It is our last week in Taipei, and we have a range of activities that we aim to get done before we leave. Our group activity for today was attending a cooking class at CookInn. We made zhongZi, which is a rice ball with different meats and seafood inside. The hardest part about making these was wrapping the rice in bamboo leaves. It was very challenging to wrap the leaf around itself and get it to stay in place while covering all the rice and fillings. We also made bubble tea and were served meatball soup. Overall it was a really fun experience, and I am glad we had the opportunity to do it as a group!
After we returned home, Mikey, Hanna, Kyla, Malli and I went on a hike. Along the way, there were multiple overlooks that had breathtaking views of Taipei. On our way back down the mountain, I was ahead of the group and ran into a young man and we began talking. I later learned that his American name is Jordan, and he is a masters student at the University of Michigan. We discussed each of our reasons for being in Taipei (his being to travel before he goes home to China), before I asked him what the biggest culture shock was when he went to the U.S. for school. Without hesitation, he told me that the hardest thing for him was finding foods he enjoyed, because ‘all there is in America is sandwiches, burgers, and pizza.’ At first, this statement shocked me because from my biased perspective, I think America has a diverse range of foods that span across many cultures. However, I later realized that in fact, America does not have as diverse food as I initially thought. Even when there are rare occurrences of diverse cuisine, it usually has an American twist, differing significantly from how it is consumed in its country of origin.
Furthermore, I realized that my perspective comes from someone who is familiar with the food, grew up in America, and has a different perspective of what may be considered ‘diverse.’ So while I feel like there is more to eat than sandwiches, burgers, and pizza, a lot of the seasonings and preparation styles are similar across American food, making it appear more homogeneous than it actually is. My experience with Jordan made me further reflect on culinary differences across different cultures, and I am thankful for the perspective it gave me.
