I actually have a very funny memory of a watermelon. I
must have been about 13 years old. We had travelled all day from Beitbridge in
the South of Matabeleland, Zimbabwe to our home at that time in Bulawayo. These
were bumpy roads and we had bought a juicy, big, ripe watermelon along the way.
We had probably bought it for a good price. It was a warm day and the idea of a succulent, juicy watermelon must have been very appealing at the time. Why we
did not dig into it straight away remains an unanswered question in my mind.
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| Image by Fedegrafo Morgue File |
When I talk about we, I mean my parents, my brothers and
my little sister of 5 years old. We had travelled that day in a land cruiser owned by the NGO (non-governmental organisation) that my father worked for at
the time. This land cruiser had taken us along nice, well maintained, tarmac
roads but also along bumpy, unpredictable bush roads. Now the watermelon had
made this journey along with us too.
On arrival at home all the kids had to join in
carrying the luggage into the house, making sure the land cruiser was emptied of
all our belongings and returned into its original state. Not sure if that was
possible, but anyway. Seeing as we had been away for more than a week there was
always a pile of letters awaiting our homecoming. These were put on the kitchen
table together with our precious watermelon. Tired from the journey we left our
friend the watermelon and the mail on the table for the night.
We were rudely awakened that night. There was the sound
of a serious explosion. The stillness of the African night was abruptly interrupted by an enormous amount of noise. The noise was from an unknown
source, it was unexpected, unpredicted, and maybe unwelcome. It ended in some
kind of “splat!”
Arriving at the scene of the crime, we saw the devastation, we saw the mess. From the ceiling to the floor the ruins were
visible. The mail was ruined, sploshed, sticky and gooey. The chairs, the walls,
everything was marked by this extreme explosion: the UFO, unidentified flying
object. After wiping the sleep out of our eyes, we recognized the remains of
our juicy watermelon, glued all over the kitchen. Seeds and juice were everywhere.
That what should have brought us pure joy, life, juice, excitement, ecstasy and
refreshment, had now become another task, chore, a dirty sticky mess, a disappointment, a disgust and lots of sweat.
So that was the end of our fermented and well-travelled
watermelon.
Have you had funny experiences abroad? I would love to hear them.
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ReplyDeleteLucky it didn't bomb your car! My mom always took fresh kimchi when we were traveling around Europe on our vacations. By the end of the trip, it was nicely fermented- can't imagine what air terror it must have cost...
ReplyDeleteThis story is funny. It reminded me of another watermelon story. My sister-in-law was living in Germany at the time and had gone to the grocery store. It was a two level store with the escalator for shopping carts. (both my SIL and I are from the US, so we were not familiar with them until we moved overseas). She had bought a watermelon and put it under the cart. As she went down the escalator the watermelon rolled off the cart, down the tram, and exploded against the wall. Her toddler was with her and tells the story SO well. I now am cautious about what I put under my cart when I go shopping...
ReplyDeleteI must confess Cericole that I have never heard of kimchi, so I looked it up. It sounds interesting. Just wondering: did you eat the fermented and well travelled kimichi too?
ReplyDeleteWe were lucky that the watermelon did not bomb the car :-)!
@RaisingTCKs MaDonna What a story! That must have been an amazing sight the watermelon rolling down the tram and exploding against the wall. I can imagine that after an experience like that one will never forget watermelons. It's so good for kids to tell stories about their experiences by the way.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the story.
Watermelons always remind me our first year in Canada before we had a car. We all (my husband, myself and three small children) used to make the half-hour journey on foot into town to grocery shop. We would always fill the basket of the stroller and various bags we'd bring along for that purpose (a family of five eats almost more than you can carry!)Anyway, I remember carrying heavy watermelons all the way home - a gruelling task but worth it once we got home and cut them open!
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