I made it , I was in America!
I didn't know what was awaiting me and I had no clue what my life was going to look like almost 30 years later, I certainly didn't know I would still be here in 2023.
To be really honest, at that age, in 1997, just the thought of 2023 could not even begin to make any sense. I was young, in love, 2023 was another century, another world, when I would be a grand-ma!
When we are so young, we think we will always be! That we have so much time, like eternity in front of us. We think we are unbreakable, getting old is for our parents, our aunts. Being old is for old people, not us!
Well, was I wrong or what! Here I am, I just celebrated my 50th birthday last July. Do I think I am old? NO! I still think I am that 20 something year old girl in my head, trapped in a body, who, HIM, reminds me quickly I am not 20 anymore.
But I surely can still remember with vivacity that hot day I arrived in Mississippi.
I got there on a hot summer day. Marco had previously warned me of how hot it is in Mississippi. But as a girl who had spent 10 years in the south of France, I could handle it. Or so I thought!
We left from Atlanta on a little plane, going to Jackson Mississippi. Just about an hour flight. After a long 9 hour flight, the girl who never got on a plane, thought she was going to die over the Atlantic ocean whenever the plane went through a little bump, which was about 40 to 50 times, I was about to be almost there.
Every step forward was taking me closer to Marco and our new adventure. I was in America. At the time, just thinking about it was exciting and thrilling.
The door of the plane was finally opening, and there was that first gush of bloody burning air that went through the plane. Certainly the engines of the plane were still so hot that it would give that effect I thought.
As I approached the door and finally got outside, I told myself: someone left the oven door open! Of course it was a figure of speech but that’s exactly how I felt.
I had to walk maybe 100 feet to get to the airport terminal, but those were the most painful 100 feet I had to walk into the burning sun. My lungs were crying for air, when they finally got some of that air, they started to cry even more, battling the humidity that was getting to them with each breath I was taking. Was I in a sauna?
I could see the door getting closer and couldn't wait to get inside to get some fresh un-humid air.
I went through the door with a huge smile of relief, at first, to realize that I was introduced for the first time to:
Let’s freeze to death everytime we go inside a building!
Let's bring our big sweaters everytime we go somewhere inside a store, office or even a house!
Let’s look like we are going skiing when we go to do our grocery shopping!
It was freezing!! What happened! Now What? The door of the freezer was open.
I didn't know at the time, but as all French people who live in the US, especially in the south, can relate, it would be the beginning of the complaining non stop about: why does it have to be so cold inside!
It would be the beginning of: me putting a nice little dress on for dinner, to end up with a giant sweater, shivering, and swearing I would go turn up that damn air conditioning myself!
That was the beginning of a lot of things that didn't make sense to me. It was the introduction to: why do they have to be so extreme!
After shaking like I had arrived in Alaska, and went through what I thought : I am going to jail for two Saucissons! He was there My Italian, waiting for me,I didn't care about the cold anymore, I was too happy to see him. Completely lost but happy to feel safe , finally on the ground, and with him.
He asked me if I was hungry, I said yes a little. He said let’s go grab something to eat at Walmart….what a very romantic place to be!!
I discovered my first grocery store in the US that day! Which to this day would be, as a baker and a cook, one of the most challenging changes for me. The French market would be just a nice souvenir from that day on!
I had to adapt. I had to find my way into this new life. A big part would be around food of course. The first few months I thought I was going to starve or become huge. None happened. I learned a new way of cooking, baking and eating, and most of all, buying groceries, which was a big challenge.
But today, as you can see, I came a long way, and I am now able to cook and bake pretty much everything.
Today, let me show you how to make a crust for your pies. Easy, quick, and so delicious. You can then make quiche!
Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions, I will be happy to hear from you!
Stay tune for “the adventures of Gigi in the US”
Quote of the day; La gastronomie est l’art d’utiliser la nourriture pour créer le bonheur.
Theodore Zeldi.
Let’s cook!
As an other French girl living in the us as long as you have I can relate to absolutely everything you wrote! It made me laugh! Thank you for not giving up on the cooking and the baking though, and thank you for sharing.