An interview

After reading her interview, I asked my friend Jennifer (Italian Trivia) to send me some interview questions. Here are my answers.

1. I know you met your husband in Hawaii, and I picture you tanning on a Hawaiian beach when he walked by, so either you wrote something to that effect (on this or your old blog) or I imagined it myself. Is that how you met? Care to share the story?

I met my husband on a blind date on the Big Island of Hawaii, where we were both working. I found out later, that he wasn't the guy our mutual friends had planned to set me up with, which is a good thing, because when I found out who they were thinking about, I know that wouldn't have worked.

These mutual friends of ours had a new zodiac boat that they were taking out for a day trip down the Kona coast. We ended up stopping and swimming in some natural springs that bubbled up through the lava rock. No sand for miles, just hard, black lava for as far as one could see on the land side, and the Pacific ocean taking up all other available visual space. So, no I was not tanning on a beach, but more or less frolicking in the water on that fateful first date day. Photo evidence: April 14, 1990...the first view my future husband probably remembers of me, I'm the one on the right. He took the picture...and the rest is history.

2. What do you remember most about your first days in France after moving there?

I had terrible jet lag, Hawaii is 11 hours behind France in time zones, and basically, night and day are reversed. Once that started to wear off, I remember having a lot of fun. We moved to France without any jobs lined up, and lived off of our savings for a few months, being tourists while my husband looked for a job. Any interviews he had were a great excuse for us to visit another region of France. We were lucky to be able to stay with my husband's sister or mom during that jobless time. He eventually found something just outside of Paris. While he started his new job, I started an intensive language program...and two years later, voilà...je parle français. Because, boy did I not speak a word of french before moving here. I remember realising rather quickly after my arrival in France, that learning to speak the language wasn't going to be as easy as I thought it would be.

3. You write great posts about French food on your blog. What is your favorite French comfort food and what is your favorite American comfort food? What memories do you associate with each?

My favorite comfort food has been, is, and probably always will be Italian in origin. Growing up, I remember my mom making great spaghetti or lasagne. I don't want to hurt the feelings of any family members that read this blog, but I associate those meals with the happy times before my parents got divorced. Not to worry, there were happy times after that period, too, but there was a spaghetti-less, lasagna-less desert to cross...(figuratively speaking)

Now, raising my own family, my girls and I could live off of a bowl of buttered pasta, sprinkled with some freshly grated cheese. Put a few vegetables on the side, and you have the mainstay of our diet. I love my Princess Penne and my Mademoiselle Macaroni (aka Emma and Nina).

4. How has living in France changed you?

I'll stick to food with this question. I love to eat now, more than ever. I honestly didn't know how to cook a potato when I moved to France. I remember looking for canned, cooked potatoes in french grocery stores, not finding them and calling my mom to ask her how to cook a potato in it's original form. And sixteen years ago, that was an expensive question to ask, as french long distance back then was about a dollar/minute of phone time.

Now, I love to cook with the freshest products available, straight from the market vegetables, most picked just that morning. Meat from the butcher's shop, cut right in front of me. My taste has changed so much. Neither in France nor America do I like to eat pre-packaged/already cooked foods anymore. They taste funny to me...and way back in the days when I first met my husband, that was what I was living off of. But, some of my first dates with my husband-to-be were to the fancy restaurants in Hawaii. Restaurants serving the freshest fish, and island fruits and vegetables...a wake up call to my taste buds. Thanks, dear!

And thanks Jennifer for the questions! If anyone else wants a couple of interview questions from me, e-mail me at mw dot poppyfields at gmail dot com. It may take me a couple of days, but I will send you some random questions from curious moi.