Food for Thought

One of the fun and interesting things I have noticed since we've arrived is all the foreign lands from which our food is delivered.  Some of the produce they do grow here, but a lot of it is imported as well.  Some are both - for example, you can get US apples or local apples, but the local apples are really small.  Same for imported limes, lemons, and strawberries.  (Mike isn't crazy about us buying local produce anyway, because if they are watering it with the raw water that they use around camp to irrigate, it has too much radioactivity in it.  This isn't all that bad in small doses, but over time it might be bioaccumulating in the soil, so he has asked for a Geiger counter for his birthday so we can test the produce.  Nerd gifts.)

When we are at home, I'm used to citrus from Florida, peaches from South Carolina, blackberries from Mexico, cantaloupe from California, etc., etc.    In the winter, a lot of our produce comes from South America.  Meat, bread, and most everything else comes from somewhere in the States. 

Here, it is a crazy - but logical - range of countries.  Our apples come from the States.  Lemons come from Turkey.  Avocados come from Kenya.  Baby spinach comes from Italy.  Pear juice comes from South Africa.  Beef comes from Brazil.  (Although I am still not sure why Brazilian beef is so much cheaper than US beef.  Seems like an equally long trip!)  Dairy and poultry are local.  And dry goods come from all over.  One of the things I have noticed is that very little comes from east of us.  Almost all the food comes from west of us.  Why?  Does China have nothing to offer, food-wise?  India?  Australia?  Hmmm, things to ponder.  But it's still amazing to think of the well-traveled food we eat. 

Avocado from Dhahran commissary.  It says "Avocado - Kenya"  It cost 3.41 riyals, which is about 85 cents.  They wrap all the produce in saran wrap after they weigh it.  These people are saran-wrap-happy.  They put saran wrap on EVERYTHING. 

PS.  New mattress and box springs arrived today...still doing laundry, but hopefully this problem is fixed!  The guys who switched out our mattresses were NOT wearing deodorant.  I had to open all the windows after they left to make it breathable again.  So I had to laugh at myself - honestly, we are living in a third-world country!  What was I expecting, the Ritz?

PPS. Funny quotes overheard at our house yesterday:

"You know it's been a long day of potty training when you go to the bathroom and accidentally put the potty seat on for yourself."

"I have a Raffi song stuck in my head.  And here we are in a country that doesn't allow hand guns."