GAiGO Students' Voices

wrriten by Taka

From 31 October to 11 November 2008, I visited Hong Kong and Singapore with 14 other people as a delegate of the “Kagoshima International Youth Exchange Program”. The program is organized by the Kagoshima prefectural government with the aim of learning other countries’ cultures and utilizing those cultures’ good points for the Kagoshima’s bright future.

Through the 12-day trip, I felt each country’s unique character. Of course, they have their own cultures, and especially, their food is very interesting for me. One day, in H.K., I was walking on a street with some H.K. delegates. I noticed, at a corner, a terrible stink. It was like the smell of heated garbage! Can you guess what the odor was? It was fermented Tofu! In Japan, we have a similar yet different fermented-soybeans product called “Natto”. I hate Natto’s smell, but the Tofu’s smell was not the same as Natto’s. The delegates recommended it to me, so I ate it gingerly. It became a good memory, although the terrible smell remained in my nose all the day…

Meanwhile, I found another interesting food in Singapore. Yes! It was Durian! Durian is known as “the king of the fruits”, and it is said that the gap between its reek and taste attracts many people. Before we went to Singapore, I ate “durian candy” at GAiGO by accident. When I put it into my mouth, I felt it was like a caramel at first. Soon, however, a strange flavor like sweetness blended with bitterness spread in my mouth. I told the experience to a Singaporean delegate, but he said laughing that the fresh durian was totally different from such a candy. Although I was half in doubt about what he said, he and I went to a fruit market anyway. We were around 50m long way from the market, but I caught the king’s smell. Surprisingly, durians are sold in a set of 3 for 5 S.G. $ (= ￥350). I expected the durian was a high-priced fruit, because it is called “the king of the fruits”, but actually, it was not so expensive. (According to the gentle man, durian is not a special fruit for the Singaporean.) He bought me the set, and passed me a durian. The king emitted a strong smell as if it threatened me. I was getting in the mood to be a rebel to the king. The rebel pounced on the king, and fought against his magical smell! After the severe battle, finally the rebel won the game. The taste of durian was something like an acid mango.

Different countries have different cultures. Food is one of the most lucid expressions, which show a country’s feature. For example, Hong Kong is a warm region of China, so the fermented Tofu may have been devised to preserve soybeans for as long as possible. To know a country more, I want to eat the local food and cuisine when I visit.