Mmmmm food.

Last week, while I was taking a nap, several classmates left to visit perhaps the only supermarket in Bamako As they unloaded their wheels of cheese. jars of nutella, and boxes of cereal, I couldn’t help but feel like a kid at Christmas time with an empty stocking.

I’ve consciously tried to avoid playing the game “what food do you miss the most” because really, at this early on in the semester, it’s just culinary masochism. And fortunately, our meals are more than satisfying. We even have fresh salad for lunch every day. However, I’ve eaten tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers for nearly 14 consecutive days and if I extrapolate this pattern for three months, well I think it’s okay to start craving a little diversity.

Despite my initial intentions, we’ve started talking about our favorite meals, restaurants, desserts, etc while scooping another helping of rice at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tacos! Pizza! Cheese burger! Fresh strawberries! Tator tots! Ben and Jerry’s ice cream! Chicken ceaser salad! Chocaolate! Cosmopolitans! It’s almost as if the process of talking about these unattainable food can somehow transform my mouthful of couscous into cheesecake. No miracles yet, but we’ll keep trying…