strength & dignity

for the love of good food

Ever since I’ve decided to move into an apartment with some friends in the fall, I’ve been madly brainstorming meal plans and bookmarking mouth-watering recipes that I’d stumble across on tumblr or some other food blog. I’m beyond excited to start cooking… maybe it’s my way of eating smarter since I can control what goes on my plate and what doesn’t. Or maybe it’s my way of leaving greasy college dining hall food in the past (and overpriced college meal plans). It all really started sometime in January 2011, when I came back to my college town from a cozy Christmas break at home and realized what a huge blessing it was to have a home-cooked meal everyday. I arrived to NC State so excited, peppy and looking forward to uni life - including dining hall food. So August, September, October, and November went by. Then it hit December. When I went home to stay a while for the winter break, the kitchen became my solace in lieu of newly made and missed college friends, and so did comforting meals with my family. Not just meals, but the delicious, hearty, soul-warming food put on the table by my mom. Of course I’ve had the blessing of indulging in my mom’s cooking for the past 20 years but as it is with everything else (and quite sadly) it took a little break from that to realize what I had. After the break I went back to my dorm and back to the dining halls. Not so exciting anymore… I lost the monstrous appetite that I used to have come meal times and found myself counting down to the days I’d eat a home cooked meal again… and thank God that never went away. Now that I’ll have a proper kitchen come August, I hope the typical college meals of ramen and mac ‘n’ cheese don’t end up becoming a regular on my plate. On paper my schedule for the next semester doesn’t look too painful. But I’m prayinggggg that I have time to be a decent student, and at the same time, throw together some simple, but satisfying meals like this:

So moral of the post: Don’t take what you have for granted, really… and I guess with that I can also say make use of your kitchen - even if you’re not a good cook (because Lord knows if I even am). But I know far too many people that completely neglect that part of their house. If I had use of that many kitchens, I’d take them all. It’s just one of those little blessings in life that we overlook.

After all, college life is too short to not be eating good food :) 

tip: stuff no one ever tells you

There have just been SO many amazing adventures here so far. I praise God on the daily for blessing me with an amazing opportunity like traveling to a beautiful, far away continent such as this. I’ve been seeing a lot of updates about summer starting and semesters ending back at home and as much as I kind of am jealous, I’m secretly thankful that I still have about two more months to go :) woohoo! I try to savor every minute. but still, feel free to slow downnn, time. 

So yes, when you’re studying abroad you expect to have a great time. When you’re doing some long-term traveling in a region, people will tell you you’re going to have the time of your life, you’ll make unforgettable memories with beautiful, diverse people, and it may be a wonderfully life changing experience. So check to all of that above but what they DON’T tell you is that you’ll have little emergencies and little panic attacks and little repercussions from culture shock. Especially when things don’t exactly go your way/according to plan. Maybe in my mind, I perceived study abroad to be a getaway from life at home. I probably forgot somewhere along the 24 hour plane ride that all the problems that inevitably come with life are going to still be there when you’re traveling to a different country. But since this post is really a note-to-self (and I guess a heads up to anyone else doing some traveling in the near future) the important thing to remember is that whatever the problems I’m panicking over now are little in the grand scheme of things. This is just my rant… But when I go home, I won’t recall these things when I’m retelling stories. 

It’s also important to remember that when you’re abroad and issues do arise, we’re more likely to panic because we’re far from home. So for whatever reason my dormitory (they call it College in Australia) decided to charge me $400 without proper warning (even though I’m brokeeeeee but what do they care), all I know to do is to keep calm and carry on. Or better yet, to find peace in Christ. That’s all a girl can do nowadays.

City girl

Walked around the city alone today to pick up an order of Aussie Uggs :) haha (had to while I’m here-way cheaper) And it was just me, my ipod, my umbrella, and my bus pass. It reminded me of the rush of the city that I grew up in - people all around me heading in their own directions, yet brushing side by side them on buses, streets, shops. There’s so much beauty in that. It makes me happy that I’m starting to know the ins and outs of the city (an upside to long-term traveling) and LOVE that there’s always this ONE go-to shop for some friendly chit-chat with British shop-owners at a lolly (British and Aussie jargon for candy) store or that ONE specific cafe for a cappucino when I’m in the mood. It’s interesting to see how I transitioned from being obsessed with the beach scene when I first arrived to now falling for the good old skyscrapers and busy streets. It was a quick trip to town, but nevertheless made me realize that yes, I’ve been to a lot of great places but I’ll always and forever be a city girl. After… took the bus to the boyfriend’s, grabbed some Vietnamese for dinner with friends, and topped the night with drinks at a favorite bar. Couldn’t ask for more :) God is so good.