Balancing Meals, Money, and Experiencing the Local Food While Abroad
A big part of studying abroad is often the new types of food you are surrounded by. It is so important to immerse yourself in the culture of a new location. This aspect of studying abroad can be exciting and valuable, but it can also be an added level of stress and adjustment.
When I first arrived in Croatia to begin my three-month Business Administration minor at the RIT Croatia campus, I was so excited to try Croatian food. However, finding a balance between spending money on meals, cooking meals for myself, staying healthy, and still experiencing the culture was a bit overwhelming. Luckily, I wasn't the only one feeling this way. My other roommates and students in my program were having the same conflict. It took some time to find a way to balance these aspects, but after a few weeks, we had it down to a science.
We decided to limit our eating out during the school week as a group. This way, we could cook healthy and nutritious meals in our apartment kitchen during the week and then spend money on food during the weekend. Also, each of my four roommates would pick a day during the week and a meal they wanted to cook to make it easier on all of us. By doing it this way, I was only realistically cooking one day a week. Before the week began, we would plan out some meals we wanted to make, take a trip to the local grocery store, and prepare anything we needed for our meals. Through this plan, we were exposed to the local grocery stores, which were incredibly different from the US, and found new and exciting things to put in our meals. Everything in Croatia was so fresh that even though we cooked our own food, it still had authentic Croatian flair. I remember we would even cook something as simple as grilled chicken and could not get over how incredible it tasted!
On one of the weekends towards the end of our time in Croatia, a group of us went to the amazing farmers' market in the city center of Zagreb, purchased every single ingredient for this meal, and ate it all picnic-style on our balcony. It was not only so fun to make as a group but also so fun to sit, enjoy the weather, and eat delicious food!
The most unexpected thing about cooking our own meals in our apartment was the variety of things each roommate brought to the table (literally and figuratively). Two of my roommates grew up in an Asian household and had the most experience with Asian food. My other roommate and I had more experience with cooking classic American meals. So, not only were we exposed to the Croatian diet, but I had some of the most amazing Asian food that my roommates would cook. And they felt the same way about my dishes! It was so fun sharing our individual cultures within our apartment, and it became an important part of our time in Croatia.
While we definitely spent the week saving money and cooking our own meals, we took advantage of the local cuisine on the weekends. Because we had created a balanced lifestyle, we could explore more during our weekend trips. We tried Croatian meats, wines, coffees, ice creams, seafood, and pizzas. We completely immersed ourselves in the food there, making the experience so much more meaningful. But because we could balance our diets (and bank accounts), it was so much more rewarding and reasonable.
On Mondays and Thursdays, we had a longer morning before classes, so sometimes, we would take the time to make a gourmet breakfast to start our day. This is one of those many breakfasts that we ate on our balcony and enjoyed together.
One of my favorite memories from Croatia was our Sunday night tradition. Usually, on the weekends, my study abroad group would travel to the surrounding areas, but on Sunday nights, we would all be back in our apartments preparing for classes on Monday morning. After a weekend of busy travel, most of us were too tired to cook, so we stumbled upon a small kebab shop about a five-minute walk from our apartment. These kebabs consisted of the most delicious gyro meat, a variety of vegetables, and an option of a sauce all wrapped up in a warm tortilla. They were absolutely delectable! Even after all the food we had throughout the country, these kebabs remain number one on our food list. It quickly became a tradition to go on an evening walk on Sunday nights to get a kebab from this small vendor. The kebabs were only about 5 US dollars, so we could get together before the week as a group, enjoy a delicious and filling meal before the week began, and limit the amount of money we spent all in one exciting adventure. It was a great way to balance these aspects that once felt overwhelming and intimidating.
This was our first night all together in Croatia and we decided to all dress up and walk to a nice dinner. It was our first experience with Croatian food and a great way to jump-start the trip.
If you are planning on studying abroad and the idea of balancing your diet and money is something that feels overwhelming, I hope that my experience in Croatia can help relieve that anxiety and provide a way for you to find a similar way to balance your own diet without breaking your budget.
Bari Hayden is a Graphic Design major in the College of Art and Design and studied abroad in the summer of 2022 on the Summer Minor in Business program at RIT Croatia.