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.
Its 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 do eat Nutella with my finge... whoops! I wasn't going to say that!
He prefers chicken McNuggets.
I dated a girl in Switzerland very briefly. She laughed at my polyester print shirt. Then I sat down with her and her family and I had the temerity to cut my salad lettuce with my knife! How gauche! Appropriate manners was to stuff the big uncut leaves of lettuce into your mouth.
I, too, was called out on holding my fork in my left hand to cut the meat, then switching the fork to my right hand to eat. I must admit them European method is a lot more efficient.
I was a great source of amusement to them.
Did I write an article at my offense of their appropriation of my native garb and habits? Strangely enough, no. Instead I tried my darndest to “go native.”
Many Indians working in tech in the US of course, and I doubt there’s any tech company of size where the room the reheating of pungent Indian food kitchen/lunch/break hasn’t been raised as an issue.
I’ll admit, I haven’t heard that eating dal and rice with your fingers is a cultural Indian thing.
Wash your damn hands.
Brush your damn teeth.
Take a damn shower.
Wear some damn deodorant.
You moved to get away from Smell-i-stan.
Don’t bring it with you.
Madura has contmpt for other cultures.
Lutefisk should be comida non grata in America.
His fingers are yellow because of the way he wipes his ass. Filthy animal.
My thought too. Snowflake seeking a persecition aura.
“Madura has contempt for other cultures.”
Yes, it is a classical case of her moving to another country and then insisting that THEY adapt to HER ways.
Madhura Rao is an attractive and University-educated young woman from Mumbai...
...not a ragged peasant from Kabul...
...and I very much expect her personal hygiene resembles that of your cleanest kin (if you have any clean kin.)
She's writing about the golden glow of turmeric, not the ordure that looms so large in your imagination.
Glad you caught that!
Another instance of a Brit friend visiting us ate thru a whole dinner of king-crab legs with a fork and knife, and never once touched them with fingers!
But I see your point, although I wouldn't be quite so scathing.
That’s real nice that you show the new Down Town area, how about you show the ROTTING CORPSES FLOATING in the harbors and rivers around the town?
I don’t know about this, but a Guy I knew worked at McDonnel Douglas and had his Lunch stolen out of the Refrigerator in the Break Room a few times.
His Wife decided to send him to work with a Dog Food Sandwich in his Lunch. That was stolen too.
After that, nobody ever stole his Lunch again.
The end.
Oh yeah. Romes just up the road. Milledgeville is way further away
Nacho Cheese Doritos have also been culturally appropriated. Orange fingers are perfectly normal. Time to complain to EVERYONE about this outrage.
Translation: You have to be diverse and accepting of my ways in your country. I don't gotta' do nuthin' but complain about you white people...
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