Saturday, August 10, 2013

Thankful For A New Experience, 10 Different Ways

The first weekend in August finds over 60,000 Vietnamese Catholics descending upon the little town (pop. 15,000) of Carthage, Missouri, about fifteen miles east of where I live. They come for a festival and pilgrimage called Marian Days, held on the grounds of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix, its U.S. Headquarters, which also includes a monastery. Attendees come from every state in United States, plus Canada, and set up tents on the grounds of the CMC, in campgrounds, and even in yards of area homes. Concession stands serving traditional Vietnamese food are set up, and anyone is welcome to attend.



Ordinarily, the temperatures are in the upper 90s for us this time of year, but some weird weather system has been sending us rain, rain and more rain, along with slightly cooler temperatures (although yesterday, with the temperature 75 degrees and the humidity 91%, it was hard to feel a whole heckuvalot more comfortable). Because it's always so stinkin' hot, and I'm not much one for crowds in perfect weather conditions, AND because we didn't know that much about Marian Days, we have never ventured over to visit the festival.  But this year, the 35th anniversary of Marian Days, my husband and I decided to go check it out and give the food a try.



This is really stepping outside of my picky eater box.

AND IT WAS FUN! So, for this week's 10 Things of Thankful, I present why I'm thankful I finally attended my first Marian Days festival:

1. I'm thankful my husband took a few days off work this week, which gave us the perfect excuse to go during the day and look around.

2. I'm thankful there are people who are okay with camping, but that I'm not one of them.


3. I'm thankful for English translations.





This doesn't look too bad. I might have
eaten it, if I didn't know it was goat.


4. I'm thankful to get to see such joy on the faces of the sisters working in the souvenir booths.


5. I'm thankful that pork balls, contrary to what they may sound like, were tasty, although they could have used a little more seasoning.

Skewered Pork Balls or Nem Nuong




6. I'm thankful the Knights of Columbus had a food stand with fried crap for the white folks who visit the festival and aren't brave enough to try something new and different, UNLIKE ME.



7. I'm thankful I didn't eat any of this, which look way too much like a jar of eyeballs immersed in tomato sauce.


8. I'm thankful for sensible rules.



9. I'm thankful for nuns who play with boxing nun puppets.


10. I'm thankful for pho, which is yummydelicious as long as you don't over-analyze it.



Keeping an eye out for beaks and claws
in my bowl of pho ga.

(Our local paper interviewed a man whose wife had eaten a bowl of soup at last year's festival that had an entire pig's ear in it. According to this guy, it would have been nice if they had shaved it first....)

And now a few more pictures from our visit (which I have been forced asked nicely to add included a second day visit with our daughter along).

Marketplace offerings.



More marketplace offerings.


Jackfruit, which is the size of a smallish watermelon,
and, if you can get past the pungent odor, is
quite delicious.


Native fruits for sale.


44 comments:

  1. BWAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAA *breathes* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH

    I completely love, love, LOVE the photos of you trying your absolute best to Try New Foods. Well done for that :D <3

    I'm so glad you posted this - it looks like a great festival with lots of fun things going on. It looks like it was a joyful (subtitled) experience, which is great.

    And YAY! for boxing nuns, I guess.

    And for people who go camping, whoever and wherever these mad people might be :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. 'Boxing Nuns!' damn! your posts has 'Boxing Nuns' (the closest the Doctrine ever came to that was a (dated) reference to 'Sister Mary Elephant'

      lol

      Delete
    2. Is there anything much funnier than a nun playing with a boxing nun?

      Those campers have my utmost respect, but you wouldn't catch ME doing it. They were very inventive, hanging additional tarps over the campsites by suspending them from trees with rope. Which had to have been done by climbing the trees.

      Delete
    3. Ergh I do NOT like camping. And not just because last time I went I ended up falling in the creek blind drunk at 1am.

      Talking of nuns...somehow managed to have a convo with Husby earlier, which started "So I was outside Sainsbury's when I saw five African nuns in a Renault Clio..." and didn't get any further because we were laughing so hard at the imagery.

      Delete
    4. don't get me started on nuns! (I love nuns and have nothing but respective for what is clearly a very special calling)...however I did 3 to 6 with the Sisters of Mercy ... back in the day.
      lol I will stop with the nuns now

      Delete
    5. Lizzi - I'm picturing a clown car with nuns climbing out of it....

      Clark - my husband did 10 with Sisters of Mercy. Totally get it.

      Delete
    6. Pretty much the image I had in my mind, but no, Husby saw this FOR REAL!

      Delete
  2. Item 8: The No Violence rule is number 4?

    actually I liked the entire 10 Rules both in items and in ordering (of said items).


    tell me you're not making that up, "Co-Redemptrix' out of respect for religions everywhere, I will spare your Readers the visuals my own mind is throwing at me.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. "Co-Redemptrix: a chiefly Roman Catholic (though controversial and not officially sanctioned by the Church) title of Mary, the mother of Jesus and refers to her role in the redemption process." Wikipedia

      #3 No Littering. And let me tell you, there wasn't a scrap of trash ANYWHERE.

      #7 One food tent had Celine Dion playing in the background. One had a Vietnamese cover band playing Eagles where they were singing the verses in English and the chorus in Vietnamese.

      You can't make ANY of this stuff up, Clark.

      Delete
  3. Goat breast?? They eat udders?? I would obviously starve to death in Vietnam.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Okay, I'm glad you said that, because that's the first thing I thought when I read "goat breast."

      It may explain why they are all so slim.

      Delete
  4. The more I look at other people's blogs, the more I wonder if I'm missing out here in West Wales :)

    We have a steam-traction fair once a year in the field nearby (which happened to be today, but the best they serve here is the occasional, rather stale, Welsh Cake, soggy burgers, or Laverbread, made from seaweed (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/laverbread.

    I think I'd rather like to try the Pho Ga, beaks and claws notwithstanding :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Katy, come on over and visit! I will set you up with some festival food!

      I looked at laverbread on Google images. I think I'll take my chances with the beaks, claws, and goat udders....

      Delete
    2. And steam-traction fair? Does Lizzi know about this?!

      Delete
    3. I do, I do, and it sounds BEAUTIFUL - it's Katy's list for today and it sounds GORGEOUS :D

      Delete
  5. That's really cool. We were in pittsburgh and drove by a Greek festival, but didn't have time to stop. How many times in life will you be offered rabbit? Lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welllll, I gotta say, there are plenty of people around here who raise rabbits and eat them. (I live in the Ozarks!)

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  6. OMG! I own a boxing nun! SHe comes in a package that says she's "FIGHTING FOR WHAT'S RIGHT!"...of course I also have an old metal Godzilla that walks and sparks from the mouth...no secret there!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. She was so darling, playing with the boxing nun!

      I remember seeing one of those Godzillas at some time in my life. Cool!

      Delete
  7. What joy on the faces of the nun...Goat breast and pork balls sound wonderful....I think we call jackfruit breadfruit here and it great fried....totally delish....you're so chicken for not trying the tomato soaked eyeballs...

    Lizzi and I won't take you on our world tour caz you'd starve to death

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was brave to try the pho with chicken parts unknown in it.

      You and Lizzi can send me postcards.

      Delete
  8. OK...this was awesome.

    #3 - Yes, thank God for that.
    #5 - Bwaahahahahaaaa!
    #6 - Again, yes.
    #9 - Awesome.

    Sounds like a great time...minus the camping thing. Camp Marriott for me, please.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can you imagine being served a steaming plate of pork innards?

      Delete
  9. I am totally like you and would need to make sure I didn't overanalyze my food! So jealous- looks like a cool experience!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. It was so cool! And I decided the best way to keep from grossing myself out with weird, unidentifiable pieces of chicken was to push it to the side and eat the noodles, vegetables, and broth. I think it was a wise move.

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  10. I want to go to there! That looks fantastic and I'm so glad the weather worked out for you to try it. And what?!? Went back a second day?!?

    Jackfruit...I shall look for that for our "Fruit of the Week"...I am certain we've never tried it so thanks for the tip.

    Translations are good...usually. But think of what you might have tried had you not known what it was. You might have found a new favorite food...although I am like you: I would want to know what I was eating.

    LOVE the nun with the boxing nun puppet...high point right there. :)

    Lovely list...thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. First weekend in August 2014 - come on down and we'll go!

      I did not caption my photo of the jackfruit well and probably should go in and edit it. I should have ended it with "or so I'm told," because I didn't actually eat it, nor did I smell it.

      Delete
    2. (you can thank your lucky stars it wasn't a durian - they smell like putrescent corpses, allegedly)

      Delete
  11. I would be thankful the translations too. I would be terrified of a lot of those offerings. So funny, but it sounds like a great time for cultural education.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Yeah, we preferred eating at the places that had pictures on the menu.

      Delete
  12. Look at you branching out.. mixing it up with the Vietnamese folk — eating their foodstuffs!

    I love Pho, but I never knew I had to worry about miscellaneous animal parts >.> May have to think twice about trying it again lol Or at least make sure the pieces are shaved!

    Those were actual balls I hope you know >.< NOM NOM NOM

    I truly think it would be a much more exciting time if the menus weren't translated! Imagine how awesome that would be... like Russian Roulette.

    I feel an odd kinship with Jackfruit. That's literally my pick up line for the ladies. "If you can get past the pungent smell, I'm actually quite delicious!"

    Glad you had such a fun time and had a great list to offer with your experiences at the event!

    Jak at The Cryton Chronicles & Dreams in the Shade of Ink

    ReplyDelete
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    1. There were unidentifiable pieces of meat in my soup. You think Imma gonna eat that? I eat most of my meals on DIVIDED PLATES so nothing touches.

      I believe the soup containing the pig's ear was not pho. But, just to be safe, I ordered chicken instead of pork.

      If those were really balls, then they came from a coupla very underendowed pigs. (They were meatballs, although I hate to burst your bubble.)

      I would have starved rather than order something in our Russian Roulette fashion.

      I'm not even going to say a word about your kinship to jackfruit. Not. Even.

      Delete
  13. So with you on camping and wow to some of that food. Definitely more adventurous there then me. Not as picky of an eater as I once was, but still not so sure about a few of those that you posted!! Seriously looked like so much fun and thank you for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I am ridiculously picky, so this was really outside my comfort zone!

      Delete
  14. And I am thankful that you've shared the experience with us, Dyanne!

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  15. My husband & oldest son would LOVE this kind of 'food adventure', but I'm like you...."What's IN it?"...Kudos for being brave & trying new things. I'm not so sure I would! ha!
    ...and those list of rules crack me up!

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    1. I've about wrenched my arm out of the socket, patting myself on the back so much for trying new foods.

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  16. I love Vietnamese food, although I haven't tried everything you have pictured. Looks like you had a great time!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I can assure you I didn't try everything pictured, either!

      Delete
  17. The festival looks amazing. While I love Pho, I would not have eaten any of that other stuff. No way. Ew *shudder* ew.
    A friend of mine was in Vietnam - some of the dishes are even more scary there. She brought a menu home. I won't gross you out by telling you what was on it but one thing was deer embryo. For real. Wait. I grossed you out, huh. Sorry!! (and sorry I'm just not popping over to comment - I am SO behind!!!)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Deer embryo? Bleh! I really would starve if I went there to visit. But just when you think you are safe with a noodle soup, someone throws an unshaved pig's ear in there, and it's all over.

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  18. I'm very impressed that you risked eating an un-shaved pig's ear to have a new experience. I wouldn't have done that, but then I do have an excuse: I've been vegetarian for over 30 years. However, I'd definitely test out all the native fruit!

    Looks like you had a fun time.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I think it was enough of a risk to eat chicken made by a culture that doesn't waste. Which is why I surveyed each bite before partaking.

      Delete