Foodie

Hello everyone.

I know it's been a long time since my last post.  The crunch of the semester is starting to clamp down on me, and my good intention to post more often has fallen away to make room for more *academic* priorities.

However, I am taking time away from the vast pile of college responsibility in order to address a matter of universal importance: food.

What can I say about food?  It is something that unites people from across barriers, a source of enjoyment and sustenance.  Everyone needs it, and learning how to prepare food for oneself is of the utmost importance.  As a college student, I am fed up (pun intended) with mundane cafeteria selections.  When I first moved away to school in 2009, I did a reverse "freshman fifteen" by losing fifteen pounds within the first two months.  Yes, a large reason for this shift was the fact that campus life required me to walk much more than I was used to, but another factor was the food selection at school.  It just didn't make me hungry.  I lived on the sparse groceries I could afford (usually fruit and granola) and the few items that looked edible in the cafeteria: cucumbers, flat bread, and water.  Eventually I gained more of an appetite and had a more balanced diet within the slim pickings, but there's no way getting around it: the cafeteria's food is just bad.

I hope I am not being ungrateful or snobbish in my criticism of my school's food.  Although most of my peers complain about it, they seem to eat just fine, and I am more of an oddity in my personal food preferences.  I don't know if "picky" is the right term to describe my taste– I'm generally more concerned with what goes into my body on a holistic level than most of my friends.  This might be due to the fact that I've monitored the reactions of my mind and body to artificial colors and flavors since high school.  I've noticed that colored candy in particular increases my irritability and lowers my inhibitions to impulses.  I'm much more likely to blurt out my thoughts after ingesting something enhanced with dyes and flavors than not.  In short, I know that I don't do well with "fake food."

Being somewhat on my own has pushed me to do more things for myself, and cooking is one of them.  Since I'm now the one who pays for the ingredients, I've had to be conscious of what I can and can't afford.  Time is also something I need to take into consideration.  I can't spend an entire day making some kind of delicacy, not when there's class to go to or sleep to get.

A great help to me has been in the form of "The Healthy College Cookbook."  My mom gave me this wonderful book for my birthday, and it has been a source of foodie inspiration.  (The tag line is "quick, easy, cheap."  What more can one ask for?).  Another motivator to cook has been–as odd as this may sound– the kitchen equipment.  Last semester I came across a set of green vintage enamel pots and pans at the Salvation Army.  The whole set was about $40, but I considered it an investment and went ahead and bought them.  I figured that I would need pots and pans eventually, and I'd might as well get something that looked pretty.  Since then, I have accumulated a retro canvas apron, bamboo heart shaped mixing spoon, and Russian doll inspired oven mitt.  I'm not sure why, but cooking with my new kitchen supplies has made me more eager to cook than ever.

Yesterday I cracked out my cute green pans to make a simple but satisfying meal of Brown Rice with Curry.  Here's the recipe for anyone who is interested.

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup brown rice, uncooked
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon curry powder

Melt butter in a saucepan.  Add onion and cook until yellow.  Add rice to pan and coat in butter mixture.  Add broth, raisins, and curry powder and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free...

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger then you seem, and smarter than you think."

-Christopher Robin to Pooh

It's Friday night and I'm in my room, drinking tea and listening to Hoppipolla.  I had planned to be out tonight but, as I'm sure you have gathered, I am blogging instead.  

How did this all fall through, you may wonder.  Here's the short version:

This evening I was supposed to have a date.  Remember the guy who I had initially turned down, who hailed me for my "awesome personality"?  I decided to give him another chance.  After all, he actually asked me on a date, which is leagues above what most guys I know do.  He didn't say "hang out," "chill" or, my personal favorite, "kick it."  However uninteresting his adjectives, this guy actually asked me on a date.  Sure, that was two months ago.  Sure, he had dated (and broken up with) someone else during the time since he initially asked me out.  But thought to myself, why not?  Carpe diem!


Although I had agreed to a date, I didn't want to lead this guy on.  I have big plans for the future, and I can't see myself being in a relationship anytime soon– at least not unless it lines up seamlessly with my vision of my future.  That being said, I was perfectly honest with the guy and told him exactly what I just wrote here: that I don't realistically see him as my boyfriend.  After I graduate, I hope to teach English in Russia for at least a year, and who knows how long I'll be gone after that.  His response was something along the lines that it will be awhile before I leave the country, and I can still  "enjoy the company of a boyfriend before you go."

Okay, fair enough.  We agreed to go on a date Friday (today).  I do not have a cell phone, but I explained to him that I can take calls in my room, so I gave him the number.  He asked me what time could he call me at– I said I would be in my room Tuesday from 2-4:30.

He never called.

That was the first red flag.  According to the latest self-help relationship book I read, if a guy doesn't call, it's because he doesn't want to call.  I decided to let it slide.  When he still had not contacted me, though, this morning, I decided to find out what was going on.

I had signed in to Facebook to check my notifications.  This guy had sent no message or post indicating when he would be picking me up.  Nada.  Sure enough, he was online.  However, I felt it was not my duty to initiate a conversation with him.  The ball was in his court.  After a few minutes I grew somewhat impatient and sent him a quick message: "Why have you not called or contacted me?"  I decided to wait 4 minutes for him to respond, and after the time had lapsed, I sent him another message, indicating that he could forget our plans.

I hope what I did wasn't too harsh, but I honestly didn't see a reason to continue any sort of relationship or association with this guy.  His actions painted a clear picture for me: that he didn't value his plans with me enough to make any effort whatsoever.  I actually believe that, had I not decided to call it off myself, I would have been stood up.

So that's that.  I've learned that being alone is much better than having someone to be miserable with.  My gut feeling with this guy was that we were in no way right for each other, and I have concluded that my first impression was right.

Now I'm off to enjoy my weekend.  I mean, it's better to be able to watch a movie with yourself than endure a meal with someone you aren't comfortable with, isn't it?  =)

The Girl in the Café

Last night was my weekly overnight shift.  I used the opportunity to re-watch The Girl in the Café, which my mom gave me for my birthday last month.  

I love this film.  Bill Nighy and Kelly MacDonald both deliver seamless performances in their respective roles.  Lawrence (Nighy) is a lonely civil servant working under the British Chancellor; Gina (MacDonald) is the beautiful and mysterious young woman he meets in a café.  When Lawrence impulsively invites her to the G8 conference in Reykjavík, Iceland, Gina creates a stir that threatens Lawrence's career and their relationship.  Gina refuses to be silent about her belief in the importance of the most basic human rights, asserting that, for the first time in history, the people in the conference have the both the power and responsibility to wipe out severe poverty.

If nothing else, I love the use of Sigur Rós and Damien Rice in the soundtrack.  An unusual love story with a powerful message, The Girl in the Café is a film that stays with its audience.

Born Into Brothels

Wow.

This documentary is heartbreaking, inspiring, hopeful, and haunting.  English Photographer Zana Briski befriended a group of children whose mothers worked as prostitutes in the Red Light district of Calcutta.  Noticing their immediate interest in cameras, Briski began to teach the children photography, hoping that giving them a means to pursue art and education might enable them to build a better life than what the Red Light district had to offer.

This film was difficult to watch, yet spellbinding.  The daily abuse that these beautiful children suffer shakes my soul.  In such a situation, hope seems the farthest concept in the universe.  Yet it is there.  Some of the children featured in this film have left Calcutta and pursued education.  Some have fallen through the cracks.  The harsh reality of life for these people is hard to swallow, but the resilience and strength of the children is a beautiful thing.

Reading and Red Eye Shifts

It's late, and I'm starting to get tired.

I'm back at school, working my weekly overnight shift at the Switchboard.  Oddly enough, I don't mind working from 11pm-7am.  For starters, Sunday evenings are typically reserved as the day when the campus actually quiets down from the weekend's parties and gets serious about all that they didn't accomplish on Saturday.  Because of this, my nights are very quiet.  I have a solid eight hours to do whatever I want or need to do, as long as I stay at the desk and set door alarms hourly.  I'm free to use my laptop, watch TV or movies, work on homework, read...

Reading. *sigh* I cherish using this time to read: I am passionate about books.  Literature has shaped me in so many ways since as long as I can remember.  I believe that the unconscious current for my study of Bibliotherapy is the hope that I will be better able to pass the torch of self-discovery through books on to others.

Yet, since moving to college in 2009, I haven't had much time to read.  This is a problem.  I am most out of touch with myself when I don't read.  Literature grounds me into my identity, reinforces who and what I strive to be.  Without it, I sometimes find myself in limbo; the worst and most difficult parts of my life have also been times when I can't immerse myself in books.

Now, because I am studying Literature, I am assigned books to read– I'm not entirely starving for words.  However, there is a marked difference in books I read because I have to, and the books I read because I want to.  Sometimes a book I am assigned is something on my list of books to read, or an old favorite.  For example, a couple of weeks ago, my American Lit class read My Ántonia.  I adore Willa Cather, and was happy to have a chance to re-read one of my favorite novels.  Also, for my Honors seminar, we have to read The Brothers Karamazov.  I am likewise excited to read Dostoevsky's masterpiece in its entirety, as I have never had a chance to finish the book.

I've decided to compile a relatively short list of books that I would like to start (and finish!) before the end of the semester.  I tend to go way over the top when it comes to literature; I mean, I was on first name basis with all the librarians at the local library, which was practically my second home.  I am a textbook-case bibliophile.  I would often have 30 or 40 items checked out at a time, and I am also the only person I know of who has been reprimanded for having too many inter-library loans (I exceeded the 150 item limit my second semester at college).  Because of my over-zealous love for books, (and the fact that I need to keep up with my classes) I am hoping to keep myself in check with a realistic goal for the semester.

(The following descriptions are from various synopses I've picked up online... I didn't write them).

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

This book "recounts the journey that led Mortenson from a failed 1993 attempt to climb Pakistan's K2, the world's second highest mountain, to successfully establish schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.  By replacing guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading, Mortenson combines his unique background with his intimate knowledge of the third-world to promote peace with books, not bombs, and successfully bring education and hope to remote communities in central Asia."

Little Princes by Conor Grennan

"In search of adventure, 29-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Children’s Home, an orphanage in war-torn Nepal.  He was soon overcome by the herd of rambunctious, resilient children who would challenge and reward him in a way that he had never imagined. When Conor learned the unthinkable truth about their situation, he was stunned: The children were not orphans at all. Child traffickers were promising families in remote villages to protect their children from the civil war—for a huge fee—by taking them to safety. They would then abandon the children far from home, in the chaos of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

For Conor, what began as a footloose adventure becomes a commitment to reunite the children he had grown to love with their families, but this would be no small task. He would risk his life on a journey through the legendary mountains of Nepal, facing the dangers of a bloody civil war and a debilitating injury." 

Skipping Town, Thrifting, and Yul Brynner

I write this from my own room at my parents house, drinking in the scent of candles and incense, reveling in home.  I had originally planned to come home Thursday night on the evening train– Wednesday afternoon, however, I was unexpectedly overcome with a very swaying impulse to leave a day early.  Being that the next day held no particularly important class assignments, I decided to pack and leave that night.

There is a freedom in boarding a train and feeling the swaying rhythm of the tracks, knowing that you are leaving your cares behind you, even if only for a short time.  The train had very few passengers (likely because it was a Wednesday) and I slept for most of the ride.

My mom picked me up at the station; it is good to see my family again.  The past two years have been a strange journey for my feelings about home.  I literally could not wait to get fast and far away from my parents when I first moved to college, and I can honestly say that I never once was homesick during the entire year.  This year, however, has been quite different.

I miss them.  I truly miss my parents and brothers and sisters when I'm away.  I miss my the vibrant diversity and rich arts community of the Twin Cities, I miss my kids (clients), I miss the local library, I miss being with my friends from home.  Under said circumstances, I hope to fully enjoy my truancy trip home.

Since everyone was either at school or work for most of the day, I hit up the local Goodwill.  May I just say: I adore thrift stores.  I'll admit that my enthusiasm for them has occasionally gone over the top, (there has been more than one time when I've re-donated impulsively purchased miscellaneous merchandise the day after I bought it) but for the most part thrifting has been an enriching experience.  I've also had the opportunity to explore and discover my personal style, which has in turn helped me to express my identity.  Today I found and bought several items of interest, including

• magnetic poetry (for my fridge at school)
• stationery and blank notes (for snail mail)
• recycled-sweater mittens
• multicolored tiered Boho skirt

(Also, over Christmas I came across the cutest little teapot and sugar bowl, which I couldn't resist posting below).

My cute thrift sugar-bowl and teapot (with preciously owned tea cups)

Inside view of recycled sweater mittens

Outside view mittens

I've barely been home 24 hours and I feel almost as though I never left.  It is a good feeling.  Everyone else is sleeping right now, but I don't want to go to bed yet.  This is probably because I know that my visit home will soon be over and I want to keep it alive. *sigh* I have a terrible impulse to stay up awhile longer.  I'm in a kind of Yul Brynner movie mood.  Lord, I love that man; so magnificent.  (For some reason, most of my celebrity crushes are deceased...  Why this is, I'm not quite sure.  Bad luck, maybe?).  I really want to watch Anastasia or The King and I right now...

No, no, I'm going to be responsible and get a good night's sleep.  I will post again soon, but for now I'm off to bed.  In the words of Yul: "So let it be written, so let it be done."

Laku noć! 

What's in a word?

Photograph by Natalie Roberts

My friend Justyna is one of the most elegant people I know.  There's something about her Euro-chic style that I've always admired and envied, something very sophisticated in her manner of speaking the way she carries herself.  It's not just her Polish accent either, although I wish my voice sounded as exotic.

Last weekend, Justyna and I were talking about linguistics, since I'm in the process of becoming bilingual.  Somehow we came upon the subject of lame words and the limits that many Americans have on their vocabularies.  Some guy had asked her to "chill" with him.  Without really asking her on a date, he decided to be as vague as possible, while still keeping his options open (at least this is what he seemed to think).  This whole thing made me think: How ridiculous! what does "chill" mean anyway?  Okay... I'll go outside with you into the snowbank and chill...?!  "Chill" brought about a full blown vent session at how overused and underused the capacity of the English language is.  It seems like "awkward," "cute," "hot," "cool," "attractive," and "interesting" are the only adjectives used nowadays.  (I remember several years ago the it word was "random."  Thankfully that one's gone out of style).

I was recently asked out by a guy whose reason for wanting to date me, he said, was my "awesome personality."  

Eh?

Okay, fine.  I shouldn't be too harsh: at least he tried.  Actually, he seemed to be a halfway decent guy, although our values and plans definitely did not match up and I turned him down.  But really!  Can you be more nondescript?  What does "awesome personality" even mean?  It certainly didn't provide a hint at what he really liked about me.  It would have meant more to me if he would have said something about liking the way I laugh at my own jokes or at least some indication that he was talking about me, and not just generically pegging any number of the world's population whose personality happens to "inspire awe" (whatever that means).

My carping on the depravity of the American vocabulary led me to seek help from an old friend: The Thesaurus.  Armed with this weapon of synonyms, I charged into battle against the shrinking vocabulary of America.  I believe that our overused adjective do struggle to describe common occurrences in the day to day life of a college student, so I have compiled a new and improved list of adjectives.

Overused word:  awkward: difficult to handle

New and improved synonyms: annoying, chancy, disagreeable, discommodious, embarrassing, hazardous, risky, uncomfortable


Overused word: attractive (also cute, hot and cool): appealing, drawing attention

New and improved synonyms: alluring, beckoning, captivating, charming, engaging, enthralling, enticing, fascinating, fetching, gorgeous, inviting, magnetic, mesmeric, stunning, tantalizing, winning

Overused word: interesting: entertaining

New and improved synonyms: absorbing, arresting, charismatic, compelling, engrossing, gripping, impressive, intriguing, inviting, refreshing, riveting, stirring, striking, unusual

So.  That is that.  I think my grammar professor would approve.  Aside from the self-satisfaction of sounding capable, now is a good time to build my vocabulary as it's never too early to start preparing for teaching English overseas.  I certainly want my students to learn better ways of inviting someone out than by asking them to "chill."  (Which I have found no synonyms for that actually fit the guy's use of the word that were worthwhile).

Until next time,
Winona