Chocolate, Wine and All That's Fine!

Hello Everyone,

One of the interesting aspects of being in South Africa with my family again is that it is a familiar but not completely regular event in our lives. As such, it has been a chance for us and our friends and family to measure how we’ve changed. Some people noticed, for instance, that my dad no longer wears his glasses after his cataract surgery, while my mom sported hers briefly after a contact-losing incident in Grahamstown. My brother was by far the biggest shock to everyone we met and once people located his torso and head poking through the hole in the ozone layer, they usually let forth some kind of exclamation like, “My heavens!” or “What happened to you?” I’ve been wondering that for years.

As someone whose upward growth terminated in the last millennium, I am perhaps more acutely aware of less physical changes. I’m beginning to conclude that part of growing up is learning to like things you once detested with every fiber of your being. I don’t know if age chisels away our once-adamant standards or if it simply provides the wisdom to increase our tolerance in certain areas, but humans universally reserve the right to change their opinions as they grow older.

This time in South Africa, I’ve been noticing that I have actually acquired many tastes which I once regarded as being reserved for idiotic adults. When I was younger, for example, I couldn’t imagine who in their right mind would ever invent dark chocolate. Nor could I imagine that once it was invented, someone might actually choose it over milk chocolate. Wine also fell into this category. So you take grape juice, and you let it rot a bit so it gets bitter, and then you drink it? No wonder Peter Pan never wanted to grow up.

Another thing I associated with being old was liking birds and plants. When we went to zoos or game reserves when I was younger, I couldn’t understand why the grownups spent so much time getting excited about birds. Sure, they were sometimes colorful and made interesting noises, but next to

an elephant,

or a rhino,

or a giraffe,

-- I mean, really! -- no comparison! And plants were worse -- they don’t even move! My grandmother loved both and I suspect I transferred her passion to more adults than was fair, but in my eight-year-old mind, I’d know I was old when I started wearing floral print blouses and having long chats with sparrows in the backyard.

I assumed that learning to like dark chocolate and wine and other disgusting things were thresholds I would have to cross as I forged into adulthood. I pictured one of those evolution of man cartoons where the monkey on all fours is crawling along, eating sensible things like graham crackers and root beer (when his mommy would let him); the more adept and upright monkey next to him is able to do his homework on his own; the one next to that one has figured out how to make a friend or two in middle school; the next has gotten his driver’s license; the next has graduated from high school; the almost-humanoid is in college and finally (ta-da!), the recognizable adult human is walking erectly, trimming hedges while sipping wine, eating dark chocolate and using words like “mortgage,” “diesel engine,” and “APR financing.”

However, as I mentioned, this trip has been showing me that I’m further along in the Darwinian diagram than I thought. We’ve been going to wine estates and I certainly appreciate the reputation South African wine has. Many of you know how essential chocolate is in a Jackson family trip, and several of the chocolates we’ve gotten have been of the dark variety. Some of my favorite photos from this trip have been of plants and birds.

Some kind of wizened-looking ibis.

Aloe leaves.

A wildebeest behind some shrubs.


A Milky Giant Eagle Owl we saw at a bird sanctuary.


Scoping out the waterhole.


A guinea fowl: "Oh no, you di-ent!"

A kingfisher in flight.

Some grass in the sunset.

A spoonbill landing at a waterhole.
I think spoonbills get the prize for the strangest looking birds we saw this trip.

Some birds coming in to land at the waterhole.

By my childhood definition, I am essentially a full-fledged adult now. I not only tolerate some things I used to hate -- I really enjoy them! And to my surprise, I don’t feel a huge loss of innocence; the chocolate may be dark, but adulthood doesn’t have to be.

Of course, there is not usually any rhyme or reason to what starts to tempt us and what continues to repulse us. When I was younger, I hated rice, any cooked vegetables and fish (God must have known that I would have withered away if he’d given me to Asian parents). About four years ago, I learned to like rice. I was sitting at an Iranian restaurant in Seattle with my friends and the only vegetarian option on the menu was some kind of rice dish. I sighed internally and knew I’d just have to grin and bear it. To my utmost surprise, I found that I not only could stomach the rice -- I was actually enjoying it quite a lot. Rice has now become one of my favorite foods and a staple in my diet. Cooked veggies likewise have become much more appetizing to me, though I still generally prefer them raw or frozen. Fish, on the other hand, has fallen even further in my taste buds’ estimation, perhaps because I now don’t eat any meat.

I can’t explain how I convinced myself that rice was delicious or how I went from cringing at a real wine Eucharist offered in some churches to cringing at the grape juice offered at others (I suppose it’s not entirely inappropriate to squirm during Communion). Some parts of growing up just come naturally like learning to walk or losing your teeth, and I guess liking dark chocolate must be one of them. Other parts need to be drilled repeatedly into your head and are much more difficult to get: time management, loving your neighbor as yourself, keeping your room tidy, whistling.

My family and I are safe at home in Spokane now after a freakishly long time in transit. I’m looking forward to seeing or talking with many of you soon, after I sleep some more, and I’m grateful to have seen others of you so recently!

Have a good week,
Sarah/Mouse