Persimmons

My first memory of this fruit is a flattened, dried up orangish thing that my mom promised me tasted good by I didn't really believe her. Years later, I still don't like the dried version, but if the fruit is really really ripe and super soft, I love them. If they aren't really ripe, they leave a weird paste-y feeling on your tongue. My mom told me about a different species of persimmon which was harder and apparently just as good, but like the great daughter I am, I was skeptical.
Anyway, I've seen persimmons in the grocery stores here in Europe, but have never bought one, because they were really huge and rock hard. This scared me. They were also called "kaki", so I wasn't quite sure if they were the same thing. And they were a little expensive for something that I wasn't sure if I would like (although this hasn't stopped me before). They are 5.40CHF per kilo.
This past weekend, I saw someone eat one, and so I asked her about it, what it tasted like and if it was really an Asian fruit. She cut it open, and it looked exactly the same, just less goopey, because it was harder. I built up the courage the try a bit and it was exactly the same...really tasty, and no weird feeling in the mouth! And the weirdest part is that you eat it like an apple. Skin and all! I would never usually eat the skin!

The point of the story is that:
1. Maybe the persimmons they have here are the ones that my mom was talking about
2. I've found something else to lessen my homesickness
3. My mom was right (grrr...she usually is)