When I first got to Vanuatu, I thought laplap was disgusting. That's because when I first got to Vanuatu, I was stupid. One thing about life in the States: we have too much of everything. Too much TV. Too much sugar. Too much fat. Too many delicious items to eat all the time. I think the last time I was really thin, I was a toddler--because American food is so tasty, so available. You have to have a will power of iron to be able to stay away from ice cream when you're upset and it's literally available at ten places within ten minutes' walk from your house. American food culture is based on the idea that you can eat something delicious all the time, whether it's in season or not, as much as you want.
Ni-Van food culture isn't like that. Out on the island where I live, the people have a very seasonal diet. They feast during times of feasting, but when the party ends, it's over. We eat meat at Christmas time, at New Yam, Chief's Day, Shefa Day, Independence, funerals, weddings, new baby parties, and in celebration of important visitors. The rest of the year? No fresh meat. It's the same with fruits and vegetables. We eat certain things at certain times of the year, and when it's done, it's done. Mango season lasts from October to late December and then it's over. Nakatambol season lasts from May to July (three terrible, terrible months.) It even applies to staple crops. Certain months of the year we eat breadfruit. Other months we eat yams. There's a while when nothing's ready and we all eat a lot of rice. There's always enough food, but it's not always delicious or balanced. I would say that the mentality can be very much food-as-fuel at sometimes.
Back to laplap. When I first got here, I thought it was this gelatinous slime gunk. Laplap is basically a baked pudding of grated root crop mixed with coconut milk. It can have island cabbage, wild cane, fish, shell fish, or meat mixed into it, or it can be just eaten plain. It's not bad at all, especially if it's hot -- but if you're thinking about eating something with a lot of flavor, it's a let down. But it's what's for dinner.
I've been thinking a lot lately about food preferences, allergies, certain kinds of restricted diets. As a volunteer in Vanuatu, I do think you could maintain a vegetarian diet or even a kosher diet without causing too much offense, but that's about it. (The kosher diet would only be acceptable because there are so many Seventh Day Adventists in Vanuatu. A lot of Ni-Vans already know people who won't eat crab or pork, and no one really eats dairy anyway). Having strong preferences in any other way, though, is really just being insulting and not trying hard enough. The way I see it is your mama or someone else's mama slaved over a fire to make you a plate of food. Whatever she cooks, that's what she knows how to cook. She might not even really enjoy the meal herself; I've heard a lot of mamas tell me that they don't really like breadfruit, for example. But if the breadfruit's ready to eat, the breadfruit's ready to eat. You have to chow down.
Bonus points as a volunteer: nobody is going to like taro enough to get fat on it. It's impossible.
Excellent writing and very perceptive. What is the apparently awful Nakatambol? Dad
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