Please someone ship me a pepperoni pizza

Or some crab rangoon. Or some ice cold milk. Or some Cheez-its. Or some chocolate chip cookies. Or a cinnamon roll. Or Diet Coke. Or a non-fat white chocolate mocha. Or some maple syrup. Or iceberg lettuce. Or dill pickles.

I dream a lot about food. This morning I woke up with a serious craving for biscuits with hot melted butter. Once, myself and another volunteer spent a half hour trying to list all the varieties of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

I have been a (most of the time) vegetarian for over 4 years. I’ve learned to deal with food cravings and the self-control needed to resist them.

There are plenty of foods here that I do like. I will never forget the first time I had a craving for pate, a staple here that really is just boiled flour and water. And many foods that are better here than in the United States. (See: pineapple).

But here, the ability to recreate American food is the ability to find something familiar after spending the day waiting to see if your neighbor will help you fetch water from the well or trying to find someone who will replace your lock.

I will never again underestimate the comforting power of Dijon mustard or Velveeta macaroni and cheese.