Crunchy Chaufa

Here in Peru, there is a sizable Asian population (most notable in coastal regions). Throughout the years, Asian Cuisine has been incorporated into the Peruvian diet. The best illustrator of this happening are the apparent Asian districts in provincial capitals whose streets are lined with Asian Restaraunts; which are referred to as Chifa's. A very popular dish at these restaraunts is arroz chaufa, which is basically fried rice. Furthermore, it is often the cheapest dish on the menu, and always guaranteed to fill you up. It is this combination that makes this dish undeniably appealing to the Peace Corps volunteer. You can order your chaufa with chicken, beef, vegetables, eggs...or whatever else, I suppose.

Just this past week, I was burning time in the bustling city of Chiclayo waiting for the departure of my overnight bus ride back to Lima. With an hour and a half to spare, I hustled off to find a quick bite to eat with a good friend of mine. As it happens, we stumbled upon a Chifa. Now, we've both encountered more sanitary restaraunts in our days...but a plate of arroz chaufa con pollo for a mere 4 soles seemed like a deal we couldn't pass up!

Now, my good friend decided to go with a soup, as he had been feeling ill (also commonplace for Peace Corps volunteers in limbo). However, I went with the chaufa; for my stomach is made of steal...and now, possibly filled with it.

As I was consuming my rather mediocre batch of chaufa, I bit down on what seemed like a bone. Upon pulling it out of my mouth, and separating the object from the partially chewed rice, I noticed that it was no bone. Rather, it was a very thin, pointy, and flexible piece of metal...pretty dangerous to consume I would say. However, I didn't let a little mishap like that prevent me from filling my belly. If I stopped eating every time something seemed a little out-of-place or uncomfortable, I would wither away. After all, my amigo pulled a fly out of his soup moments after and didn't hessitate to perevear.

Well, upon biting down on a second piece of metal a few scoops later, I decided to throw in the towel. I wanted to fill my belly, but not with sharp metal objects...that would just be dumb. My next objective was to explain the scenerio to the waitress and cashier. I think that practice dialogues in language class should cover such material; it just seems more practical. “Excuse me, but I found these two small metal things in my chaufa. Finding the first one didn't really bother me, but then I found the second one. I don't want to eat anymore of it. No, I don't really want a new plate. Also, I don't think I should have to pay for the food”.

So, what can be learned from all this? It's hard to say really. If I reccomended that one should avoid restaraunts that offer full platters for $1.50, I would be a hipocrite. More so, waving metal detectors over your food before you eat seems impractical. I think a fair resolution would be to say that if you encounter such hazards, stop eating upon the first deadly discovery, get your money back, and go buy a shady hamburger on the street corner for a mere 3 soles. That's what I did, and so far, my body hasn't rejected the hamburger!