After getting what I think is gardia, I started to become really home sick. With none of the food here sounding remotely palatable let alone good, I really started to miss all the little things from home. Good beer, Mexican food, hamburgers, tap water, cucumbers only in select dishes, and many other things. Well at this point, I decided that I need to go to the mall and eat something from McDonalds. I figured that eating something synonymous with home would hopefully do the trick. Well, I was right. I went to the mall just off of campus called CEPA (pronounced jepa). It is one of the newest in the area, so it is really nice inside. I took the Dolmus out to the gate, and walked along the highway to get there (Yes, it's normal). I walked around a little before heading to the top floor where all the restaurants are located. I got in line and tried placing my order in Turkish, but saying I would like a number 4 is a little hard when you don't know what order the words are supposed to go in. Well, the girl spoke English, so it worked out just fine. Apparently Quarter Pounder is the same in Turkish as it is in English.
My food took a little while to prepare, but when I got it I noticed one significant difference. The burger is inside a styrofoam container. Remember how that used to be the case in the US? I took a taste of the french fries and they tasted exactly like at home. The crunchy oily goodness that are McDonalds fries. I am pretty sure any American could pick them out in a blind tasting test. The Quarter Pounder was equally as delicious. The burger tasted just like it always does. The bun was soft and packed with preservatives. The cheese is the fake American cheese that we have all come to associate with American fast food. And the meat is the unseasoned ground beef that we eat in the US. Now, those might not seem like weird comments to make about something that has caused me such joy, but considering that all meat here is heavily seasoned, the bread here super fresh, and the cheese here vastly different from what we have the US, it is really comforting to eat something with those attributes.
1 comment:
Thank God for Mac's! They are the same everywhere! Funny how something so simple (to us) can be so satisfying when you are far from home. I felt the same way in Copenhagen. Eating in a foreign country can get tiring with having to "work" at picking out your food items for a meal, and then hoping you get what you think you ordered! Mac's is always a "no brainer." Here's to burgers and fries!
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