I had the chance to volunteer in an Eco Farm in Luang Prabang. One hour of Gym training doesn't really equate the workload in farming especially that you work under the sun. One thing that I loved as well was the fact that I tried to be a vegetarian, but ended up being a Pescatarian after three days. Why? Because they did not really have especial menu for vegetarians, as a Filipina I can understand it from the Asian's side that serving meat on the table makes guests happy because it's a gesture of taking time to provide you an "expensive" meal. Which only happens in an Asian family once in a while because meat is a sign of wealth and genuine hospitality that no matter how poor a family is, they'd try to feed you something that they can't afford to have every time.
We've been served always the same, every day! Stir fried Morning Glory, scrambled eggs, either fish or pork with soup and vegetables and a different version for Vegetarians.
On my fourth day, one of my fellow volunteers had a breakdown, crying her heart out, almost yelling, on why do they always serve the SAME FOOD EVERY SINGLE DAY, especially, she said that she's a VEGETARIAN. It was a pity and I could only tap her on the back to comfort her. Working in a farm is kind of heavy workload wherein you really have to eat a lot. And having the same meal, every day in every meal, is somewhat sad and frustrating. I could only sympathize because I know it was hard explaining about her diet requirement to the Laos kitchen staff who do not know any English at all. Another crazy part is, we're not allowed to use the kitchen to cook so we have to eat whatever is on the table. Urg.
One thing that I had in mind though, we've been served the same meal even for meat eaters, but no one complained from their side. I remember one of the volunteers I met in Chiang Mai, that she stopped right away being a vegetarian when she came to Asia. Ha ha! I was a bit doubtful about her dedication, but now I understand what she meant. It's not really difficult, but while traveling, sometimes it's better to adapt. What do you think? Does having a diet requirement just makes you picky and unable to adapt with your environment?
