Food in Tucson

I should mention that there is some GREAT food in Tucson. And we have done a pretty good survey of what this city has to offer, so far. Most of it is pretty readily found on the internet. I'll give you a quick rundown of our favorites so far:

Rosati's for Chicago-style STUFFED Deep Dish pizza, Grimaldi's for New York style, Gee's for dim sum, El Charro's for Mexican, Ali Baba's for Lebanese, Ha Long Bay for Vietnamese, Korea House for... well Korean, and Zemam's for Ethiopian.

As you can see, the variety is superb! [The benefits of being in a college-town and a very open-minded culinary town.]

But there are some restaurants that tend to not make the Zagat Surveys or internet listings. One example is a little haunt called El Cuero Canelo. This little place is in the 'hood! It's located in the South side of the city- near the airport, in a predominantly Mexican part of town. And the food is AWESOME!

What's not to love?

It's cheap.

Everything is decorated in the colors of the Mexican flag.

And their centerpiece? The Mexican Hot Dog!

[see picture -right]

There's also a great little bakery across the way called Estrella. The churros are just fantastic, and I was going to take a picture of it, but ate it instead.

Sorry!

Life in Tucson

So I thought I'd write about random observations about Tucson. They may not be as interesting as all the nuances of life in Ukraine, but we have certainly noticed quite a contrast between Dallas and here, so we may as well document it!

People are REALLY into health and fitness here. Hiking, biking, running, gym-nuts. People are tan, lean and in-shape! It's really motivated Arun and me to work out and think about what we eat. [Then again, I just introduced Arun to BJ's pizookie, so this may be a lost cause.]

Tucson is GORGEOUS. The mountain ranges [Catalina, Rincon, and Santa Ritas] circle the city and the beautiful dessert cactus and greens make for some lovely terrain. There's a view from every part of the city, and you can't help but enjoy the beauty. Pretty different from flat-flat and more-flat Dallas.

People are REALLY out-doorsy here. It seems people linger on patios and decks and by pools all day long. During the day, it is impossibly hot here, so it makes me wonder why people don't hibernate in their air-conditioned abodes like they did in Texas- but they don't! Evenings are awesome, so it makes sense that people always choose the outdoor seating option in resaurants.

People are REALLY, REALLY nice. So much so, that Arun's constantly commenting on just how NICE people are here. It may be the 'small-town' mentality, or the fact that good-weather and good life just makes people relaxed and happy. Or maybe it's all those endorphins from working out?!

There is ONE highway in Tucson. One. It's the I-10, and doesn't even cut through the part of town that would be most useful. It is so bizarre to always be on surface streets to get around the city, but that's the way it is. I will say that the roads are wide and well-built to handle the traffic. After fighting 75 in Dallas, this is a BREEZE!

There are a lot of scary reptiles and critters here. By scary, I mean little geckos- but Arun and I are not a fan! We've seen quail families, rabbits a-plenty... and I'm told there are deer as well. Now, there's one critter people keep talking about- and it's the havilena. It's some kind of wild pig, and I'm scared out of my wits that I'll run into one. I'll be sure to take a picture when I do. But for now, I'm adjusting to the lizards.

There are some interesting traffic differences. One I love- the other- ugh!

So you know when you're sitting in the left lane trying to make a left turn on the green yield? And oncoming cars are coming and coming, and you realize you're going to have to sit through yet ANOTHER cycle of light to make that turn? Well, Tucson has the answer! AFTER every green yield light for left turns, the light briefly turns into a green arrow. So you don't put yourself in an uncomfortable (and dangerous) hover mid-lane to try to sneak a turn between on-coming traffic. It is GREAT. If you don't know what I'm talking about, come visit and drive around and you will see the wonder!

As for what I hate... they are installing a dozen speeding cameras all over this city. Ugh. Surprises in the mail.

Anyway- that's it for now!

Transition to Tucson

I thought I'd share a few more anecdotes relating to our transition back to American life.

So mid-last week, we decided on a quick snack at Taco Bell. After enjoying our lovely meal, Arun gets up and walks out the door. Noticing that I wasn't right behind him, he puts his head back in.... and I watch as his perplexity is replaced with the realization that no- in fact, they do NOT bus your trays for you here like they did in fast food places in Ukraine.

Secondly- we've faced some sticker shock. After spending a few hours in the MVD (when did they change this from DMV??) Arun nearly fell out of his chair upon hearing we owed the state $470 in car registration fees and taxes. The clerk seemed somewhat smug when she announced, "Arizona has one of the highest fees in the country." That's something to be proud of? At least their license plates are pretty.

Perhaps, what's struck me a lot is when Arun has asked sales clerks and cashiers if they 'accept credit cards' and gets a look of absolute bewilderment in return. I'm sure they're wondering what cave he just crawled out of!

The last tidbit I'll share is our transition to life in Tucson/Arizona/Southwest. Afterall, Arun's biggest adjustment is the fact that we're not living in his beloved Dallas/Texas/Collin County.

For some reason, the stuff West Coasters tend to LOVE are just not striking a chord with Arun. His first experience walking into Trader Joe's? He didn't seem impressed. When he told me he was craving a milkshake, I insisted he try In n' Out. Verdict? Still not impressed.
What??!
Yet, he'll get excited about finding the most random things in Tucson. Sit-down Pizza Huts for example have sent him into a giddy tizzy. Seeing that there was a Benihana in town was exciting news. And of course the local Indian, Vietnamese, Sushi, Teppan, dim sum and Korean places have recently passed the test. The only letdown so far? Apparently- no Krispy Kremes in town. I think he'll live.

As for me. Let me tell you how nice it was when I found the local NPR station. And I've already scouted my little independant film theater. I'm home!

Culture Shock

Admittedly, we'd only left the country for about 8 months.

Still, there's been subtle tweeks we've had to make to readjust to American lifestyle.

The first couple of days, I kept cracking up at Arun's observations.

On our roadtrip to Nashville, Arun couldn't get over how packed the restaurants were.

"Look at all the PEOPLE!" he marveled at the Cracker Barrel.

"Our water has ICE in it!" he said excitedly, when the waitress dropped off our drinks.

"I didn't even have to ask for a STRAW!"

Hilarious.

Admittedly, even I've had to get used to wait staff coming by every few minutes to check on us.

"You doing ok?"

"You need anything else?"

"Can I get anything for you?"

It all feels very foreign after the very hands-off approach in Ukraine.

On the other hand, boy do I miss the table-clearing efficiency!

For me, it's been a different kind of adjustment.

In order to send out Mother's Day cards, I asked the front desk of our hotel (Hilton, of course!) where the nearest post office was. Being car-less, I decided to walk the 4 blocks... afterall, what's four blocks? While walking, it quickly dawned on me that I was the ONLY one walking. I felt rather self-conscious- something I would have never felt in Odessa.

When I couldn't find the building I approached a man getting out of his car in the parking lot.

Now, my Russian got 'passable' in Ukraine... but it never came to me as second-nature.

So what that means is- I would have to think through what I wanted to say, before saying it- essentially, formulating the sentence in my head prior to making any faux-pas.

So when I got to the guy, I realized I didn't need to USE my prepared "Izvinitya- gde Pochta?" And on one hand, it was a relief to just ask, "Excuse me, where's the post office?" but on the other hand, I felt rather disappointed.

Finally- tv. I have yet to adjust to the fact that I can watch all my favorite shows in REAL time instead of on You Tube after some merciful poster uploads the latest Make Me a Supermodel (yes, I admit it- guilty pleasure) or Grey's Anatomy or The Office. Sigh. Happiness.

I will say, that we are very lucky to have such a soft landing back in the US.

In many ways, we've been sheltered from sticker-shock because Raytheon's very generous relocation package has made the adjustment to American prices, that much easier.

More fun transition stories.... soon!

Back to the US

Our flight back to the US was absolutely exhausting!

Since there are no straight flights out of Odessa, we had to connect through Budapest and then stay overnight in Rome. Now, trust me, I'm not really complaining about a layover in Italy! And it's a good thing Arun and I have been there before, because we were really able to maximize the few hours we had in the evening to enjoy the city.

First thing's first- we headed straight for some dinner. And the pizza was amazing as well as the ravioli. Even though we were stuffed to the brim, we couldn't help but stop for some gelato as well. Oh yummmm!

Next stop: Trevi Fountain.

And since clearly the coins in the fountain brought me back to the city, as promised, I simply had to throw three more coins in!

We walked to the Piazza di Spagna and finally decided to reluctantly head back to the hotel. The next morning, we were awoken to sounds of construction in the suite above us. Great... right before a trans-Atlantic flight. But perhaps I should be thankful that we didn't MISS our flight, per usual!

Rome to Chicago was fairly uneventful; but very comfortable thanks to all those upgrade points from Arun's Exec. Plat status. And finally, our flight to Atlanta got us in at close to midnight. I made a straight beeline for the bed.

The next morning, Arun simply HAD to satiate his 8-month craving for dim sum, so after we loaded up our cars for shipment across country, we headed out to Canton. Let's just say that there was a lot of soy sauce on Arun's shirt by the end of brunch. It's the one food that he's willing to make a mess for!

Saturday was a VERY long day because we drove 4 hours (each way!) for a wedding in Nashville. Needless to say, we got back to ATL at 3 in the morning to get a few hours rest before our 8:30am flight. And guess what? We arrived at the airport to find out that the flight had gotten canceled. Oh, how we lamented those few extra hours of sleep we could have gotten!

Dallas- Oh what a day!

We had dim sum (again!) at Arun's favorite place- Kirin Court. And we were so lucky to have so many of our friends join us. We hung out with Brad, Bhavna and Sachin, Dorea and Danny (and Dylan!) and all I remember was being giddy about seeing everyone. I don't even remember the food at all!

Then Arun decides to head for Fun Asia to catch a last minute Hindi Movie. Poor Brad, he always gets dragged to the most B-rate films!

Shoborna and Iqbal met up with us at Zyka for some lassi and catching up.

And then we were off to Thai Chilli for some dinner with Priti and Suneel.

By the time we caught our 11:30 flight to Tucson, we were stuffed, and could barely make it to our seat before our eyes shut in exhaustion.

But we made it! Back to the US!!
Stay tuned for our adventures :)

Bowling for Borsch

Perhaps I have been rather nostalgic about my time in Odessa, because as much as I'd like to write about our move to Tucson, I keep being drawn back to my memories in Odessa.

So I'll write about one of my outings- a day of bowling!
Yes, believe it or not, bowling is a fairly popular pastime in Ukraine.

And I'll answer the very first question that is sure to be on your minds:

Do they wear the funky shoes when bowling in Ukraine, as they do in the US?

And the answer is- Yes.... yes, they do.

I went with Valya, Yulia and her boyfriend and we had a grand ole' time.

My biggest challenges involved trying to figure out what shoe size I am in European measurements.... and trying to decide what kg ball was the right weight for me (not that it made much of a difference in my ability to bowl since this was my second time bowling in my life.)

Also- one of the few times in my life, I managed to break a nail. Geez.

I always thought that only happened in the movies; and discovered that it is actually somewhat painful.

We bowled a couple of rounds, drank some fruit juice, hung out, took pictures and called it a day! Oh, and the winner? Yulia's boyfriend, who of course had never bowled a day in his life! At least I did manage to bowl one strike! [I took a picture of the screen right after I accomplished this feat!]

Impressions

The most common question posed to me as I left Ukraine was:

“What will you tell people about our country?”
It’s a very poignant question- asking a stranger to ‘judge’ one’s country; and their expectant eyes let me know that my opinion was very important to them.

“I’ll tell them that your country is very misunderstood.”

And surprisingly, this vague answer seemed to satisfy them.

As I look back on my time in Ukraine, I think it is, indeed, a country that is very misunderstood. I’m sure, like many others, you may initially envision a snow-covered landscape- filled with people wearing fur coats and grey hats with ear-flaps. Perhaps images of concrete Soviet-style architecture pass your mind. Or perhaps, your mind draws a blank- you have no preconceived notions of Ukraine.

Whatever your initial visceral reaction to the word, “Ukraine,” I am certain that beaches, sea-side cliffs, and expensive ski resorts aren’t the first thing that come to mind.

And possibly you'd never imagine a country filled with people who are surprisingly chatty.
Certainly, I think the geography and beauty of the country is greatly underestimated. But that is not the only thing. I believe the weather is greatly misunderstood as well, in that people imagine that Ukraine is much colder than it really is. Odessa, in fact, only faced a handful of snow-days this winter.

Most importantly, I think many aspects of Ukrainian culture are misunderstood.
I was greatly surprised by Ukrainians’ close relationship with extended family.
Any time I enquired about whether an individual had any brothers and sisters, their response almost always included their cousins. This is a very “eastern” concept; a much more extended definition of 'nuclear' family. Most Ukrainians can not dream of moving away from their families; and in fact, some consider the distance of a mere 7-10 km from their parents as an enormous distance!

Ukrainians have certain cultural nuances I found intriguing, because while there are many similarities with typically European mentality, there are other times that I found Ukrainians more similar to Asian cultural values.

Certainly, like many traditionally "western" Europeans, Ukrainains love to purchase fewer items of high quality rather than numerous items of lower quality. Ukrainians love being outdoors- walking along promenades and parks. They love fresh foods, fresh-cut flowers and fashion.

However, concepts of meals and eating more often correlated to things my own experiences growing up in an Indian household.

For instance, Ukrainians eat meals rather late. Dinner is generally around 8pm, which would be considered rather late by American standards.

They prefer to drink room-temperature water rather than water filled with ice- this is not just because of water quality but it's because it is thought to be better for digestion. This is actually very similar to what my mother told me when I was growing up.

They prefer to eat 'warm' meals for lunch, such as a bowl of borsch- as this too is thought to be better for the body.

Ukrainians have more respect for parents, authority figures, teachers; than I have found in the rugged individualism of Americans. Perhaps this stems from their Soviet past, but their notions of listening to their parents and needing parental approval for their lives' decisions is in many ways very 'eastern.'

And finally, Ukrainians are in many ways more sentimental and emotional. Their ties to people and relationships are deeper than one would initially imagine. And we learned this first hand with the torrent of well-wisthers that came by as we bid our farewell.