Hamburger Smell

Now that Alex has recovered and is back to his old self, we is like peas and carrots again! During a walk the other day, we noticed a pleasant and therefore scary odor. The latter because "pleasant" and "odor" don't go together. here.

"Wait, do you smell that?"
"Hmm ... what is that?"
"It smells like ... hamburger?"
"Hamburger! Mmmmm!"
Silence.
"Ewww!" In unison. Cuz you know it ain't hamburger!!

In food related news, we now discovered POPCORN. Hard to believe it was right under our noses. Back home, sometimes there's a disconnect between food and its origins, even when it's ridiculously obvious. For example, I had at one point thought sushi was a special, magical kind of fish -- certainly not the kind you could cook. I remember placing a piece of sushi in the broiler as an experiement, and being dumbfounded that it cooked, and then tasted like plain old broiled fish.

Along the same lines, popcorn is something you make in the microwave only from packets labelled "popcorn." There must be something mysterious and complex about it, given how expensive it can be -- it can't just be dried kernels of corn, right? But after I eyed a simple bag of corn kernels at the market, a dim light bulb turned on. I brought the five cent packet home, heated it in a large covered pot, and soon heard the undeniable pops of popcorn. Kinda like discovering fire.

Shock and Awe -- it's actually popcorn!! A display of each step of our rudimentary popcorn production.

In totally unrelated news, two weeks ago, we celebrated international ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution) Week! Here's a brief shout out to ORS, an amazingly simple and cheap treatment that has saved millions of lives from diarrheal disease -- Yo work that booty ORS baby you lookin' fine!! Sashay! Sashay! (That's the shout-out).

Hospital staff put on a skit for local mothers and expectant mothers to spread the word on ORS. The woman in the red sari, seated, is holding a fake baby. The woman on the right, in plaid shirt plays her husband -- she drew a mustache onto her face with a marker. You can't play a man without a mustache!

The captivated audience.