After concert parties and receptions are a time to relax and get to know fellow organists and music-lovers--a time to sample the culture--a time to suspend language barriers--a time to laugh and make lasting memories--and a time to share unique and unimaginable foods.
I recall my first taste of caviar in an Austrian town hall; raw eggs, fish and even octopus (no, it did not stick to my tongue but it sure was hard to swallow) in Tokyo; zwiebel mit speck (intense onion and barely cooked bacon) in a Hungarian village; dried fish blood curry (a Sri Lankan specialty); tea, strong tea and even stronger tea (a given in Zimbabwe--or was that Sri Lanka or England or Australia or New Zealand).
I remember my first and probably the best chai ever at a resort in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, just after the boa constrictor and cobra show (were those snakes really crawling around under the chairs?); cream, cream, and more cream (even the ice cream was covered in cream) in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe; Kobe beef (the specialty of a French restaurant) in Tokyo where choosing which fork to use and how to use it was a challenge for our Japanese hosts.
Music, friends, food--life!
