Food Adventures

It's almost been a month since I arrived in Nantes-what?! Time flies when you're abroad- and my experiences with French food have been nothing short of spectacular. During my time here I've tried a plethora of 'quintessential' French foods like crepes, pain aux chocolate, and galette des rois. I've definitely noticed that the French regard desserts in a much different light than those of us in the States. Having a sweet, fruit, or yogurt after a meal isn't a guilty pleasure, it just is. Breads here usually aren't sweetened with artificial flavoring or bleached white (yeah, we do that, gross), so having a baguette is actually healthy. But I definitely wouldn't suggest eating one everyday. There's a boulangerie right next to my host mom's house and it's a struggle not running in there every morning and buying ten pastries and a sandwich.  

 

My host mom has given me the chance to try a variety of different foods-and I have loved them all.  From soups to apple tarts to, yes, potted duck meat, I don't think I've had the same thing twice. She's is all about making me try things that are different and really healthy, like cabbage salad or potato waffles (its a vegetable, so it counts). I'm sure I got lucky, as I've heard other IES students talk about how "[They've] never eaten a vegetable since [they've] been here" or that thier host families rarely drink any water at the table. I can attest to the latter, I only see my host mom drink water when we're having a meal together, and even then our glasses are less than 8 ounces. It's these little quirks that remind me I'm in France and not in the land of take-out and huge portions of food, but I could seriously go for my mom's fried green tomatoes right now. 

 

Until next time!