I have recently been hired to do “communist food tours” in Lviv.  It’s really more of a conversation than a tour.  We visit a few different food joints that have some relation to the Soviet Era – either in their style, the food choices they offer, or the attitude of the staff.  As we eat, or walk from place to place we chat about the Soviet-era cuisine, how and why the government enacted some of their food policies, what effect these had on people’s lives, why there were food shortages, how people dealt with them, when bananas became available for the first time, etc. 

Inevitably people ask me questions about my own life and family experiences during this time.  I’m generally pretty open, especially because the challenges were not something I had to deal with directly.  I didn’t have to shop for food, I didn’t have to worry about putting together a meal with meager ingredient choices, I didn’t have to spend time gardening, or worry about appearing poor.  My parents took care of that. In fact, I had a wonderful childhood. 

Sure, we lived in a small apartment and didn’t have stylish furniture or décor.  But I didn’t even notice it because everyone I knew lived in the same conditions.  I never went to restaurants or traveled abroad, but neither did anyone else I knew.  My clothes were nothing special, but I fit right in with all my friends.  Occasionally there’d be a kid that got a real Barbie, instead of a cheapie knockoff, but since it was such a novelty, we all ooohed and aaaahed over it without much jealousy.  When only one person you know gets one thing, it doesn’t feel like any kind of pattern, so I never felt like I had less In that situation, the veins and arteries of men to make the erectile condition long lasting and viagra no prescription fast confident in time of making love. However, the problems never seem to reduce, http://cute-n-tiny.com/tag/pals/page/5/ order viagra and the varieties of such issues keep increasing every day. It is private and confidential, your identity is not revealed when you purchase viagra sildenafil buy cute-n-tiny.com. However, the medication must be taken by coordinated amount or measurements else, it can negatively affect your wellbeing as opposed to determining the issue. buy levitra from canada Go Here because they got more.    

I didn’t start feeling poor and self-conscious until I moved to the United States.  There were stores for every income level and a lot of talk about desirable items.  There were window displays, fashion magazines, radio advertisements.  In ninth grade, our dance team coach required us to have “white keds” for team photos at dance camp.  Everyone on the team had the white Jack Purcells.  Everyone.   My parents bought me shoes from Payless because they were less than half the price.  I felt embarrassed, and frustrated, and small. 

At the end of one of my first communist food tours I realized that being poor doesn’t make you feel poor.  What makes you feel poor is the comparison.  The difference.  The availability of options.  The constant reminder that there is something more or better or more expensive that you should strive to have. 

This realization doesn’t make me long for the failed experiment that was soviet communism. It makes me have a more balanced perspective on the rat race that is capitalism. I have no answers, but I do finally see the trap.