Bonsoir, again...
When I first came to France, a mere three or so weeks ago, I spoke no French. My mother tried to give me survival phrases, which still lay promptly on a hotel notepad tucked in the depths of my yet-to-be-unpacked suitcase (sorry Mom!). I didn't know how to order, shop for, or make food here, and I didn't have any language skills in which to buy food. At the time, I wasn't well enough acquainted with my host family to ask one of them to come with me to the grocery store to translate and so to survive I relied on some of the best advice I've ever gotten: eat cereal. A very good friend relies on cereal as a staple, often, she says, eating five or six bowls in a day. I've never done that, mostly because cereal has never filled me up, and I don't find much nutritional value in what Americans like to call breakfast food.
My host family in France has an addiction to Special K. Let me tell you, kids, this Special K is like magic. I don't have any idea what they do to it in France, but there are a million different varieties and it tastes great. There's Special K with fruit, with milk chocolate, with hazelnuts, with dark chocolate, and all kinds of other assorted goodies. Suddenly I find myself eating those five or six bowls (some days) that I never thought I could.
As the weeks have passed, I've shopped by myself in grocery stores, navigating the French aisles, the French customers, and the silly French credit card machines that are so difficult to work. I've spoken plenty of French when ordering, discovered that there is no such thing as a turkey sandwich here, and learned that snacking is essentially prohibited, or at least highly frowned upon. Even though I now have the ability to actually acquire food I want to eat, I still rely on cereal, morning, noon, and night, for a little taste of home and a great snack. Fascinating, perhaps, but maybe not. I just finished an excellent bowl of Special K with dark chocolate and let me tell you that's better than any piece of cheesecake in the US. MMM.
Au revoir for now......
M
You make me hungry for Special K. Its not as good here in Istanbul as it is in the States. (Btw, you can get Special K with strawberries in the states, its good, but I don't know if it is as good as in france!!!)
ReplyDeleteGAH! I want cereal. Now it only we had milk here.....