Tag Archives: Culture

Ceviche and Inca Kola

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In 2009 I ventured to Peru with 16 college students, 1 faculty member, and 2 tour guides for a 14 day study abroad program with the University of South Carolina. As the program assistant, I handled the finances, student concerns, escorted the group on all excursions and classes, and I counted to 16 a lot.  Not a bad job, huh? It really was a fantastic group and an incredible program. The geography professor that taught the class had been a Peace Corps volunteer back in the 70s so he was up for all kinds of adventures.

Me and part of our group at Machu Picchu in May 2009

So last night when I was browsing Open Table for a restaurant and came upon the Cafe Secret Cocina Peruana, my hubby and I decided we should give it a try. Although the service was a tad slow, the food was authentic and savory. We agreed to go 100% Peruvian beginning with our beverages – a pisco sour and a diet Inca Kola. To start we had papitas and yuquitas, which were fried potatoes and yucas served with hard-boiled eggs and olives in a really yummy sauce.  For dinner Hubby got ceviche with shrimp and sea bass, while I had pascado sudado, a spicy dish (my mouth was on fire) with snapper, onions, and tomatoes served with quinoa. The meal brought back fond memories of a great trip and it was great to share it with Hubby.

These are traditional Peruvian ingredients that Cafe Secret uses in their dishes.

Me eating pescado sudado

Shrimp and Sea Bass Ceviche

Diet Inca Kola – it kind of tastes like bubble gum.

Cafe Secret on Urbanspoon

Store-Bought Japanese

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As you may have already guessed, the student lunch this week was of the Japanese persuasion.  It also required very little cooking as I pretty much bought everything (100% fine by me!). We had spicy shrimp tempura rolls, california rolls, edamame, rice, and red bean angel rolls from the Asian market. While most of the food (especially the sushi) was devoured, everyone was a little hesitant about the red bean angel rolls.  They were made from a red bean paste spread over a light angel food cake roll and had a very mild sweet flavor. My dad always says that no cake is worth eating if it doesn’t go “thud” when it hits the plate.  These definitely didn’t thud, but they seemed fairly authentic from what I remember eating when I was in Japan.  Fortunately I didn’t think they were so bad so I brought two packages home with me…dessert for tonight!

On a side note, I have to give Ralph’s (our local grocery store) huge props.  The two women who work their sushi counter were awesome! They took my order and made my sushi on the spot.  Plus, they were delicious!

Our Japanese spread

Perfectly plated!

This picture is not quite accurate. I actually ate my sushi with my fingers. Embarrassing, I know, but chopsticks and I just don’t get along.

These are the bean paste angel rolls from the bakery at the Asian market.

Can You Love Two Women?

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This morning I went to our local grocery store to pick up the rest of my needed items for our Friday Lunch.  While waiting for my freshly made sushi rolls, I decided to treat myself to a cup of coffee. I went up to the counter and was warmly greeted by a pleasant gentleman with an accent I couldn’t place.  After some niceties, I finally asked where he was from.  He responded that he was Iranian but had come to the States a long time ago.  Having just read Prisoner of Tehran, I actually felt somewhat competent to ask if he moved before or after the revolution and he responded that he moved to New York right after the revolution started in 1979. He then immediately said that Iran is a beautiful country and has a lot to offer as long as you could stay out of the political aspects.  He told me that he had gone back several times since he left.  I asked him how it was to return and his response really got me thinking.  “Someone once told me that you can only love one woman.  While it was good to go back, I am an American now. I left Iran behind.” 

Having always been an American, his words got me thinking. Is it possible to belong to more than one country? Is it possible to love two “women”? Last night when I was reading Bringing Up Bebe, Druckerman said that American kids brought up in France usually felt American in France, and French in America.  In essence, they never really felt at home; they never really belonged anywhere. Does this mean if you don’t belong to one country, you don’t belong to any? Unfortunately I don’t know the answer but it something I’d like to explore more. I welcome opinions and comments.

Trip to the Asian Market

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In need of a Japanese inspired dessert for tomorrow’s lunch, I decided to scope out the Asian market scene in San Diego.  Upon my Google search, I found 99 Ranch Market which I had heard good things about before. So after work I headed to Clairemont-Mesa, a part of San Diego known for its authentic Asian cuisine. This being my first time in an Asian market, I didn’t know quite what to expect but here is what I discovered:

1. The primary language spoken is Mandarin. Fortunately everyone switched over to English as soon as I walked up to the counter.

2. This particular Asian market extended far beyond a grocery store.  They also had a restaurant, dessert stand, gift shop, and Asian book store.

3. I couldn’t find that they sold any pre-made sushi.  I just found everything to make my own.  That is not going to happen.  I left my sushi making skills back in Argentina.

Although I couldn’t read what half of the products were, I loved walking up and down the aisles looking at the different packaging.  I definitely plan to go back.

Welcome to 99 Ranch Market!

The Fish Counter

Asian Cookies

Canned Shrimp…I think

Abroad Blog of the Week: Healing Pilgrim

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I’ve been reading through dozens of blogs this week but wasn’t finding anything that really stood out to me until I came upon Healing Pilgrim.  The blogger, Amit, writes from Bali where she volunteers, explores, and heals from a traumatic accident she experienced while cycling through Cambodia in 2009. She shares her journey of rehabilitation in a foreign country as well as the culture, travel and awakening she has experienced along the way.  She is detailed in her stories and explanations and her blog provides great insight into traditional and herbal medicine, the religious and spiritual traditions, and the way of everyday life in Bali. Browsing through the past few months of her posts, Healing Pilgrim reads as both a personal narrative but also a cultural guide to a beautiful part of the world. If you are interested in learning about non-Western medicine, Southeast Asia, or just are looking for something a bit different to add to your Google Reader, I would recommend giving Healing Pilgrim a try.

My Jubilee Hat

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I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the hype for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.  The Brits have truly gone over the top with the parade of boats, Union Jacks covering streets, pubs, and faces, and all kinds of Queen paraphernalia. Although many tout that the monarchy is old fashion and unneeded, I actually believe that it provides consistency, tradition, and unity.  It was only a year ago that the entire world turned their heads to London for the wedding of the century (yes, I did get up to watch it at like 5 a.m.) and now once again Britain draws our attention with the extravagant four-day celebration of the Queen’s 60-year rule.  The Jubilee truly has been everywhere – People did a spread on her diamonds, Traditional Home’s whole June issue was dedicated to British design, and Sunday Morning interviewed a gentleman who had been in the choir at Elizabeth’s coronation.

In the Queen’s address today, she said that she hoped these events would “brighten our lives.”  From the thousands of pictures, blogs, and Facebook posts, I’m pretty sure her hope has come true for many.

As the Jubilee celebration came to an end, I celebrated by donning an audacious hat, drinking a cup of Earl Grey, and wearing my Dorothy Perkins skinny jeans.  Long live the Queen!

Check out these wordpress blogs with posts and pictures from the Jubilee:

The Islington Blog – Diamond Jubilee weekend in tweet pics

The Pretty Things Project – Uey Loves: Jubilee Fever

Partie du Champagne – [London] Jubilee River Pageant

The Grio – How do black Britons feel about Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee?

The National Post – Britons rediscover their love for the dutiful Queeen

Give Dad the World

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Today is my dad’s birthday, but unfortunately I am in San Diego and he is across the country in Atlanta.  But in honor of him and in preparation of Father’s Day (June 17th in the U.S.) in a few weeks, I’ve been searching for some internationally themed gifts to give to one of my favorite men in the world.  Here are a couple different ideas:

For the Stamp Collecting Dad:  The World Encyclopedia of Stamps & Stamp Collecting and some Postcrossing supplies (postcards of his hometown and stamps that add to $1.05)

For the Coffee Connoissuer Dad: The Around the World Coffee Sampler with blends from Sumatra (Indonesia), Ethiopia, and Guatemala from Great Coffee (you could always throw in one of the classic World’s Best Dad mugs too!)

For the Global Fanatic Dad: Gear from the birthplace of golf, St. Andrews

For the Globe Trotting Dad: Do a little DIY and make this hand-sewn leather passport cover from Design Sponge

For the Lifelong Learning Dad: Rosetta Stone

For the Fashion Forward Dad: Personalized map cuff links from Juanitas

For the Softie Side of Dad: Thank him from abroad with a photo of you. 

Let me know if you find any other great global gifts for Father’s Day!

 

 

Bébés on the Brain

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This past November, I turned 30.  I believe 30 is this magical number in the U.S. that everyone starts having children or everyone starts asking if you’re going to have children.  Some people ask point blank, some are a little more covert, and then there is my mother. 

Last night she called to update me on some family news and somehow or another the conversation turned to her future grandchildren.  My mom knows me well; she knows that we do want to have kids someday and she is awesome about not pressuring us.  So instead of asking about our family plans, she just states what she’s going to do when our little one finally comes around.  She LOVES her grandkids and enjoys daydreaming about having more. And since my niece and nephew are the cutest kids ever, I really can’t blame her.

But our conversation last night ended up turning to children sleeping through the night and whether you pick them up or let them cry. I found the dialog especially interesting because currently I am reading Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman.  I’m not very far along yet, but even in the first chapter Druckerman makes some good contrasts between the American family chaos to the more serene French family.  Druckerman noticed the difference first while at a restaurant in France where she observed the local children eating adult food, sitting in their chairs, and playing quietly.  How many times have you been to an American restaurant only to see parents chasing their children around because they refuse to stay at the table? A lot, right?  If most French children sleep through the night at 3 months, eat broccoli without being threatened, and rarely (if ever) throw a tantrum, then perhaps Druckerman is right and there is something to be learned from our Francophone friends.

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My Swap Meet Find: Prisoner of Tehran

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A few weeks ago I went to Kobey’s Swap Meet here in San Diego. (For my Southern readers, swap meet = flea market.) Kobey’s is a cultural experience in itself. Walking up and down the table-laden aisles, I heard Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin spoken by both the buyers and the sellers. That’s just proof that all nationalities like a good deal!  For the most part, I go to Kobey’s to browse through junk and buy books at a $1 a piece. On my last visit, I got 6 for $5 and was thrilled.  While not all of my book purchases were worthy of the $1 price tag, Prisoner of Tehran, A Memoir by Marina Nemat was worth $5 on its own.

Although born and raised in Tehran, Iran, Marina Nemat was not the typical Iranian child. Her father a dance instructor, her family of Russian decent, and herself a devout Christian, Marina’s way of life contradicted everything that was associated with the Islamic Revolution of 1979. But it was when she demands to be taught calculus, rather than Islamic political propaganda that she was marked as an enemy of the Iranian government and imprisoned at the age of 16 in Evin, an infamous political prison outside of Tehran. In Prisoner of Tehran, Nemat details her life in prison as well as her childhood leading up to that ominous day.

My interest in the experiences of Middle Eastern women has significantly increased over the past month. Between reading My Embassy Letters and watching Salaam Dunk and Beauty Academy of Kabul, I have learned pieces of the current situation in the Middle East but have lacked awareness of the historical background.  Prisoner of Tehran provides significant insight into the timeline of women’s rights in Iran and helped my fill in some of my historical holes. Not only did Prison of Tehran inform me, but it was also well-written, honest, and redemptive. Nemat has excellent flow and I was able to finish the whole book in 4 days.

If you are looking for a good read that will challenge and enlighten you, I would highly recommend Prisoner of Tehran.

Abroad Blog of the Week: Soulshine Traveler

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If you are looking for adventurous inspiration, Soulshine Traveler is a blog you should definitely check out.  Taking a year off from the corporate world starting last October, Meghan is traversing the globe on the roads less traveled and serving along the way. Currently she is in the small city of Yaroslavl, Russia with Cross-Cultural Solutions (a great international volunteer organization!) working in the community for the next two months.  I’ve only been onto this blog for about 2 weeks but here is what I love so far:

  1. Soulshine’s photos would make just about anyone want to go to Russia.  Unfortunately Russia is usually not on the top of someone’s travel bucket list but I think Meghan’s photos may just be the nudge someone would need to add it to the list. For example (wow, right?):     
  2. Each week on Soulshine Traveler, Meghan shares a variety of online resources she has stumbled upon pertaining to her interests, travel, other blogs, etc. Check out her most recent Dose of Soulshine – the Diary of Foreign Language Class Clown is a good one.
  3. Meghan is an excellent storyteller. I have never been to Russia, however, when I read her last post I could imagine myself in Yaroslavl. Her travel stories are a fond reminder of my own independent global adventures and are truly a delight to read.
  4. But what I think I love most I found out last night in a message from Meghan. She shared with me that she never studied abroad but that perhaps this year of traveling is making up for that.  I have so many students that think once college comes and goes, their chance at seeing the world is over.  I think Soulshine Traveler is indication that this simply is not true. It serves as a good reminder to me (and I hope you) that the world is only a decision away.