Those little packets of instant noodles have a great alternate life, you simply remove the flavour satchels and crush the contents, once its as finely crushed as you desire you simply add the flavour and eat. It was a meal that cost about .30c at most and even as a young teenager I couldn't afford it so I had to beg my friends for theirs in the school yard. For as long as I could recall I was in charge of my own lunches and considering how poor my mother was it usually consisted of peanut butter on stale bread, which I rarely ate. Based on my diet alone I know now that this is what caused me to be so disruptive in class throughout every one of my days in school. It wasn't until I was about twenty three years old that I started eating three solid meals a day, so up until that point my body tended to hoard whatever it was given. As a result sleep was poor, I was easily distracted, susceptible to illness and I carried a sickly feeling around with me all the time. When I lived with my father as a teenager I did have the occasional three-meal-day but it often consisted of left-over KFC for breakfast, kebabs for lunch and KFC for dinner. Before I left for good he was baffled why I was so overweight and made me very conscious of it. So, I started swimming, as a result I did start to lose weight and gain alot of strength. And to top it off I was starting to feel fresh and healthy. About this time my father had re-married a woman who was a phenomenal cook. Even though I still wasn't eating regularly I was indeed eating like a king whenever I did eat. Bless her cotton socks, all she knew was Turkish food and she did it well! Then the local pool I'd been visited caused me to develop a severe ear infection. It was the one and only time in my life I had to be taken to hospital. It would be many years before I tried exercising again.
Earlier this year, to save money, I packed two pita rolls with peanut butter in it for lunch everyday. Not only was I saving a pretty penny but it was highly nutritious; I always made sure the bread was fresh and a moderate amount of peanut butter was always used (until Chandi started making them - the AMERICAN way, not that I complained). When I think back of all those times I threw out my stale peanut butter sandwiches at school I recall that those were the only times I truly knew that we were poor. Living in a ghetto neighbourhood meant nothing to me because all the kids were eating so much better, even if it was a .30c packet of instant noodles. When I was eating the pita rolls earlier this year I didn't feel poor at all but rather rich with knowledge; knowing the nutritional value and that fact that it was accompanied by two apples gave me a sense of nourishment, an almost homely feeling. I'm told food is supposed to do that to you, its supposed to transcend the initial feeling and make the soul feel at ease. But it does make me wonder how different things would be if I'd been fed appropriately throughout my school days because I was a top marks student whenever I could concentrate. To someone who is British or American it is probably a strange concept to rely solely on the food you bring from home but someone such as myself it is one of those basic things that changed the course of my entire life. When I was busted all those times as a teenage by the police for stealing so much no one ever really knew the real reason I bothered breaking the law at all - I just wanted to eat.
Earlier this year, to save money, I packed two pita rolls with peanut butter in it for lunch everyday. Not only was I saving a pretty penny but it was highly nutritious; I always made sure the bread was fresh and a moderate amount of peanut butter was always used (until Chandi started making them - the AMERICAN way, not that I complained). When I think back of all those times I threw out my stale peanut butter sandwiches at school I recall that those were the only times I truly knew that we were poor. Living in a ghetto neighbourhood meant nothing to me because all the kids were eating so much better, even if it was a .30c packet of instant noodles. When I was eating the pita rolls earlier this year I didn't feel poor at all but rather rich with knowledge; knowing the nutritional value and that fact that it was accompanied by two apples gave me a sense of nourishment, an almost homely feeling. I'm told food is supposed to do that to you, its supposed to transcend the initial feeling and make the soul feel at ease. But it does make me wonder how different things would be if I'd been fed appropriately throughout my school days because I was a top marks student whenever I could concentrate. To someone who is British or American it is probably a strange concept to rely solely on the food you bring from home but someone such as myself it is one of those basic things that changed the course of my entire life. When I was busted all those times as a teenage by the police for stealing so much no one ever really knew the real reason I bothered breaking the law at all - I just wanted to eat.
To be continued...
10 valid opinions:
No one would ever guess now that you were such a starving child, in more ways than just physically.
I just learned to be the opposite of my mother and father, y'know, be thankful for what little you have and share the abundance. And that you're only ever poor in spirit; if there is hard rewarding work to be done then its there to be done. Also, you gotta do the cookin' by the book...YEEAAAH!
And here I was reducing portions from age 13 so that I could be thin... strange world.
I've eaten so much of that Ramen stuff I gag when I see the package on the store shelf. I avoid walking down that row. [gag]
@Anu: If you were anymore thin you would disappear! Women be craziness.
@Robert: I love instant noodles but I'm a quick-gainer, which means anything I eat needs to be burned off within 24hrs or it stays for good.
I hope you are going to write a book about your life one day.
I hope so too, Indigo.
I think I make my life to be more exciting that it really was and I don't think there is enough to write an entire book. Besides, there are still a fair few chapters left to experience.
My kids are ramen fiends. I'll eat it in a pinch, but would rather have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
And btw, on re-reading the previous post, what is it with Brit's aversion to straight teeth?
Thats a question for the ages.
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