Musings on Food.

"But at night I have these wonderful dreams, some kind of sensuous treat..."
Cheeseburger in Paradise

This might begin to describe my current feelings towards a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. If you know me even a little, you know I think and talk about food a lot. Not like a foodie, per se – even when presented with a crappy doughnut, I can get pretty excited. It's not something I can help, although it's not completely unconscious, either. I think it's right to balance a diet and find an outlet to exercise. But I also believe that it is awful for a woman to feel guilty eating something because she thinks it reflects poorly on her - as if it makes her a bad person for wanting to eat! I highlight the experience of a woman because, well, duh, I am one. And it almost goes without saying that the societal pressures to be figure conscious are overwhelming and very little effort is comparatively spent on being health conscious. Definitely a reason why I am vocal about my interest in eating is because I absolutely refuse to suppress it.

Although I have to say, when I conjure up the image of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, there are more things that come to mind than just the food. I think of either football or NASCAR, reading Harry Potter at the table, or sitting and chatting with my mom. And when I think of family eating events, of course buffalo chicken cheese-steaks are an essential component. Burgers, hot dogs, mac'n'cheese, mom's pizza, hoppin' john, funnel cake and boardwalk fries, grilled ham and cheese from the bakery...these all have connotations which are bigger than just the food element and recall memories of awesome times spent with family and friends. So that's another reason I think and talk about food a lot. Sitting down to eat a meal with people is a way to show people you want not just to partake of the food, but also share your time with them.

Not to mention a third reason which is real easy to define – some foods are just goddam delicious.

That was a long way of saying that there are foods that I am really passionate about. Having not had, for instance, a PB&J for a few weeks is kinda making me crazy. It's weird, maybe my food cravings have become more fixed as I've gotten older, because when I was in Bolivia and Ecuador I definitely did not "miss" food the way I am now. But I could probably daydream for quite awhile about a PB&J and some cheese curls on a paper towel, a classic in my home in the U.S. With like, a cherry coke. Yeah.

But you know what? Even though I miss what's familiar from home, my host mom here is a stellar cook. There has not been one thing she's served for dinner that I've been like, "Erm...no thanks." It is true that spaghetti and rice makes for a lot of carbs on a plate, but none of the foods I currently miss make for healthy eating all of the time. And I've had memorable meals here that were really meaningful to me, at least, and that I'll remember. It's only the third week, and I just need to give it time to find my favorite foods here. I'm positive that when I go back to the United States, I'll be missin' me some pinto and the chifrijo., Jimmy Buffet