New Food, New Me

I’m sure this will sound very cliche but among my favorite things here in Paris is definitely the food.  I can be somewhat of a picky eater, not liking something because of the texture or simply because of the animal it comes from, even though I may well know I would actually like it if I just looked past that.  It’s something that annoys my parents pretty often.  Sometimes I feel more daring than other times but I tend to stick to foods within my comfort zone.  Of course I expected for Paris to change me as a person a little bit, in terms of mentality and my French competence, but I also find it changing my eating habits.  My host mom, Louise, is an amazing cook.  She was born in Réunion, a French island off the coast of Madagascar and has a Chinese background.  And on top of that, she loves traveling and learning the recipes of other countries, so dinner is always a surprise.  Sometimes, we’ll have Indian food.  Other days, it’ll be Asian food.  And on the days she’s feeling ‘lazy’, we have steak and salad. But either way, the food is always delicious.

At first, I was a little wary of some of the foods but not wanting to seem rude I ate them anyways. I’m not much of a tomato and onion person but I find myself not being opposed to eating them anymore.  I’m also a ‘well-done steak’ kind of girl, never having liked the idea of eating ‘bloody’ meat but rare and medium-rare is actually really good! We had a conversation last night about all the different meats she’s tried such as kangaroo, bear, horse, dog, shark, snake.. the list goes on.  She said they were all very good but thats where I draw the line for myself.  I think I’ve walked out of my comfort zone enough to last me a while. Many things I would never think of eating, I’m eating here.  I’m glad that being immersed in another culture is forcing me to leave my comfort zone and allowing me to grow as a person. I’m sure this is something my parents will appreciate. 

I’ve also noticed that my appetite has increased SO much but I blame how tasty the food is here.  The only thing I can’t wrap my head around is the fact that Paris doesn't have Mexican food (Chipotle doesn't count).  Everyone loves Mexican food! I shouldn't be complaining with how good the food is here but I’m Mexican.  I grew up eating tacos.  I have already decided that my first meal back home will be tacos.  Until then, I guess delicious French food will have to do.