Luckily for me my mom insisted we eat everything that was put on our plates. l ate everything except liver and salmon. Because l did eat everything else l was given a pass on those two items . So when l went abroad to school new foods were an adventure and they have remained so.
When I started my journeys in 2014 l was open to anything but there would be some limits. I remember something in Belize that looked like a black pudding but smelled horrible. Bravely I took one mouthful and it took all my mental strength to not spit it out. No more of that!
When l got to Ecuador I found that one of their delicacies was guinea pig. The thought of eating guinea pigs did not sit well with me. A side trip took me to Lima where at a food festival l decided to have a go. Surely, the chef had messed up on the one that l got because it tasted so bad l cannot believe anyone would willingly eat what l had tasted.
On another occasion l was hanging out in the streets one night in Salvador, Brazil and decided to buy dinner from one of the ladies selling food from her 5 gallon drum. The plate was taken up and l started to eat until at the same time l bit into an awful tasting something which unfortunately smelt as bad as it tasted. Could not eat another bite. For the rest of my time in Salvador when I was eating in the street at night l did a descreet smell test first!