From Apples to Hungary

One moment I'm biting into an apple slice on the way to the gym (in Oklahoma City) and the next I'm standing in Budapest, looking up at a warehouse-like shopping centre. That tangy burst of apple juice on my taste buds took me back 12 years to one little forgotten incident in Hungary.

I was in Peace Corps; Sandy was a church volunteer – both in Bulgaria. One spring, we spent a week exploring Budapest and environs. Needing bread, meat, cheese, apples – meals for travellers on volunteer incomes – we went grocery shopping. Playing through these memories, I could remember the difficulty in finding the place. Its location far outside the tourism centres. That we even had to walk a ways because it was off the bus lines. I can remember our excitement upon entering and seeing aisles upon aisles of food. Sandy and I went a little crazy picking up this and that. Exclaiming how long it had been since we’d seen such a product. Forcing ourselves to buy only what we needed. Grocery shopping. Isn’t that what everyone loves about Hungary? No? Maybe it’s only special to two volunteers visiting from Bulgaria. And even then – I didn’t really remember this whole scenario until I bit into that apple.

Back in Oklahoma City, I wonder at my apple. I can’t imagine the apple is the same kind as those we ate in Hungary. But there was something about the taste because the effect on my brain was immediate. Apples as transporter devices…who knew.