pictures of the fried guinea pigs There used to be a program called "Lonely Planet" on the Travel channel. One episode was Peru I believe. They brought her a fried guinea pig and if memory serves, they brought it standing up

I am so jealous of your fruit stand! I try to buy only locally grown fruit (at my weekly farmers market and I do sometimes stretch the definition of "local"). It's fine in the summer but in the winter, the only thing available is apples. I love a nice Fuji apple, but after several months of that being just about my only fruit, I'm really ready for something different.

And if I had to buy my meat in a form that was a lot closer to how it comes off the animal, I'd probably be eating a lot less of it too! Eww.

Archy - The fruit stand look fabulous, but as for the meat and fish markets... OMG.. how gross!! I love to eat meat, but the thought of having flies and maggots in that meat just turns my stomach.

And the thought of eating a guinea pig is not very appetizing to me. I used to raise guinea pigs, and play with them. They make this cute little oinking noise :smile: But we eat alot of things that people think are gross, like crawfish, alligator, frog legs, and rabbits... I guess guinea pigs are not much different than eating rabbits..

Nellie: Why on earth would you want to go to Antartica? No offense, but I think it may be beautiful to see, but just a little bit chilly for my liking.... But, you are going in summer, so maybe the weather may not be all that cold, but still. I think that would be the last place in the world I would want to go...

Alinell : Frog juice, that is disgusting... We eat fried frog legs here (I haven't eaten them in years) but the thought of eating a ground up frog... how gross!

I tried to eat rabbit once, but couldn't... I don't know about guinea pig... I think I would feel too sad.

nelie, I understand about Antarctica! Some folks I know just went on a cruise there, and they loved it! Definitely not the tropics, but a very remote and amazing place.

Jay

I'm more of an adventure travel type of girl rather than a sit on the beach and relax type of girl. I get anxious if my vacation is well not active enough. There will be plenty of relaxation time on the cruise itself but I look forward to taking walks/hikes on Antarctica I am also a nature lover and I specifically love penguins. One of my goals is to visit various locations where penguins live. That means cold Also when I am going, there will be tons of penguin chicks, I can't wait to see the cute furry little guys.

For years, I wanted to go to patagonia and the opportunity came up a few weeks ago to go all the way to Antarctica so DH and I jumped on it. We will also get some time in the 2 cities, one chilean, the other argentinian. I am excited

My mom doesn't understand either. Her response was "This was your idea wasn't it? You are dragging your husband around the world to strange places and he does it to please you". She didn't like that we went to China last year DH is very much looking forward to this trip and we are both excited

It's not that i don't understand exactly.. I have seen pictures of Antarctica, and it looks really lovely in summer, when the terrain is a little thawed out... It is really beautiful. But not pretty enough to make me want to go there. It's too freakin cold!! Brrrr... Just thinking about it makes me shiver...