ani ochevet et hayihudim

Shalom Chaverim!

So today Ben and I decided to take a long overdue break from local Chinese cuisine and venture to the Northeast part of Beijing. There, one can find many foreign embassies along with international dining options. In the early afternoon we made our way to the Israeli embassy and it's kosher deli pang bian. With the intent to purchase hundreds of dollars of blessed deli meats, imagine our shock when the kitchen was out of pastrami. Ben eventually settled for the Matzo Ball Soup and foot long Kosher Beef Hot Dog, while I stuck with the Chicken Shnitzel. Free of charge, the Chinese waiter brought us warm mini challah rolls with honey mustard sauce. That's when we lost it. When Ben's hot dog arrived I think I caught a glimpse of him rubbing it against his cheek as tears of joy poured from his eyes. The shnitzel was fantastic as well as was everything we ate at this Kosher Deli. Seeing other Jews reminded me of my youth when they told us wherever you go, there's always someone Jewish. I guess they were right. While we savored every last bite, we had an interesting discussion about what food means to different cultures and groups of people.

Weird things happen to your taste buds and your food oriented decisions when you are in a foreign place. It is almost as if your food brain splits in half. One half of your food brain is so excited about trying different foods in your new environment. There is new flavors, new ingredients, new concerns about food, new places to try, new street foods to experiment with, there's commercial foods, there's street markets, supermarkets, there is family style meals, and there are individual breakfasty snacks. Though not always good choices are made in a different environment, it is impossible not to expand your palate while abroad. The other part of your food oriented brain seeks the familiar. I mean anything familiar. You clearly crave the foods that you liked the most in your own culture, but also start to crave ANYTHING that reminds you of home.

Since we have been in China, we have all witnessed this split brain phenomenon. Some people came abroad with the intent to never break social norms and eat at American chains that are never more than a block away from you. Others planned on eating fried chicken at KFC for at least one meal everyday. Embarrassingly, we commonly find ourselves making the short walk to the 24 hour McDonalds that is just outside the closest gate to our dormitory. While we sit and devour our 16.50 yuan value meals, it is impossible to leave McDonalds without someone mentioning that they haven't been to McDonald's in YEARS back in the US. But somehow it is such a treat when we go to Micky D's here. So does this happen when foreigners come to the United States? Do the Chinese go to Panda Express and think, "I would never eat this crap back home, but while I'm here in the US, it's better than those organic vegetarian restaurants that line the streets."

McDonald's is obviously not representative of the majority of food we eat in the US because clearly most of us haven't been there in years. And now that I am in China I can guarantee that Panda Express and greasy take out joints are not very representative of common Chinese foods. (ok, the grease is a good representation, but it tastes better here). So why is it that we have such poor representations of our foods in foreign places? and why is it that we so easily sink to the level of eating these terrible foods when abroad?

my guess is that it is just so hard to be so uncomfortable in a culture that is not your own that we reach out for anything that can make us feel at home when we are miles away.

As for the Jews and their love of food, I think the Jews as a very small religion could take on the extremely large population of Chinese that think that food is most important to them. As I sit on my bed and eat this extremely greasy and frankly delicious representation of a bagel from the kosher deli, I feel the need smack myself in the face. If I don't enjoy real Chinese food while I am in China, I will return to the US and someday view Panda Express as a decent representation of food from China because I was too busy eating bagels at the kosher deli in Beijing instead of Jianbing (Chinese Egg Crepe with spices and onions (i leave out the cilantro))and Baozi (Steamed dough balls filled with vegetables, meat, rice, and/or soup) on the streets in the mornings with the masses to see the difference.

and that is all for now.

b'ahava-
avigal