Shawn Luca wrote:

>But I've been doing all raw for 23 days now, and I want to keep doing it
>for the long term.  Therein lies the problem.  Latin people are very
>sociable, and food is a big part of their social life.  So if I stay with
>them, 'll have to let them know from the start that there are certain things
>hat I at, and certain things that I don't eat.  Of course, I don't want to offend
>them in any way.  But I'll be doing my body a disservice if I give in to their
>"polite offers".

There's no easy answers, of course, to the "social problems" of raw eating.
I find it easiest to simply say up front that I'm on a weird diet and will
only be eating fruit (or whatever) at a particular meal. That I simply
don't make exceptions and hope it doesn't offend anyone. That I've been
eating this way for a while and may well feel ill if I were to suddenly eat
a full cooked meal--or say, "doctor's orders" if you could say it with a
straight face :) Yeah, people may think your weird, but if you keep a funky
attitude about it it can be a boon to the social aspect. You might ask them
to help you find exotic fruits, to help you shop for raw feasts from the
best markets. Their "need to feed you" energy can be directed in that
direction. If this happens from the beginning I would bet it will settle
down into a more normal event that you are eating raw at a meal where
cooked is predominant. Anyway, so much is in one's attitude. If there is
some pride (without cockiness or prostelytising) in how you are eating,
much of the strange vibes from cooked folk may slide off you pretty easily.
Offer to share your fruit/whatever with folks even though you are eshewing
their offers.

I find the biggest drag is the occasional people who become self-conscious
about what they eat when eating with us. A sense of humor seems to be
essential, from both parties, if a raw/cooked meal with be enjoyed by all.
You can provide it from your end, and if they can't...well, it's not the
end of the world. One line I have found useful in responding to the usual
queries about my diet _during_ a meal is to say, "Let's talk about it later
after we're done eating," and if they bring it up again later fine, if not
fine too, but explaining the supposed benefits of a raw diet during a meal
where you are eating raw and everyone else cooked is asking for trouble.

>Anyway, how did you find raw nuts and
>seeds while you were traveling?

I don't remember the post you refer to, but fruits/nuts are so plentiful in
SA that you might not need much of a stash from the USA--and there is often
the problem of airport produce declarations. But to answer your question, I
found nuts nice to have in a pinch, sometimes never even eating them but
knowing they were there in case pickings got slim.

>What about washing your fruits and
>veggies (have to worry about hepatitis and cholera and all that)?

I find traveling without fear of viral bacterial infections, diahrea, etc
to be one of the major benefits of an all raw diet. (I can only speak for
myself on instincto though.) We ate raw seafood straight through a cholera
epidemic (which was blamed on seafood) and took no care to wash our
produce, and had no trouble. Our cooked friends came down with typhoid and
amebic stuff regularily in spite of soaking everything in toxic solutions.
Though you are still in your early months raw, you may find that such
discomforts affect you less than they affect normal folk. A major
exception: malaria should be taken seriously though (medications at the
first symptoms).

>Did
>you eat grains while you were there (then soaking becomes a factor)?

We don't sprout much in general, but never while traveling--who knows,
maybe you could work it out. There's always bottled water, which we drank
for its flavor more than its "purity".

Probably you aren't into it, but if you do get to Chile (Santiago's seafood
is mostly from Puerto Mont, Ancud, etc) do cruise by the seafood markets.
There is no finer, cheaper, seafood/shellfish on the planet. The clams are
SWEET and the oysters are RICH and the urchin roe is OTHERWORLDLY. Many of
the SA ceviches (raw seafood in lemon juice with onions, etc) are nearly
raw, and though they can easily be overeaten, they make a minor
introduction to raw seafood. Melisa ate ceviche (unspiced if possible) and
salad at resturants as a solution to the "social problem".

>I appreciate your help and any comments you can give.

How bout everyone else's ideas on this stuff? Do you feel proud or
embarrassed when you eshew an airline meal for a bag of grapes? Do you
travel with stashes? What are the most useful tricks to staying raw "on the
road"? How can you say no to a food offer without offending?

Cheers,
Kirt