November 13, 2020
When I was in elementary school (grades 1-6 in the US) and junior high school (7-8 in the US), I was very interested in foreign places. I read everything I could about various places. When I was in 6th grade, I signed up for a program for foreign pen pals. It was so exciting to get a letter from someone in a different country! The letters would come airmail in a thin envelope from many places from around the world!
When I was a young adult, I became enamored with the idea of trying to cook dishes from around the world. I wasn’t sure, and I’m still not sure, if I would ever get to go to all those wonderful places. I decided if I couldn’t go, I’d at least get to taste the food. This was before the internet, so if I wanted to find recipes, I would go to the library and check out cookbooks. The library had a much larger selection of cookbooks than the bookstore and I didn’t have a lot of money. There was a Greek cookbook in the library that had the most amazing recipes and while I’ve looked for it since, I’ve never been able to find it.
I’ve been enjoying how WordPress combines writing to people from around the world and getting recipes from around the world. When my stats page shows that people from other countries have visited my site, I get the same thrill I got as a child when I found an airmail letter in the mailbox!
Retirement RV Dream 
I too corresponded with people from all over the world and remember 2 in particular from Sweden. I’m no longer in contact with any of those penpals but my love for experiencing different cultures through food and travel is still a part of me. Great post!
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I remember how exciting an airmail letter was! Those beautiful stamps, and it had to be something special.
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Yes, I loved the stamps on the letters and it was always so interesting to see the stamps’ cancellation marks.
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I also remember that thin crispy paper for overseas letters. I have relatives in Sweden that we keep up with, and we had a foreign exchange student from Norway in 2008. I also get views on my blog from all over the world, but I am not sure they are actual people. I get quite a few views from China that I think are just computers trolling around looking for ways to hack in somehow. I guess there are so many people there some of them could be real but I am suspicious.
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Yes, I agree the views from China are suspect. Russian and Chinese hackers are big trouble. If you ever want to read a crazy true story about hackers, “Spam Nation” by Brian Krebs is a great read.
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I’m in California. Thst almost qualifies as a foreign country.
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What would say is the national dish of California? 😊
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Hmmm…there is so much diversity that’s a tough question. If I had to take a wild guess I’d say that tacos might qualify. At least in the southland they are an obsession across all groups of people. Burritos or something – something avocado might be up there, too.
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In Colorado, the national dish is anything to do with roasted hot peppers 🌶 .
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