This question was a big one for me when I moved to Jerusalem. What in the world will I eat? With an incredibly limited budget (grad school, and life in Israel, is expensive!!) and a penchant for not cooking, I soon realized that you can only eat so many pitas and cucumbers a day without getting sick of them. Besides, with moving so much in the first few months (I lived in 5 different apartments in my first 3 months here!), I really couldn't buy much more than a week's worth of groceries at a time.
Thankfully, God moves in a mysterious way, and free food has come from unexpected sources and with perfect timing.
My Tuna Fish Fix
The tuna fish gift. This came at the very beginning of my time in Jerusalem. I was staying with some Mormon girls for a week who were also studying Hebrew at the university. The day I moved out, Mollie (the girl who so kindly offered to let me sleep on her floor while I found an apartment) was going through their stuff, looking for things they didn't need. Not only did she give me several plates, pans, knives, and a cup, she also gave me several packets of tuna "Neither of us here like tuna," she said. "Do you want to take it all?"
Guys. Getting this gift of tuna was just like opening up a box of Christmas. I had lunch for at least 20 days with this stash! And the best part was they were tuna fish packets, not cans, so I didn't even need a can opener! I just slipped one of these and a piece of bread into my purse, and then at lunch time I ripped it open, dumped it onto my bread, and ate it. No utensils required. It was amazing.
My Chinese Fix
One day I was sitting on the light rail in Jerusalem and I saw these Chinese/Taiwanese girls get on speaking Chinese. I was about to make a beeline for them, but I didn't have to because they came and sat right next to me! Of course I wasn't going to let an opportunity like this get away from me, so I asked them (in Chinese) "Where are you from?" They, naturally, were shocked that this white girl in Jerusalem could speak Chinese, and we became instant friends. By the time our 10-minute ride was over, we had exchanged emails and facebook information.
A few days later, I got a message from Trina, one of the girls: "Hello, Breanne. I will go to the post office and by the way want to give you some Chinese instant noodle and instant soup. Do you have time to get it?" I was naturally confused, but agreed to meet her to get the "Chinese instant noodle and instant soup."
When I met up with her, she had three bags of food to give to me: seaweed, instant noodles, plum powder, candy, instant soup, wasabi peas, and some other instant things that I can't quite decipher. I was astounded and overwhelmed. She told me that some of her friends had left a lot of food when they went back home to Taiwan or China (they come here with some sort of church organization, and many of them just stay for a week or so) and there was no way they could eat it all. So she wanted to share it with me! And now I eat the same instant noodles that I ate in Taiwan. It's awesome.
My Cereal Fix
As a college student, cereal was my comfort food. It was fortified with lots of vitamins and minerals that I didn't get from any other source and it was super easy and quick to make (read: pour it in the bowl and eat it). And if I didn't have any milk, I could still eat it!
However, when I saw the cereal prices in Jerusalem, I was disgusted. 25-30 shekels (about $7-$9) for a measly box of cheerios! There was no way I was paying that much, so I just decided that my cereal habit would have to wait until I got back to the States.
And then. My friend discovered an AMAZING store in Machane Yehuda market that had cereal for 10 shekels a box. And not just any cereal--HONEY BUNCHES OF OATS, my absolute favorite.
And yes, friends, I have picked my cereal habit back up. Not only did I find Honey Bunches of Oats for 10 shekels each, but I found cornflakes, 2 BOXES FOR 10 SHEKELS!! What a dream.
My "Real Food" Fix
Now that I have been living in Beit Sahour for a few weeks now, I have started to feel the desperate nature of my poverty-like situation. Although I am far from starving, I feel like I can't spend more than a few dollars a week on groceries when I don't have an income. It's a bit OCD of me, but I walk into stores, see the prices of everything, and turn around and walk out, buying a bag of pitas for 3 shekels on the way. The other day I found a package of like 48 hotdogs for 12 shekels (about $3.20) and I was so excited! Do you know how many meals I can eat with 48 hotdogs, pitas, and a gas stove (so I can roast the hot dogs over the flame)? Quite a few! But sometimes I feel the lameness of my situation, and I wish I had some more options for food. It's just so hard to stock a completely empty pantry on a budget!
And then Arlissa, one of the Foreign Service members of the branch here, sent me an email: "Are you a rice and/or pasta eater? I'm trying to start reducing my food supply ahead of my departure in May/June. In reviewing my supplies I have lots of rice and some pasta. Would you be interested? I probably have some lentils too and maybe some grains. Let me know. You'd be doing me a huge favor otherwise I just don't think I'll go through all my supplies before I leave. Thanks!"
This afternoon she brought me home from church and unloaded the boxes and bags. What was "some rice and pasta" turned into bags of pasta, beans, tunafish, cereal, sugar, flour, oreos, juice, chips, chocolate, and a few other things. As I started unpacking the food and saw how much there was, I literally started crying, I was so thankful!
So what do I eat? Basically, whatever I can get for free! Let this be a record that I literally would not survive without such awesome friends here!
