College Style Eating

From the bogs I looked at, as a class we generally stick to the very predictable diet of the average college student. Most common was the meals at the dining hall. Substantial at first, okay second quarter and just plain mediocre the third quarter, the meals at the dining hall have become more and more predictable and less and less satisfying.

           I also noticed that all of our meals were Americanized. The pizza, noodles and stir-fry were not served the way that they would have been if served in their originating countries.  The culture of the food we eat is all American in its own way, and hardly ever do we experience the original as college students in the U.S. Perhaps Jerusalem’s is original, it feels like it, but I would really have no idea.

            I always find myself very enthusiastic about trying culturally “true” ethnic food. But with the limited experience I have had, I generally dislike it and wish I had the Americanized version anyways! Because we grow up eating the same kinds of foods, we don’t like the taste of food that is too different; I assume it could go back to survival skills and disliking it because it might be poisonous.

             We all eat the same kinds of food but that shouldn’t be that surprising. We are in the same area, all have meal plan at the same dining halls, all are Americans and all are the same age and I assume have the relatively same cheap college budget. 

P2: What You Eat is Who You Are

Both authors see the significance and difference among different cultures and food.

 The author of “Home Run” connects his identity as a Korean to how he cooks and the types of food he eats. As a child, his mother would cook for him strictly Korean dishes, thus where he learned to love such food. However as a teenager (a time where fitting in is a #1 priority) he pulled away from his Korean identity, and in turn Korean food. He states he does not want to carry the stench of garlic and meat on him everywhere he goes, and the family goes so far as to buy a separate fridge for him to store more American foods.  When his parents died in a tragic car accident and he began to cook for a restaurant, he found his pride in his ethnicity and his Korean influences in his food both increase. He attaches his cultural identity to the food he eats and honors his parents by vowing to raise his son up eating Korean food, thus making him Korean also.

            The author of “Eating White” also honored his mother by eating foods that she enjoyed and cooked often. His family was from London, and he discussed the types of cheese and bread that the British typically eat, and his mother cooked these to please his father. He talks about the way her cooking changed to all white foods after his father’s death. The author had a theory about his mother’s attraction to all white foods. He believes it was because during the war they would usually ration foods such as milk and bread, so these items became rare and rewarding in her mind. Also she was catholic and he believes the purity symbolism the catholic religion places on the color white subconsciously attracts her to “purify” her body.

            This was an interesting theory, and when the author described his experience of eating a communion wafer I realized my own connection to the same type of food. I love bread, and I use love instead of like for an honest emphasis. Usually the bread at the beginning of dinner consists of about a third of my whole dinner. When I dine out with my family they take one piece and split it amongst themselves and pass the basket to me! And I always remember being this way. It does make me wonder if all of the images and emphasis of importance on bread I saw and heard during church services (that my parents brought me to even as a baby) influenced me into loving bread. Then I considered my community, a small agricultural one where roughly 85% are from direct German ancestry but also mostly Catholic or Lutheran, and realized our tastes are more the meat, bread and potato kind.  This also must have influenced me and my eating habits, which I am glad to say, have shifted to include more vegetables and fruit now that I make my own choices. But I noticed that, going home for spring break, the meals my mother cooks mostly include meat and potatoes and “white food”.  So I believe the authors assumption is right, religion must play a role but culture does also.

Hectic Lunch

My most recent meal was not very exciting. My classes are stacked Mondays and Wednesdays, so my lunches will unfortunately be fast and transportable, which usually also means not very enjoyable. This morning I forgot to grab something, so I bought a fruit cup at Jazzman’s. It was easy and quick to eat while also not being disruptive to the class (I was worried about crinkling plastic and messy sandwiches). This turned out not to be a problem anyways though, since I was able to finish hurriedly before class started.

            I ate alone and on the walk from Driscoll to Sturm building, since it was the most convenient considering my time constraint. I always look for the cups with the most pineapple, my favorite, and the least amount of green melon, my least favorite.  The downside of fruit cups is the awkwardness of juggling with your money, the cup, and the fork you don’t want to put down anywhere to keep it clean. Just as I was about to grab the grapes to eat them (using a fork with them is futile) I realized I hadn’t washed my hands. So awkwardly I held my fork in my mouth and waddled over to the hand sanitizer by the library. And then I could eat my lunch. Problem solved.