One of the many, many delights Thailand has to share is the variety of FRUITS._ Yes, there are the tropical fruits we know in America, cheap and abundant, but there are also exotic fruits that pretty much never make it to North America._ Many of these little delights have English names as well as Thai, which I find very funny because the English names are just as “foreign” as the Thai (although often they are easier to pronounce)._ Take, for instance, “Ngauh”._ Apparently English speakers familiar with the fruit may know it as “Rambotan”, but to Thais (and us) it is called “Ngauh” – yes, you say it like it is written…when you can master the Ng sound (as in “song”) at the beginning of a word, you are well on your way to speaking Thai. Ngauh is, in taste and texture, quite similar to Lyche (also abundant in Thailand, but that one actually makes it – at least canned – to The States), but the outside looks like a cross between a red tennis ball and a green_alien._ In the heart of Ngauh season they are EVERYWHERE and CHEAP…piled high above the heads of many people walking around fruit markets._ One time our Thai teacher brought us a_branch_off_of a Ngauh tree, which I found very exciting._ Reminded me of a Christmas tree decked out with ornaments…only edible.