Tip # 10

I've heard iguana soup is a delicacy here...I still need to try that before I leave...

Try peeling a banana from the bottom.

My whole life I have always peeled a banana from the top – you know, from the stem that connected it to rest of the banana bunch. Well, after moving here, I was taught by my friend that it is actually much easier to open the banana from the opposite side.

When you move here, try peeling the banana from the bottom. As it is a completely different country, with influences from many other countries, there are things here you have never even heard about, let alone tried. Don’t let what you think you know blind you from trying something different, that may be better.

For instance: cheese.

This island is part of the Netherlands. This should be self-explanatory in referring to cheese, but to be more explicit, frankly, I am astounded by how many students here choose to buy the big bags of Kraft cheddar and American cheese, when delicious Gouda is half the cost.

Also: chocolate.

Again, I never fail to see a Snickers bar or a Kit Kat dangling out of an unsuspecting student’s mouth, despite the wide array of delicious dark and hazelnut chocolates.

I think it has to do with peeling the banana.

We are so used to things one way, we won’t try anything else. And, because of this, we miss out on a lot.

You don’t often get the opportunity to live in a country with new things to try, so, try festival cookies instead of oreos. Try Fria instead of Sprite. Try cooking with plantains and cilantro. Try the bakery bread, rather than buying the fluff shipped in from the States.

But most of all, try peeling the banana from the other side. You’d be surprised how much easier and better it is.