Pass the phô mai. Or is it fromage?
Pass the phô mai. Or is it fromage? Most of you would call it cheese.
Honestly, this one was really easy to figure out. phô mai sounded so familiar to fromage, that as soon as Duc’s mom said it, I shuffled her over to the finest cheese that GIANT has to offer — which isn’t great by the way. Buy your cheese at Wegmans or Whole Foods, you’ll thank me later.
But fine cheese selections aside, grocery shopping in another language is both as complicated and easy as it sounds.
Nobody needs to a translator to pick out some chicken. Chicken thighs are pretty universal.
Now beef? Also, don’t need a translator for good marbling. But there might be a surprise at the register when you learn that you just spent $28 on an overrated cut of steak.
Lucky for us, Duc’s mom didn’t have to fumble around with currency the way I do in a Vietnamese market. 267,000 dong?
If you’ve never been to market abroad, I strongly encourage you to try. Not just because you can find Pho chips and green tea Kit Kat bars. Because you get to walk in someone else’s daily life. You get a glimpse into the local’s pantry, their fridge, their way of life.
For Duc’s mom, that matters more than the cheese selection. She gets to experience what her daughter experiences in her new life. She gets to shop the same aisles, she gets to see the world through her lenses.
Food is universal, so is love. The experience with Duc’s mom today opened me up to what she must feel with her daughter in a far away land. Proud? Always. Feelings of sadness? I have no doubt. But end of the day, it’s joy that she gets to experience something as simple as shopping with one of the people she cherishes the most.
Travel near, travel far, travel in someone else’s normal. Travel Uncomfortably.
Pass the phô mai. Or is it fromage? Most of you would call it cheese.
Grocery shopping in another language is both as complicated and easy as it sounds. Nobody needs a translator to pick out chicken. Beef? Also fine — until you’re $28 into an overrated cut at the register.
Travel near, travel far, travel in someone else’s normal. 🧀