Macaroni and Cheese

I was scared to try it at the Indian Buffet, and there's a damn good reason I was.

But I did try it.

Not as bad as macaroni and cheese from a box, or the freezer case.

But as someone who used to be able to drive 20 minutes to get to Wisconsin (the macaroni and cheese capitol of the world I THINK) I can tell you that it's not nearly as good as macaroni and cheese from any hole-in-the-wall diner I've been to there.

Speaking of Wisconsin, if I open eateries here, I'm putting deep fried cheese curds on the menu.  The world can do with more deep fried cheese curds.

More about food...

Sorry this is going to be a short post.  I strive to update weekly, but last week was ridiculously busy with special school activities, and I've fallen behind here a bit.

I went with friends to an Indian buffet yesterday.  It was decent.  I do like Indian food, but "all you can eat" style places, and the price that goes along with them, aren't exactly economical when you can't eat much in one sitting.  My friends enjoyed it though.  What surprised me is that there was macaroni and cheese on the buffet.  I don't understand why this is a thing, and haven't seem macaroni and cheese anywhere else in Dundee in the six weeks that I've been there.  And why it's on an Indian buffet of all places just does not make sense to me.  I was scared to try it, but I might do so if we go back to-morrow on student discount day.

The closest thing I've been able to get here to a grilled cheese sandwich is a cheese toastie, and it's still not the same.  But shops will offer not just the plain cheese, but also ham and cheese or bacon and cheese, and at Baguette Express you can pick all sorts of vegetables to go on your toastie.  It's different though.  Much drier.  Grilled cheese sandwiches in America are usually coated in butter, and then fried.  Toasties here are not like that, and also have ridges on the bread after being cooked, which is something I've found very strange.

About once a week here I try to go to the supermarket.  It takes me about an hour to find my way around, because supermarkets seem to be laid out differently here than in the U.S., and also everything is different and new.  Fresh produce is somewhere in the middle of the shop.  Frozen and refrigerated stuff is all around.  Milk comes in litres (I don't know, it might come in gallons too, but who drinks a whole gallon of milk before it goes off?  And at least it doesn't come in bags like it does in some countries...)  The big Tesco by the river is my favourite, but it's hard to get to on foot.  It's kind of like a super Target though, with lots of clothes and general merchandise, but an even bigger grocery section than super Target.  So in addition to groceries, I usually come out of that place with socks, office supplies, and fashion magazines (which are cheaper here and have free stuff packaged with them sometimes, which is something that never happens in America.)  And today I finally have a jar of Dundee style marmalade.  I feel like such a tourist, but it'll go well on the wholemeal bread (we call this whole wheat bread in America) that I usually get.

That's about it.  I know this isn't the best post, but it clears up a few things for people who have been wondering how I've been eating.  So hi, Mom and Dad.  This was for you.

Epic Walks Part 1: Dundee Law

 A field.

 The World War II monument.  I think.  You can see this from nearly everywhere in town, including my building.

 Looking... Southwest...?

 Looking southeast...?  I think.

 Snails.

 A survey marker, on the actual highes
Meet Esther, 20something years old.  Fed up with life and the way things are going, she decides to visit a liquor store.

Or rather, this town's closest equivalent to one, but that's a different story for a different time.

Beer was purchased, obviously, but then I thought, "hey, I need to earn this beer, and also it's still very early in the afternoon to just sit around and drink beer, so let's go for another walk."  (This was, of course, after wandering around City Centre for a few hours in search of a book I wanted that was totally at the shop last week but now is not.)  So I refrigerated the beer, kept my shoes and my jacket on, and went back out.

A quick stroll through the nearest park was simply not enough for me, so I tried taking another road that lead me out.  This lead to another road... which lead me back to the park!  The way the roads are laid out in this town amazes me.  So this road, instead of going back into the park, I decided to cross.  

Going about a block up (up being the only direction I can really think to use, as it's a hill) was another road to cross, and then a little staircase for pedestrians.  The staircase was seemingly never ending, with only a few breaks to cross more roads, but I was determined to get to the top, wherever that was.  I really did not know where I was going.  

But the staircase finally did end, at a field, with another staircase leading up on the other side.  I think the field is some sort of other park, hopefully not the same one I started at, but knowing this town's layout it very well could have been.  I decided to climb more stairs.

I had made it to the highest point in town!  I had earned my beer!  And the views up at the top were fabulous!  And for some reason there were snails!  And a World War II monument!  And a survey marker!  And, oh, let's not forget the seagulls, because they're everywhere here!

I'm not sure what the history is of this place, but it's the top.  One of the markers there said something about the Iron Age, but did not go into detail.  I'm hoping I can get to the city library someday soon to read up on the story behind this place, and its significance.

I had climbed all the way up to Dundee Law without even realising it.

And when I got back, I couldn't even climb the stairs up to my flat.

EDIT AGAIN:  Sorry the photos are at the top.  I have no idea how blogger works.

Missing My Fast Food Nation

My friends and family back home will often ask me about Dundee, what I like and dislike about this place, and how I feel about it.  My answer is usually, "oh... I don't know...", because generally that's how I feel always.

There is one definite thing I can say about this fair city though.  And that is that I find Dundee's lack of Taco Bell disturbing.  I am currently thousands of miles away from the nearest Taco Bell, and that is about the same to me as being thousands of miles away from civilisation.  We have Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken here, which are owned by the same company as Taco Bell (and sometimes in America even housed in the same building as one!)  But still none of that cheap steak chalupa goodness that I am desperately craving now. 

Fast food chains in America, especially in large cities such as the one I grew up in, are generally open 24 hours (or at least the drive thru window is, and that's another thing that's missing in Dundee that was present even close to downtown Chicago.)  I think the McDonalds in City Centre here might close at midnight or something ridiculous like that.  That is too early for McDonalds to be closed, in my opinion, and I don't even like McDonalds.  People say they like it because it's the same in every country, but I've had it here, obviously in America, and in Amsterdam that one time I was laid over for 12 hours.  So yes I can say that they are right and McDonalds is the same in every country.  It is equally disgusting in every country.  Still, midnight seems too early for a McDonalds to close, at least coming from where I do.

I've seen one Burker King here, and there is no Dairy Queen to go along with it.  I did not often get fast food in America, but Dairy Queen was probably my second favourite after Taco Bell.  There is no place that I know of to get a burrito the size of your head, which was Chipotle's purpose in the States.  Starbucks is scattered around, but honestly Starbucks isn't all that great.  Dunkin' Donuts doesn't exist here, but Gregg's fills that void nicely, and does so with sausage rolls. 

There is a bright side to all this obviously.  If I actually had eaten fast food very often in America, coming here I would have cut back tremendously.  Panda Express was another favourite fast food outlet of mine in America, but there are plenty of decent Chinese takeaways here.  There is also an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet, right next door to the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet if you are very hungry.  And a really nice, although a bit pricey, little diner where all sorts of exciting burgers are served,  Ketchup might be Dundee's answer to Red Robin, and it's fabulous.  There are probably more places I do not know of, as I have only been here for a month. 

And the lack of American fast food outlets here makes me think about my future here as a business student.  One lecturer discussed the idea of being in one industry, and investing in another.  Seeing how the Krispy Kreme that just opened up in Edinburgh has done successfully so far gives me hope for if I were to someday open up a Taco Bell here.

I think a KenTacoHut up by the motorway is exactly what this town needs. 

How Animal Crossing Ate My Soul

Many, many years ago, I was introduced to a little game called Animal Crossing.  I played it for hours on my little purple Gamecube, and then lost interest.  I wonder how that town is doing now, if it's suffered the fate of the many ghost towns that exist in the settled world.  But I will never know, for in addition to losing interest in the game, I actually lost the game itself.

Enter a new age.  An age of animals if you will.  And also a new leaf, as that's part of the title of this game.  When the title was released for the 3DS, I had to be one of the first to get my grubby little paws on it.  That was about four months ago.

And the truth is that currently I hate Animal Crossing.

Obviously I play it every day.  Only because I feel that I have to.

In the original Animal Crossing, and subsequent titles, you started your game in indentured servitude to Tom Nook.  And you finished your game in debt to Tom Nook, because of home expansions, and because he owns every business in town.  Such a greedy little raccoon this Tom Nook character is!

In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, your indentured servitude is not to Tom Nook anymore.  No!  This time it is to the entire town, because somehow you are the mayor.  Honestly, I do not remember running for mayor in this game, or being elected into office, so why I am mayor I do not know.  What I do know is I do not get to live the life of my all-time favourite mayor, Richard M. Daley.  And Tom Nook still holds a monopoly on this towns' businesses, so one still ends up in debt to him for all eternity!  I'm pretty sure in addition to the home building business and his shop, he owns all of the high street as well.  And Re-tail!  And the Bank of Nintendo!  Tom Nook is a sly businessraccoon, and I hope to learn his secret someday.   

A big part of being mayor is approving public works projects.  The animals in my town will propose them constantly, and when I ask my secretary how the town is doing, I am always told that more projects need to be built.  In a way this is fun; it makes the town somewhat customisable, and every time you finish a project, there is a ceremony with fanfare and those little popper thingies that shoot confetti everywhere, and some of the projects are really cool.  But since most projects are up to what animals propose for you, you might get stuck with a listing of really lame public works projects to choose from.  That parabolic antenna?  Sorry, Rosie, but it's ugly as sin and I don't want it in my town.  The stadium light?  No, Axel, that will just keep everyone up all night.  But the hot spring... the hot spring is fabulous, and I'm glad I let that go through.  And funded it nearly entirely on my own, as your constituents will contribute barely anything to all the projects that they so desperately want.

They also want trees and greenery.  Not weeds though.  So one has to log on every day in order to pull the weeds that upset everyone, and water flowers.  If a flower goes a day without watering, it will die!  And if there are too many weeds, a much bigger, uglier, stinkier flower will sprout up and devour everyone.

I may just let that happen though.  Pokemon X is on its way in the mail, so it might be time for me to move on from the sleepy little town of Camp.  Or maybe not.  Maybe I can continue to strive for perfect town status, as that sort of validation would make me feel good.