Irrespective of how happy an immigrant might be with the decision to emigrate, she or he will miss a food or a drink that s/he grew up with and cannot find in the new country.
My Argentinean friend Mafalda missed many things: dulce de leche (a yucky dessert that sticks to my teeth), Fernet (a type of alcohol that smells and tastes like cough syrup), Argentinean meat, and, most of all, something called Sooepis.
“Oh, how I miss Sooepis!” she would sigh. “It’s my most favorite drink in the world. So tasty and refreshing! I’ve asked in every store I’ve been to here in Canada but nobody carries it.”
Once, Mafalda and I were on a long flight to Spain. The talkative Mafalda was yet again waxing nostalgic about her favorite beverage.
“I’m afraid of flying, it stresses me out,” she shared. “Now would be a perfect time to have some gin and Sooepis. Oh, I haven’t had Soeepis in forever, and gin doesn’t taste right without it.”
At this point, I knew I needed to do something to avoid hearing Mafalda’s recitation of Sooepis-related memories for the entire 8 hours the flight was going to last. I got up from my seat and went to talk with the flight attendant. Two minutes later, I came back and handed Mafalda a can.
“Is this what you wanted?” I asked.
Mafalda’s face lit up.
“Oh, Sooepis! Oh, I haven’t seen it in so long! This is a miracle! How did you manage to find it?” she exclaimed, clutching a can of Schweppes.
Clarissa's Blog 
I’m reminded of a (Brazilian) Potuguese class from some years ago. The teacher mentioned that Vicks Vapor Rub was regarded as a kind of cureall medicine in much of Brazil but people couldn’t pronounce the original name and tended to say VEEkee VAHpo HOObee* which I still find so charming that I don’t want to know if it’s true or not….
*in a lot of Brazil r is pronounced a lot like Spanish j.
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Oh dulce de leche is delicious!!!!! You don’t like it? I love it with crepes. (And with alfajores!)
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I don’t much like dulce de leche, colloquially known as kajmak in Poland although technically that’s something else. I think I’ve had it in Hungary but forget what it’s called there.
But, for some reason I lurve sweetened condensed milk straight from the can and given the opportunity will have way too much of it (only realizing my tragic mistake when it’s too late).
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“But, for some reason I lurve sweetened condensed milk straight from the can and given the opportunity will have way too much of it (only realizing my tragic mistake when it’s too late).”
Ha ha ha ha. I have had that exact experience with condensed milk. I’m not much of a sweet person actually. But I find condensed milk to be weirdly delicious. And then incredibly disgusting once I’ve had too much. 😉
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JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA!
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Sure, I remember that!!! But I couldn’t have said something like “Sooepis” because I had never seen Schweppes before and in Argentina it’s called Paso de los toros (or simple “agua tónica”).
Having found that it does exist here (LOL), what I really miss is Americano Gancia, which indeed is not sold here. Another Italian drink of course (in case you were wondering 😉 ).
Oh, Clarissa, I could kill you! But if this can make your day better, I’ll gladly suffer for it! 😉
Besos!
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Ah, ahora me vas a decir que Sooepis me lo he inventado yo. 🙂 Claro, ¿qué más ibas a decir? 🙂
No me hagas caso, estoy bromeando.
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And this is yet another example of why a first-person narrator cannot be trusted. 🙂
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Al menos hasta la época en que yo me vine a Canadá (1990), Schweppes no existía en Argentina, o sea que difícilmente podía conocer la marca… no? 😉
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I was suspicious as soon as you called her Mafalda as that would make you Susanita which I just do not see….
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That’s what I call her in real life, actually. 🙂 🙂 And she calls me La Gorda. 🙂 The famous Argentinean politeness. . .
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