Today’s post brought to you by: footpaths
Grateful for: ability to walk some of the food off
Trying hard to accept: dog next door is barking all night for a good reason
Special tena koutou katoa to NZ readers. Hey so you know how we scoff at Brits and Americans who go overseas and insist on eating same food they get at home?
Well, right now I’m in their camp. Actually am in Starbucks, Longwood, Florida seeking solace in the familiar – and also ‘cause get instant wifi after taking refuge in their sister store in scary Noo Orlins.
Oh Starbucks my friend. I filtered this picture so you wouldn’t notice my zit-laden sallow skin.
Was feeling a bit overwhelmed/sleep-deprived/lonely/fish out of water here when I first arrived so started writing this post in Starbucks. Till I cleverly somehow created a duplicate site by mistake. So once you read this post you can flick over to my other site and read it all again.
Writing these posts makes me happy. Now I know most of you are in work grind and I’m on a long holiday and I should be happy all the time but some days the ‘foreignness’ of the US, which I’ve mentioned before, overwhelms me a bit.
It’s the 101 little things everyday that I need to learn and adjust to. Like being on an overseas phone number … I WISH THAT DOG WOULD SHUT UP … and the change in climate and crossing my fingers my credit card works every time and getting people to understand my accent and vocabulary and crossing the street without being killed and all sorts of things.
After holding back the tears saying goodbye to Ben am now staying with her Friendship Force contacts, Lynn and Kurth in Longwood.
It’s is about as far away economically, demographically and politically from The Villages as you can get.
Only 1 hour and 4 tolls booths away but might as well be in another world.
Hearing I’d been immersed in Trump land for the last week, Lynn very quickly pointed out that they do not like him. One little bit.
Typical house in my ‘hood. Happened to be walking by school as kids were leaving and seems to be real racial mix here – lot of super cute African American kids with cornrows, and Latinos.
Pond down the end of the street. And guess what? There are footpaths! Everywhere! Hallelujah!
We went to BBQ place for lunch. So many options and combos and tailor-mades to choose from and decisions that had to be made super quickly, I just ordered anything.
In hindsight should have ordered nothing because boy I did not need that food. My stomach looked like the pig outside, my skin has decided enough is enough, I’m probably getting rickets and beri-beri, and I’ve spent the afternoon trying and failing to walk up an appetite for dinner.
So that’s it. No more fat, carb-laden, salt-laden, fried, flat grilled, microwaved, instant, reheated or leftover food.
After lunch Lynn and Kurth took me for a stroll in the local wetlands kind of forest area. Swamps and wild pigs and lots of ferns.
Then I walked 3 blocks to the local shops. You won’t find any Make America Great Again bumper stickers or Christmas ornaments in these parts.
From where I was standing in one spot I could see: Save a Lot, Family Dollar, Buy A Lot!, Buy A Lot More!, tattoo place, thrift store, African braiding place, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Latino grocery and deli, 2 pawn shops and a bait shop.
First stop, thrift store. If I could’ve I would’ve brought home half the shop, particularly as landlord was evicting them and everything was ‘make an offer’.
Asked woman on counter what she was eating because it smelt mighty fine. Turns out she’s from Barbados and it was a casserole of grits, mackerel (yes you read that right) and okra.
Yip sounds friggin’ awful but bet it was friggin’ good. She gave me name of Caribbean joints I should eat at so will try to find one.
I was like a pig in muck (ie any pig not in these dangerous BBQ-obsessed parts) in Save A Lot.
Nasty Gatorade $1/litre. Check. Bananas 45c/lb. Check. Cheap and fresh veg. Check. Hamburger Helper 99c. Double check.
I’ve wanted to eat this every time I’ve opened ‘Good Housekeeping’ or ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ magazines. A true American classic.
Lynn and Kurth have just gotten home from Japan. Check out the beautifully wrapped wasabi peanuts. One of their hosts gave Lynn the most delicate pink silk kimono. “It’s a spare, I just had it hanging in the cupboard”. Cripes, if you came to my house and got given something that was just hanging in the cupboard you’d end up with a $2 Trade Me dress with holes in the seams that I can’t be bothered fixing.
After dinner “Hello salmon my old friend, I’ve come to eat with you again …” they asked me to choose a video we could all watch from their collection of overseas trips. Japan is still in production so Norway it was.
If you live in NZ you don’t need to cash in your KiwiSaver to go to Norway. Just sell your kids and go to Fjordland instead.
Honestly, it’s exactly the same. Green forever, narrow hilly roads … WHERE IS THAT RUGER I HAD THE OTHER NIGHT? … sheep, cows, woofers, wooden houses, high taxes, water water everywhere and youthful, charming locals.