Before I moved to California, I had never
had Indian food
had decent wine (you know, the kind from a bottle instead of a jug or box)
met an out kinky or poly person
had gin
met a Hmong person
had goat cheese (or any good cheese, really)
had lamb
had been able to send my son to a school where they had enough money for classroom supplies like toilet paper and thus didn’t make each family buy a big list of stuff
tasted Thai food
met a Jewish person
had Vietnamese food
experienced a drought
known there were “asian” pears–and that they’re awesome!
had a good tomato that hadn’t been refrigerated prior to serving
seen heavy snow
seen an apple in the grocery store that wasn’t a Granny Smith or the ironically named Red Delicious
met an out transgender person
understood how black and white my upbringing had been
tried Afghani food
had to think about writing less American-centric prompts, since I only had American students
met a Sikh person
felt an earthquake (although it was so minor that I thought it was the neighbors waking me up with exceptionally brief sex that shook the wall)
had the opportunity to join a union
gone wine tasting
had access to healthcare as an adult
Some of this is because I was in Florbama . . . there are more cosmopolitan areas of Florida.
Some of this is because I was raised fairly white trash. It’s probably possible to get decent wine and cheese in Florida–I just didn’t see it.
But still–I had never had INDIAN FOOD!
If I had consistent access to grouper out here, y’all, I might never go back home.
