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International Cuisine | Friday, 3rd period

"Today we'll be going to Lithuania," Hannibal said, smiling at them. "For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a country in the north of Europe, formerly occupied by the Soviet Union, but its own country once again for many years now. Its cuisine has been influenced by other Baltic and nearby countries, but is uniquely its own."

He waved them through the portal and onto a mostly residential street, in front of an adorable house with a tiny fence and well-manicured lawn. "Welcome to Vilnius, the capital city. We'll be dining at Senoji Trobelė, a restaurant known for its local food, mead, and craft beers. The local drinking age, incidentally, is eighteen, so if you are - or can convince the staff you are - old enough, feel free. The local language is Lithuanian, which I speak fluently, but most of the staff should also know English."

He led them in and spoke with the hostess, and they were led to a table. "Please, enjoy your meal."

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That was indeed the word. Or at least, a word. Hannibal nodded to her.

"They've done their best to keep it looking as rustic as possible. Humans often have a strong affinity for nostalgia. Is that a concept you're familiar with?"

"Sort of," Peridot hedged, after a moment. "I'm only really familiarizing myself with it now. Back before I came to Earth, there wasn't much to be nostalgic for. It was all right there already. Things changed, but that wasn't a bad thing. It was just... progress."

Hannibal nodded. "Change isn't bad in and of itself; life changes." He smiled. "Particularly short-lived organic life, but everything progresses. Places like this," he gestured at the restaurant, "offer nostalgia for a time when things were supposedly simpler."

"And more wooden," Peridot observed, looking around. "What purpose does nostalgia serve in this case? Does the food taste different?"

"Perhaps, if they use older methods to cook it," Hannibal said. "And presentation can have a psychological effect on the perception of taste. But for the most part, it is meant to invoke feelings of cheerfulness and camaraderie, and to make the place seem more genuinely Lithuanian, so that tourists here can feel they are experiencing something truly different."

"... Is it more genuine?"

Peridot looked back at Hannibal curiously.

"Do Lithuanians live in the trees?"

WELL WHAT CONCLUSION WOULD YOU DRAW?

Hannibal laughed. "No, they do not. But older houses in many places were made of wood. Some still are."

Peridot was fairly certain she was being laughed at. She frowned, but nodded a little at Hannibal's explanation all the same.

"Oh. So... this place is... like home."

That was actually kind of nice.

Hannibal was less laughing at Peridot than at the perfectly logical but fallacious conclusion. "This place is more like home for some than others," he said. "I am originally from Lithuania."

"So... does this make you have some sense of nostalgia?"

It seemed a bit more cozy than the molten peridotite that made her feel nostalgic, she had to give it that.

Hannibal looked around and shrugged. "Not particularly. It doesn't reflect the Lithuania I knew. The language does, perhaps a bit, but I am not terribly prone to nostalgia."

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International Cuisine | Friday, 3rd period

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