Chinese Chicken and Kikiriki

By: Bryan

We went out to a Chinese restaurant today and were able to translate the Serbian menu relatively quickly with a combination of finding cognates and google translate on the iPhone. I ordered what was like Kung Pao chicken and we learned that kikirikijem means peanuts.

After our meal we went to the supermarket to pick up some food. It is interesting to see what brands and foods are popular in other countries. We got some kind of cookie balls in the health food isle, which are made of nuts and other natural proteins and energy sources.

By: Catalina

It’s funny when you go to a restaurant and try to figure out what to order when the menu is written in a different language. We got chicken with peanuts, salads, rice and chips AND learned a few words. “Kikirikijem” sounds funny – I would have never thought it meant peanuts, but it seems that the etymology of the word provides a good explanation for what the meaning of the word should be.

I particularly enjoy looking around in the supermarket for different brands or different foods and flavors, I feel it gives you a better understanding of what people usually prefer in a certain area.

We have gotten used to the layout of the city, the transportation and where things are located. Yesterday we saw the city hall building, as well as some of the popular streets in the city with restaurants and bars.

In any case, it’s important that you still make good and healthy choices, even if you try something new. It seems that people are usually most comfortable trying one food (ingredient) at a time, so that they can really assimilate the experience, categorize the food and have a clear memory of what it tastes like.

There are some things I would always get – anywhere I am, like cereal bars, healthy snacks and fruits, but today we also got less healthy stuff like energy drinks, mint flavored gum and funny looking cookie balls. What are yours?