Did the best meal I've ever had really come from a food truck?

I recently just went on vacation with my family for my brother, Zach’s Make-A-Wish trip to Hawaii. Both my brother and I were excited for the trip since neither one of us had ever been to Hawaii. Once there we had so many exciting experiences: jet skiing, parasailing, shark diving, and hiking up an inactive volcano. I spent most of my time when not on a crazy adventure, relaxing and lounging on the beach in the hot sun. I was determined to come back with a tan. On the first day we were there my brother suggested we went for a walk along Waikiki Beach on the island of Oahu. Once we reached the end of the beach where the marina began we found a bunch of food trucks parked at the edge of the sand. My brother, a food enthusiast wanted to try one, though I was extremely skeptical. I was amazed at what we found.

First off, the food truck was painted pink and was called “Kona’s shrimp truck” a play off of the hit show Hawaii Five-0’s Kamekona’s shrimp truck. The shrimp truck even sold shirts from the television show. There on the menu there were five options: plain shrimp, barbeque shrimp, coconut shrimp, garlic shrimp, sweet and sour shrimp. My brother and I each decided to get something different and share. I got coconut shrimp, my favorite kind of shrimp, and my Zach got garlic shrimp. We waited until we got back to our beach blanket, first getting a picture of us in front of the truck, and sat down to enjoy our food. My mother was extremely skeptical of our food truck treats, since she is a health nut, but my brother and I figured we were on vacation so it was okay to splurge. Once we dove into our five large shrimps battered in coconut and garlic panko we were pleasantly surprised that it tasted amazing. Not only did it taste amazing but also it was by far my favorite coconut shrimp I had ever eaten. After one bite of mine and one bite of Zach’s, I didn’t want to share because mine was so delicious. We ended up visiting the shrimp truck three more times before we left the island.

I shouldn’t be surprised that a food truck on a beach in Hawaii had the best coconut shrimp I’d ever had. I live in Rhode Island so I know good seafood, but the best seafood I had was in Hawaii; another night I had to best Mahi-mahi to date. I assumed that in Hawaii I would eat lots of bananas and pineapples. Comically, I actually never ate one banana even though my family visited the Dole Plantation. I learned that you could experience and taste the best food in the most bizarre way. I never imagined one of the best meals I ever had came from a little shrimp truck on Waikiki Beach in Oahu, Hawaii.

My Ukrainian Roommate

Two years ago, Ukraine was just a country next to Russia. I had no clue what Ukrainian people looked like, what they ate, or anything about their culture. That is until I met one of my closest friends, Olya.

Olya is not an American citizen, she is instead an Ukrainian citizen born in Ternapol, Ukraine. She moved to the United States as a child, yet her parents held roots to their Ukrainian background and heritage. She speaks fluent Ukrainian with an extremely thick accent. Not only were her cultural traditions different from my American ones but also from my Hispanic ones. 

Olya speaks Ukrainian to her parents, where I speak Spanish to my grandma. The first time I heard her speak Ukrainian to her mom on the phone was a completely new experience for me, personally. Olya and I were roommates with another one of our friends and her and her mother had gotten into a heated argument. I looked at my other roommate shocked that she was speaking another language, even though I knew she could fluently speak Ukrainian. Sometimes because I live in Rhode Island, I forget that there are other languages and cultures out there. I don't forget my Hispanic background and my grandmother really only speaking Spanish to me, but that was a norm for me. Whereas Ukrainian was not a norm for me. Ukrainian, the language, is actually a beautiful Slavic language. I would have never known that if I hadn't heard her speaking.

Throughout the year Olya would bring Ukrainian food back to our room after she got back from being on break at home. I'll never forget my first Ukrainian perohy. I had eaten "American" versions of a pierogi, but this was authentic and homemade. It was delicious. I encourage everyone to try "Americanized" versions of food made by someone from the country. I guarantee that the dish will be even better made the original way.

I loved living with Olya. She opened me up to the fact that there are other cultures out there that are just as interesting as mine. I showed her empanadas and she showed me her version of them. Each different but great in their own way. I really think food and language can bring people together and they can open up your eyes to a new experience. It was great that we were friends and could talk about it afterwards and not worry about having to offend the other. It widdened my worldview and I'm so glad I got to have this experience with one of my close friends.