Food—delicious and
powerful. The other day, I met with my friend Gregory. We had a meal together,
and the topic of the day was food. I wanted to learn all about his favorite
dishes—what he liked, disliked, how it differed from America, and what he ate at
the BLUU in comparison to his home in Venezuela. In addition, I answered all of
these questions for him. I am travelling abroad next semester, so practicing
having conversations with another from a different country and culture will be
valuable for my trip across seas next semester.
Gregory’s
favorite food of all time resembles a pork sandwich that we have here at most
barbeque restaurants. There are a few differences, however, because Venezuelan
pork has different spices. It was a real joy watching him talk about something he
loved. While Gregory’s English is good, when he finds a topic he is passionate
about, he speaks about it with great detail and vigor. What stood out the most
to me was not the actual make up of the meal but more the description of the
atmosphere with the meal. He explained that when this meal is made, it is not
one person cooking for an hour, then inviting everyone in to eat dinner. His favorite
part of the meal is the fact that the entire family is involved. I learned that
during this process, each member talks and shares what is going on in their
lives while cooking the meat. This contrasts to a lot of meals I have at my
house. Yes, my family all eats at the same time, but the entire cooking process
includes only my mom. I realized that I had been missing out on hours of
possible good times with my mother. Gregory pushed me to, over thanksgiving
break, choose to cook with my mom instead of let her do it all. To my surprise,
I absolutely enjoyed it!
While
I do not really enjoy the actual act of cooking, I was blown away by the
conversation and connectedness I had with my mom. This is exactly how Gregory explained
it. He said that the entire family will join in on the cooking of the meal,
wanting to be together to share stories. He emphasized how important food and
meals are to his family, saying how it is a time where all can come together
and share a common love for delicious pork sandwiches.
The
conversation rotated to the BLUU food, and this surprised me as well. When you
talk to a freshman or sophomore about the BLUU, almost every time you hear how
disgusting the food is or how little variety there is in the meals. While I may
agree with this, I loved what Gregory had to say about the BLUU. He explained
that it is the one place where he can see multiple friends and have similar
experiences to those he had with his family back home. A handful of students
can pick their meal together and sit for 30 minutes, asking questions and
learning about each other’s days and lives.
I
can resonate with this, because this year I live off campus. I do not have a
meal plan; therefore, I rarely go to the BLUU to eat food. It is amazing how
many people you don’t see by not having a meal plan. I recommended Gregory keep
his meal plan, even if in the future he might not be enjoying the food as much
as he is now. The relationships that are formed over meals are incredible and
deep. I love what meals do to people, and I always encourage people to put
their phones away at dinner. Gregory and I do this—we take the time to dive
into each other and truly try to understand each other. Meals are my favorite
ways to get to know somebody, and I think it says a lot that Gregory’s culture
back home takes this seriously.
No comments:
Post a Comment