Home Cookin'

Oh, delicious source of sustenance.

Food provides nurishment, but it's also a real psychological boost. Think chocolate, warm pancakes with steaming syrup, or hot apple pie (with a slice of melted cheddar if you're like my mother). These items provide more than calories, minerals, vitamins - they provide a touch of comfort.

It is one of many determinants of good health in the transition overseas. The guide books are loaded with food preparation tips and rules for avoiding extra trips to the WC (though it's a strong weight loss program at least one ISOI teacher jokes about), but keep in mind that you need to enjoy what you eat.

In Ghana, this is the arena that broke me down for my first bout of homesickness. I lived with a host family and ate with my host family for 6-7 weeks. My hosts lavished me with the local affair of foods; I'm not going to call them local delicacies (though I did have fresh lobster from Apam once). Ghanaians are generous with sharing food, and apparently, with guests, they are also generous with the palm oil. [Think something along the lines of Fat = Healthy]. One day I mentally compared my dish sopping with this unavoidable red palm oil to grease. Not another bite passed my lips; I couldn't imagine continuing to shovel it down, nor offend my hosts. In the final analysis, I didn't control what I ate or how it was prepared - and that made all the difference to breach my homesickness.

I am still no chef, and I have difficulty adapting local produce to my tastes. That's why I have a cook [It's nice to be able to afford it now]. This is also why I make the effort to learn about what I eat and how it's prepared. My words fail me, but, again, there is a psychological power of food that I come to terms with in my adaptation to a new culture or region.

In Pakistan, I try to go "local" as best I can. I eat local breads (chapati, paratha, nan) with eggs and/or curry in the morning. I typically eat the school's Pakistani lunch (chapati and some type of curry) or leftovers at mid-day. I eat wonderful things cooked by my part-time cook in the evenings.

I rarely go out to eat. I have eaten a cheeseburger at the US embassy, grilled beef at the Canadian embassy, a variety of foods at friends' houses, and dal and rice on the streets of Rawalpindi in total at this point.

Food will continue to play a strong role in my mind and body. I will continue to explore, and I hope to develop a few skills. Food may certainly also enter my classroom; thank you to individuals like Alton Brown who make this connection to science easy to comprehend.