As soon as I decided to set sail for US of A I had people telling me how tough it would be for me culturally, how I may experience a culture shock (Blah! I had my first culture shock when I went back to bangalore for a hol this time) and how I was supposed to speak slowly 'coz "those Americans" can't catch on with our usual speed (am yet to find an evidence of that). But not one of those people ever warned me how it would be a big struggle to remain a "Veggie" here. In the land which is rumored to have everything one thing which is rather rare to come by is a good veggie meal. My first experience with the uniqueness of "Vegetarianism" was when I went to Mc Donald's on my first day and naively ordered a cheese burger not realizing that here any "burger" is usually a "Ham burger". Alas! That particular burger (worth 2 $ i.e. 2*43 rupees to a fresh desi ) went down into the bin and trust me I was ready to cry for wasting so much cash on something I never got to eat. Hmmm.... as time went by ... I started having a intense love affair with the potato wedges and ketchup. I would go to a pizza place and eat cheese or veggie sub and of course those fries. All the restaurants I went to I had my fav. food ('coz I could eat nothing else). But turning to a non-veg was never an option and before you draw conclusions it isn't 'coz my religion forbids it (which it doesn't) itz just 'coz I am against killing animals to eat. I just happen to choose the way of vegetarian living out of choice and it has never been possible for me to go against what I feel very strongly about!
And after a lotta fumbling and grumbling about "how hard it is to be a Veggie here" I finally learned to ask for substituting those chicken with onions and bell peppers. And that my dear friends has opened a whole new world of eat-outs for me.... I now can go any place and know that I can have something other than those (now dreaded) potato wedges and eat those exotic sounding dishes (with subtlle changes in recipe's of course). Yum...... I am now ready and armed with a full stomach to face the world.
Thats all i have to say ...but as an ending line ..lemme add a note to all those people out there who smirk at Veggies ....Think of how much will power and perseverance it requires to remain one... and then u will know why "vegetarian life" is claimed to be the best kinda life by a rare few!
And after a lotta fumbling and grumbling about "how hard it is to be a Veggie here" I finally learned to ask for substituting those chicken with onions and bell peppers. And that my dear friends has opened a whole new world of eat-outs for me.... I now can go any place and know that I can have something other than those (now dreaded) potato wedges and eat those exotic sounding dishes (with subtlle changes in recipe's of course). Yum...... I am now ready and armed with a full stomach to face the world.
Thats all i have to say ...but as an ending line ..lemme add a note to all those people out there who smirk at Veggies ....Think of how much will power and perseverance it requires to remain one... and then u will know why "vegetarian life" is claimed to be the best kinda life by a rare few!
2 comments:
Aparna,
when u visited us last year....i was expectin to cook you the best ever meat....but hey I did manage to make some veggie food. I dont know I just think that veggie's are good , but this whole diet thing that goes with veg food really bores my brains out !!! Mi
hey,
well, am a veggie myself, and i can understand your "problem"! I was in China for almost 6months. You say it is difficult to find veggie food in the US... try finding it in Beijing! :p
Anyway, my fav. place to find veggie food (both in the the US & Beijing) - SUBWAY! :D Mind you, it does get boring eating the same stuff all the time though!
Take Care! :)
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