Exotic Food Arouses People’s Interest in Its culture
Conversations with Two Colorado State University Students about Asian Food
On September 26th, the Confucius Institute at Colorado State University held an activity at Durrell Center on campus to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional festival of China. Besides lots of Chinese students, many Fort Collins residents and students from other countries also came to have fun. I encountered with my two interviewees there.
Interviewee No. 1 : Jasmin Jackson
Jasmin Jackson is a CSU junior student with a major in Equine Science. She comes from New York. All of her roommates are from India, so she always has a lot of opportunities to get Indian food. Besides food, she is curious about the culture background behind it as well. Here is the audio of the interview with Jasmin Jackson.
P.S. Indian Food Restaurants in Fort Collins
Taj Mahal Restaurant & Bar , 148 West Oak Street
Star of India , 2900 Harvard Street
Interviewee No.2 : Lillian Noah
Lillian Noah is a CSU junior student from Japan, who majors in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism. We talked about Asian food restaurants in Fort Collins, especially Japanese food restaurants, and she recommended Nimo’s Sushi and Suh Sushi. Noah has been to many other countries and likes to try exotic food. Here is the audio of the interview with Lillian Noah.
From these two interviews, we can find that exotic food arouses people’s interest in its culture. Based on my experience, if I like another country’s food, I will also be interested in its culture. I would like to know about how they make the food, why they eat this for a special tradition, where this tradition comes from, etc.
The Confucius Institute which held the Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration is a non-profit global educational organization affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. Its aim is to promote Chinese language and culture. Although Chinese food is popular in the U.S., most Chinese food here is far from authentic. I think the Confucius Institute can also promote Chinese culture from the food aspect. It may be much easier than teaching the Chinese language.
