Thursday 14 August 2014

LIFE: Seeking Comfort in a Foreign Land

While I often talk about exploring the US as a Brit, it's rare that I that share the feelings, the emotions of being thousands of miles from the land of my nationality. Sometimes that British land, it's countryside, it's TV shows and food feels so far away. So as part of the expat revelations link up with Holly - the blogger behind English Girl Canadian Man, I want to find the words to talk more about being away from the homeland in a strange country and all the emotions, feelings behind it. I mean it has been nearly 3 years, and writing about it might just help me deal with my lack of confidence because of being a bit of an outsider.

When those times arise when I miss the country, or all the rain reminds me of Yorkshire or I crave mushy peas, when I feel a little lost or I get bugged about my accent again, the one way of finding comfort for me, is food. But not in the comfort eating piling on the pounds way. Food is comforting but it's also a fantastic way of embracing your new home and culture and a way of keeping in touch with your homeland.

I admit, I love food, I love trying new food, granted sometimes it all feels a little overwhelming but it's a great adventure all the same. Prior to moving to the US I'd never eaten any Mexican food nor really had a milkshake - now both firm favorites. Let's be honest I'd barely stepped into a fast food place prior to moving here. Food is that bridge between cultures. You can embrace the new (the BBQ, pancakes, burgers) your own culture (the fish n chips, pasties) and even find new foreign cuisines in your own foreign land (in my instance Mexicantown). That's one of the things that makes America so great, it's history of immigrants, of movement and travel there's so much international influence in food. It all comes to play in food.

fishnchips
The English (left) verses the America fish n chips - which would you prefer?

It's even fun to make it a challenge - like my adventures in trying Cornish Pasties up in Traverse City and Mackinaw City to finding the best place in Metro Detroit that serves up fish n chips. I still get to eat a British favorite, but I'm eating how Americans think it should be. Sometimes it's bang on, sometimes it's presented in a way you might never have considered, sometimes it's way off the mark. It's fun all the same and sometimes I just need that plate of fish n chips, or I need that bacon sarnie with HP sauce dribbled all over, a boiled egg with soldiers for my lunch, my salad topped off with salad cream not one of the thousands of salad dressings you'll find in a store here.

I could go on.

Food itself is comforting. It can warm you up, cool you down, fill your needs and invite your senses to new places. Embracing the local cuisine, eating where the locals eat, to having a favorite on a menu is that step to reaching out, to finding a home. But sometimes just a trip to the local store (Meijer in my case) just to pass a glance over the British section of the international food aisle. Picking up a treat whether it's brown sauce, salad cream or an overpriced Yorkie bar, just that can take a girl back to her Yorkshire roots. 

But if there's one thing that is more comforting than anything, well that's always a cuppa tea.

That and my childhood teddy bear that I brought over with me, reading a good book, crafting but the cuppa tea, that's always a winner lets be honest.

42 comments:

  1. erm, can we chat about some things you said here....you'd never had mexican food or a MILKSHAKE. whhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaatttttttt? That's crazy. And if you ever really really miss yourkshire, just shout. I'll post you a bit over ;) x

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    1. Yeap, I'd never come across any Mexican food before moving. Not sure what that says about me or where I lived!! Haha I shall hold you to that offer the next time i'm craving some Quavers!

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    2. Quavers I can d. A multi pack would weigh nothing! I remember the things we got brought out to us/posted when I lived in France and then California. My dad lived in Paris when I was in the alps and once brough proper bacon and loads of baked beans for us. And then my mum posted me a tray of creme eggs, a multi pack of wotsits and a bottle of iron bru! Random, but appreciated.

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    3. Haha the things you miss when you're aboard!

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  2. Yes! I'm an American expat living in Germany, and I'll often try "American" things here and then judge really how "American" they are. Like cupcakes. Cupcakes have made a small break into Germany, but they often don't taste the same...usually not enough sugar :D

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    1. Oooo cupcakes! I haven't found much difference between the UK and the US variety of cupcakes that's for sure, although, like everything food wise the cupcakes are bigger over here!

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  3. I have my childhood teddy too! I love how you describe food as being comforting itself. It is so thing that we need and enjoy on a basic level, so of course there is comfort in it. You are absolutely right that food is a way of bridging gaps. People here here I live all think mushy peas are gross! I love the though, although I have to make my own now, rather than nipping to a fish and chip shop on a Friday night. Food is also a great way of bring people from different cultures together. I love cooking British food for people here, as much as I love eating Canadian food!

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    1. I've seen recipes for mushy peas but haven't got around to trying any myself. They have them in the British section in our local supermarket but I'm always reaching for the sauces or the chocolate first. Mind you I did use to love mushy peas with chips and sausages, nom! I do miss being able to nip to a chippy for a chippy tea or a proper chip buttie though!

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  4. Fab post! Like you I find comfort in food when away from home. When I'm back in the uk I head for a curry or fish and chips (which I try to find here too!) but as soon as I jump off the plane I go for a Mexican with queso! If we ever moved back queso would be my new fish and chips! You're right though...a proper brew solves everything!

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    1. You can never find the thick chips here I find, which always rank the fish n chips adventures down I will be honest. And yeah, i'd really miss the Mexican food and decent pizza if I was to leave now.

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  5. It makes me laugh if I see an English themed place on a TV show like Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. They never look right.

    Caroline
    www.puttingyourlifeinorder.blogspot.co.ul

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    1. I donno, we have a British themed pub and i've been to some other British themed places and they are always fun and serve a decent meal that's for sure.

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  6. Even thought its soooo cliche, I do love a proper brew. I have one with me right nownhaha. I would miss it so much!

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    1. Luckily it's not so far to come across tea, I think it's certainly a growing trend over here and it's no longer just in the British sections of stores. You can certainly easily come across Yorkshire (bagged and loose), Tetley and PJ tips in most stores. So I never have to few being tea less!

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  7. mexican food is a staple of my life, I can only imagine the scale and variety of it in America. Your comforters sound pretty similar to what mine would be. I can't blame you for preferring UK fish and chips - that just proves you're sound of mind! Have you found your accent has become Americanised? x

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    1. Ahh Mexican is everywhere, i'm spoilt with having a Mexicantown close(ish) which has some great restaurants and bakeries. I don't think my accent has changed, it's certainly a bit more plain English these days rather than straight up East Yorkshire that's for sure, I have to tame it a little or people really won't understand. It's weird because when I lived in Newcastle for university I picked up a but of a Geordie twang really easy (maybe having a Geordie gran didn't help) but I can't say I notice it's changing. I shall have to study myself and see if I notice if it had haha

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  8. Oh I know what you mean. When I lived in Germany I sought out the English food shop so that I could buy Dairy Milk, Ribena and Yorkshire Tea Bags at massively inflated prices for a little taste of home. Sometimes it's just what you need.

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    1. Why is the Ribena in particular so over priced?! It's crazy, it's always the most expensive thing in the sections. America isn't big into the diluted drinks so there's nothing similar, I might have to grab some the next time i'm shopping all this English food talk is making me crave some! And you did right sticking with the Yorkshire tea, we can get it here (although it's not too easy to come across) and i've been drinking Tetley, but it's just not the same.

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  9. Definitely with you there on the cuppa tea stakes - especially Yorkshire Gold! I'm a bit of an outsider myself, living in France (working in Switzerland) but originallg from the UK, and while it's nowhere near as far away as you are from the UK, it's still very different! You've got a lovely blog so I look forward to reading more since we have the whole ex-pat thing in common :) Danielle x

    frontière girl

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    1. Wow I can imagine you're still experiencing so many different cultures and with a language difference too. I really need to get stocked up on m Yorkshire tea, nothing compares!

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  10. Great post. I can't believe it has been almost 3 years since you moved, I remember reading your early posts when you had just arrived. You are right - food is an incredible bridge between cultures. Whilst we were in America we ate some incredible stuff - the most amazing clam chouder (San Fran), cinnamon pretzels (Pier 39), banana milkshake (LA)... the list goes on. I am a lover of great food.
    Something really odd is that before I met Simon, I had never ate any type of Indian/Mexican food, now I can't get enough! Funny how with age/time/relationships appetites adapt and change :) xxx

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    1. It's crazy how fast time has flown, time needs to slow down a little, it certainly goes quicker as an adult. America certainly has some great food and for a great price, I get spoiled here that's for sure.

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  11. Ahh, I need my tea. Kris bought me back some Tetley from his quick trip to the UK and it's nice. Luckily for me, the Asian supermarket sells PG tips so I can always grab a bag when I'm running low. I don't know why the Asian supermarket sells British tea bags among all the Asian food, but I'm not complaining.

    There's not too much in the way of British equivalent food here. The don't really understand gravy, salad cream or vinegar. They don't have 'proper' chips and certainly no battered fish... It's so sad here in Belgium :(

    When I miss home, I pop over to the British store, only 30mins on the bus, run by English people and I can have a good chat to the checkout person, which is a big fat no no here. I also get to buy a cream tea from the cafe!

    British TV bring me comfort, I do love our TV and our humour. I actually miss the UK more than I thought, faily i don't miss at all, but I do miss the general British-ness.

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    1. Gravy comes in a jar here, not that i'm a big gravy fan but it's wrong, very wrong. Vinegar is making some waves over here, i've certainly noticed it being out on tables in restaurants a lot more in the coming years, although many American's look at it in a wtf way.

      I just like staring at the British food section. I pop the overly expensive chocolate, drool over the mushy peas. I don't have to always buy something, I can just look at it and be happy inside. Knowing that it's there is a big help.

      Oh and has for humour and Tv shows, yeah that's a biggie. I wish BBC America showed more recent and regular stuff - it's always Top Gear reruns and Gordon Ramsey stuff, they show an hour of BBC news but it's at 7am which is silly. Don't get me wrong they show Dr Who but sometimes you need a little more and the stuff on Netflix is so old. I guess that's why I've started watching Neighbours, not that that show's British but I use to watch it growing up so the link is there.

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  12. Now I'm curious about salad cream instead of salad dressing!

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    1. Haha yeah the British love for salad cream.

      SC was actually one of the first things Heinz made just for the UK market (which is always weird for me now living in the US and knowing how big Heinz is) and it's basically a mayonnaise rival but used and much loved as a salad dressing and a sandwich spread. Yet it differs from mayo in the amount of vinegar and has a tangy taste. I hear that in the last couple of years it's become a lot easier to find in the US - particular in the north east and mid west which gets a lot of British expats (which is great yey).

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  13. I like Dorset tea or Yorkshire tea and I know I would be lost without it.When I went to NZ I longed for some Robinsons squash and had to pay £5 for a big bottle in a British shop. More countries need to adopt squash haha xx

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    1. That's what I was thinking the other day while doing the food shopping - the US has so many different juices and fruit juices but it's never squash. And yeah, Ribena and the Robinson's is about the same price here in the US. One day i'll give in when i'm over my Ocean Spray crush!

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  14. Funnily food is one of the biggest things I miss from Scotland. I mean, there are lots of things, but the little inconvenience of not being able to have a macaroni pie or eat good black pudding niggles.

    I'm not really an ex-pat but for me Scotland and England are so different that a lot of times it feels like I am. So I totally agree. You should have seen how excited I got when I found single cans of Irn Bru in Poundland the other day!

    Sorcha x Bright Field Notes

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    1. Even between Yorkshire and Newcastle I missed food - like the stotties bread buns and even being able to get irn bru in Yorkshire was so hard. We managed to grab some irn bru here once, but it'd vanished the next time, I think it's restricted for whatever reason. But there's certainly nothing anywhere like that drink that's for sure!

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  15. Huh I guess I never really thought about the UK not having Mexican food, but I guess it makes total sense! Fish n Chips is one of my favorite meals, but there are so many different variations of it around here that I'm not sure what exactly its SUPPOSED to be like, haha.

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    1. From the various types of American attempts at fish n chips, the one thing that lets them down is the chips. In the UK we have our chips thick, never the fries and never with colesaw, always mushy peas if anything. Even the English themed pub in Royal Oak here in Michigan didn't get it quite right, i'm hoping whenever I get around to dragging Joe to the Scottish themed pub in Pittsburgh that they get it a little closer to being "right". Haha not that I need an excuse to try it and see either way lol

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  16. Whoaaa, fries with fish looks so weird! I hardly ever eat chips, but you've gotta have chips and scraps with fish! You're so right about tea, mind, it fixes everything!

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    1. Oh I love a chip and scrap buttie - that was always a great treat (especially when I lived a couple of houses away from a chippie at uni). Fries are just wrong for fish n chips, they are so hard and stick thin and just yeah, wrong lol. Could never use a wooden fork with them that's for sure.

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  17. Firstly I think writing about the emotional side of being an expat is so important, it's often the hardest thing to do but when you get people replying that they know exactly how you feel it really helps.
    Now, food... I totally agree that it is important to eat like a local to help you settle in but the odd treat from home is always such a mood booster. Your comments about salad cream instead of the thousands of varieties we have here made me smile and what is it about gravy this side of the atlantic!? I regularly spend $10 on a pack of Oxo cubes and a tub of Bisto but they are so worth it :-D
    We're three years into our expat life too and still haven't found a decent fish and chip shop yet!

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    1. So true - I find blogging and twitter in general great for finding those links with other expats because outside of the Internets I don't know of anyone else that has moved countries, well not to talk to so personally about the experience and emotions.

      Gravy in a jar is still such an odd concept to me - granted it doesn't taste too bad, but it's weird and looks nasty! And has much as I love some American foods and condiments, i'll always reach for my HP and my salad cream!

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  18. Tea and salad cream might be all anyone ever needs.
    I don't know expat life but I imagine familiar-ish food is a fantastic comfort (or at least judging the imitations!)
    Loved your writing here Rachael, made me feel a bit melancholic at the start.
    M x

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    1. Thank you - nearly three years into this expat life, I still find the act of being an expat really hard to deal with at times and even more so with writing about, so these link ups are a bit of a challenge that I want to make myself think, write and share.

      And as for salad cream, I have no idea how American's cope without it!

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  19. I loved Holly's blog post/linkup/series! Very interesting! And I love how you talk about food - except for skyping with my relatives, etc. - my favourite way of coping with homesickness was to binge on food from home! Hello poutine! I have to say that foreign food is something I also missed while in the UK - it's not as easily accessible as it is in North America!

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  20. I often think that the way we do food is what makes us human. Seriously, we don't just eat to live, we make eating an art form. You don't see badgers adding some thyme to their dinner, but we really go all out and make meals part of our culture. Food always has such memories and places associated with it. Oh and being from Yorkshire, it has to be Yorkshire fish and chips, or maybe pie and chips all the way. And the gravy. Mmmm.

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  21. Sometimes food really does hit the spot. It's tough not to compare your favorite dishes to your new homes attempts. But when they hit the mark, it is a glorious day indeed! There are days when I miss all my fast food options back in the states, I'll be honest. Completely RIDICULOUS since I live in France, but tastebuds want what tastebuds want!

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  22. I make a lot of English food since I'm English on my mother's side and Southern US on my father's. And I grew up with tea (loose leaf), so I drink it all day every day! I feel quite at home when visiting England. Always wanted to live there, but the time for such a move would've been when I was in my twenties.

    Not sure what the references to canned gravy are about. I've seen canned gravy and gravy mix packets in grocery stores, but I've never tasted it. I make everything "from scratch" as they say, as my mother did before me, so I've always had homemade gravy.

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