It's always nice to say you're just going to dive in and embrace the food here, and generally it's a good mentality to have.
But the reality of the situation is that the first grocery shopping trip after the move (maybe the first several even), can be an absolute nightmare. You don't know where/what everything is, and it can be entirely overwhelming and even disheartening. Yes, something as silly as food shopping can be disheartening. It's times like that when I would throw a bag of Doritos into the cart just to make me feel better. I barely ate Doritos in the US!
Of course, I've adjusted now, and I the fact of the matter is that I've essentially learned to cook and bake in the past nearly 2 years that I've been here. I think I would be lost going back to the US and trying to cook, because I didn't do much of it there.
I'd say that's assimilating pretty well and doesn't mean I don't want a big honking burrito the size of a baby from Chipotle sometimes, or a sub from the deli in my hometown, or pine miserably for a dang Pumpkin Ale every Fall.
Also, one of the greatest mis-conceptions about Europe is that the food is just
better. Sure, you get a lot of great stuff here and much of it can be different and exciting compared to what you're used to. But for as much awesome, locally sourced, fresh, blah blah blah that you can have, there is just as much processed garbage as there is in the US. Every supermarket has an entire aisle devoted to soda and an entire aisle devoted to potato chips. It doesn't matter where you are, it comes down to the individual and the choices he/she makes about what's going into his/her mouth.
Okay, that was a completely random and incoherent rant!
Disregard!
