Living abroad and food

Culinary conundrums

One of the very first things you need to do in your new country is to find food. You all have to eat! Food is spectacularly unique for each country in the world and although we may have lots of different nationality restaurants where we come from, actually living with someone else’s cuisine all the time can prove quite fascinating.

Apart from the first adventure of finding a supermarket shortly after you arrive, the next Food Flashpoint will be one of the big holidays, such as Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or even a child’s birthday.

At this time of year, when food is the main focus of certain festivals, and so culturally important to many, finding the ‘right food’ can often cause a little desperation to the host when living overseas.

How to do Thanksgiving or Christmas abroad

Rule number one – don’t assume you can find a turkey!

Not all countries celebrate Christmas, or Thanksgiving, for that matter.

Not all countries have turkeys.

Shocking, huh?! (It’s really not, but you’d be surprised at how many people are surprised at this.) You can tell when autumn has arrived because all the expat groups get overrun with Americans abroad searching for turkeys, tinned pumpkin, and cranberries in their new home country.

It reminds me of a time I overheard a very angry American woman in a South African supermarket. She was furious that the very large supermarket didn’t sell all the supplies for her Thanksgiving feast. No turkey, no cranberries… outrageous! According to her, ‘Everybody celebrates Thanksgiving, don’t they?’. Err nope. I’m British and while I obviously know about Thanksgiving, I still need to check which date it is each year so I can wish my American friends Happy Thanksgiving. Mind you, Black Friday is huge these days, so I do get a good warning.

Anyway, what you want, what you’d normally eat for these occasions, may simply not be available. You may find an international supermarket where celebration and other familiar food is sold but expect to pay a premium for this. International supermarkets tend to exist in places where there is a large expat population, and therefore the demand is high.

Perhaps it’s time for you to make new foodie traditions, and adapt to what is available to you there?

In my mind, these big festivals are all about family, not necessarily about food. It’s easy to fixate on the food as a natural desire to keep your traditions going, and to recognise your home culture, but maybe it’s time to loosen the ties a little?

Don’t assume you will simply be able to pop out and get what you want. You may get lucky, but you’d better have a plan B, especially if you arrived in your new country just before these dates.

For example, we arrived in Japan at the end of November. My mum was due to visit for Christmas and I’d been so busy in the lead-up to our move, it hadn’t occurred to me that Christmas isn’t celebrated in Japan – it’s not a Christian country. So when it came time for me to get food for our Christmas dinner, I was a bit taken aback.

We don’t eat turkey for Christmas – haven’t done since my Dad died – so that wasn’t the problem. But we do have a meat-based meal, usually lamb. However, meat isn’t really sold in great quantities in local supermarkets in Japan, and I didn’t want fish. I think we ended up with chicken in the end.

The fact I can’t actually recall what we did have to eat, shows that the food isn’t the most important aspect – it’s being able to have your favourite people around you, if at all possible. Consider the real reason for this celebration. Make it memorable for reasons other than food.

Our whole family remembered that particular Christmas dinner for another reason – the sight of me trying to slice a plastic ornament, believing it was a dessert!

Non-festival food differences

We have to eat every day, so food is a huge part of life, wherever you live. Some other cultural differences you may discover include the following:

Meal times

Eating abroad doesn’t mean eating at the same time. Meal times can vary wildly from country to country. For example in Spain they eat very late, often 10 or 11pm at night, whilst Australia and the UK the tendency is to eat much earlier, and America earlier again. It may seem like a small change on the surface but try telling that to a body clock which has been accustomed to something completely different.

If you are moving abroad with children then it’s a good idea to try get them accustomed to the differences before you leave so the transition isn’t quite so drastic.

Children and food

In some counties it’s deemed appropriate that children ‘should be in bed early and not encroach on adult meal times’, while in others, it’s normal for them to stay out very late. Italy, Greece and Spain are famous for having children out very late, but in more northern European countries, especially in the UK, children tend to go to bed much earlier.

If you are moving abroad with your children, it’s best to explore some of the societal guidelines and etiquette around children and eating out at your destination so you don’t accidentally run into problems.

Young children thrive on routine, often to an intense degree – and this can be easily seen when it comes to food. If your child is a picky eater, you need to plan ahead to save the whole family from stress. Even if they’re not particularly fussy, don’t underestimate the comfort that familiar food brings them (and you, to be frank!). If you can, try to take some food with you when you first move which is familiar. Take food they are used to as part of their daily routine, cereals, for example, so when you arrive not everything is completely different and new. Whilst this may not be a long term solution, it does help settle them into their new life in the early, confusing stages. And encourage them to try local foods as soon as possible.

Shopping and supermarkets

Shop opening hours are very different wherever you go. And you need to learn the names of things you consider to be diet staples as well as learning what the locals consider to be staples.

Can you imagine the fun I had when I first arrived in Japan? Not only was the local supermarket full of completely unfamiliar and unfathomable items, but I also couldn’t even begin to work out what the Japanese labels said. It was great fun experimenting though, but not always successful. Packets of tiny eels, complete with eyes were fun! Doughnuts containing red bean paste, rather than the expected red jam was an interesting moment too. Thankfully, my 5-year-old daughter was an adventurous eater.

Supermarkets in Germany closed much earlier than I expected, too. And some even closed at lunchtime on Saturdays.

Before your move, get the vocabulary together for the things that are important to you and your family so when you get there you can find them easily. Write them down in a little notebook so you can refer to it during your shopping trips.

Research for your diet, allergies and preferences

Do your research before you relocate. Acquaint yourself with the local food, their names and do a little prep before you go.

If you have a special diet, gluten free, vegan etc, or allergies, then this research is even more important as some countries aren’t as clued in as others. If you have a potentially dangerous allergy, or are coeliac, for example, make sure to learn solid words and phrases to assist you. Write them down and always carry the notes with you. Better safe than sorry.

Thankfully, with the surge in social media and the internet in general, more and more countries are becoming accessible to anyone with certain diets. Recently, I did some foodie research for where someone with a raw-vegan diet could live easily, a diet I’d not heard of before. The world is getting more committed to helping you eat well.

Be adventurous

Do experience the local food – it’s an amazing experience. Eating fruits and vegetables in season, rather than forced to ripen all year round, they taste incredible. Super-fresh fish and shellfish when you live by the sea tastes so different from inland, packed supermarket fare.

Many people fear eating street food, but generally it’s OK because you can see it being cooked in front of you. This isn’t a cover-all comment, by the way! And there are always incidents of this not being the case.

The key with living abroad and handling any culinary differences is to do your research before you go, particularly of you have special requirements.

To get the most out of your experience, be open-minded and treat food with a sense of adventure.

Bon appétit!

Originally published 7 December 2016
Updated 22 November 2024