Digesting it all . . .bahahaha!

This Saturday I am going home to Newburyport. These 9 months have flown by, and although there is a part of me that cannot wait to walk into Whole Foods, sink my teeth into the spiciest Mexican I can find, or chow down a pint of Coffee Heathbar Crunch, (and see my family and friends, of course!) I feel kind of reluctant to leave Copenhagen. I have learned so much not only about food, but myself as well. I wonder what it will be like taking this new me and placing her back into the place the old me came from. Sometimes I worry that I will feel as though this amazing year never happened. To remedy that situation, I decided to write down some of the things that I have learned/accomplished this year. It is personal proof for me that I did have an amazing, life changing experience, and hopefully looking back at this list when I am home will remind me of the person I have become, and how I can apply these lessons to my old life.

Since this is of course a food blog, I thought I would share some of the food-related lessons/accomplishments with you!

1. I do not, nor will I ever, like lakrids

2. I discovered Danish rugbrod, or rye bread, which is unlike any other bread I have ever tasted before. I also learned how to make it, and my host mom is sending me home with her family's sourdough. So this is a lesson that I can share with you!

3. I can order food, and especially coffee in Danish, without receiving a receipt that blatantly says "TOURIST" at the bottom

4. I can throw back a few shots of schnapps and plates of herring like an old Danish man. Well, maybe not like them, they are pretty bad ass, but you get the general idea.

5. Skål is now an unconscious part of my vocabulary

6. I can say that my favorite part of flæskesteg is the fat. Just wait until Christmas, America.

7. I can tell Danes that unless they do not like aebleskriver, they cannot say that they do not like American pancakes.

8. I will always be putting a random whole almond somewhere in my desserts.

9. Hot dogs with remoulade, ketchup, mustard, pickles, raw and fried onions, and a chocolate milk is a revelation - especially when you are drunk. (Maybe only when you are drunk)

10. Frikadeller is not a term for something that is super cool. Meatballs; however, are pretty awesome. I might start using it as such though, for instance: "You spent a year in Europe? That is so frikadeller!"

11. Cakes can be made of entirely whipped cream. And still be delicious

12. I have found a new appreciation for marzipan

13. I have eaten at the best restaurant in the world - Noma.

14. I have become familiar with several different grape varieties and regions of wine, and can accurately blind taste a lot of them (see last entry)

15. I learned how to perfectly cook a duck breast, nice and medium rare with a crispy skin

16. I cooked my first Thanksgiving turkey - 28 pounds!

17. I learned about olive oil production and what classifies Extra Virgin Olive Oil in each country (it's different depending on the acidity level!)

18. I had a beer made out of cat poo. It was good!

19. I don't like absinthe. It makes you black out

20. I learned about pastry arts in Nice at a 2 Michelin starred restaurant

21. I learned about Provencal cuisine at a 16th century estate in Aix

22. An Italian grandmother and a professional chef in Bologna and Florence taught me how to make fresh pasta

23. Lambrusco rocks

24. Ribolita is my favorite soup

25. You can get too much bratwurst and beer. But German beer, especially in the beer gardens in Munich with a huge pretzel, is divine.

26. The Sacher torte at the Sacher Cafe in Vienna is not that special. Cafe Central or Demel Cafe is much more worth your time

27. I like omelets with honey and goat cheese

28. Belgian beer is my favorite type of beer, especially when you have the choice of 2004 at Delirium!

29. London has the best food markets.

30. Haggis tastes like Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage.

31. Anything can be deep fried. ANYTHING!!

32. It is easy to get 3 complementary beers at the Guinness factory. The real question is - can you drink them all without feeling like you have 3 loaves of bread in your stomach?

33. No one, not even any restaurant in London, can beat the Indian food at Rasoi in Framingham, MA

34. A Danish pastry is a cure for anything that ails you

35. Do not go to the Austrian Alps to eat

36. Danes do not like spicy foods.

37. I am going to keep saying this, because it still amazes me: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A HOT FUDGE SUNDAE IN DENMARK!!!!

38. A cheeseburger can be eaten with a knife and fork. I still think you look stupid when you do it though.

I have a feeling that I will be continually adding to this list as time goes on and I think of more things - but food wise, I would say that is a lot to digest!