Custard Apple

One of my students has a garden. I hear all sorts of things about his garden on a weekly basis. Sometimes they are things that I don't want to know, such as what he's growing in his closet. I haven't decided if he's messing with me, or if he really is growing what I think he's growing in there. The other day I was walking to my desk and I found what appeared to be a joint on the floor beside my desk. I picked it up and looked at my class and said, "Really people? First of all, you shouldn't have this in school, and second of all, you leave it right beside my desk?" Of course, they all laughed.

After class the gardener came up to me and said it was his. I said that's too bad because he couldn't have it back. "Please Miss, I need it for my glaucoma," was his response. It's so funny, they think I'm stupid :) - After begging for a little while (and offering to bring me 3 grams!) he and his buddies finally left my classroom. I took the 'joint' next door to my neighbor teacher because while it looked like one, it appeared to be filled with paper. He took his knife and opened it up. It was filled with paper. What I found really funny about this is that the kid actually put a filter in it! Now, if this would have happened in the States, I don't know that any kid would have been dumb enough to claim it as his. Since it was filled with paper, I didn't report it. I really do think this kid is trying to mess with me. The next day while I was walking around while on lunch duty, his friend told me that gardener was baked. I just looked at him and said, "Gardener, we've talked about this!" and he just laughed. I enjoy the fact that some of my kids are okay to tease me. To me, it means that we're building a relationship. And yes, they do give me a hard time about other stuff, and you know I dish it right back to the ones I know that are okay with it. If I don't think they would enjoy being teased, I don't do it. I don't want them to think I don't like them or am picking on them just because. I need to find out what the school rules are about drugs. Did you know that it's not mentioned in the handbook? Well, not that I've seen...

Okay, back to the point of this entry. Honestly, I do have one. Gardener really does grow things, because before the winter break he brought me a fruit called a Custard Apple from his real garden. It kind of looks like an artichoke:


He opened it for me and it looks like this on the inside:


It has the texture of fish, but it tastes delicious! It really does have a custard flavor. It also has fairly large brown seeds throughout it. I ended up sharing with a few other teachers, because it's actually quite filling and a lot to eat. I seriously munched on it all day. I found it easier to use a fork, but to each his own! And no, you don't eat the green part, just the white fleshy part in the middle.

Gardener told me that if I wanted more he would bring me some. When I asked if you could buy them in the store, he 'tsked' me and said, "No Miss, they are very bad in the store. I will bring you more." ( This whole "tsking" thing is a whole other blog post. I may have to try and get audio of it. I've even started doing it. Dang it!) Gardener has also offered to bring me an ostrich egg. Who knows if he actually will, but just in case I found a teacher with a hammer whose willing to cook it. Yes, you really do need a hammer to crack them. I asked :)