In-Depth
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CULTURAL CUISINE Students reflect on the reception of their cultural foods at Westside
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aul Fiamaple, a sophomore with mixed Togolese and Ghanaian heritage, says he is hesitant to bring his home country’s food to school because of other students’ opinions, a sentiment shared by other Westside students with different cultural backgrounds. “I don’t think I’ve [ever brought food to school], but that’s mostly because I don’t want to get judged or ‘oh what is that’ questions,” Fiamaple said. “I’m okay with the school food. [I wouldn’t bring my food because] some people aren’t open minded, they’re closed minded about the food that you eat, they think it’s gross or disgusting, or it’s weird. If someone comes up to me and is like ‘ugh, what is that?’ I get kind of ashamed, but I get over it quickly. I don’t really care what other people think [though]. If I’m eating good food, I’m eating good food. I don’t
really care about [their] opinion because I love my home country’s food. It’s so much better than school food. I love fufu, jollof rice, yellow rice, there’s also plantains.” Fiamaple explained that African food is especially important to African culture. “It’s kind of what makes [Africans] different,” Fiamaple said. “I get that other cultures and races can eat [West African food], but these new foods with these new spices, it brings out a whole different flavor that you just can’t find here in America.” Fiamaple said that it would be a large task to bring African food to Westside students’ plates, but he believes that students would be willing to try it, and many may even enjoy it. Some of his own friends have expressed their desire to experience Togolese and Ghanaian food. Fiamaple said it would be a good learning experience for Westside students to step out of their comfort zone to try new food. “I think it’s good for people to try new stuff, and they’ll never know if they like it or if they don’t like it if they never try it,” Fiamaple said. “They might actually open their mind and say, ‘wow, this is actually really good.’” Sarah Rizwan, a sophomore from India, feels that other students are very invasive when it comes to her home country’s food. “I used to bring food from home in elementary
school, and I stopped bringing Desi food in the beginning of first grade because kindergarten was the worst in terms of [people] making fun of my food,” Rizwan said. “That was when I barely knew any English, so people were bullying me and I didn’t even understand them.” Rizwan said, when kids are little, they tend to be judgmental of food that is new or different, but, as they grow up, they tend to become more interested in new foods, though they ask her weird or uncomfortable questions. If she’s eating something, she can’t eat in peace because she is bombarded by questions. “I’m fine with answering those questions, but some of them are not kind and very invasive,” Rizwan said. “I would bring something from home, I’d bring roti and achaar for example, and they’d just question me, they’d say stuff like ‘what is that’ and ‘why does it smell like that’. They just ask a bunch of questions and they talk about how disgusting it is.” According to Rizwan, bullying surrounding her food began in elementary school, and wound down as she entered middle school. However, she still felt uncomfortable bringing Desi food to school. Rizwan said that bringing food to school doesn’t especially make her feel proud to be from India because she grew up surrounded by Desi food outside of school. While attending American schools, the situation became very different for Rizwan. She felt out of place, as she attended predominantly white schools with a very small immigrant population. As the years have passed, Rizwan has become more secure in her view of her culture, and has become less embarrassed to bring her food to school. During middle school, Rizwan said more people became interested in food different from their own, and started experimenting with their own versions of Indian food. She remembers an encounter with a girl who brought chicken tikka masala for lunch one day. “It was bright red, there was some food coloring or something in it and it did not look accurate at all. It was neon. People like her would bring that food and [say], ‘oh look at me, I’m so Indian,’” Rizwan said. “I don’t think most [white students] are genuinely interested in [my food], they want to stay in their little bubble.” When Rizwan brought her cultural food to school,
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