Dear students,
Bellow you will find several short stories. Please read them and and then write your views, impressions, opinion, reaction in form of an EXTENDED comment. You are particularly encouraged to comment on each other's views, respond to each others' posts, and engage in a meaningful dialogue about the stories.
The first piece was written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie with the title "Real Food" (follow the link below to access it). Adichie, author of the celebrated novel Americanah, explores her heritage and her family through her hatred of garri, a traditional Nigerian food. She finds that not eating the food both frees her and separates her from her family, and this brief story expertly explores what it means to (not) belong to a culture.
Comments are due by Tuesday, November 4th.
"Real Food” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I can compare and I feel Adichie's pain. Being born and raised in USA soil, I grew up eating what we call "American food." When my friends find out I'm Mexican they easily assume I eat all this spicy food, and that's all I eat, when in fact I eat very little of it, Sorry, but that stereotype isn't true haha, sorry to break it to you guys, I had similar situations as her, visiting family members and not liking the food they make because you don't really eat it, wanting to be part of this culture but ultimately feeling like a black sheep. I know I'm not the only one that doesn't like some foods from their culture, am I?
ReplyDeleteOk, I hope I remember everything I wrote the first time around. I had a long blog post but when I hit publish it made me sign in and erased the whole thing.
DeleteI can relate to Brian Hernandez and the feeling of being ostracized for my lack of enthusiasm for meal choices when visiting family in Colombia. For example I was thrown aback when I was served a beef and potato soup for breakfast in Bogota (the capital of Colombia). I also remember how the quantity of food served was overwhelming. First off, we ate about 5 or 6 times a day. We ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner and in between we had snacks that the whole family would sit down and have together. We also had what is known as "sopa y seco", basically soup and dry. Dry consisted of rice and either beans or salad and some sort of meat. This is all not so bad although I wasn't used to eating so much. There is one thing that to this day I refuse to eat but a lot of Colombians LOVE to eat, Morcilla or blood sausage. Yup, blood sausage. Morcilla is a sausage stuffed with rice and blood, dried blood. Not happening. Even though I had all my cousins, my aunts, and my uncles tease me about my eating habits or aversion to certain foods I could always rely on one person to be on my side, my grandmother. She would go as far as to always ask me what I wanted to eat so that I wouldn't be forced to eat something that I didn't want to. I remember once I asked for scrambled eggs for breakfast, apparently scrambled eggs does not translate well into spanish. The literal translation of scrambled eggs was a foamy egg white that had been boiled and served on dry toast. When she saw the look on my face when it was in front of me she asked me what was wrong. After I explained what I really wanted she said, "Oh huevos pericos" and proceeded to make them for me. Thank you grandma for never making me feel bad about being a "gringo" and for always having my back. I love you.
No, you are definitely not. I hated most filipino dishes until I got older. All the different spices and ingredients that came with filipino food smelled awful to me. I remember one specific memory where it all started, when I was about 6-7 years old and my Lola (grandma) was cooking a traditional filipino dish called "Igado," which was made with meat, liver and other intestinal organs. The smell was so overwhelming and disgusting that in every family party I would try to find other alternatives, either asking my mom to buy me food or to cook something else. However, I did like the simpler foods, adobo and sinigang, but those kind of foods were hardly made in my family. I can understand Adichie's feeling of separation. In many cultures food is what brings everyone together, and by not eating what everyone else is can make you feel different, but food isn't the only way that we can form relationships and be one with our culture. We may get it from practicing how the culture treats other people, or how they treat family, the way they perceive life, or their form of music. There are various ways that can make us feel closer to our culture without it being food-related. In my point of view, culture is a way of life, and is not defined just by food alone, don't you agree?
ReplyDeleteI completely understand what Adichie's pain is. She is viewed as an outcast almost to her family because she doesn't like her cultures food. In a similar way I experienced what she went through. I grew up in a Colombian family, many times I didn't like the food and i would protest for sometime more american. My family would get mad and call me American and different. So I understand what she is going through, but I also feel like she doesn't like it because she doesn't have a variety of food choices due to her economic standing. She probably wants to try different food items and meals. In many cultures if you dislike your cultures food it is viewed as disrespectful. So I feel bad for Adichie because she cannot really speak out for herself and wanting a different tastes in her life. But overall I enjoyed the reading
ReplyDeleteIn Adichie's culture it was a normal thing for every family member to eat "swallow" or as they called it,"real food". I totally get where Adichie is coming from,similar to her i grew up in Jamaica and it was a tradition for my mom to serve my siblings and i "corn meal porridge", every morning for breakfast before we leave for school. My siblings loved it, me on the other hand did not. Often times i would wait until my mom became distracted then i would throw it out the kitchen window, i never did acquire the taste. Now being a mom myself, i often time prepare it and offer it to my son, more time than less he refuse to eat it. However i totally get it and i'm not offended, because i know that there is so much more than the "real food", that makes up our culture. Unfortunately for Adichie her family wasn't so understanding, she was often time the line of family teasing.
ReplyDeleteI understand exactly where Adichie is coming from and i can relate to her. My mom is Jamaican and my dad is Italian so i grew up on foods from both cultures, and i can honestly say that there were a lot of dishes that i disliked from both. As a child i seriously ate so much pasta that i got tired of it, and my mom use to cook curry goat a lot and now i cant stand to eat it. So i believe that it is okay to dislike food from your own culture, and no one should judge or force anyone to eat anything that they don't enjoy.
ReplyDeleteAdichie’s feeling for her culture food is a common phenomenon. I totally understand about that. Everybody has loath food to eat, but they have to eat every day because it is a important part of their culture. If they don’t like it, their friends or family may think they are not really part of their team. For my own experience, even though I love my culture food, I have many friends have “swallow food” problem. In my city, we are eating seafood every meal, even some seafood are uncooked that is special meal in my city. Eating seafood is a symbol of my home place. However, some people can’t accept eat uncooked seafood. But they often have seafood in the meal when they have friends meet in the restaurant or family meet in festival. If they like eat it, another people will say they are not part of people in this city for a joke. Therefore, somebody swallow to eat them to avoid being topic of conversation. After immigrate to the United States, I can feel “eating real food of culture” stronger. In my opinion, people can decide what they like to eat, not swallow eat culture food because they are part of it.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting, i don't think its weird if you don't want to eat your own cultures food. Especially when your born in America it is hard to want to eat your families food when you have all these restaurants around you luring you in to their tasty yet unhealthy foods. I myself am expected to eat what my mother makes all the time but i just cant i don't have a taste for it. To want to always eat some type of meat with my dinner i don't want. And when i do eat this particular meat or meal it upsets my stomach. I'm not saying don't eat your families food but maybe you can try other dishes that your family makes. Adichie is use to eating American food probably making it harder to have a taste for that kind of food. And i agree with Mengmeng its okay to dislike foods from your culture your family shouldn't outcast you because you aren't like them they should learn to accept this and not lecture you. You shouldn't have to force yourself to eat it because its your culture. People change over time and customs change, so i believe its alright to eat the foods you like right guys?
ReplyDeletei understand hundred percent of what Porsha explains many people as they grow don't eat some or most food around them in their culture, it doesn't mean you are an outcast to family or culture it just how you as a person like and dislike what your body contains. Me as i grew up i was one of many families that did not like majority of food surrounding me at home and as i grew i tried and tasted different things to over come the food i didn't like at first and still some that i don't like or care to try but does not mean the people in my culture treat or act any different
DeleteI understand where Adichie is coming from. I've never been so thrilled about my cultures food and when i would go to family gatherings i wouldn't eat much of the food and would ask my mom to go buy me something after we left because i wasn't going to eat something i don't want to. i don't think what we eat should define our culture nor should we be forced to eat things we don't like.
ReplyDeleteI found this article to be very interesting. I can relate to Adichie in various ways. Growing up in El Salvador, there are a lot of dishes that my family would make on holidays or special occasions I would always be the one to be eating something else. When my mom made some of the dishes for dinner, I would make myself something else or I would go out and buy something. At times, I would feel like a burden to my family. They always tried to satisfy me and it didn't feel good because they had to do double the work. With time I learned that being different shouldn't be a reason to feel bad.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, I was taught to love "Colombian food" above all else. As time goes by I learned to appreciate "American food" and my other delicacies from different cultures. I also realized that not everyone has the same preferences when it comes to food. Some people like "Italian food", others prefer "Mexican food", and if people demand others to eat what they want to eat is pure ignorance. I believe that Adichie was expressing her distaste toward "garri". The only problem was that she was going about it the wrong way. So she talked to her mother in hopes for understanding and compassion and what I discovered after reading the article is the type of understanding we all need to learn in our lives. In other words, we all need to take people's feelings into consideration while showing respect to our own culture. Not everything is black and white, we all have choices when it comes to our opinion towards food.
ReplyDeleteAdichie story is very interesting, mostly for the fact that I can also relate my personal experiences and cultural foods and how bad it went for me too. I clearly understand the fact that she wasn't very proud by her culture recipes and their foods and how she wasn't really attached to how tasteful in my be to others.As for my personal experience my stepfather is antigen and as I grew up I grew very fond and attached to my mothers Dominican cooking. one day my mother was pregnant and was too sick to be cooking for almost an entire week and as me and my older sister had no choice but to live off of what my stepfather can provide us with and that was his cultural recipes. As he began to cook I noticed that his recipes were a hundred percent different from the way my mother used to do it all the time but as It looked different I hope to believe that it tastes as good as my mother's cooking would have. although I was wrong, his food was scary... and I believe that is the best way I can describe it. His food was different, unique in a way and I guess the only one who can actually enjoy it perhaps is himself but although his food was not that good this did not stop me from giving a chance to try other cultural recipes and I believe if I did give up I wouldn't have tasted the amazing Mexican food recipes that mexicans holds. so yeah as in relation I believe that adichie has many difficulties growing a Attachment to her nature's recipe but as many people might say change is good many also believe that it is not and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteAs a child I remember my mom cooking what we consider the typical "spanish food." Spanish cultured foods would be considered rice and beans, rice and corn, platanos, pastels, flan, etc. These were just the few of many spanish cultured foods I did not enjoy and still don’t till today. I felt as if I was a burden to my family because they would make these big special meals, trying to satisfy everyone and I sometimes wouldn’t eat it. I would rather wait until I got home to either order food or find something in my house to make. I could understand where Adichie is coming from when she explained how her family would tease her. I too was teased by my siblings. They would say I'm not Puerto Rican or constantly question me about what was it about these foods that I didn't like. Living in America we become somewhat "picky" because of the diverse cultures or even the different styles of cooking. I agree with Mengmeng and Porsha that we shouldn't be judged based on what we choose not to eat and we shouldn't be lectured about it. We should't be forced to eat something we don't enjoy eating either. We live in America, a place with diverse cultures, traditions and foods, so we should be able to at least explore it all but it doesn't mean we have to like it all. I believe we should be able to eat what we like and not feel guilty for what we don’t enjoy eating.
ReplyDeleteThis article can relate to everyone's childhood. Every family has a traditional dish that not everybody will enjoy. In my experience my family made a soup that tasted terrible for me. Like the girl from the article my parents would make me a separate dish for me. The soup represented where I was from. so it really meant a lot for the family. But when you don't like how something tastes you're not going to eat it.
ReplyDeleteThis article caught my eye due to the fact that I could relate to it. My mother is the only one who cooks in my family and most of the time we have chicken and rice. Even my grandma would cook chicken and rice. It soon became something I got used to because my whole family cooked it and this is the food I grew up on. Other spanish foods my family would cook I wouldnt enjoy. My whole family would say how amazing it was and I was crazy for not liking it. So I completely understand how Adichie is feeling. Being teased because she doesnt like food shouldnt be a problem. We shouldnt be teased in the first place. Everybody has there own preferences and there own opinions to what they want to eat. To force someone to eat something or tease is ridiculous and inconsiderate. You should be able to eat whatever you want as long as you like it.
ReplyDeleteIn Adichie's culture it was a normal thing for every one to eat "swallow". I can totally relate to this article because growing up in a dominican culture i was raised in our traditional plate which is white rice, beans, and chicken. As a child i disliked rice and beans i would not eat it at all therefore my mother would have to make me a alternate for that. Visiting my relatives they would have the traditional plates and always inform my mom that she should enforce it more at home. Finally growing up I've learned to love rice and beans i guess as a child just preferred to eat junk food. based on the article I believe that we should learn more about what we should eat and not judged on it.
ReplyDeleteThe author exposes through her article that not everyone is the same and that is perfectly fine. Not because you grew up in China you have to love rice, or if you grew up in Mexico you love tortillas. She could not stand up and say what she truly thought of the "garri" for quite some time because maybe she had the feeling that she was going to be seen as an outsider and maybe a traitor. Although when she finally did stand up for what she really thought, and was expecting a beating, she realized that being different is not so bad, and her mother respected her decision and cooked a different dish for her every day. The author's point is that not because one is from certain region of the world has to like the same things as everyone around, we all have different personalities and different likes, therefore never be afraid to speak up your beliefs and in this case your dislikes.
ReplyDeleteEveryone can probably relate to Adichie’s story. We all have that cultural dish that we dislike especially as a child. When I was younger, there was one particular dish my mother use to make that I truly do not like. It was a dish called “pansa” in Guatemalan culture. It was made up of cow’s internal organs cooked in tomato sauce. My older sister loved it but it was just too horrible for me to eat. I hated the smell and the look of it. The taste was twice as bad as it smells. Now when my family and I look back at those times, we just laugh at how I used to sneak and give it to our pet dog to eat as I just couldn’t stomach it. Cultural dishes are very interesting. One dish tastes so lovely to some and terrible to others. We all have our favorites and the “not so favorites”.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the writer, I am a Jamaican and I do not like Jamaica dishes. Especially Oxtail.Although it is our native dish my stomach just can not stand it.My siblings and I were often made to eat this same dish all time . It was times that I could not stomach it. I would often eat it and it would come back up. My mother would say well at least you ate. I grew to not eat meat at all because of this. I can not stomach a lot of foods. I do not eat meat at all. I don't think that because you are from a certain place you have to eat that food only. I am diverse. i eat all kinds of food including Garri.
ReplyDeletei strongly agree with the writer because if you wasn't raised eating certain food its will be hard to get yourself a custom eating cultural food.
ReplyDeleteI do not for sure what the African foods are, but one thing I can say is the fact that you do not eat cultural food does not mean you are foreign as the author's aunt said to her. I'm Haitian, and I do love my Haitian foods. However, some of those food, will never in my stomach. I appreciate the way that the author claims her right. she is African, but that does not mean she has to eat the real food that the Africans call" Swallow". You have the right to eat the food that you love. not the food that your culture force you to eat.
ReplyDeleteAdichie's article about the food and how she is known as a foreigner in the family is very interesting to know. Somehow, I can relate to this food situation. When I was a kid, I always ate Bengali foods since both of my parents are from Bangladesh. Like the author, there are plenty of food that my mom cooks I don't like them. Sometimes, most of them I dislike is because I don't like the way my mom cooks and sometimes I don't even bother to taste them since they look gross to me. My mom would always force me to eat those foods but nowadays she doesn't ask me to eat the foods I don't want to eat. Also, even though we live in NYC where all the countries dishes are available to us, my parents won't let me eat the foods from different places. For example, in the weekends if me and my brother want to have dinner in outside, we actually mean in an American restaurant. However, my dad will probably take us to a Bengali or Indian restaurant. In addition, I disagree with one thing that just because she doesn't like the foods from her culture that doesn't make her a foreigner. No one should judge her because she is only disliking some of the foods not the whole culture.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the article by Adichie.. It reminds me of when I was younger eating Cuban food. Everyone would come to my grandmother's house every Sunday to have a family feast. I would pretend to have a tummy ache but of course no one ever believed me. I was usually the last person to finish. My uncle told me that when I got older the food will be enjoyable and will bring great memories. Today, I can't wait to eat grandma's cooking!!! Now my son does the exact same thing to us. He really doesn't enjoy eating my mother's cooking but we all laugh about it. I hope he will have the same experience and enjoy cuban food later in life. Almost every family has a meal that sticks with them in heart. Food is a great reminder of who we are no matter the taste..
ReplyDeleteI grew up with my grandmother, since my mother was here in the U.S. I remember my grandma used to cook some dishes I didn't like and she knew it. However she forced me to eat them for my own good and she used to tell my mom, that I ate all type of food. But that is not the truth, the truth is I am very picky when it comes to food. So when I came to the U.S, my mom noticed that I didn't eat certain dishes. One day she asked me why I didn't ate fish soup, if my grandma told her I loved it. I told her that I didn't like it, and that there was many dishes I didn't like and that I hate onions. Since that day my mom reduced the amount of onion in her dishes. sometimes for example when she is going to do salads, she separated a portion for me without onion and then add the onion to the rest.
ReplyDeleteI believe that just because you don't eat some types of food from your country, it does not make you less patriotic. Maybe when we get older we will like, if not, well is not the end of the world. But one thing that I know for sure is when people judge you because you don't eat a certain food. They look at you, like if you were I don't know what but that feeling and look is not a good one. I can relate to the author when her aunt told her she was a foreign. I hate when I go to my boyfriend's house and his family has cooked dishes that I don't like because they start telling me that I have to learn to eat new food. I try to be polite but it kills me when someone start lecture me abut my food choices, because I am the only one who can nag myself about it. I hope one day I will be willing to try new food.
The article written by Adichie was very interesting because I could relate to what the author had to say. I grew up in a very "Colombian" household so eating Colombian food was expected of me. In all honesty, I hate soup. Colombians are well known for their sancochos. My mom could beg be for the entire day but I would not eat it. Everyone thought I was crazy to not like my moms sancocho but it wasn't just hers it's anybody's. I do not think that if you don't eat certain dishes from your country it makes you less of that culture. Food has nothing to do with the love you feel for your heritage. Everyone has their own taste and the way you are viewed in your country should not be affected.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to Adichie, because I too do not eat a lot of my own cultural food. I do eat the vary basic foods, however I don't even cook it. Like Adichie, I have no stories to share about my cultural food because it's just something I don't enjoy. I prefer food of a variety of culture. Unlike Adichie however, I don't wish that I was more into my cultural food, and am fine with what I enjoy and not having stories to share or moments about my cultural food.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting because we can see how some people are obligated to eat food that they don’t like or be seen as a foreigner. Fortunately for Adichie her mother understands her dislike of traditional food, although Adichie’s aunt makes fun of her about it. When I was a child, my cousin didn’t like to eat potatoes, which are the most popular ingredient in all traditional dishes of my country, but his mother always forced him to eat them. I remember that he cried and said that when he grows up, he would never eat potatoes. Today, he is married and has 2 children, and he doesn’t eat potatoes. Also, he never forces his children to eat food they don’t like because he doesn’t want them they to suffer like he did.
ReplyDeleteOverall, The article "Real Food" by Adichie shows how her family eats and are served cultural food such as garri but she does not like consuming it. I can relate to her because there's a variety of foods that mom cooks because of our culture and background that I however do not like eating what so ever. Just because you don't eat cultural food shouldn't make anyone any less than where they come from because people tend to have different tastes in foods.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Real Food" by Adichie describe her family traditional food and the way they consume it, but she was against her family traditional food. The traditional food was garri and the way they consume it was by swallowing it. I can relate to this because my traditional food is "Sancoho" which I don't like. My family always do this dish for Thanksgiving,but I try to avoid eating it. To be honest not every traditional food taste good.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the Article, I can relate with the author because I've had several experiences that were similar to her experience. Growing up I never really had a choice about the food that I was given to eat and my family would complain about me leaving half of my food whenever I did not like something. They believed I was being disrespectful to the person who had prepared the food and that I was being ungrateful. As I got older I was able to express to my family why I did not like certain food and I was given other options. Now, as I get older I allow myself to be more open minded about trying new food or trying food that at one point I did not like when I was younger.
ReplyDeleteI understand Adichie point of view, She doesn't enjoy some of her cultures dishes such as garri and therefor she is teased by family members. Can i relate? No. Being Spanish I have the privilege to enjoy a variety of delicious Spanish food. When i was younger i used to be very picky but as i got older that faded away. I'm a very open minded person and I like to try new things, I've experienced Korean, Thai, and Indian food before. Personally, Spanish food is my go-to because it's a great, inexpensive fulfilling meal. Food has the power to bring people together, create bonds, and make memories for a lifetime. Culture and food are tied together because the same way we make our dishes today is the same way they were once made or passed down from years ago.
ReplyDeleteAdichie's story is interesting because it speaks to a couple very relatable topics. As a child Adichie's aversion to garri puts her at odds with her mother and alienates her from her family who all find garri to be a favorite meal. Being a traditional Nigerian food Adichie's distaste for garri also makes her feel distant from her culture. I can relate to these feelings, my father is Dominican and spent early years of his life in the Dominican Republic. However I don't speak spanish, and by looking at me you wouldn't be able to tell I was anything other then white. I've had trouble identifying as Dominican because I only having passing ties to the culture. and like Adichie I know the feelings that confusion as a child about your culture and your place within it can bring.
ReplyDeleteFrom the article "Real Food" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie everybody could relate to the article that have families from different country then united state . Especially me because when I was small i would hate to eat my own native food (i don't even know why ) I would always want to go out and eat American food . I remember i use to tell everybody that im allergic to mushrooms just because i didn't what to eat them and felt like throwing up but i just put that in mine head .But like in the article late in life that boy realize how important that food is like to his grandmother and also that his generation was eating food like that and its part of the culture .When we young we just learning and when we get older then we know what is important to us .
ReplyDeleteMy father is an international chef and back then when we are in our country, he always cook meat for us because me and my siblings wefe accustommed to eating that food. However, that changed when we came here in America. In America, there are a lot of available healthy foods and of course, one of them is salad. I hated salad back then that I almost threw it up, but now I got accustommed eating it everyday because I noticed people here are more health conscious with their diets. I know the sentiments of Adichie not eating garri because he's not accustommed to eating that food. I mean you cannot force someone to eat other types of food especially when you are born in a different country. I think that it just takes time for a family to get accustommed to the other members of their family to eat what they want. I think that Adichie's mother always cook dishes from their own country because she's trying to retain the family's culture, but as time passes, she understood Adichie's feelings of not eating their food. I think time is important in learning to eat certain types of food, maybe it's a way to remember our past, maybe in the future, Adichie might miss her mom's garri or maybe not at all.
ReplyDeleteOk, I hope I remember everything I wrote the first time around. I had a long blog post but when I hit publish it made me sign in and erased the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to Brian Hernandez and the feeling of being ostracized for my lack of enthusiasm for meal choices when visiting family in Colombia. For example I was thrown aback when I was served a beef and potato soup for breakfast in Bogota (the capital of Colombia). I also remember how the quantity of food served was overwhelming. First off, we ate about 5 or 6 times a day. We ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner and in between we had snacks that the whole family would sit down and have together. We also had what is known as "sopa y seco", basically soup and dry. Dry consisted of rice and either beans or salad and some sort of meat. This is all not so bad although I wasn't used to eating so much. There is one thing that to this day I refuse to eat but a lot of Colombians LOVE to eat, Morcilla or blood sausage. Yup, blood sausage. Morcilla is a sausage stuffed with rice and blood, dried blood. Not happening. Even though I had all my cousins, my aunts, and my uncles tease me about my eating habits or aversion to certain foods I could always rely on one person to be on my side, my grandmother. She would go as far as to always ask me what I wanted to eat so that I wouldn't be forced to eat something that I didn't want to. I remember once I asked for scrambled eggs for breakfast, apparently scrambled eggs does not translate well into Spanish. The literal translation of scrambled eggs was a foamy egg white that had been boiled and served on dry toast. When she saw the look on my face when it was in front of me she asked me what was wrong. After I explained what I really wanted she said, "Oh huevos pericos" and proceeded to make them for me. Thank you grandma for never making me feel bad about being a "gringo" and for always having my back. I love you.
in response to the article "Real Food" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie I totally agree with the article. the fact that you may not like the food that identify your culture does mean your are not part of it. I remember when i used to live in my country (Colombia) i was about 7 years old. I used to hate the food that was serve during family parties... and my grandmother used to force me to eat the food to the point were I grew up hating my own culture food. But that does not mean that I stop being a real Colombian.
ReplyDeleteAdichie's story can be easily related to by many. We grew up in a world where everything is diverse so maintaining your culture can be rather difficult. Even though this is so common, people are still ridiculed in a "harmless" way just because of what they don't eat. This makes people upset because it makes them feel left out, like an outsider to their own culture. What people don't seem to understand is that everybody's different, including their tastes. I can somewhat relate to her story because I'm a vegetarian and my entire family isn't. When I first became one, nobody really thought I was serious so at family party's I would never have anything to eat, they would always try to feed me meat. But after a while, they got used to it and made sure that there was always something for me. People find it weird when someone from their culture don't eat the same foods as them but they do get used to it.
ReplyDeleteIn Adichie's point of view, She doesn't enjoy some of her cultures dishes such as "garri" which is a traditional dish in her culture, therefore, she is being teased by her family members. It is common in many chdren. However, I have different experiences. As I am from Nepal , I have the privilege to enjoy a variety of delicious Nepalese food. Many Nepalese dishes are similar to Indian food where they use varieties of spices. I was only child in my family that I used to eat whatever my mother made. I was very open minded person then now I am. I like to try new things. When I separated from my family, I started cooking myself. Moreover, When I started working at restaurant, I got the idea how to make new dishes. I really enjoy with Nepalese foods. Now, I am in New York, It is hard to get Nepalese food every place here. Sometimes I go to Jackson Heights, Queens where I can get some of the Nepalese Dishes. Personally, When I eat Nepalese foods, I always miss my mother, auntie and father because they are the real food makers. As we know, food has the power to bring people together and make memories for a lifetime. Our food is the part of our culture.
ReplyDeleteThis short story from Adichie is really interesting. In my opinion, I do believe that this story does shows how someone can show they are participant of their culture by following or in this case eating a meal that is common in the culture. In my experience, I was not born in the United States, but ever since I remember, I have seen my mother teach me and my sister to eat the most native meals that every Ecuadorian likes to eat. Although at first, this meal were not really tasty like the author also had a problem with her meals, my mother never gave up and will constantly cooked those meals untilI I learned to like it. Today, I am a girl that when she travels to Ecuador, when my family offers me food, I do not feel awkward because I have never tasted those meals and feel the feeling of unity when I sit in the table eating. I thank my mother for her effort and by always keeping Ecuadorian culture in my life even though we live her. Concluding that culture is very important and makes us who we are and food is one way to do so.
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ReplyDeleteI can relate to this story, “Real Food” the fact that I am Dominican and by this I mean I know what is like being part of a culture and definitely demonstrating whether or not I’m from a Dominican culture. Growing up in the Dominican Republic has shown me how important it is to represent its culture. When I was little I used to always help my mother put up the table, from Monday to Friday she would most likely cook white rice, red beans, meat and salad. This would be the most typical plate in D.R. another plate which my mother would make over the weekend would be plantains with salami, cheese and eggs, my mother would leave this plate for the weekend because it was less heavy than having rice and beans and also because it was easier to make. Most Dominicans do eat this kind of food almost everyday so when you hear a Dominican say that they don’t like plantains or that they don’t eat rice and beans together it is really rare and a lot of people seems to be really surprise. My friend for instance she is Dominican and she does not like plantains with salami and for me to hear that it is really weird because of the fact that she is Dominican I am expecting her to eat those kinds of plates. I am still exploring a lot of Dominican plates which, some of them I do eat because I like but others I don’t really enjoy eating. Therefore I don’t think people should expect you to specifically eat your culture’s food because I think it should be more of a personal choice whether you like something or not but not be obligated to eat something that you don’t like.
ReplyDeleteI can related from where the author is comming from because i dont like many of my food from my calture. Being from a Puerto Rican background they eat many sea foods and i dont like sea food that much i just eat fish and shrimp. I wouldnt eat octopus , crabs or fried calamari and when i telling my famliy that they tell me i wouldnt know until i try it. They also tell me how ive been Americanized just becuase i dont eat these foods. I feel if you dont want to eat the food then you shoulnt and also if you dont eat it people shouldnt make a big deal because everyone has different liking too not everyone from the same culture likes the same thing or has to eat it.
ReplyDeleteThe article "Real Food" by Adicnie is very intriguing. Its not the typical topic people would talk about which grabbed my attention. I feel like no matter what country your from your always going to have that on dish you don't like. But just because you don't like it doesn't mean or make u less of where you came from. I'm Puerto Rican and Dominican I love eating there different types of dishes however there are one or two dishes that I don't like. It's normal, not everything in this world that we eat everyone's going to like. Everyone has there own taste. When I was a child I use to think eating fast food and junk food was the best until one day my dad cooked rice, beans, and chicken. And he forced me to eat it. I didn't want to but I had to. And when I did I ended up liking it a lot. Not only did he forced me but he also explained to me what the food has and how it can help my body as opposed to fast food which isn't healthy. As I got older I learned to be opened minded about the different types of food
ReplyDeleteI can relate to Adichie.Growing up in Greece,i was forced to eat a traditional food called "Halva",halva is a balkan dessert made of tahini sauce(i don't like it at all) and almonds.This is a traditional desert we eat 40 days before easter,when we start fasting.Every year,at the diner table I'm forced to eat this thing they call "food".My Grandpa loves it,my Mom does too,my 40 cousins also,but I don't!My Grandma forces me to eat it,every year,and i have to pretend that i like it(i hope she doesn't see this,she's going to kill me haha).I can totally relate to Adichie,If i ever become a dad,i would never force my kids to eat something they don't like.
ReplyDeleteFood is such an important part of people's cultures. Its something that brings people together and is often associated with positive memories and celebratory occasions. Unfortunately, this is not the case all of the time, such as in this story. Forcing children to eat food they don't want to is something I believe happens often. I recall my mother telling me about her childhood, every Friday they had liver for dinner. She and my Uncle would dread it all week long, but my Grandparents would make them eat it. To this day my mother hates liver. I too remember being made to stay at the table until all my food was gone, even if I wasn't hungry or didn't like what was being served. My mother would eventually take pity on me as soon as my father was in the living room and allow me to be finished. Unlike this short story, my experiences didn't have a lot to do with culture or tradition. I think it was important for her mother to stop making her eat the "swallow" and a bit sad that it may have alienated her from her family.
ReplyDeleteAdichie and I have quite a similar story, I don't like vegetables especially cabbage and in the boarding school TCV(Tibetan Children Village) I have no choice to eat it. In school, students are put into homes with a step mother and my step mother will closely look on my plate wanting for me to finish it. I remember, mostly on dinner time she had made vegetables and my mouth feel like vomitting. Thus I feel how adichie had went through with her cultural food "garri" which didn't turns out to be your choice of food. In my case, during 2 months vacation from school my dad used to buy me chicken soup, to eat with rice when parents had made vegetables. However, I would thank to my step mother because of her I have no issues with vegetables after a couple of years infact I was vegeterain for nearly 8 years. When we were children, we thinks like vegetables are nasty and prefer sweet stuffs like chocolates and candy. When we get bigger and older started to like real foods instead of sweets and junks.
ReplyDeleteThis text illustrated beautifully the emotions of the narrator as well as the details of her life. Through her words a very vivid picture was painted about her family and different settings wherein she shares experiences of her culture.
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out to me was that later in the article even though she genuinely could not stomach this specific food, she wanted o be able to enjoy it in order to identify with the ones that she loves as well as the tradition of her country. I was able to understand it was not a selfish desire completely. She said she wanted to be able to compliment her aunts cooking and understand the feelings of her father when he was away and missed "real food".
I also noticed how the story seemed to go from the experiences of a little girl who would do anything no to eat this one thing to the point of her not eating at all and finally confessing to her mother, and then to those of a young woman with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the very thing she once despised and could not stomach. It was a well written short story and although it was short it contained many elements, that i am sure I have not even noticed.
The detailed narrative illustrated a childhood that even though seem silly and at the time probably looked though she was miserable, the narrator now looks back with at it in a different perspective. She paints a picture of a small time frame of time in her childhood, makes me wander what about this time that is so memorable to her? I can vividly imagine the garri, and the bad smell that she said that came of it.
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ReplyDeleteI appreciate this short story because it hit so close to home. Food is essential in every lives and collaborates well with human interaction. It brings us together in many ways but mostly defines us in cultural ways. This reminds me of the first time I visit Ecuador. The country where most of my family is from. I remember the different foods and how my mouth exploded with new amazing favors. Along with these favors came dishes that weren't too appealing in appearance or language.(one of them being guinea pig).My family would laugh that I didn't even have the courage to taste certain dishes. I would laugh and just enjoy the moment. Not only has this short story given me a memory but also has educated me on a specific kind of food from Nigeria, garri and the many dishes you can create with it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this article. I am Filipino yet I don't like any type of Asian dish, let alone Filipino dishes. Although I may not like Filipino foods, I am still Filipino at heart
ReplyDelete-William Arnold
All i can say is wow, i honestly wish i had the chance to read this sooner. This was a compelling short story that hit a lot of emotional tones with me. Im of west indian decent and i was born and raised in America. I grew up on west indian food, american fast food, and Caribbean food. I can say that food allows people to connect, its probably the most common conversation starter in my family. Even food that i dislike, i can still find connection to others. At the end of the day this short story influenced a lot of thoughts in my head and an even greater hunger in my stomach. Im going to send this short story to my grandfather in south America just because i want to hear his critic.
ReplyDelete(Jacob Robert)
I can relate to this author because as an african american, growing up in africa, in a poverty city, one was only able to afford what was an easy acces to turn into a meal for the family. Gari in general is a very popular but less expensive food in the Western american community, the author anger for not wanting to eat the meal everyday simply means she didnt have the desire to eat one dish everyday and i can really sympathize with her because i was ones in her shoes.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this story is universal to many different cultures. Being Dominican and Puerto Rican I was forced to eat certain foods because it was part of the culture. I also believe that it is a part of me because food is very praised in my family we all make it very differently so we all enjoy certain things more than other (even though we would never tell one another that we don't like their cooking). Being of latin decent my heritage flows through food.
ReplyDeleteI find this story really interesting. When the aunt stated that, "She's foreign" just because the main character didn't like her country's dish was pretty disrespectful. It's offensive. No matter what you eat, it shouldn't make you who you are. It's like saying I don't like plantains so i'm not Puerto Rican. When I was a little girl I used to hate a Puerto Rican dish, pasteles. And now I love it. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the story. I think that everyone should try different foods to have new experiences and know at least a little bit of other cultures since the food is something representative of every culture.
ReplyDeleteThis story can be related to many people . I remember my grandmother making a meal that i didn't like and i was afraid telling her. I told my mother after and she told me it was a meal that grandma usually made and because it was that first time i was eating it that was the reason it tasted weird
ReplyDeleteI can really relate to this story because growing up i didn't really like many of the food that were suppose to the the main dish for my family and in the story where the aunt calls the author that she might not me from this family which i experienced as well from my family. To the other topic of being what someone considers a real food I can say that i understand what the father meant by he missed real food as in different culture has different food, eat and cook stuff that we are not use to for example every one in US apposes to idea of dogs being eaten in china when we eat pigs who have higher IQ then dogs.
ReplyDeleteI feel like i can relate to the article because i also don't really like the dishes from my country either. I'm usually looked at as an outsider they think that im different and call me "Americanized" so i like and can relate to this article because i go through the same thing.
ReplyDeleteMoral of the story, don't be afraid to try new things. Yeah there will be things you don't like but there will be tons of new things out there that you will love.
ReplyDeleteYaa its true realfood
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