New drugs

A lot of my habits have changed since we moved to Taiwan, above all the kinds of things I eat and drink. For example:

 

  • I’ve cut out the booze — both wine and beer. There is no doubt that I drank too much in London — me and Diane usually shared a bottle of red wine per night (OK, I needed it!).
  • I don’t drink coffee either, only tea — cups and cups of green tea throughout the day. I’ve bought all the tea making paraphernalia and I love the craft that goes into the brewing of a good pot.
  • I eat far less bread, instead mainly rice crackers with seaweed or crumbly sugar.
  • I eat large amounts of dried fruit — mango and guava mainly, but also strange, sweet, plums and very bitter little raisins.
  • no milk, of course not, only soy milk. Bless that bean! Yes, and lots of fruit juices.  Water melon juice sounds like a joke, but it’s heavenly.

 

It’s not clear why my habits have changed like this. It’s not really “health reasons,” more a process of gradual cultural osmosis. It’s actually a complete mystery why Westerners insist on hitting their systems so hard — really kick themselves — with coffee and alcohol (not to mention cigarettes). Why are we treating ourselves so badly?

They say you are what you eat. What am I in the process of becoming? Oh no, I think I’m turning Taiwanese.