Life as an Expat — and the Things We Will Always Miss!
I am a Danish national, but I have lived in the USA since I was 20 years old. I came to the US to go to University... and became "one of the ones" who got married and stayed on.
"Home," my auntie's house in Denmark, summer
Earlier today, Mrs. Denmarkguy and I made a brief stop at a small market in the quaint town of Poulsbo, Washington... know to many as "Little Norway." Truth be known, pretty much all the Scandinavian cultures are pretty well represented there.
Just to set the record straight, I'm not a flag-waving Danish freak who's always pining for the "Old Country;" I like where I live now pretty well, and my desire to go to Denmark is limited to a family vacation every couple of years.
However, I got to thinking about how — even though I have spent more time in the US than in Denmark — there are certain things I suppose I will always miss, and the majority of these seem related to food. I suppose it could be that our taste buds are simply adjusted to a certain "flavor profile" during our formative years, and we just never quite grow out of it.
The beach near where I grew up
And the things we miss are often a bit strange.
For example, during the summers I miss Danish new potatoes. Even though we grow our own potatoes here — and they are quite good — they don't taste quite the same. It might just be the composition of the soil, for all I know. The same goes for strawberries; actually strawberry jam, which is one of my favorite things to have on toast in the morning. I know that US made strawberry jam has more sugar and more pectin (making it more jelly-like), but the flavor is different, too.
At the market, however, I was looking for fish... something very Scandinavian: Pickled Herring. I don't blame you for wrinkling your nose right now... it's an acquired taste that you might also have if you live in the Netherlands. And, of course, the slightly sour, grainy dark bread to go with it. Success was had!
A water taxi stand. Yes, that's a thing...
Or, and beer. Don't forget the beer. Every country seems to have its own "microflavoring" patterns in their beer. There's a lot of great beer around the world... but sometimes only a very specific "familiar" flavor will do. And it's not necessarily even great beer, it's more of a familiarity thing.
So, do I miss anything that's not food and drink related?
Well... all-pedestrian town/city centers or streets, in even quite small cities. That, and high -functioning public transportation, not just in large cities.
But on the whole? As I said, I'm pretty happy with where I am!
Thanks for reading, and have a great week!
How about YOU? Have you ever lived anywhere as an expat? Do you currently live somewhere other than the country where you were born? Were there/are there specific things you missed? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20211101 23:05 PDT
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Ah I like herring, but I am Dutch haha so that would explain it...
These were very much like maatjes, which I also enjoy very much.
I like kippered herring, but I haven't tried pickled herring. Good beer is easier to find nowadays, but the handful of European beers I have tried are certainly different from US fare. While I haven't moved across any oceans, I do feel occasional pangs of nostalgia for the midwest where I grew up. We also had a lot of Scandinavian expat culture there, primarily Norwegian. I'm also fairly happy with where I am now, but I haven't even visited most of the US, much less the rest of the world, and I have a growing itch to travel.
An interesting side note to that; as long as I have now spent in the USA, I have reached a point where I am really more interesting in seeing the many parts of the US I have never been to, as opposed to more international travel. The only "overseas" places that significantly call to me anymore are Australia and New Zealand.
I have found when you are in different countries you experience food and drinks differently. It's probably a combination of things; climate, diet, mood.
You are right though i think where you grow up is formative and food can take you back to a time and place.
Yes, I think you hit on it there... the specific foods from our formative years may offer a moment of a kind of comfort we experienced, back then. There are memories attached, as well as flavors.
Thanks for sharing a nice story. I miss a lot of things, I already had a
mixed culture childhood with Russian, Kazakh, German, Korean foods. Now I’m in the US and I know how it feels. By the way Russian store might have black bread, and salted herring. Pickled herring I saw at Costco, but personally I’m not used to vinegar taste in it.
Truthfully, my childhood was also somewhat "mixed" (France, Germany, Spain and the UK) but somehow the Danish flavors are the ones that come through for me.
One of the interesting things about shopping import stores is (I've found) that reading labels is incredibly important. If it isn't actually made in the native country it doesn't taste right. "Made under license from ___ in Wisconsin" means it will have non-native ingredients and likely "adapted to US tastes."
The herring from Costco isn't great because it has too much vinegar, a functional change to allow it to be shipped long distances in warmer climates without spoiling. Ruins it for me... unless I go to the trouble of draining it, washing it and then re-marinating it. Too much effort!
That’s what we did one time with that vinegary herring, washed it and add some salt:-)
I agree food here doesn’t taste as our home country food. Even simple thing like cottage cheese is completely different from what I was used to. They use a lot of pesticides, herbicides and antibiotics to keep as much food as possible from spoiling. Even organic food is not as tasty as our food there.
It’s not easy to be an immigrant but it’s fun to learn about different cultures, languages, and find new friends.
This was so beautiful to read. Thank you for sharing a piece of your rich cultural heritage. It was quite educative and fun to digest.
The foodies say there's definitely "terroir". A French term, terroir can literally be translated as “a sense of place.” It's used to describe wines that taste as if they were produced in a specific region of the world. It also applies to cheeses and other foods.