[Klara]

Hi Veebee,

You say you are new so it's hard to give advice, not clear how you eat now.

But if you're asking how others do it, it runs the whole gambit. I have heard the story when someone was in a group of people with Michio Kushi in a terrible Japanese restaurant, but observed as Michio took small bites of WHITE rice and chewed it very very well.

One of my teachers makes it a point to have a whole suitcase of food and utensils and camping stove, so they can cook in their hotel, but shh, it's not allowed. One day she decided that mind over matter, she can manage her trip on whatever foods are available, and got quite sick!!!!!

You don't say how long a few days is and if the hotel room has refrigerator in it. For myself, I would definitely make rice balls or sushi rolls and eat it boldly NOT in my room, but in front of the management of your course and delight in every chew full - and perhaps if you're in a kind of mean mood, wonder why the course didn't make available such good foods for the body and for being able to meditate even better (I don't know if that's a fact, but heck, could say it if you feel like it :>) )

Friends and family - and restaurants are another bag of beans - it's not quite the same as having many meals for several days, so every now and then one can be more flexible.

I knew ahead I would be at a hotel which would probably not be serving my kind of food - so I prepared a whole list of foods that they could make which wasn't too weird - but it was all a waste of time - the chef probably never even saw it - they just served me very very bland fish and expected I'd be thrilled with their salad bar. A pretty miserable experience.

Friends and family know my preferences, and I have no qualms bringing my own food or cooking at other people's homes, tho realizing it will be VERY limited in what they may have on hand to cook with.

And if I have no choice, and want to be with others where the food options aren't the best, I just try to enjoy it and hope I won't regret it too much the following day (or days).

I also took a course where I thought the people were more evolved, but it didn't seem to apply to food choices - the course was for a week, but every night I went home and stayed up late and cooked and brought food with me for the next day. It did make me feel isolated even more from the rest of the people, but it was my choice and I just couldn't get myself to enjoy the food that was offered.

Klara