by Matt Petersen
Alex Len still remembers the first time he ate a meal away from home. He was 13, just recently moved away from his hometown of Antratsyt, Ukraine, in order to attend Dnipropetrovsk Higher College.
A friend invited Len over for dinner his first weekend there. The friend’s mother had put together several dishes of homemade food, a fine spread for her own son and his friend.
But Len, who was already much bigger than boys his age, was hardly touching the meal in front of him.
“For some reason, I couldn't eat,” Len admitted.