PIZZA
I finally made it to Pizza Hut tonight. I am relieved to report that this is one part of Western cuisine that India has managed not to screw up. Sure, it's mass-produced greasy junk, but oh my god it tasted heavenly.
This past month has really made me appreciate how lucky we are to live in a nation of immigrants. I do enjoy Indian food, but it's beginning to seem like every restaurant has the exact same menu. It's chicken, paneer, and/or vegetables drenched in a very spicy sauce. If you want to really go crazy, you can order Chinese food! I hope you like fried rice.
I had gotten so spoiled by having the options of so many different ethnic cuisines available to me at any given time. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Italians, Greeks, Mexicans, Jews, and everyone else who decided America would be a swell place to live. You really can't appreciate it until you spend an extended period of time in a place where food choice is so limited.
In non-food related news, we had another short trip this weekend. The highlight for me was climbing approximately one zillion steps to see a gigantic statue of an important figure in Jainism whose name I have already forgotten. The better part came when I was discovered by a gaggle of Indian kids. The oldest one, who spoke pretty good English, informed me that they were fascinated by my hair. I guess curly hair doesn't often make an appearance in this country. We spent the trip down the stairs discussing the differences between cricket and baseball.
We also saw some cool temples that were pretty much like the other one I described previously, so I'm not going to rehash it again. I'm now looking forward to the Desara festival next week. We have a week off from school, and I plan to spend a whole bunch of time downtown getting crushed between thousands of tourists. Should be fun.
This past month has really made me appreciate how lucky we are to live in a nation of immigrants. I do enjoy Indian food, but it's beginning to seem like every restaurant has the exact same menu. It's chicken, paneer, and/or vegetables drenched in a very spicy sauce. If you want to really go crazy, you can order Chinese food! I hope you like fried rice.
I had gotten so spoiled by having the options of so many different ethnic cuisines available to me at any given time. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Italians, Greeks, Mexicans, Jews, and everyone else who decided America would be a swell place to live. You really can't appreciate it until you spend an extended period of time in a place where food choice is so limited.
In non-food related news, we had another short trip this weekend. The highlight for me was climbing approximately one zillion steps to see a gigantic statue of an important figure in Jainism whose name I have already forgotten. The better part came when I was discovered by a gaggle of Indian kids. The oldest one, who spoke pretty good English, informed me that they were fascinated by my hair. I guess curly hair doesn't often make an appearance in this country. We spent the trip down the stairs discussing the differences between cricket and baseball.
We also saw some cool temples that were pretty much like the other one I described previously, so I'm not going to rehash it again. I'm now looking forward to the Desara festival next week. We have a week off from school, and I plan to spend a whole bunch of time downtown getting crushed between thousands of tourists. Should be fun.
posted by Jake | 8:16 AM
3 Comments:
jake - its mark oestreicher again, i hope you got my comment yesterday. enjoyed your stuff on food, its so true we take it all for granted. amy is going in for surgery tomorrow so ill keep it short. im about to email your dad. i read today that the tigers or twins are better matchups for the yanks than whitesox. the 10 game lead the tigers had has evaporated to 1. they still have to play the sox and the twins and the sox and the twins end the season with a 3 game series. the twins with santana are tough, i dont know who to root for but i guess i should be thankful were in the catbird seat now. during the june5 game we awere at we werent sure the yanks wolud even make the playoffs. enjoy, if possible - i hope youre taking alot of pics. sincerely, mark oestreicher
jake --
it's jeff oestreicher. your dad told me you were doing this, so i thought i'd see what you've been up to. no one in my family has ever been to india, so your blog has become our source of firsthand, up-close information about everything going on there. i must tell you also that, having just returned from ecuador, i am reading about your trials and hardships involving food with particular interest and empathy. i laughed out loud just now reading about your pizza hut excitement. i still vividly remember, after weeks of eating fried bread and humitas, seeing a marriott hotel for the first time and literally sprinting in search of the restaurant inside. so solidarity, my friend, and hang in there. this is such an amazing, life-changing and courageous thing you are doing. i am even a bit envious. still, to this day, one of my biggest regrets is that i never spent a semester of college living in a different country. hope the rest of your time is both fascinating and inspiring...
Hey Jake,
Sorry I have been pretty absent lately. Glad to be able to catch up with you. Curly hair is your conversation starter now?
Keep the interesting stuff coming. How will you deal with being on foreign soil during the baseball playoffs?
Take Care,
ME Miller
Post a Comment
<< Home