Posted on 12/07/2018 2:20:13 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
What I hear when you tell me my food is “strong smelling”
Before I left my home in Mumbai to study in the Netherlands, I thought the idea of cultural appropriation of food was outright bogus. I was working as a food writer for a startup back then, and I often wrote about new restaurants serving foreign food across the city.
I believed that food was a way to bring people across the world closer to one another. I believed that everyone was free to eat, cook, write about, and sell whatever food they wanted to. I still do.
Things changed when I moved abroad. My food, which I love, became a source of embarrassment. The lunches I brought to work attracted unwanted attention.
Once, I met a friend for coffee before an afternoon class, having just had lunch at home. “Why are the tips of your fingers yellow?” she asked, inspecting my digits.
“It’s because I cooked with turmeric,” I told her.
“Do you add turmeric to your food with all your fingers?” she probed in good humor.
I felt uneasy at the thought of admitting that my fingers were yellow because I had just eaten dal and rice with them. When I did tell her, she responded that, as a child, her mom would give her a rap on the knuckles if she dared abandon her fork and knife. I felt a metaphoric rap on my knuckles, too.
She probably noticed the crestfallen look on my face, and was quick to add an apologetic “I love curry, though,” before steering the discussion elsewhere.
(Excerpt) Read more at medium.com ...
[I believed that food was a way to bring people across the world closer to one another.]
Yay! Celebrate diversity! And the New World Order!
“Before I left my home in Mumbai to study in the Netherlands,...”
IOW, there to appropriate Dutch culture.
My, isn’t she special?
I rented a room one time and in the same apartment were some Chinese students renting rooms as well. Every day I would smell the most disgusting smell of garlic and onions wafting up from the kitchen to my room (which was right above the kitchen). I hated that.
It’s one thing though to prepare your stinky food in your own home, as my Chinese roommates had every right to do (much to my chagrin). But entirely another to bring your stinky food to a conference and then get offended when someone says something about it.
This woman is living in the Netherlands yet expects her countrymen to accept her stinky, slob like eating habits instead of the other way around. If she were in India and some European were complaining about her food smell or habits that would be one thing. But she is in another country another culture yet is offended when they are offended by her food habits.
She should ask herself who’s really trying to “appropriate” who’s culture. Seems to be she’s the guilty party here.
Get over it.
Madhura needs to spend more time with Mohammed, Jugdish, Sidney, and Clayton.
And your ready use of repulsive outhouse vulgarities makes me think you would not be a very refined lunch companion.
So, please stay at your own table. I'm going to go exchange pleasantries with Madhura Rao. We all have our own tastes. Yours, I don't care for.
They were the ones in hot sauce... Burp! I love ‘em!
First they brought in the curry,
Then it was kimchi
Next it will be Limburger
But I draw the line at Surströmming
Natto’s no walk in the park either.
Kids in Sweden laughed at me for switching my fork to my right hand. They were still kind and welcoming.
I’ve read enough about Japanese thinking that Westerners smell bad that I would be afraid to eat meat or wear scent if visiting there.
Because they could never eat BBQ ribs without making a mess, or could never be trained to properly twirls pasta with a fork?
Hi.
We had fried chicken collards potato salad and watermelon today.
Does that make me and the First lady cultural appropriators?
(Is that a word?)
5.56mm
Damn, forgot the pan fried corn bread.
Yum.
5.56mm
You could bring to work a stargazy pie...
When I eat in middle eastern homes or Indian homes or Native homes I always follow one rule..... when in Rome
I do, if I'm mulitasking, and need one or both hands clean.
I even use chopsticks with wings.
I agree! Don't come over here and bring the third world hygiene with you!
Curry should only be allowed to be cooked or eaten in rooms with 30 foot cement walls.
Tagline.
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