arts & entertainment
The Cookie Queen of
Probistip
My interest in baking and cooking follows that
emotional wave we all saw so much of during PST.
When I was younger I loved baking, though that
was most likely due to my interest in eating cookie
dough. Then I got older and started living alone
(roommates don’t count!), so cooking came into
style... by which I mean I was forced to do it to
stay alive. I still used the oven from time to time
in these cooking efforts, but around the time I
turned 20 the oven transitioned from a friend to
an acquaintance.
To really seal the deal on our relationship, I eventually moved to Korea. Koreans have developed a love of baked goods, but ovens are still
a household rarity. I don’t think I even touched an oven for about two
years, though I did manage to sneak a peek at the one my friend bought
over the internet one day. The stove became my new best friend, and we
got along quite well for a long time. We even returned to the U.S. together and kept the good times going with fancy ingredients paid for by my
mother.
Then I came to Macedonia. All thoughts of cooking flew away in the hailstorm of PST language-learning and cultural integration. Even after moving to my permanent homestay, I preferred to pay for my family to feed
me their cuisine, partly to continue with that integration business and
partly out of laziness. And unlike some other volunteers, I haven’t yet
cooked for my family. I have, however, baked for them.
I believe it was shortly after the big move from my PST homestay in Probistip to my permanent homestay in Probistip that I had my first chocolate
chip