Ice Cream

I don't crave Western food often. There are a couple of things that when mentioned, make my mouth water--cheese and Almond M&Ms. For a while I was craving popcorn, but my mom brought several bags from the States and the craving suddenly disappeared. I haven't actually eaten any yet, but I'll get to it...

Tonight Sarah's friend, Huang Jie treated us to a sundae at Haagendaz. I didn't realize how much I missed eating ice cream until Sarah invited me along last night. I've been thinking about it ever since I woke up this morning.

Haagendaz is one of the swankiest joints in town. The inside has the appearance of a Seattle-style coffee house, with dark lighting and comfortable chairs. I'd heard that Haagendaz was expensive and was only a place to take your date, but I'd never been there myself.

It turns out the rumors are all true, the place is expensive ($10 banana split!?) and full of young couples. Sarah, her friends and myself sat on a set of couches in the far corner. Being the guests, we were asked to order first. The problem was that everything on the menu was in the US $10 range, and we both felt guilty ordering what we wanted. We hemmed and hawed and argued for a bit until succeeded in making everyone else order first. Taking our cues from them, we ordered a banana split and a dulce de leche sundae. Mmmmmm...

I've been slowly coming up with a list of foods I want to eat upon return to the States. We've all talked amongst ourselves about what we want to eat as our first meal back at home. I think I'm going to revise mine. Mom, Dad: I'd like a homemade ice cream sundae with whip cream, chocolate sauce and cherries. Add that to the Thanksgiving dinner, pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, carne asada, caesar salad, cold cereal, block of cheese, apple pie...

What will become of me?

One of my biggest concerns about returning home is what I will eat upon arrival on American soil. This is a serious issue, and I've been devoting more time than I should thinking about it. This sounds like a ridiculous question, but I assure you it is very serious indeed.

I've been eating Chinese food for nearly eight months now, and I keep wondering when I'll get sick of it. Fortunately that day never comes, and I'm just as happy eating today as I will be tomorrow. In fact, while the food I eat at home fills me, the food I eat here makes me happy. I've been trying to figure out a way to bring food home with me in my suitcases. How much can I take? What's currently available in the US? What can't I find at home? What will make good gifts? I've even gone so far as to check online to see what can be shipped.

This may not sound like much, but it is. I cannot express how good the food I eat is. My roommate and I used to sit and rave over each dish we ate. After a while, that became too redundant as every dish we ate was delicious. Now it takes a conscience effort to only say it was good.

What is to become of me?