Foods and Luxuries

I'm going to admit, though I'm living pretty good out here, I'm starting to notice when I miss luxuries from back home. Ok, so mostly I miss having the internet in the house. I also miss my bike (it's not cold enough yet to miss having a car, but I'm sure I will.) I miss being able to call out from my cell phone and not worry about the cost of minutes, and I miss endless rows of options at the supermarket.

Today I was at the internet cafe and attempted to write an entry about how last night all of Ialoveni's power went out just as I was about to sit down to study. My host mom and dad just shrugged, lit candles, and we all went to bed, and that was that. I was alone in the darkness of my room with only a candle and ipod, feeling serene and a little lonely enjoying the romance of the evening by myself Just as I was about to conclude the entry with something totally profound and touching about the existential nature of one's self, the computer shut down because alas, the time I paid for was up. I always try to write stuff at home and then upload it later (as I'm doing now) but at that moment I felt inspired, and was totally bummed when the entry was lost.

So I took it as a sign that it was time to get out of there and I started for home. Because I was hungry I was set on just getting home, but then this craving came over me and I knew I wouldn't be able to live through the day unless I had some cereal, or something like cereal, but definitely crunchy and with milk. In Ialoveni we have a couple supermarkets, which are basically smaller than an average 7-11, but have enough products and brands to be able to buy what one needs without having to go to the piaza (bazaar.) At the supermarket closest to the town's center (Victoria it's called) I noticed a few Kellogg-like cereals and had made a mental note for when I have such a craving in the future. Well the future was today, and in the direction that I was walking home I would not pass Victoria, but would be passing the other store. I figured it too would have cereal so I went in to explore. The employees there must've thought I was totally strange because I stood in front of the 'cereal section' for what may have been a solid five minutes. I looked at the three cereal-type options I had and pondered their tastes, compared prices to quantity, and even tried smelling one of them through the sealed bag to see if it smelled like it looked, which was like cocoa puffs. Unsure of my decision, I chose the cocoa muesli, grabbed a triangle-bag of milk, threw a pack of gum in too and paid 26 Lei (approximately $2.00) for what was going to be my most exciting meal this week. It had a different taste and texture than cereals at home, but it was fucking amazing plus it had raisins and nuts as a bonus. When Ana came home I showed it to her. She said she knew nothing about food like that, and laughed over the concept of it being eaten at breakfast, with cold milk no less.

I usually balk at people living abroad that begin to complain about the national food and only choose to eat familiar foods, but a couple days ago I became that person during a meal. I found myself pouring ketchup all over this macaroni 'n' meat lunch that my host mom had prepared and left in a thermos for me. I really like her food, she's a good cook, but I just did not feel like something so dinner-like for lunch, so I funned it up a little (ok a lot) with ketchup. It was, well it wasn't really delicious per se, and it was a little weird, but I ate it. Ok, I ate half of it. Hey, the dog gets hungry too sometimes! Whatever, the point is that I am starting to miss certain flavors. I'm not even about to say anything ridiculous like about my missing Indian food, but I definitely am noticing the lack of spice usage. Tonight for dinner we had fasouli (beans) and just as I thought about getting up to get some black pepper from the cupboard, both Big and Little Sasha started whining about how so very spicy the beans were tonight. Big Sasha said his throat was on fire. Ana replied "Oh I made it a little spicier because Amy said she likes it spicy!" Both Sashas looked at me like 'are you crazy?' and I told them that I could even eat it a little (a lot, plus Tabasco and red pepper) spicier. I told them about the wonder and magic of Bloody Mary's, how it is a popular breakfast cocktail, and how my mom and I like them really hot and spicy. Big Sasha said Americans were crazy to ruin Vodka like that and he never head of a drink that tasted like spicy tomato juice mixed with pickle juice. Then he told Ana that the beans were too spicy and next time she should make them normal. I told him if he thought those were spicy he should let me cook a meal for him.

I do have to mention that I do not think the food out here is bad, and I find new things I like to eat every day. For example, right now I'm eating cabernet grapes. As a child of the suburbs, I was raised on super-sweet, large, neon green, grocery store grapes and I have just started getting used to and enjoying the grapes out here, seeds and all. Yum cabernet grapes, how do you taste so velvety and delicious!?

Big Sasha and Ana asked me a while back when I was going to cook an American meal for them. I told them Americans don't eat that much different than they do, and I could make them a meal, but I didn't know how 'American' it would be. I told them I would make them something I thought was delicious and if they insisted for it to be American, I would stick an American flag in it if that would make it more authentic. "There, American." They said sure, but I have yet to figure out how to access the kitchen for actual cooking when Ana is around, because when she's home she cooks almost the entire day. When Ana is not around is when I get to get away with eating a normal Amy meal, like my cereal today and simple svecla (beet salad, ) or grechka (buckwheat). Most of the time, though, when Ana is not home, she has already prepared and left me my meal(s) for the day. I'll have to let her know a day or two in advance when I want to cook them something, but the question is what should I make? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

For the most part I'm not really having a hard time adapting to this new lifestyle. In fact, not having some of the luxuries I've depended on in the states is refreshing. Walking through town forces me to notice my surroundings and the people around me. Not making calls out on my cell phone keeps my walks quiet and thoughtful. Not having internet forces me to find other ways to fill my time in the evenings, like talking to my host family, reading, and actually studying and practicing Romanian. But just because I'm refreshed doesn't mean I don't noticed what's gone; and I'll be damned that I still get the urge to Google something at least once a day.