We recommend that you bring recipes for some of your favorite dishes or write home for them if you are to be in the States for an extended stay. You may find yourself becoming homesick -- immersed in a strange culture without even the familiar aromas at mealtime. Locate the nearest Indian grocer through the local listings. If none are mentioned, find another Asian grocer that will likely cater to Indian customers, also. As you meet other Indians where you are, find out where they shop for foods and spices. Until then, it is even possible to order spices and dry or canned goods online!

A favorite food like your mother makes can be a great comfort at a time like this! Americans even use the term "comfort foods" to describe those dishes that remind them of home and their childhoods and families, who have often been left behind in a different region of the U.S. Even if you are not used to cooking, you may discover pleasure in mastering just one specialty item you can serve to your new American friends or take to a "pot luck" or "covered-dish" supper. (Such get-togethers are common in the U.S. Each guest or family invited is expected to bring one dish, thus defraying the work and expense from any one person.) Since these social gatherings are common here, you should not take offense if an American friend shows up for your dinner party with an appetizer or dessert -- while we do not condone this as proper, it is most likely a gesture from the heart.

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