Food for thought
Now that D-day is around the corner, I've been quite caught up with things... Was it this hectic last time around?? I don't remember. I don't think so.
This time around, the rigmarole is starting to show signs of getting 'Lost in Translation'. I had a very exhausting 2 hour interview with the nutritionist at the hospital a couple of days ago. Somehow by the time I got through to her about what I eat and don't eat, I was quite ready to give up and tell her just give me rice and curds, and I'll get my own pickles, thank you. Being a vegetarian in this neck of the woods isn't all that easy.
First I had to explain that I don't eat meat and fish. No fish?? Yes, ma'am, no fish. So the nutritionist gets some printouts from her file and my translator asked me whether fish is 'meat'. Now, how on earth does one answer that? So the next step was to explain that I was NOT vegan, and that I could take milk, cheese and other dairy products. Yes, eggs are OK too. No, I do not mind eating tofu and eggs every day to make up for nutrition components.
Then I had to explain that chicken, beef and pork are not OK, neither are ham, bacon or sausages. By the time we got through that part, I was so tired. Then came the kicker. 'So does that mean prawn, shrimp and crabs are alright?' Sigh... we were back to block one. And the poor lady went through a list of vegetables to find out what was OK and what was not! After a point I gave up saying 'every vegetable is fine, every single one', and stuck to okaying each individual vegetable as it was read out.
This time around, the rigmarole is starting to show signs of getting 'Lost in Translation'. I had a very exhausting 2 hour interview with the nutritionist at the hospital a couple of days ago. Somehow by the time I got through to her about what I eat and don't eat, I was quite ready to give up and tell her just give me rice and curds, and I'll get my own pickles, thank you. Being a vegetarian in this neck of the woods isn't all that easy.
First I had to explain that I don't eat meat and fish. No fish?? Yes, ma'am, no fish. So the nutritionist gets some printouts from her file and my translator asked me whether fish is 'meat'. Now, how on earth does one answer that? So the next step was to explain that I was NOT vegan, and that I could take milk, cheese and other dairy products. Yes, eggs are OK too. No, I do not mind eating tofu and eggs every day to make up for nutrition components.
Then I had to explain that chicken, beef and pork are not OK, neither are ham, bacon or sausages. By the time we got through that part, I was so tired. Then came the kicker. 'So does that mean prawn, shrimp and crabs are alright?' Sigh... we were back to block one. And the poor lady went through a list of vegetables to find out what was OK and what was not! After a point I gave up saying 'every vegetable is fine, every single one', and stuck to okaying each individual vegetable as it was read out.
I don't know who was more shocked by my diet, the nutritionist or the translator. I'm sure they think I'm from another planet.
1 comment:
HA HA !! Vidya I am just getting down to reading your old posts.Funny. Love your sense of humour and writing style. Bold to have a baby in Japan - and that too "neck of woods"! I was glad I was done with all that in India where I had some 5 helpers at one point to get me through a day!
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