Trapped at Berkeley

I’ll admit it: I’m an orange juice addict. I drink it every day, at any time, and with any type of food. My dorm is stocked with quarts of Tropicana Pure Premium, bulk containers of Tang drink mix, and pounds of fresh oranges. I don’t think I’ll be getting scurvy any time soon…

One of my favorite drinks is a carbonated orange juice beverage called Orangina. I first sampled Orangina when I bought some from my high school French teacher. My French teacher had brought it back with her from France, the only country where it’s widely-available. I immediately fell in love with the drink, but was saddened by my inability to purchase large quantities of it in the United States; the cost to import it was too great. As such, my love for Orangina was quickly extinguished.

I never forgot about Orangina, though. When I visited France during my winter break, I indulged myself in Orangina. My caring aunt and uncle, who lived in Paris and were aware of my love for the drink, purchased large quantities of it for me. I was forever thankful. Unfortunately, I was unable to bring any back with me to the United States.

Since then, I’ve been craving Orangina and searching for local stores that might sell it. Unfortunately, only a small number of Berkeley students have even heard of the drink. I’ve only been able to share my love of Orangina with my Chem 4B lab partner Laura Lati, who’s as interested in French culture as I am. We’ve been unable to find any place that sells Orangina, though.

At least until now. During Chemistry lab today, Laura brought me a surprise: two bottles of Orangina! A local bistro apparently sells bottles of it. I think I’ll be making frequent visits to that establishment…

UPDATE 8/11/2005: I’ve discovered a few places near the UC Berkeley campus that sell Orangina at reasonable rates. The closest store is the minimart west of the Asian Ghetto on Durant (next to the Post Office). Farther away from campus, one can buy Orangina at the Andronicos chain of supermarkets. I think I’ve also gotten my friend Mark addicted to it…