"American Style" Dinner

Wednesday | 10:26 AM

This past weekend, on Saturday evening, I cooked an "American Style" Dinner for some of my Russian friends.

The Grocery Store Experience

First, one of my Chinese friends ordered a taxi for me. I took the taxi to the supermarket. This was the first time I had gone to the supermarket by myself. I was able to talk to the taxi driver in Chinese. Luckily, he could understand me! When I got to the supermarket, I was very unsure of what some things were. I also wasn't quite sure what food I was going to make.

After a little bit, the taxi driver came into the store. He was EXTREMELY helpful! He helped me find the things I wanted. I would send my friend from school a message in English and she would translate it and write back to the taxi driver. Some things I could explain myself; however, most things needed to be translated. Towards the end there was an older man who could speak English very well. He joined in and helped me find what I needed.

Finally, I had everything that I needed. I bought pork, bread, butter, cheese, and carrots. It was very hard to find "American Style" food, and I was very surprised to find certain items such as cheese and butter. I planned to make pork and cheese sandwiches (Grilled-Cheese style) and carrots.

The taxi driver was such a nice man! He would not let me carry any of my bags. He even carried them to the dorm building for me. When I offered him extra money for helping me, he immediately rejected my gift; so, I put the extra money on the seat of his car when he was not looking. Of all the Chinese people I have met, they are all VERY nice and always willing to help people, especially foreigners.

The Cooking

When I returned to dorms, my friend Alyona met me in the kitchen. The kitchen is located on the second floor of the dorm building. Together we managed to make the first two sandwiches. Alyona tried a grilled-cheese sandwich without the pork because she is vegetarian and she loved it! Our friend Ada joined us and we continued making the rest of the sandwiches. In total, we made around 12 sandwiches and a TON of carrots. The carrots were boiled and had butter and pepper on them.

Success

When it was finished, seven of us gathered in the cafeteria to eat the food. The others brought various fruits including bananas, apples, strawberries, and blackberries. They said that the sandwiches reminded them of a type of meat they have at home in Russia. Everyone was very pleased, which made me very happy! I am definitely no master chef, so I was glad that everyone enjoyed the food. I plan to make this meal again in the future for some of the Chinese students and staff.