Things we shouldn't tell people from other countries

Never try to explain that in the U.S., removing your shoes when entering a house is generally optional. (At least, if you're talking to someone from a culture where this is not the case.) It's nearly impossible to convince people that this isn't filthy and disgusting. Actually, I guess it is pretty dirty. Why do we do that?

It's also been pretty hard to explain to my host mom that pork products are delicious and nutritious. The face she makes reminds me of the face some Americans made when I said that they eat horses in Iceland.

Apropos of that, I had "veal ham" in Istanbul. Not because I was seeking it out - it just happened to be on a sandwich that sounded otherwise delicious. It tasted hammy, I guess. I also had a whole fish there. Those of you who know my feelings about fish will find this hard to believe. To clarify, I was served a whole fish, but even after getting someone else to remove the things that made it look gross and fish-like from my plate (to my credit, I at least tried! I did ok until I had to pull out the spine, GROSS), I probably only ate a quarter of it. Sorry, I have trouble finding things that are booby-trapped with hundreds of tiny bones appealing to put in my mouth.

Oh, yeah! I went to Istanbul. It was an awesome trip and it's my new favorite city (please, nobody tell St. Petersburg!). I will write more about it shortly!