A popular topic of conversation among foreigners living here is how to get by without things we’re used to, specifically food items that aren’t available here – how to make maple syrup and brown sugar, where to get flatbread to make tortilla chips, what vegetable makes a good substitute for celery. I am forever scouring the market and grocery store aisles for hard-to-find things, hoping that they’ll appear. I dream about supermarkets at home, full of powdered sugar, black beans and beef bullion. At first, not having things from home seemed like a hardship, then a challenge, now more of a reality of everyday life. And I should note that it has fun to try new foods that aren’t available at home. Recently several conversations I’ve had have made me appreciate the variety of products available in Ukraine. Growing up in a capitalist, materialistic country means that there’s lots of stuff for you to buy, so you get used to that. I’ve been spoiled, without even knowing it. But my friend Oksana grew up in the Soviet Union, and several times she’s described to me the lack of goods in the stores. In clothing stores, dresses, shirts and slacks were all the same style and color, just in different sizes. Shoes, too. Markets sold fruits and vegetables grown within the USSR. Once as a child, Oksana visited Moscow and saw bananas for the first time. She marveled at this strange, exotic fruit and wondered what it tasted like. After the fall of the Soviet Union, new, imported goods began to appear from Turkey. And now she can buy bananas for $.36 per pound at any corner store, brought to her halfway around the world from Ecuador.
After those conversations, my searches for rare ingredients seemed less important, and I’m more aware of the new things that appear on the store shelves. I now appreciate the occasional appearance of dried rosemary and sage, parmesan cheese and peanut butter much more.Laura
