The Joys of Cooking
by Sarah Goldberg
I know what you are thinking, illustrious Pauza reading audience: isn't Sarah G. the volunteer that
doesn't know how to cook? And also, isn't she afraid of the dark? Wrong on both counts, my
misinformed brethren. For you see, in joining the Peace Corps I was forced to come to terms with
the reality, the necessity, if you will, of home made meals. There is no Subway to save me, no
Smoothie King to satiate my thirst. Even my favorite, the Peleshki Steak Sandwich, has lost its
luster. What's left for me, then, but to learn how to " ook"?
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And so I ventured, with trepidation, to the Bit Pazar, the local Skopje market where Burger
King would have purchased their fresh produce, if there was in fact a Burger King, or if in fact
Burger King used fresh produce. It was a daunting task, wading through the long green stalls, the
milling people speaking Albanian, Macedonian, T
urkish, Romani (heck I think I heard some
German)... but I stood tall, continued down the line of vendors, and to my amazement, came to stand
before a stall of the most delicious, amazing looking produce I had ever seen.
Surely, if I had to learn to " ook, Macedonia was the perfect place to learn.
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Before me lay a veritable smorgasbord of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, brocolii, cauliflower,
and peppers, oranges, grapefruits, kiwi', and bananas. Garlic and pepper spices, beans and rice and
eggs by the chicken full and potatos! Glorious potatos! White cheese, yellow cheese, kulan, ham,
whole skinned animals of some kind, I can't be sure, but delicious looking nonetheless. And the
people! Friendly, kind, understanding of th H[??YX? H[?X??\?]HX??[? ?] ?X?H ?^H??K??H????[?? ? H ^?\??X?[YH?H?^H?]??]HX?]?]Y\???] ??X[?H[X^?[????? ?]?Z[X?H[?XX?Y?XK] ???? ??\? ??X[?H ?? [?Y\??]?B??\?[?Y Z\??[[?\?H ??[ ?H[???\?Y?H[? [?H ? Z?HY ?[?Y?H? [?\???[ ?? X?H \?? ?[??[? ?[[Y\?[?^ \?[Y[? ?HYX[?Y??\?Z???\???[?XZ?H[??Y[] ?]?Y\?K?]\? ???\?[? ?[?X?
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