Comfort Within Food All Over
Food was a huge part of my study abroad experience. I took multiple courses about Italian food and I also was part of the Food and Sustainability program at the Umbra Institute. While I was there I was able to truly understand how much Italians appreciate their food and all of the care that goes into every dish. I got to see how well they take care of their animals that produce such delicious foods such as their cheese as well as their charcuterie meats. I definitely have a greater appreciation for food after that whole experience. I was also able to cook for myself while I was away.
While you study abroad, you do not have a meal plan. You have to learn how to budget for groceries as well as decide when you are going to cook throughout the day. I know that that is something that is part of living life, but going abroad was the first time that I had to do that. I’m happy to say that I eventually had a good schedule down. I would grab a little croissant in the morning with some juice from a cafe close to the school. In the afternoons, I would come home and make myself a little sandwich with cold cuts and pesto with cheese as my lunch. In the evenings, I would make myself a pasta dish or schnitzel with mashed potatoes. I was very proud of myself since I would barely cook for myself before this. I always enjoyed grocery shopping ever since I was young, which also added to the joy of cooking for myself. I got to buy ingredients for dishes that I knew I would enjoy.
Since returning home, my love of grocery shopping has not changed. The only difference is that when I go home I also have to consider what the other people in my family want as well. I probably won’t be grocery shopping for myself again for a long time. I will say that I do enjoy going to the store with my parents though. It’s just time we have together to catch up and pick out food for the meals that we share later in the week. That is a big part of eating in my household. My dad always makes a point to at least have one big meal together at the end of the week. He usually likes to try out new recipes or if my siblings and I ask for one of his specialties he will usually make that. My mom also has recipes that she makes as yummy meals to eat throughout the week and I like to help her when I can. I just get a huge sense of comfort from my parents’ food and I always ask them to make certain dishes whenever I come home from school.
Being at school has definitely been different in terms of food. I luckily have a meal plan since I still live on campus and that has definitely been helpful when I am too hungry to cook for myself. I honestly really like the food options we have at school. Recently I have been obsessed with cheesesteak fries at The Chat, so I have been getting those a lot. I still like to cook for myself once in a while. I will say that having a dining plan helps with spending money at the grocery store though. I only want to buy foods that I really want to buy for myself instead of having to fill up an entire kitchen with a week’s worth of food. I live in Knight Hall so luckily I am able to cook whenever I really want to, but sometimes it is just nice to have someone else cook something quick for you.
