Kindy Eats

Sometimes I wonder at the differences between the Taiwanese children and American children. Pickiness when it comes to food seems to be a major theme to child-rearing in the States, and yet I have hardly encountered it here. There is one girl in my class who will only accept the smallest pieces of vegetables and meat, and then take ages to finish. She is clearly the exception to the rule. Most other children will accept whatever is given them (no matter the cultural origin--headcheese being a noted exception), still, of course, taking ages to finish.

This difference struck me today at lunch. The children were served rice with pork and mushrooms (mushrooms being a favorite of the Taiwanese kids, and distinctly *not* a favorite of American children), stewed greens of some ilk (dark green and floating in a salty sauce, hardly appealing to American kids), "simmered squid" (which I'm pretty sure would set some kids to crying, but was wonderfully prepared, not too chewy), and finally, seaweed soup. Some of the Western English teachers wouldn't even touch the food. I can hardly imagine what would happen if it showed up in a lunchroom in the mid-west. Rioting, probably. It was however a delicious meal, even if western kids would find it disgusting. After all, childhood palates are rarely developped beyond the sophistication of the PB & J...and I like the idea of grossing kids out. :)