Tuesday, September 27, 2016

People Try Mexican Street Food



People should not think that Mexican food only implies Taco Bell. Honestly, many of the reactions from the video only support what I think about Mexican food as it’s more than just salsa, tacos, and churros. The people react quite hysterically as the producers introduce each dish to the partners. When reacting, the people typically react in either an excited expression or in a disconcerted emotion. Their comments always offer an interesting insight to their personalities and the food. The Mexican lady adamantly eats every dish as she knows these dishes from her culture. At least, they bravely eat the unknown food.
When the nachos arrived, the people were first hesitant of the nachos, but dug in afterwards. The nachos confuse me as they do not have the usually toppings, but eventually I see the contrast in flavors and textures. I’ve seen corn with mayo before as my little brother eats corn that way, but I am open to the idea that the mayo sticks to spices and flavors. When the people eat the mangos with the spice, I relate to them. Fruit with spiciness always taste better as the spice highlights the sweetness. When they taste the two combination of mango and tamarind, the combination reminds of the scene from Ratatouille where Remy tries to show his friend the symphony of flavor.
                Lastly, the Champurrado really show the relatedness that food holds between cultures. In the words of one the eaters, the drink tastes like when you get cinnamon toast crunch milk and microwave it. This sounds quite delicious. When the lady mentions that the drink taste like a not done chai latte, I wonder if she actually likes the drink. In all, most of the people likes all the dishes and it provides more diversity to what we think of as Mexican food.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Ethnography



The wonderful space of Cox Hall truly beholds the greatest culinary delight in all of Emory even with all the local restaurants available. On the other hand, Cox Hall embodies the epiphany of college food as in distasteful, bland, and unappetizing. In whatever context Cox Hall holds in the hearts of Emory students, it certainly displays the diversity of people and beliefs that the campus holds.
 September 19, 2016 (10:00 – 10:50 AM)
I interview a student from my English class about her opinions on Cox Hall. She has been to Cox Hall and usually goes around 2 o’clock PM as her lunch fits into that time period in the schedule. Also, she prefers to get the Asian food if available. When asked what could be improved in Cox Hall, she replied that she would like a soft serve ice cream machine to be added. While asking my how financially better the Dobbs University Center and Cox Hall, she mentioned that Cox Hall might be financially better as she gets to dictate how much she spends on food instead of paying a set amount for swipes.
September 23, 2016 (5:30 – 6:30 PM)
In the first minutes of walking into Cox Hall, the students do what is expected in Cox Hall, eat. I notice the type of people that enter each line. The diversity of people in just the Mexican-themed food line shutters the usually convention for familiarity. These certain Asian students ask their nearby peers for what’s the best tacos to get from the place as they don’t seem to be familiar with Mexican food. Then I realize that people in the Asian line were learning about bulgogi as someone asked what the beef option was for their protein. People may learn about these dishes from just interacting with people and not just eating the food.
                After seeing the main crowd move away after the lunch rush, people still linger on enjoying a much longer lunch than others. These students either work during their lunch or just socialize with their friends. Most students took their lunch as a break while few labored on their computers and notebooks. On a typical day of relief for many, students still study as the norm at Emory. The diversity Cox Hall holds tells much about the students as the same place held people studying and people pre-partying at the same time. The insights through Cox Hall often hold the most gravity in learning about the community and the people in it.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Sustainability and Local Food



Sustainability often does not come to the mind of a suburban boy. In a suburban environment, we buy our groceries from supermarkets where the food often comes from many countries away. I see many experiences of sustainability and eating local from my AP Environmental Science class or from TV. One of the most unique ideas I’ve seen is a full completed cycle of recycling and reusing. The project provides hydroponic vegetables and fish that both use material waste from the other to as food in a sanitary matter. By the way, the project lies in the middle of a city.
                The golden idea of eating local does not ring much, but my family now starts to eat more local. My parents own a car repair shop and many customers bring extra vegetables from their gardens to share with my family as we’re friends. The produce taste so much better than supermarkets. Sometimes the food becomes ridiculous as one time a student from UGA gave a huge melon that they test in the agriculture department at UGA. The sheer size surprises me still to this day. Also, we now have a farmer’s market to get delicious produce.
                Sustainability mainly means the efficient use of every material and joule of energy to get the most output, while keeping minimum waste from the environment. Often the idea doesn’t apply to my daily life in Acworth, GA, but my family attempts to improve our efforts. Then eating local just means sourcing your food within a certain radius and knowing where the food comes from. It’s better to know what you’re eating when you know how you got it.