This is my first post within this blog. The set up and overall aesthetic will take just a little more time to finish. Please Subscribe!
“Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one’s life.“
— Anthony Bourdain
Hello, my name is Elena. I am a student at a University. This is a blog that I am starting to write for a marketing class I am taking this semester. I have wanted to start writing more but have always seemed to put another task ahead. I am now being forced to write for a grade. Although I wanted to start writing on my terms. I must admit I needed the extra push. I am happy that I got to choose a topic that I’m passionate about. The topic that I have chosen to write about for the next 12 weeks is a cultural exploration through a world market.
I was born in Russia and was adopted by my parents at a young age of 6. Although I haven’t experienced much of life at the time, my time there was still very memorable. These memories have a special place in my heart and will never deteriorate by the constant trickle of time. I was fortunate back then to stay at an orphanage for a few years, which gave me opportunities to travel and explore the splendor of Russia and our culture. From religion, history, and art we were well educated. Although we had these opportunities our lives where far from being considered good, but that is for another blog.
I chose this topic because ever since coming to America I have been intrigued by Russian culture as well as others. One of my favorite ways to learn about each one was to cook dishes from them. The quote from Anthony Bourdain above is one of my favorites. Memories of my family before the orphanage was tied through food that we ate.
When I have started to shop for ingredients for certain dishes, I found it hard to always substitute some of the main ingredients. Stores like Food Lion, Kroger, and Wal-Mart have small international ingredient sections and slim pickings for unique produce. I always had to pick dishes that I could closely mimic with these store-bought ingredients. After a while, I got a little sad that I couldn’t fix what I wanted and decided to search for a world market. To my surprise, there was one in the next town which was about 30 minutes away. This town is also a college town but much larger than mine and catered to international students.
With this news, I rejoiced with glee but quickly transitioned to anger at myself for not looking into it sooner. The anger subsided, I grabbed my car keys and started my journey to the world market. My first step into the self-opening doors I knew that this was it, My food exploration had just begun.
Cultural Food Exploration 