Do Mangosteens come before Mangosadults?

"Practice makes permanent." I still remember to this day the confusion and readiness to argue that brewed inside my mind when my tennis coach told me this half my life ago. I'd always heard "practice makes perfect," and logic would argue that if you practice enough times, eventually you're very likely to be very good at something. My coach went on to explain that practice makes permanent because if you practice something incorrectly (or equivalently are never taught the right way), then you will continue to do it the wrong way over and over again. ...then he taught me how to correctly practice serving a ball.

This came to mind today as I was cooking and cleaning the apartment. My mother would testify that I've had plenty of practice cleaning house, and I'm grateful (at this point) for all the practice I've had and lessons I've been taught. I guess I've taken for granted in the past that things like mopping, cleaning the bathroom and doing dishes are not just instinct, but rather are things learned. And I remember many times where my mother corrected me for 'practicing' cleaning the bathroom incorrectly. Even beyond cleaning--into things like food storage and food preparation--my family (father, aunts, grandmothers, etc.) has taught me plenty about food that is simple, yet I'd never known had someone not told me. I would say I learned how to cut an apple from my watching my Ma and Pa on their back porch when they used to have an apple tree. I only say this because I hold the knife the same way. [Relevance: today I made apple crisp]

I would say that in Asia, where mangosteens (seen below) are common, it's probably common to know how to cut one. Before today,I did not know how. To the point--that doesn't make me stupid just as not knowing how to cut an apple in the states doesn't make you less intelligent, it just means  you've not been taught. I googled how to cut a mangosteen, by the way. And here you go:

Mangosteen fruit. Unlike many other fruits that become softer the closer they get to rotting, the mangosteen is softest when it first is picked and gets harder as it gets older because it loses some of its juice.

This is how you eat the fruit. You don't eat the outer shell/pinkish-purple part, it's bitter. I did read that you can grind it up and use it for tea though. I did not. You eat this soft white juicy fruit on the inside which is in little segments like an orange. It was quite good.

Another thing practice doesn't do is prevent accidents and oopsies. This afternoon I opened a jar of applesauce I bought a while back and the top exploded on me. Ends up applesauce is best used within 7 days of opening, not until the expiration date. I guess I forgot about that because Eric and I would eat through jars of it rather quickly. The resulting applesauce tasted fermented and carbonated...so it was long gone. The other accident happened when a glass container of spaghetti sauce slipped out of my hand while carrying it into the kitchen from the fridge. ...I hadn't mopped the walls in a long time so I guess it was about time anyway.

Beyond practice, I started the morning at the orphanage briefly by attempting to teach the younger kids 'left' and 'right' with the game Twister. In the afternoon, Athena and I met up in Taipa and rented bikes for an hour (20 MOP) and rode around Taipa a bit. She was like an excited little kid--she's been asking to rent bikes for a while.

Moral of the day--never take basic lessons (and those that taught them to you) for granted. Also, don't look down on someone because they're practicing something the wrong/a less efficient way or if they've never been taught, and never have too much pride to be corrected when you're practicing wrong.