Monday, January 29, 2007

EnDurians...



These photos pretty much depict the general sentiment/sensation of the group as they tried their first taste of durian in the streets of Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur.



Some call the fruit fragrant, some call it fetid, some call it putrid.



Immediately after her first taste of durian, Melissa smoked 2 ciggies just to get rid of the taste. Theresa is still recovering, I think. Gary has been silenced. Wordless. No vocabulary adequately describes the experience. Perhaps that is why his journal is missing -- it couldn't quite live up to the responsibility of writing about the durian experience. Allan didn't like it, but the durian was able to woo him back for a second tasting (along w/ Jeffrey, MaiAnh and HoangAnh sitting in the dining room of Dong Phuong Hotel, Saigon) in which he ate probably 1/4 of the delicious fruit.



The whole event was a blur, and most have blocked the experience out of their minds. (Side note: Melissa and Abby both purchased durian candy to bring back to their loved ones in the U.S. Oh, the troubles we endure for those we love!) For the record, Jeffrey, Mai-Anh and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE durian.



On our first night in Kuala Lumpur, Jeffrey, Mai-Anh and I went to Chinatown by ourselves looking for durian. We got off the train, walked to Chinatown (Jeffrey led the way since it's his neck of the woods), and headed straight for the fruit stalls selling durian. We were still about a block away when I caught a whiff of the wonderful smell of durian. Jeffrey led us directly to a stall, picked out a Malaysian durian the size of a small melon (only 8 ringits per kilo) and the stall owner split it open right there where we stood. The wife pulled out four plastic chairs, and we dropped down onto three, waiting for the "presentation." When they placed it in front of us, my mouth started watering, just thinking about the sweet taste of the flesh melting in my mouth. We dug into it with our fingers, each grabbing a section of yellow durian meat, and in two minutes it was gone. Never mind the fact that we were watched by practically everyone on that side of the street. Never mind the fact that even our clothes smelled like durian. It was delicious!

The next evening, we took everyone to Chinatown to try durian, and that's where all the photos came from. It wasn't until our arrival in Saigon that we were able to enjooy durian again. That time, Allan joined the three of us in the dining room of Dong Phuong Hotel. It was about midnight, and we finished only 2/3 of the durian. The rest we bequethed to the hotel bellmen who were guarding the hotel that night. (Allan said that when he returned to his room, before he could say a word, Gary could tell immediately that he had consumed durian.) You might think we're the only crazy folks who eat durian. But, it's the king of fruits, you know.

In Singapore, there is even a building called the Durian.


Our last tasting of durian on this trip was the last night we were in Saigon. It was almost 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, and we had to check-out at 3:00 a.m. to go to the airport. But, we had to have one last night. I hopped on a motorcycle with a friend and she buzzed me through the busy night traffic and we found a stall that sold durian. 40,000 VND per kilo ($2.50 per kilo). The one we chose was almost 3 kilos, totaling 110,000 VND. They split the durian for us right on the spot and packaged it "to go". When I brought it back to the hotel, the entire lobby smelled of durian. It wasn't difficult to locate. We loved it so much. We were tired and sleepy but the durian was delicious. We didn't get to bed until early in the a.m., but it was absolutely worth it.

Now, after returning home, I can only find whole, frozen durians. Nothing compared to the real fruit -- fresh and fragrant. But, it'll have to do. It'll have to do. For now.

Posted by hat at 1:42 AM

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Discussion Calendar

  • Jan06 Depart SFO
  • Jan07 JK & MT
  • Jan08 Kelly: LGBT/Prog. mvmts
  • Jan09 Emily: Globalization/sex trafficking
  • Jan10 Susie: Islamic symbols/rituals
  • Jan11 Gary: Interreligious dialogue
  • Jan12 Abby: Neocolonialism
  • Jan13 Hoang-Anh: Tourism
  • Jan14 (Worship) Alan: Missionary mvmts
  • Jan15 JK & MT
  • Jan16 Candis: Youth/leadership/resistance & hope
  • Jan17 Amy & Melissa: Amerasian/children
  • Jan18 Pat: Indigenous symbols/rituals
  • Jan19 Theresa: Theologies of hope
  • Jan20 JK, MT, Ginny
  • Jan21 Return to SFO

Course Description

While Vietnam and Malaysia are both post-colonial Southeast Asian nations with a long history of colonial domination, they have very distinctive socio-cultural, political, and religious realities. This travel seminar seeks to introduce participants to the religious landscapes in these two distinctive contexts. Attention will also be given to the study of theology in Malaysia and Vietnam. There will also be short visits to theological institutions & sight-seeing opportunities in Hong Kong and Singapore. The seminar counts as a contextual learning course for PSR M.Div. students by providing experiences for cross-cultural and multi-relgious encounters and exchanges, as well as immersion in the cultures and everyday life of peoples and local communities in the regions which we will be visiting.

In this seminar, participants will:

  • 1. Visit a number of theological and religious institutions located in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam—including Protestant and Catholic seminaries, Buddhist temples and pagodas, Muslim mosques, Hindu temples;
  • 2. Visit vestiges and sites of cultural and political significance—for example, the Chi Lin Nunnery and Fish Gate in Hong Kong; the Haw Par Villa, Lit-tle India, and Kampong Glam in Singapore; A Famosa, Batu Caves, and Dataran Merdeka in Malaysia; the Cu Chi tunnels, Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, Thap Ba Ponagar, Dam Market, Thap Cham Phan Rang of Vietnam;
  • 3. Engage in dialogue with seminary faculty & students, religious leaders, and community activists to gain insights on the cultural and religious landscapes of Malaysia and Vietnam for the understanding of the negotia-tions between religion and state under the ideologies of “rukunegara” (Malaysia’s Principles of Nationhood) and “doi moi” (Vietnam’s economic reform policy);
  • 4. Read selected articles, research web resources, and do additional research necessary to gain knowledge on a particular issue of their choice related to any of the themes presented in the course description;
  • 5. Learn what it takes to cultivate a disposition of receptivity and reflexivity for engaging cultural and religious “otherness”; and the importance of re-flecting on one’s social location for critical social analysis and theological construction that takes seriously context and partnerships with communi-ties;
  • 6. Engage in self-critical reflection, connecting the personal to social, one’s own social location with the cultural-religious contexts of others; and ar-ticulate how this immersion contributes to one’s formation as a religious leader in one’s future context(s).