Durian may be the Dr. Jekyll/ Mr. Hyde of fruits as it provoke polar opposite reactions from people (total delight or disgust). For me, not a fan. At all. 

Here’s what they had to say about it:

Meilin (11)

“With my nose plugged, it was fine though barely tolerable. If it was any worse I don’t think I would dare to try the actual fruit.”

Erik (9)

“It wasn’t terrible, but I didn’t really like it. I can see how some people don’t like it.”
Charlie (7)

“It was really good! I loved it!”
Millie (5)

“My nose was running all the way down my lip because it was so YUMMY. And then it went up the other side.” (Huh?)
Cosie (2)

“Mine!!! <scream> MINE!!!” (Whenever anyone else tried eat it.)
Tiffany

“It mostly just tasted like rotten leftovers, blended into ice cream. This was offensive. To make things worse, the taste lingered for hours.”

When we summon the strength to try it in raw fruit form, we’ll see if anyone shifts their opinion. I will be massively proud if any of my kids can palate this rubbish. 

I may even give it another try—it has been 17 years since my first (and only) taste in its most naturally putrid form.

More durian resources:

Well it’s day two (or three—jet lag is throwing my sense of time off) and we’re going strong here in Penang, Malaysia. If by strong you mean hungry, exhausted, and over-heated. Just kidding, sort of. But really, I’m incredibly grateful to finally be here, mostly in two regards: 1. The last few days of preparations and 24 hours on airplanes with five kiddos was less than ideal and a wee bit stressful, 2. I’ve been wishing and wanting to live in southeast Asia since 2003. And when I say wishing and wanting, I mean rather obsessively.

Before we met, he’d served as a missionary in Cambodia for two years and I returned from Uganda (Africa was my first true love in the world) inexplicably enamored with and determined to visit southeast Asia, so it seemed obvious that we’d find a way to move there sooner rather than later.

The whole having five kids thing inevitably delayed the realization of this dream, but not entirely. I was always searching for a job, volunteer opportunity, or really any endeavor that would move us overseas. I think my zealous determination wore on Kyle at times, since our standard suburban American lives were, by all outward measures, quite pleasant. It was never about avoiding an American lifestyle, though. It was always just this indefinable ache within me—a feeling I could never shake that I belonged elsewhere. Where? Not quite sure. But adventure and new horizons defined that place, and that visceral need in my heart.

There were countless times when I questioned my motives—was I suffering from escapism/ a “grass is greener” complex? My only experience living abroad with kids (when M and E were 2 and 0 we lived a year in Tianjin, China) was kind of awful and difficult in every way. So was I just romanticizing a life abroad, but when it came down to it, I wouldn’t actually be happier there? And what about my structure and stability-craving kids? How could I drag them around the world nilly-willy and expect they’d avoid complex emotional scars? Was this wanderlust that called to me simply a character defect I needed to suppress and overcome?

Well folks, these questions remain unanswered. Like many of life’s most poignant questions, only trial and experience will reveal their answers. I knew I would always regret never trying to answer them, though. So this time in Malaysia is entirely and unequivocally a grand experiment. There is much I hope to discover and understand better during our time here. I have high hopes indeed. And yet in many ways, Kyle and I are scared witless. 

We can’t blame a job, schooling, health problems, or any other external motivation for uprooting our family and relocating across the world. This is all on us, and we’re going to have to be incredibly brave and determined to forge a living here with no precedent or built in network for support. All we have to recommend us is what’s within us. Dear Lord, I hope that is enough.

Still, like I said, I’m feeling very hopeful and optimistic. I’m sure darker days are ahead, but for now, I can only be grateful that 14 years after the seed was planted in my mind, WE ARE HERE. Of course, when that seed was planted, I thought it would be just independent me travelling and living in southeast Asia alone. The hubs and five kidlets are a complete bonus.

Well here we are in Malaysia! This move was a long time in coming, and though frustration and stress have saturated our first days here, I am far from discouraged. This is the life I’ve been wanting for ages, and I’m finally getting to try it out! The rest of the family (particularly the older kids) haven’t been dreaming of being uprooted from home, family, friends, and all things familiar and being relocated across the world in a land devoid of toilet paper, ice cream makers, and brisk fall weather. So of course they’re highly subject to culture shock and the accompanying depressive episodes. And jet lag, to the extreme. No matter, we’ll all be sorted out soon enough, especially once we’re settled in a rental property and can establish routine and build a social network.

I must confess that the emotional complexities of a large-scale change such as this move are greatly magnified with children. They’re all acting a bit skiddywompus these days, but I suppose that’s what regular people do when their happy lives have been disrupted and the future is fraught with uncertainty. My personal motto is “Go everywhere, do everything, eat everyfood,” and this adventurous spirit influences the family, but certainly doesn’t define the rest of them as it does me and Kyle.

I appreciate their willingness to give this a shot, though. I know I’d always regret never trying. Sacrifices from every family member are inevitable, but if they get a happy and fulfilled mom out of the deal, that might be worth it to them!