American living in Budapest

Hi. Are looking for exclusively Americans?

jcsabi wrote:

Hi. Are looking for exclusively Americans?

I agree.

What's wrong with the rest of us?

fluffy2560 wrote:

What's wrong with the rest of us?

Nothing is "wrong" with other expats, and it is good for one to expand their experiences of differing cultural backgrounds, but some times it is also nice to have the chance to hang out with people that have a more similar cultural background. Speaking the same (...similar) language is not always enough.

For example, during some discussions, of say the superiority of Vegemite versus Marmite, the only American in the room can feel like a fifth wheel.

And do you really want to be in the room if Americans are discussing "Jersey Shores"?

klsallee wrote:

For example, during some discussions, of say the superiority of Vegemite versus Marmite, the only American in the room can feel like a fifth wheel.

I would view Marmite vs Vegemite discussions as educational and informative for both those from down under and for those from over the pond. With sufficient knowledge, everyone will eventually recognise Marmite as the superior choice.

In fact, I was considering buying this in order to spread (spread, Marmite, haha, geddit?) the word:

klsallee wrote:

And do you really want to be in the room if Americans are discussing "Jersey Shores"?

No, I wouldn't and I am ashamed to say I actually know what that is. I also would not want to be in the room if ANY folks were discussing nonsense like "The X-Factor" or "A Random Country's got talent". 

Now, if we were discussing say the excellent Walking Dead or Homeland or the less classy Last Resort, or Top Gear (at a loose end, I'll actually watch the US version) then we'd be on common ground. I have a feeling the OP won't be up for it as involves zombies, terrorists, submarines and cars.

klsallee wrote:

Nothing is "wrong" with other expats...

I'm just stirring it up although I'd hate to be thought of as a troll. It was the other person's post which prompted me.

Well, let me just say nothing is wrong with anyone from any other place in the world. I wasn't meaning to imply that there was something wrong with someone who is not American. I've been here for about 9 months and I haven't met one American that I've befriended. It's just sometimes it would be nice to know someone else that comes from the same country as I do, and has the same cultural back round as someone else mentioned before..& just for the record Jersey Shore is not my cup of tea at all. That show actually disgusts me lol.

amylynn11 wrote:

....I wasn't meaning to imply that there was something wrong with someone who is not American.

No worries, it's just forum banter.

amylynn11 wrote:

I've been here for about 9 months and I haven't met one American that I've befriended.

I've been here for almost 18 years and I don't know anyone who is British and lives here full time. Everyone I know, including Mrs Fluffy and the Fluffyettes are all foreigners to me. In fact, it's so normal to be in a meeting with 9 people, none of whom are the same nationality.  I don't even notice who is a foreigner any more!

amylynn11 wrote:

It's just sometimes it would be nice to know someone else that comes from the same country as I do, and has the same cultural back round as someone else mentioned before..

Sometimes I want to avoid my fellow countrymen/women. Having lived more than half my life overseas (away from my home country), I am not sure how much it back there is really my culture any more now.

amylynn11 wrote:

....just for the record Jersey Shore is not my cup of tea at all. That show actually disgusts me lol.

I know what it is but never watched it as I (and many others) have a aversion to that kind of TV. In the UK, we have Big Brother which sounds more or less the same kind of thing. Synopsis of BB: a show for people to waste their time watching other people waste their time. Bit similar to Facebook perhaps, he said, with just a hint of irony typing this reply in a forum.....

fluffy2560 wrote:

With sufficient knowledge, everyone will eventually recognise Marmite as the superior choice.

You, Sir, get one Internet Humor point.

amylynn11 - Did you try TreeHugger Dan's bookstore? He is an American and they have expat events.

http://www.treehuggerdans.com/

Hi,

There's a lot of in-between too:
We are Hungarians (well, my daughter is US citizen as well), but we lived in the US for 2 years, which is of course very little, but we may have some common experience to talk about already.
How did you like Firefly? :-)
(yes, it was a good while ago.)

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

With sufficient knowledge, everyone will eventually recognise Marmite as the superior choice.

You, Sir, get one Internet Humor point.

Ooo...ta!

If I get any more I'll have enough for a tea set or a set of steak knives.

Lidl have peanut butter in stock this week so I got a jar for my American guest.

fidobsa wrote:

Lidl have peanut butter in stock this week so I got a jar for my American guest.

Smooth or crunchy?

Crunchy. I didn't check if they had both sorts.

fidobsa wrote:

Crunchy. I didn't check if they had both sorts.

Crunchy is good. Smooth is bad.

fidobsa wrote:

peanut butter

And also have jelly on hand. To make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Now...... Watch out for it, because here it comes.....

With hole peanuts and a food processor you can also make your own peanut butter (or almond butter -- almonds are common in Hungary).

As Red Green always said to the guys: "If the ladies don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy" (of course he was usually referring to the handyman's secret weapon "duct tape", but it also works in the kitchen).

klsallee wrote:

fidobsa wrote:

peanut butter

And also have jelly on hand. To make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches....

Ah now, this is some divergence from UK and US versions of English - bit like pavement vs sidewalk, hood vs bonnet, boot vs trunk etc.

Jelly would be the UK equivalent of jam perhaps?

Golden Syrup is also nice with peanut butter. But the calorie count for any variant is enormous.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Jelly would be the UK equivalent of jam perhaps?

US:

Jelly = smooth (made from strained juice)
Jam   = lumpy with fruit bits in it

Just for the record, Lidl has both smooth and crunchy in stock... along with ranch dressing and blue cheese dressing.

The Lidl peanut butter is disgusting. Try the Tesco peanut butter much better still not Skippy but certainly better than Lidle "american " peanut butter.

I've not had the Lidl peanut butter BUT Culinaris sells Skippy. I'm a Jif girl however.

cadl1982 wrote:

...I'm a Jif girl however.

(moderated: useless comment)

Interesting that I can edit my own comments that have been moderated by others.

Pitzicat wrote:

The Lidl peanut butter is disgusting. Try the Tesco peanut butter much better still not Skippy but certainly better than Lidle "american " peanut butter.

Which Tesco do you go to? Ive looked here and haven't found it  there. Maybe I am looking in the wrong Tesco lol.

I can vouch for the Tesco Peanut Butter.  It is a wimpy version and extremely expensive but if you are desperate it will work in a pinch.  The big Tesco in Veszprem has it in the International Foods section (a tiny space near the frozen foods with petrified taco shells, and some Asian spices, etc.). I haven't seen it in Lidl, Penny Market, or Aldi nor is it in our Tesco here in Balatonfured nor in the Spar. Ialso haven't seen it in the Metro in Szekeshfehervar either.

Hi , I have seen this Tesco peanut butter  at the tesco in Obuda on becsi ut . I have tried all sorts of other peanut butters even the bio ones some were very nasty. This was the closest to skippy I have found. As it is tescos own brand you might want to ask the tesco store near you to bring it in . Culinaris does sell skippy but the price is about double of tesco's.

Lidl's PB has been fine for me, both smooth and crunchy, as I've been quite desperate!  Nothing is more heavenly, though, than when my family sends me a 2.5 lb jar of Jif from the States!

Have you ever given any of your Hungarian friends a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?  The result is very humorous. I also see the same thing with Mexican food to Russians (haven't tried with Hungarians as I haven't found anything even close to Mexican here). Absolute and total disgust. Maybe that's why there aren't any Taco Bells in Europe (although there is one at the US base in Vicenza).

borschelrh wrote:

Have you ever given any of your Hungarian friends a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?  The result is very humorous. I also see the same thing with Mexican food to Russians (haven't tried with Hungarians as I haven't found anything even close to Mexican here). Absolute and total disgust. Maybe that's why there aren't any Taco Bells in Europe (although there is one at the US base in Vicenza).

That's interesting, all my Transylvanian friends love peanut butter and beg me to bring them some.  My boyfriend was delighted with his first PBJ, and he loves the tacos I made from a kit.  I agree, the Mexican food here is nothing like in the States.  I make my own from scratch, but I am anxious to visit the US and have some Taco Bell again :-)

borschelrh wrote:

Have you ever given any of your Hungarian friends a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?  Absolute and total disgust.

Yes, it turned my stomach just to watch my American guest make and eat such a sandwich. I would not have bought the peanut butter if I'd known he would put jam on top! His Hungarian girlfriend made hers the same though but she  lived in USA for a couple of years.
I think the terms "sweet" and "savoury" must be less well defined the other side of the pond.

oh, you know what is strange, but very delicious?  A BLT sandwich with peanut butter instead of mayonnaise (That's Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, on toast)  It's a trick I learned from a chef, and I love it!

Growing up my favorite sandwich was peanut butter and brown sugar. We also used to eat celery stalks with peanut butter dipped in brown sugar. I actually use my peanut butter the most making Thai dishes or sometimes Vietnamese. I thincken the stir fry with it and it adds just the right amount of nutty background against a curry base.

borschelrh wrote:

Have you ever given any of your Hungarian friends a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?  The result is very humorous. I also see the same thing with Mexican food to Russians (haven't tried with Hungarians as I haven't found anything even close to Mexican here). Absolute and total disgust. Maybe that's why there aren't any Taco Bells in Europe (although there is one at the US base in Vicenza).

There was a Mexican restaurant in Budapest. I was there several times a while back.

You can buy all the Mexican sauces, tacos and stuff you need in Tesco in Budaors.

I think you'd have to explain to people that the American version of "jelly" is marmelade or jam because no-one knows the word "jelly" in this context.

Jelly is a kind of transaprent wobbly pudding with fruit flavouring in UK and some other places.

What might pass for the word/translation of "jelly"  would probably come up in many people's mind as an ancient milky pudding recipe called "blancmange". Seems akin to custard.

Could make many people feel ill if custard puddings are mixed with peanut butter. I don't fancy it myself in a sandwich.

Actually, jelly does have more than one definition, even in UK. Jelly can be the wobbly stuff you make by dissolving cubes of concentrate and then setting in fancy shaped moulds or as a layer in trifles. It can also be jam that is boiled up then strained to remove the pips and lumpy bits. I used to get a lot of wild blackberries in my garden and I sometimes made bramble jelly.

fidobsa wrote:

...It can also be jam that is boiled up then strained to remove the pips and lumpy bits. I used to get a lot of wild blackberries in my garden and I sometimes made bramble jelly.

Yes, you're right. I'd forgotten about that one. Maybe that's the US jelly version. Hungarians though don't know about jelly (the wobbly transparent stuff).

The simple answer is jam still has the fruit in it but jelly has it all filtered out. Both have a thick consistency.  Jelly as made in the US probably has no and never had, any fruit in it and is some concoction made from artificial flavors and corn syrup. Jam (commercially produced) at least has rotten fruit in it. In the US spoilage is canned (vegetables) or made into jams (fruit). Yes, it is true and yes, it is disgusting. That is the main reason I left the US as all the foods there are not only unhealthy but virtually lethal.

fidobsa wrote:

I think the terms "sweet" and "savoury" must be less well defined the other side of the pond.

The term "savoury" (or savory) itself is uncommon. We mostly say: sweet, salty, and spicy.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Jelly is a kind of transaprent wobbly pudding with fruit flavouring in UK and some other places.

Hm... correct me if I am wrong, but that sounds Gelatin. If so, that stuff is a protein extracted from collagen and is sourced from animal by-products (tendons, ligaments, hides, bones, etc.). No fruit basis at all (even if (usually artificial) fruit flavors can be added or even actual fruit can be suspended in it).

This is what we are talking about. It quite likely has no real fruit in it but comes in various fruit flavours and you make it up by dissolving the cubes in boiling water.

klsallee wrote:

[..... but that sounds Gelatin. If so, that stuff is a protein extracted from collagen and is sourced from animal by-products (tendons, ligaments, hides, bones, etc.). No fruit basis at all (even if (usually artificial) fruit flavors can be added or even actual fruit can be suspended in it).

Yes, that was true in the past. I think this is not how it is made now though - from animal parts. However, the fruit flavours are pretty much artificial. It is possible to get sugar free jelly.  Some fruits (like papaya) will stop the jelly setting.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Yes, that was true in the past.

It is still true today. Gelatin is an animal product by definition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin.

You may be confusing gelatin with substitutes such as agar agar, which is a seaweed. Similar, but it is not gelatin and can not be sold/labeled as such. Important to know if you are a vegetarian/vegan.