An Adventure in China
Having spent four years living in India and Singapore, I faced new issues in dealing with my food allergy. I was confronted with new foods, language barriers, and the difficulty of traveling. However, the challenges I came across are ones that all people with food allergies must deal with at some point in their lives.
Understandably, people with food allergies can have a very difficult time traveling. They must either plan out their meals or face the uncertainty of finding safe food to eat. However, while traveling, I learned to enjoy my vacation without allowing my food allergy to take over.
Because my family was living in Asia, they wanted to take advantage of the travel opportunities and visit various countries in the region. Several summers ago, they planned a two-week vacation to China. Because we would be visiting a new city every few days, and I did not know much Chinese, I decided that my safest choice would be to bring all of my own food. I simply could not risk trying new food in an unfamiliar place. My mother helped me plan what food to bring, and I was actually able to have somewhat interesting and tasty meals. We made muffins and bread for breakfast, and packed a healthy balance of protein and easy-to-prepare foods, such as peanut butter and jelly, granola bars, and pre-cooked chicken breast sold in vacuum-sealed packages. By packing hot sauce or taco seasoning, I was still able to have a variety of flavors, while not spending a large amount of time cooking.
We spent most of the day touring the city, so I made sure to always have food available. Granola bars or trail mix was great for a quick snack, while sandwiches made perfect lunches that didn’t take up much space in my bag.
The only difficulty I experienced was watching my family try new foods while I had to eat my own meals. More often than not, this is a familiar feeling for people with food allergies. However, I decided not to allow myself to miss out on such interesting (and delicious-looking) meals. While my family ate, I would simply ask the chef if he minded sharing his recipe with us. That way, I could still have the same food my family ate; only my food was made in the safety of my own kitchen. Not only did I get to have new food experiences, I really improved my cooking skills!
While on this trip, I really learned to take control of my food allergy and not allow it to control my life. I discovered that food allergies will always require attention, but they are manageable.
