The story about…cucumber

I like vegetables. I cannot survive a single day without them. If I don’t have time to cook, I’ll definitely opt for some easy-peasy veggies like cucumber or tomato.

Though I adore both cucumber and tomato equally, today’s post is dedicated to cucumber.

The first time I visited Germany for an exchange semester was in 2016. Everything was new to me, including my limited German skills. During the initial days, with not much in my pantry, I resorted to eating instant noodles with a few tomatoes and cucumbers. Since I was unfamiliar with German, I found tomatoes easily due to their recognizable appearance, but locating cucumbers was a different story. I searched the vegetable section round and round but couldn’t find any. I vividly recall calling home that day and telling my mom, “Mom, there are no cucumbers in Germany!” 🤣

Nevertheless, I decided to give Germany another chance. I googled how to say “cucumber” in German – “Gurke” – and embarked on a mission the next day to find one. I scanned the price tags until I spotted “Gurke.” Excitedly, I reached for it, only to be taken aback when I saw it. Seriously, was this a cucumber? It looked more like a winter melon in Vietnam. No wonder I couldn’t find it the first time. Still a bit skeptical, I reminded myself not to get too excited before trying it. I bought one, tasted it at home, and to my surprise, it tasted like a cucumber 🤣. With my integrity intact, I promptly called my mom again, “Mom, false alarm from yesterday. There are cucumbers in Germany after all!”

Side Story 1: I planned to write this post today and wanted to share some pictures. Not wanting to use images from the internet, I made an extra trip to the supermarket yesterday to take photos of the abundance of cucumbers, or Gurken. The usual price for a cucumber here is around €1 (27,000 Vietnamese dong – VND), but yesterday, there was a discount on organic cucumbers, which cost €0.79.

Side Story 2: But what about pictures of cucumbers in Vietnam? That’s where my younger sister comes in. I texted her yesterday to take a picture of a cucumber in Vietnam. She sent me one today with a note: “I went the extra mile to buy this for you at the market. It cost 5,000 VND.” Cool as a cucumber, I assured her I’d pay her back the cost of a cucumber in Germany – 27,000 VND 😂

And that’s the end of all the stories 😆.