It had to happen sometime...

I can't believe I'm saying this... I actually ate something I really didn't like here in Peru.

Today I cooked ceviche with my dad. It was really fun. I picked out the fish in the market and everything. I'm not sure what you call the fish... but it's a certain type that only has one eye on one side of it's body:-/

The market was incredible. A lot of the seafood was still alive on the racks where it was being sold. Like the clams shut if you touched them... the crabs snatched. It was awesome. Everything was very unsanitary but I loved it. Like they kinda just gut the fish and dump everything on the ground right in front of you. :-) And right beside the fish were the chickens that were having their throats slit and hung from their necks. It was definitely an experience. I think I almost barfed a few times. Especially when I saw them cut open a chicken down the middle and then hang it by it's feet so you could see all the insides. They literally sell every part of the animal to eat here.

Which brings me to the cow. The was a cow that they were just selling body parts of. Like you could by the feet of the cow, or the lungs, the eyes, the tail, the ears. Whatever you wanted... it was right there. It was sooooo cool. It definitely brought what I eat into reality. Like I don't think we feel so bad in America eating what we do because we never see where it is from...

Anyways, back to cooking. We made delicious ceviche... four rules. 1) Fish must be fresh. 2) It must be white fish. 3) You must use peruvian limes. 4) You are required to eat the ceviche as soon as you cook it.

You make it with lots of stuff. Limes, and like 4 different types of aji (a really hot pepper). So hot, in fact, you're not supposed to touch it. It literally burns your nose if you even smell it. Well, I made the stupid mistake of touching it... yeah. You can't even wash your hands afterwards because it will rub the aji into your pores. So you have to turn on the water, put your hands under it, and have someone squeeze lime juice onto your hands. It doesn't hurt. But it's super dangerous to have on your hands. Like if you touch your eye... you could lose it;-0 After washing my hands with the lime juice, my mom told me to lick on of my fingers.

WOW. yah I'm never touching that stuff again. It was like the hottest thing I've ever had in my mouth... AFTER WASHING.

So we finished cooking, sat down... and my dad handed me this soup he had made and a drink called "the milk of tigers." It was basically a blend of everything in the sea. Both the soup and the drink tasted like you took a scoop of sand on the beach, added lime and salt water and were drinking it.

On top of it all, mine still had bones in it from the fish. And by the time I got to the soup, I was all out of water... Close your eyes and swallow. ;-) It made me feel better that vanessa didn't finish all of hers. All I know, is that I would have never done that in the U.S. I love how raw everything is down here. I love that we have 4 fish heads that we used to make soup with sitting on our counter. I love the fact that I found something I didn't like in Peru, and yet am still totally excited for my next meal. I love peru...and I don't think anything is going to change that.

Blessings,

Lucas