Last week was a week full of food, friends and host family. Not only was Thursday, Thanksgiving, but, Wednesday we celebrated Hram (City Day) here in Nisporeni.
Hram, is a holiday in Moldova that celebrates the city, town, or village that one lives in. Every town has their own day. And, Nisporeni happens to have it's Hram every year on November 21st. So, Tuesday evening host mom and I began the preparations for the big meal we would have on Wednesday.
She requested I make pizza, this has become her go-to dish for me to make. I'm honestly not sure if she really likes pizza or she likes the fact that I can make pizza. Regardless, I was more than happy to lend a hand in the kitchen. Now, if you have ever been to Moldova you know that pizza here is not the same as pizza back home. The standard pizza in Moldova arrives with a layer of mayonnaise. To be honest, I'm not sure why this extra topping is deemed necessary but alas it is, and so we peace corps volunteers adapt. Now, when I make the pizzas' at my home in Nisporeni we play by American rules. No carrots, or cabbage, or funky mystery meats, and definitely NO mayonnaise! No; we go classic. So, after I had made my homemade dough and rolled it out on the counter I asked host mom where the tomato sauce was that I would be spreading over what would, undoubtedly be bubbly chewy golden crust. I knew I was going to be disappointed when she said, well I don't really like tomato sauce so instead I bought an alternative. 'Here we go', I thought, 'here comes the mayo...'. And then, host mom pulled out a packet from the fridge and there in her hand was a bag of tartar sauce. ...................................... Let me just let that sink in for you, my lovely reader................... Host mom was asking me to defile my beautiful pizza with tartar sauce. But, then she smiled and said 'I think this will be better, don't you?' The thoughts that raced through my mind were not particularly pleasant, but after a few seconds and seeing the big goofy smile on my host moms face I conceded and squeezed the contents of the tartar sauce packet out onto the beautiful dough I had prepared. These are the trials of a peace corps volunteer. It's a hard life, right? I'm thinking I'm going to be chowing down on some seriously delicious pizza and than I'm covering it in tartar sauce. But, you know what, these are the things that a year and a half in Moldova has deadened me to. I challenge any Moldovan to shock me, at this point, it's not going to happen. And, after a year and a half, that tartar sauce pizza, I hate to admit, didn't taste half bad.
Thanksgiving is always a crap time to be away from home, but this year I decided I would celebrate with my host family. Last year I was off with other volunteers and we had a very American thanksgiving lost in some bloc-apartment in Moldova. This year I wanted to celebrate slightly differently, I wanted to involve my host family. They have, after all, involved me in all of their special celebrations, it was my turn to show them how we Americans do the holidays. So, Thanksgiving morning I awoke early to start to cook for the entire day. I was happily interrupted by some lovable family members who had dipped into the holiday punch early and decided to skype with me before getting a little rest before the big day. I baked and cooked all day. I would make anyone who knew me in my 'previous life', as the girl who could barely make ramen noodles correctly, very proud. I happily scrambled, mixed, chopped, sauteed, molded and stirred my way through countless hours of Christmas music, kitchen dancing, and cooking! And later that day, when a couple of volunteer friends arrived in Nisporeni, we streamed a live broadcast of the Macy's day parade, sipped on festive holiday drinks, and enjoyed each others company. Later, at meal time we all sat down together, as volunteers and host family members, as Americans and Moldovans, and had very special bi-lingual Thanksgiving (my first ever!).
Hope you had a happy, peaceful, and thankful Turkey Day across the pond!
Hram, is a holiday in Moldova that celebrates the city, town, or village that one lives in. Every town has their own day. And, Nisporeni happens to have it's Hram every year on November 21st. So, Tuesday evening host mom and I began the preparations for the big meal we would have on Wednesday.
She requested I make pizza, this has become her go-to dish for me to make. I'm honestly not sure if she really likes pizza or she likes the fact that I can make pizza. Regardless, I was more than happy to lend a hand in the kitchen. Now, if you have ever been to Moldova you know that pizza here is not the same as pizza back home. The standard pizza in Moldova arrives with a layer of mayonnaise. To be honest, I'm not sure why this extra topping is deemed necessary but alas it is, and so we peace corps volunteers adapt. Now, when I make the pizzas' at my home in Nisporeni we play by American rules. No carrots, or cabbage, or funky mystery meats, and definitely NO mayonnaise! No; we go classic. So, after I had made my homemade dough and rolled it out on the counter I asked host mom where the tomato sauce was that I would be spreading over what would, undoubtedly be bubbly chewy golden crust. I knew I was going to be disappointed when she said, well I don't really like tomato sauce so instead I bought an alternative. 'Here we go', I thought, 'here comes the mayo...'. And then, host mom pulled out a packet from the fridge and there in her hand was a bag of tartar sauce. ...................................... Let me just let that sink in for you, my lovely reader................... Host mom was asking me to defile my beautiful pizza with tartar sauce. But, then she smiled and said 'I think this will be better, don't you?' The thoughts that raced through my mind were not particularly pleasant, but after a few seconds and seeing the big goofy smile on my host moms face I conceded and squeezed the contents of the tartar sauce packet out onto the beautiful dough I had prepared. These are the trials of a peace corps volunteer. It's a hard life, right? I'm thinking I'm going to be chowing down on some seriously delicious pizza and than I'm covering it in tartar sauce. But, you know what, these are the things that a year and a half in Moldova has deadened me to. I challenge any Moldovan to shock me, at this point, it's not going to happen. And, after a year and a half, that tartar sauce pizza, I hate to admit, didn't taste half bad.
Thanksgiving is always a crap time to be away from home, but this year I decided I would celebrate with my host family. Last year I was off with other volunteers and we had a very American thanksgiving lost in some bloc-apartment in Moldova. This year I wanted to celebrate slightly differently, I wanted to involve my host family. They have, after all, involved me in all of their special celebrations, it was my turn to show them how we Americans do the holidays. So, Thanksgiving morning I awoke early to start to cook for the entire day. I was happily interrupted by some lovable family members who had dipped into the holiday punch early and decided to skype with me before getting a little rest before the big day. I baked and cooked all day. I would make anyone who knew me in my 'previous life', as the girl who could barely make ramen noodles correctly, very proud. I happily scrambled, mixed, chopped, sauteed, molded and stirred my way through countless hours of Christmas music, kitchen dancing, and cooking! And later that day, when a couple of volunteer friends arrived in Nisporeni, we streamed a live broadcast of the Macy's day parade, sipped on festive holiday drinks, and enjoyed each others company. Later, at meal time we all sat down together, as volunteers and host family members, as Americans and Moldovans, and had very special bi-lingual Thanksgiving (my first ever!).
Hope you had a happy, peaceful, and thankful Turkey Day across the pond!
What a lovely post!
ReplyDelete