The Largest Hurdle

I should only write a quick post today, since I have my first Italian exam tomorrow. So many grammatical rules to review/memorize! A, In, Con, Di, Da, Per, Su, Tra/Fra... Ugh.

But I just finished making dinner: an egg scramble with caramelized onions, tomatoes, fresh basil, and grated Parmesan. It was sooo good, and made with very simple ingredients.

While I stirred the caramelizing onions, however, my mind began to wander and I began to contemplate. "In my two weeks in Rome so far," I thought, "I think that the hardest part has been adjusting to grocery stores and differing food patterns."

I absolutely love Italian food and the way that Italians approach food in general, but I'm still finding it really stressful in many regards. Prices on so many things are backwards - eggs and milk cost more than mozzarella and parmesan (2 euros for 6 eggs, 1.5 for a quart of milk, 2 for a pound of mozzarella and Parmesan). Stores are laid out differently (sugar is placed next to eggs rather than flour). There are many things that are nearly impossible to find here (read: anything canned) and some things are so expensive that it would be silly to buy them, such as tortillas - a staple of my diet in California.

This isn't even considering the language barrier. Yesterday, there were not one but TWO awkward language gaps to fill during my shopping trip. The first: I asked a lady in the store where she had found the rosemary. I guess my question wasn't very clear, because it took a good 2 minutes to get the response I was looking for (a finger pointed towards the produce, it turns out). The second was when I was checking out. The clerk asked me for 47. I balked. There was no WAY that my small bundle of the groceries was that much! But wait... I had given her 50! It should have been fine. Turns out she was asking for 47 cents so that she could make change more easily. Whoops.

All of my grocery-purchasing adventures thus far have been pretty stressful, but I think I just have to keep in mind a few things:
1) As I get more and more used to things here, shopping will become easier. I'll know where things are, I'll know what's available, and I will also (perhaps) have more inspiration for cooking after seeing more Italian dishes.
2) I should appreciate the things that are fresh here, because when I return home, I won't have that same luxury. Right now, an enormous bundle of fresh basil is under a euro, spices are cheap, and cheese is amazing. Too bad I can't smuggle some back with me to San Diego.
3) I will inevitably miss things. At the moment I'm wishing I could have chile, bean and cheese burritos (always, actually), and orange chicken. Cheddar cheese in general, too. You'd think with all of the cheese here that there would be some. No such luck.
4) It's REALLY hard to bake here. We currently don't have measuring cups, butter, vanilla extract, baking powder/soda... the list could go on. And everything here is metric, which gets rid of any possibility of making comforting favorite baked good recipes. I may experiment, but it might just be something to anticipate for when I return to the States.

Food is one of the biggest reasons I decided to study in Italy, and because I care so much about cooking and baking, it's a really great way to experience a new culture - both the good and the bad/scary things that that entails. As I have more grocery store and cooking adventures, I'll evaluate after my experiences, and hopefully notice positively shifting feelings about the subject. I'll keep you posted!

Now time to study... Wish me luck!