I like my regular meal at restaurants, with the occasional impulsive decision to try something new. I do love the feeling of discovering new foods and adopting the culture. The all-time classic while being here in Paris is the pain au chocolat, a croissant filled with chocolate. This is my go-to in the mornings before work. I allowed myself to try fromage blanc, a yogurt substance that is a little sour. At the bakery in Laval, we love the fromage blanc avec speculos, which is basically yogurt with crumbled cookies on top. I love the flavorful sandwiches made on baguettes, covered in poppy, sunflower, and sesame seeds. I found a type of puff chip that tastes like peanut butter, which is very comforting because peanut butter is difficult to find. Cheddar cheese is another comfort food that has been difficult to find, but we have managed to find it in the largest of supermarkets. At the internship, I have learned to like black coffee just a little bit more because it does not seem like they put creamer in it. I am learning to cook at a much more rapid pace here in Paris than at ORU, since we have a little kitchen. I love the experience of shopping, making food together and sharing spices.

A particular scarring experience that I had was at a Pho restaurant in downtown Paris. I was eating my pho soup with chicken (which I figured was safer than any other meat) and out of the murky waters emerged something I was not familiar with. It was brown and looked like meat, but not chicken meat. It was covered in little white things. I ignored it for a while, but became increasingly disturbed by it. When I pointed it out, no one seemed to know what it was. Jeff claims it was a chicken’s uterus, covered in the eggs. I have never been more grossed out and disturbed than I was in that moment.

I found a menu in a fried chicken restaurant that had a section devoted to “TEX-MEX” Because I am from Texas, I was intrigued to see what might be offered. The food had nothing to do with Mexican food, it was merely fried mozzarella sticks. I found this humorous. Pear juice and apricot juice have become my new favorite drinks. I discovered pear juice in Bolivia this past summer, and I am sincerely hoping that I can find these in the United States!