Adapting to School Food
Back in Haiti, school food was different. The breakfast and lunch felt natural, and it felt like the chefs took their time to make. The rice had flavors; the chicken tasted crispy and juicy. My first year in America, I struggled to eat the school food. Not just because i was in a different setting, which was one of the reasons, but everything tasted different. Before i ate school lunch in here i had tried a variety of American foods, including fruits and vegetables. But the food felt unfamiliar to me.
The fruits compared to the fruits in Haiti are different. The majority of the things I tried here did not taste natural to me. I kept comparing the fruit I ate in Haiti; it tasted different. So before my first day of school, I was more nervous. On the first day, I remembered my teacher teaching, then telling us it was lunchtime. Students looked happy; some had lunch boxes, but others were very happy to eat the school lunch. Walking into the cafeteria, the smell was bizarre. I was standing in the lunch line behind people I didn't know. Then it was my time to get my lunch, but everything looked unfamiliar. The plastic plate felt warm so did the inside of the cafeteria. The lunch lady was trying to tell me to get more items on my tray, but i could not understand what she was saying because I didn't speak English. I remember the feeling of being confused and embarrassed because I didn't know what she wanted. She continued to talk to me; I just stood there looking at her. She put vegetables and fruit on my tray, and i realized what she meant, so I used the little English I could and thanked her.
I looked around the cafe for a spot to sit at. Unfortunately i ended up sitting by myself. The smell of the food was not good to me. I felt uncomfortable before I even took my first bite. I looked at the food and felt disgusted in my mind maybe i would get use to it in the future.I felt bad for thinking about liking that because in my country, throwing away food was bad. After I tried the fruit, the fruit wasn't as bad as the main dish. I could tell it was fruit, but it did not taste the same as I remembered in Haiti. I continued sitting there observing the other student as they took their first bite. Their reaction was different from mine. They were laughing, enjoying the moment as their mouths were full. I felt like an outsider. After a few minutes had passed and lunch was over, I threw away my plate even though the majority of the food was still on the plate. As I threw the food in the trash, I felt bad because coming from a country that lacks resources and people not having food to eat it made me feel like i was wasting food. Seeing other students throw away their food made me feel a little better. It made me realize that I was not the only person wasting food. As they went on, I was feeling hungry, and I was thinking about going home and having a sweet Haitian dish.
The next day I had to go through the same experience, but it was with the school breakfast. When I was at breakfast, I was thinking that the breakfast was going to be better than the school lunch. After taking my first bite, I realized it was worse. It tasted like bad microwave food that you buy from the dollar store. It tasted far worse than the breakfast I would normally have in Haiti. The food was so bad it had me reminiscing about Haitian breakfast. I missed the taste, the smell, and just eating it.
As time kept going on, I slowly began to understand that moving to America meant that I would have to learn how to adapt to the culture, including the food. School food was one of the things I learned how to adapt to. While i was learning how to adapt to new things such as the language, socializing with new people, and understanding how the school system works. Learning how to eat the food was the most challenging part.
Even thought it was difficult at first i realized that I couldn't expect things in America to be the same as it was in Haiti. This made me stronger mentally and taught me that anywhere i go i could adapt to a new environment. Eventually i started eating the school lunch instead of starving myself. My favorite school food used to be the waffle and chicken. This was the best thing my school made every week; they would have waffles and chicken every Wednesday, even though i adapted to the lunch and the breakfast not so much. Some of the breakfast food I truly didn't like, but I also started eating breakfast at home in the morning, so by the time I got to school, I wouldn't have to eat it. Moving to america taught me that adapting does not all happen at once. You have to experience new things and get out of your comfort zone. I still personally struggle with that. But for me, school lunch showed me how different certain countries are from others. Even though I struggled at first with the food, later on it became part of my culture, and now I can proudly call myself an American.
I liked how you included how there is a lack of resources in Haiti so throwing way your lunch in America made you feel like you were wasting. I also like how you included more detail in your blog and final draft as opposed to your rough draft. Major improvement!😊
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