Here are a few things I’ve overheard J Squad saying in the last 11 months…
How many pieces can we have?
Is this peanut butter for every one?
Do we have budget to buy this cheese just this once?
Ya think we could have a treat tonight? Like maybe gummies?
Anyone want my portion of —‘yeah, me!!!’
Is there enough for seconds?
Oh my word, look at all that food! We get to eat ALL of it??!?
Someone made cookies??!!!!?? How many can we have?
You bought me food?? ????God bless you!
We get $5 a day for food?!? That’s a lot!
Travel day money went up a few dollars? Wow, praise!
Hey, if I buy these olives, will you go halfsies with me? (Mostly that was Tyler and I.)
Thank the LORD for all this food!
Where did all my food money go? I still have 3 days before the next ‘allowance’! ??
Food is a vital part of our lives and we cherish it! A few examples of WR antics…
A few of the parents were asked to bring their child some Chick-Fil-a sauce at PVT. And they’ve guarded it jealously and rationed it carefully ever since!
You find an old granola bar in your back pack and wonder how long it’s been there and why it’s so flat but you eat it anyway.
Since some people have low blood sugar, there’s always someone close by you can ask for a packet of sugar.
You have a secret stash of snacks and you sneak them to bed with you cause you’re afraid someone will ask for some if they see you – yes, we’re 5 year-olds.
Now let me tell you a few of my favorite memories of snacks in each country.
In the DR, a lady down the road made the best tea and bread snack. And there was always somewhere you could buy a Coke and a bag of bread (we called it team bread).
Haiti had yummy plantains, but the most frequent snack was bread. Every evening, it would arrive warm and fresh and we would sneak a few before morning.
Our spot in South Africa was close to a grocery store, so we could get a variety of things, but my favorites were belVita morning biscuits and the crepes from the market.
Our host in Botswana blessed us with the best fat cakes ever. And we had a Sunday Coke. Very important!
My enthusiasm for fat cakes carried over into Zambia. A man would walk our street with a bucket of them, and we ran after him so we could get our breakfast. And a cold Coke always hit the spot in this very warm Christmas month.
Going into India was different – lots of spicy foods. But our corner store had these popcorn packets that were just the right amount and went so well with a cold Coke.
In Nepal I found a little hole in the wall place that had amazing chapati. I’d have those for dinner every day if I could. (In fact, I’ve been nicknamed Chapati ever since.) A bakery up the street had a delicious cinnamon roll and I might have had a few of those while I was there as well.
Romania was just as unhealthy for me in the baked goods department. We lived very close to a nice grocery store with a bakery where I found these melt-in-your-mouth chocolate twists. I ate way too many of those. And olives – can’t forget the fresh olives!
In Bulgaria we lived in a small village with a little shop on the square. We mostly bought ice cream bars and exotic Fanta from them (in fact, Tyler bought them out of his favorite kind of ice cream bars within the first week we were there).
Sombor, Serbia, had pizza and ice cream shops in way too many spots. And for a snack, I found a bag of mini croissants with chocolate and vanilla filling that were definitely comfort food – they made good bribing snacks too!
Albania has been a very pleasant array of foods. Most notable thus far is still those little croissants! And when a scoop of ice cream is only 50 cents, why not?
I’ve also been able to actually eat more complete meals in each country that I’ve really enjoyed. I promise. But for now, snacks are the highlights I think.
Popcorn has always been an essential snack for all occasions.
My birthday stash – my friends know what I like!
And my team’s total obsession with gummy worms – we bought out the store. Twice! ??
