Food

I have been away from home before. When I was 21 I visited New Zealand and Australia for three months. A couple years later I spent several months in Argentina. I have been with the military for nearly four months and let me tell you it seems like a lifetime longer than any other trip. For one thing, when I was in those countries I ate wonderful food. The tomatoes in NZ are as sweet and juicy as strawberries. Fresh veggies at restaurants and grocery stores sprout up like bouquets of flowers. Ice cream and beer await your purchase in every town and highway side stop. In Argentina, I was there in winter, the tomatoes were soggy and pizza always tasted off. But the panederias, bakeries, always offered croissants, doughnuts and other delights for under a dollar. We would spend hours sipping lattes with full cream in the cafes followed by more croissants. In Balad we have a coffee shop on the compound and I have indulged in carmel soy lattes on more than one occasion, but it just not the same. As for bread, I can't describe you the bitterness in biting into a stale, flavorless bun. On the up side the lettuce is usually fresh and the carrots are crunchy. There is a heathy bar, which serves some kind of white fish and cooked vegetables still dripping with water.
I think about food a lot, but surely the differences between my travels cannot be described within the narrow limits of cuisine?
Tonight in the chow hall, I explained to a soldier my recent daydreams including Pad Thai and carrot soup (even writing this makes my stomach growl). "Well food is a huge morale booster," he said as if this news could comfort me. I can't imagine any morale being boosted here. Yes the dining facility is much better that an MRE (meal ready to eat, containing freeze-dried, dehydrated food) or the processed mac and cheese and greasy beef servings at the cafeteria in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma where I started my deployment.
So relatively speaking, things are not so bad, but as I am writing this words at 4 am on an empty stomach I find reason to complain.
When I shut my laptop down I can eat in my dreams.