Terlalu Pedas

After nearly 2 months of eating Indonesian food on a daily basis I thought I was getting used to the rice, the chicken, the vegetables, etc. After all, I have trained myself to say “tanpa telur” each time I order a meal, no matter what it is. Tanpa telur means without egg – Indonesians tend to add egg to nearly every dish; yuck! Well, now it seems that I need to also add the phrase “tidak pedas” to my food orders. For lunch today I ordered nasi goreng, a very common rice dish. When the plate arrived at my table I was looking forward to a filling (rice is very filling) meal. In less than two full bites my eyes had become as large as bug eyes and I was reaching for the nearby napkin to wipe my dripping nose. The nasi goreng was SOOOO spicy! In fact, I think it was the spiciest thing I have EVER eaten. The kind waitress saw the distress in my face and came to my table where I barely managed to say (more like whimper), “terlalu pedas.” She let out a little giggle, undoubtedly thinking I was some crazy American that couldn’t ever tolerate simple nasi goreng. Nonetheless, she took the plate away and returned a few minutes later with another dish of rice, tidak pedas! Thank goodness.

In other news….I have been reading some great novels over the past few weeks thanks to the Library O’Diana. My favorite so far is "Suite Francaise" written during WWII by Irene Nemirovsky, a Russian Jew living in France. The manuscript was not published until this century and the whole story remains untold due to her untimely death at the hands of the Nazis in 1942. It’s an absolutely gripping novel of what it means to be human; I highly recommend it. I also finished reading “Memoirs of a Geisha” which is now a film. As always, I am a few years behind on the movie scene, oh well. And just this morning I finished “The Lazarus Project,” another novel addressing the plight of humanity and the role that religion, war, and elitism unequivocally play in our human destinies. Sitting on my desk now is “The Elegance of the Hedgehog;” I will let you know how it turns out in a few days.