Meat Lover Living in Vegetarian Heaven

So many PCV's face a very difficult situation when transitioning from life in the states to their country of service. It's one that not many of them think about or they do think about it and say, "No, that won't be a problem for me." Well, sometimes it just happens and they don't even realize it until one day they are thinking about making a meal and they can't find the meat. That's right. I'm talking about meat lovers becoming vegetarians.

In America, I would never pass up on a piece of meat. Give me sausages, hamburgers, steak or chicken any day and I will gladly eat it. I'm not saying I would go out of my way to make sure that I had meat, I'm just saying I enjoyed eating it when it was around. I enjoyed my fair share of pasta dishes and breakfast entrees that did not include any meat at all. During my homestay with two different Moroccan families, I was never denied meat. In fact, I usually was given more than anyone else as a sign of respect. My first host mom catered weddings and would always bring home a few chickens and any extra meat. My second host mom would always push her portion of meat into my triangle of the tajine. I didn't really think about what would happen when I moved into my own apartment and started cooking for myself again.

For the past 3 weeks, I have been living off of pasta, rice, eggs and vegetables. Everyday I eat a huge salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, green pepper and onions. It is absolutely delicious and filling! I can't go a day without eating eggs. Since I have soy sauce, I enjoy eating rice with stir fried green peppers and zucchini. I've made vegetable soup a few times with chick peas or rice, and its enough to last me a few days. Finish the meal with a little bit of bread on the side, mmmmmmmmmm, so good!

I have yet to go to a butcher in my site. Partly because I'm scared and partly because I don't really miss meat. I've seen one butcher that I might be tempted to try but all the other ones are home to a severe lack of hygiene. I know that I won't die (most likely) from eating meat from any of them but still, it grosses me out slightly. I haven't had a day yet where I'm like, "Beef, it's what's for dinner." The day most likely will come but for now I am enjoying my veggies. So with that said, if anyone has good vegetarian recipes, send them my way!