26/7/14
So, there is pretty much negative activity going on at site,
so this week I decided to wax poetic about the thing that I, and most
volunteers, think about, dream about and discuss every day. Food.
To start us off, here’s what I eat in a day, every day, the
same thing:
Morning:
2 pieces of rice flour roti (like a thicker tortilla)
Peanut butter
1 piece fruit
1 cup of milk (sometimes, in the rainy season our water
buffalo produces less, so I might not get this.)
A butt load of vitamins and supplements
Afternoon:
2 pieces of rice flour roti
Peanut butter
Mustard
Sometimes: an extra piece of fruit, if I have it, a protein
bar, a packet of soup or other American food that someone has sent me.
Evening:
1 ½-2 cups white rice (Bhaat)
A lentil broth called Daal
A curried “vegetable” mix usually consisting of potatoes
with the occasional addition of beans, peas, tomatoes, squash or okra.
It is always the same. Always.
When I go into town (once a week), I’ll have French fries or
these fried cheese nuggets called “cheese pakoda,” “donuts”-really only rolls
with some sort of non dairy cream and chopped up maraschino cherries in them, an
“ice cream” cone (the quotation marks are used to denote how terrible this ice
cream is. Not only is the flavor unidentifiable, but also since the power is so
unreliable here, it has that terrible consistency of ice cream that has melted
and been re-frozen, over and over again. But we eat it anyways, because, what’s
the alternative?
Here’s what I’ve fantasized, discussed with other volunteers
and dreamed about since I’ve been here:
Cheetos
Tortilla chips
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Bagels with cream cheese
Truffle fries
Good salads
Good fruit
Smoothies
A pot of Irish tea with biscuits
Muffins
Cupcakes
Red velvet cake
Lysa’s coconut cake with lemon curd
Lemon curd
Mom’s butter brickle pecan cake
Pancakes with maple syrup
Cheeseburgers with crispy bacon and a fried egg
Greek fries
Falafel
Hummus
Pita chips
Pizza
Baguette with goat cheese and tomatoes
Roasted vegetables
Tomato soup and a grilled cheese
Strawberry rhubarb pie
Huckleberry Ice Cream
Frozen pizza
Mashed potatoes
Turkey
Olives
Dill pickles
Grey poupon
Good ice cream
Avocadoes
Cold watermelon
Corn on the cob
Indian tacos
Eggnog
Root beer
Champagne
Lasagna
Buckwheat waffles
Salami
Donuts
Curly fries
Mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce
Salmon
Asparagus
Broccoli
Fresh spinach
Peaches
Nectarines
Hostess or Little Debbie Snacks
Shepard’s pie
Chicken and dumplings
(I’m salivating and on the verge of tears, here)
Drunk chicken
Avgolemnn soup
Margaritas
Black bean quesadillas
Good salsa
Cheesy hash browns
Fried eggs-over medium
Wheat thins
Caprese salad
Gelato
Pesto
Good wine
Sangria
Good bourbon
Macaroni and cheese
Plum jam
And a million other things that I have probably forgotten.
So, the next time you eat any one of these things, think of
this poor little PCV, all the way on the other side of the world. Oh, but don’t put a picture on FB, that’s
just fucking cruel. Seriously, we HATE when we see delicious food online, it is
like a stab in the gut, and a visual reminder of how much our lives suck. DON’T
DO IT.
Now, I realize that the above rant is ironic, coming from a
Food Security volunteer. What I’ve come to realize is that we cannot divorce
ourselves from our upbringings, only make ourselves aware of them and try not
to let them influence our interactions with others, much. I would never complain about the lack of food
variety to a Nepali, I know how spoiled that would sound. I also know, however,
that this is just an honest account of my feelings. It should also be pointed out, that Nepalis
are happy with their limited food variety (not to say that they are happy with
limited AMOUNTS of food, obviously, food scarcity is a very big issue in this
country and many like it, around the world, just that they really, really love
Daal Bhaat). Even wealthy Nepalis like
having Daal Bhaat every day, that’s the way that they grew up-just as I grew up
having a variety of foods. When I return
to the US, I will, indeed, hope for that embarrassment of riches that is
American food culture, but, I will devour the above with the knowledge that I
have committed my life to a job that will work to provide something similar to
more people around the world. Maybe
Nepalis wouldn’t appreciate having lasagna one night and Shepard’s pie another,
but I do know that they would appreciate having milk every day, and enough food
for their children, and maybe, just maybe, a different “tarkari” every
day. Here’s to an embarrassment of
riches for all.
Love and miss you all,
Maria
