I’m sure that most of my favorite memories from my time abroad will be about food. Food is incredible for so many reasons, from the molecular breakdown and conversion of energy to the social power to bring us together. And so, I want to share some of my favorite memories to date:

• Danish cuisine isn’t known for being particularly delicious, but one of the first “Danish” things my family made me was Frikadelle, a sort of pork and onion meatballs, with potatoes and cabbage. It really reminds me of simple home cooking, the kind my grandma makes back on the farm. 
• Lufthansa giving us boxed water and German cookies while we waited in line after a bad flight delay. 
• Traditional Romanian food has some crossover with my favorite Ukrainian dishes. When my friend and I went out, we had cabbage rolls, but a very different style than the holubtsi my family makes: these were fatty, with meat filling and sour, from pickled cabbage leaves. 
• During our Bucharest walking tour, and old lady giving us a cup of “funeral cake,” which our guide described as “not sexy but delicious.” Its only supposed to be for funerals, but she said sometimes her friends who like it make a batch and hide it in their fridge for snacking. 
• Æblesiver. I love carbs. 
• Stumbling upon an incredible Italian restaurant in Rome, so good that we walked through mini rivers to return. It wasn’t super special recipes, but it was so well done (like I wrote before, the kind of food you could make with “a little bit of forethought and four attempts”). 

• Making (and eating way too much) pasta on a Tuscan farm. 
• Finding the best bakery in Amsterdam
• At the same farm, our appetizer was a Florentine classic: unsalted bread with fresh olive oil and salt. I wasn’t sure how much oil to put on, so did a light drizzle, before the owner said, “oh you need way more,” telling me to stop pouring oil once the bread was completely soaked. They were right. 
• Treating myself to gelato everyday. Favorite flavors: pistachio ricotta (one of the best, find it at Gelateria dei Neri), fig and almond ricotta, hazelnut meringue, basil, honey, blueberry cheesecake, rice, lavender peach. 
• Finding the best tacos in Copenhagen at Reffen: pork with cilantro, pickled onion, roasted salsa rojo, and a pork rind – though like most things here, a bit overpriced compare to America
• Celebrating St Martins Day with my family. Even though he originally hid among geese and then told everyone to eat geese, the Danish eat duck now, I’m not really sure why. 
• Take it yourself candy. 
• And the take it yourself pastry shop from Rome. 
• Exploring food markets in Rome, and grabbing some incredible porchetta, salami, cheese, and strawberries. Eating so much I had a weeklong food baby. 
• Pinching dumplings with friends. 
• Going to a sushi restaurant with friends and only ordering rice since I don’t like fish. 
• Eating a Swedish cardamom bun. 
• Making myself a big batch of daal with cilantro and rice. 
• Finding pho in Copenhagen. 
• Enjoying an early Christmas dinner: Crispy pork belly, boiled potatoes, caramelized potatoes and potato chips. 
• Laughing at dad jokes during dinner curtesy my host dad (“I’m not finish but my dog is”)
• Enjoying Danish pastry on the weekend. My family buys different ones each time so I can eat my way through all the pastries. My favorite right now is this buttery puff pastry triangle that is covered in seeds, and tastes like a savory bagel. 

What I’ve learned so far:

• Try new things, especially new foods!
• Danish food might not be fancy, but it reminds me of grandmas cooking (meat and potatoes every day!)
• Sometimes you’ll just stumble across somewhere incredible. 
• Food makes great memories.