Weird food o' the day

Dried seafood is very, very popular in southern Ukraine. You can buy it in pouches much like beef jerkey in the States. When I saw the selection today, I couldn't pass up on the dried fish and dried squid (pictured above). I also thought of my brother, Jon, when I saw the dried whole anchovies which my facilitator, Oksana, said is too salty. I tried the dried fish when I got back to my room. The smell is pretty overpowering and it turned Kelly off immediately. I, on the other hand, dove right in. You peel the skin off the fish and don't eat the tail fin; otherwise all else is fair game. The fish tasted pretty much as expected from the smell and it is also fairly salty. While I'd still rather have my Jack Link's Peppered Jerkey, the fish wasn't a horrible substitute. The major drawback, though, is that Kelly won't kiss me until after I brush my teeth now.

Tomorrow I'll tear into the squid which Oksana said is superior to the fish. We'll see.

I must admit that I LOVE grocery shopping here. First off, the prices are less than half what they are in the States. Secondly, you constantly run across unusual foods. Thirdly, it's interesting to see how American exports are packaged and marketed here. I've spent more time in the grocery store the last two days than probably the last two years beforehand and loved every minute of it.

We're talking about heading to the open air market tomorrow after church. Oksana said there will be a lot of street vendors selling food. I feel like Andrew Zimmerman all of a sudden.