(THIS ENTRY I WROTE SEPT. 12TH)
I'm back. Been busy, been out of internet. Waited 16 days to get internet in our apartment. So for example today, I came to school at 6:30, talked to Tiffany on video chat from 7 until 9:15, and then watch the uh, Notre Dame shame. Now I'm watching the OSU-USC game with a couple friends who are OSU grads, and some other people, at school, on the projector and sound system. Pretty awesome. But pretty sucky that its 4:45 in the morning. Here's what it looked like:
Also, I have an extra bed, in my room. I live five minutes from the metro and a stumble from the grocery store door. So SOMEONE should come visit me. I think things are starting to feel settled in. For some that might be because they're finally coming out of a four day hangover from too much sangria, but for me it's just cause I'm unpacked, have some groceries, and classes are underway. Three days a week, that is. In some ways I don't have a lot to share because not a LOT is going on, but on the other hand, I have a lot of random short things to share about my experience so far here. First though, here's the first meal I made when I moved in- pasta.
In no particular order- only the order I wrote down my notes. I'll try and post some pictures with them :)
The meat at the grocery store is amazing. First of all they have great sliced meats just like I'd find at an Italian deli, prepackaged and cheap, ready for sandwiches. But not only that- almost anywhere, you can buy a whole frickin ham hock. A whole pig leg, with a hoof at the end. They're 80 euros!! (That's $115 or so). And they're hanging up everywhere, or laid across tables, with the skin on them all dried and cured. Incredible. They also have a couple of them on posts, where they directly shave meat from them to your specifications. THAT is the realest I have ever felt about seeing where my meat actually comes from- considering I can see a leg there, they could slice off a piece, and then I could stare at the hoof while I eat the meat. Hmmmmm. My dad should be proud of me though (or at least jealous)- I bought a whole long stick of what could have been sliced eventually, for about $6, and am cutting it into chunks as I please. It is salty fatty cured meat-y goodness.
THIS is a store I saw that basically sold the pig legs only:
While we're on food, our corner grocery is interesting. Cause its mid-sized, like bigger than a Walgreens, but not as big as a real grocery store. They have like 6-7 aisles, which are cut in half. Most of the front aisles are like paper products, cleaning stuff, etc. Out of the back aisles, one WHOLE aisle is booze, out of like 6 aisles. Another aisle is all meat and cheese, prepackaged. Then the dairy aisle, HALF of it is yogurt. They LOVE yogurt here. They have 1L bottles of drinkable yogurt (yogur para beber- literally, for to drink) and the tiny drinkable bottles that the US has now, and everything in between- no yogurt mousse like in Amsterdam though. Dam. The milk is also all in plastic or plasticky cardboardy bottles, usually 1L. Not chilled. I don't think they drink as much milk here, clearly. Its cheap though, or at least comparable. The drinkable yogurt is 90 cents for 1L. And comes in Pina-Colada flavor :)
Last food thing- a friend found big hunks of Brie for 95 cents. Holy Monkey. First, Brie is great, second, its like minimum 3-4 dollars in the US for a decent little wedge. Oh MAN. What a great snack, with some cheap but decent bread. Speaking of bread, the selection here sucks. There's either a few loaves of more crusty French type bread, or else a few types of white or pseudo-wheat white bread, and lots of the no-crust kind, which I thought was just for spoiled white children (like the SUC football team).
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