9
Thursday July 26, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MICHIGAN IN COLOR
Eating goes beyond taste
Summertime, when the
livin’ is easy.
The perfect description
of my time in Trinidad for
a week of warm air, freshly
picked
mangoes
and
curried chicken. Adding
in the wedding festivities
with steel drums beating
in
the
background
of
a barbeque where the
twinkle lights hung low
from the pink house whose
warm yellow light glowed
from the kitchen. White
teeth grinning as the next
pina colada is pouring into
a glass and the bellowing
laughter bouncing off the
side of the white fence
resting on the greenest
grass I have ever seen.
“Good night everyone!”
someone bellows from the
steps of the lit porch.
Trinidad and Tobago,
much like America, were
colonized by Christopher
Columbus, who sought
to exploit the people who
had lived there as well
as utilize the land and
its rich soil for monetary
gain. What you might not
know is that these islands
were originally inhabited
by the indigenous Carib
and Arawak Indians. It
wasn’t until slavery was
introduced that Africans
taken from their native
homelands were forced
to work Trinidad’s land
for the British whose
slave trade started in 1797,
and the country became
predominantly
African.
It was then in 1845 that
indentured laborers from
India were also brought
into the mix — bringing
with them their religious
customs. In 1866 laborers
from China immigrated to
Trinidad and merchants
from Lebanon and Syria
later came in the 1900s.
Though the history is
dark and unmistakably
horrendous, Trinidad has
one of the most diverse
populations
of
people,
food, festivals and holidays
all over the world.
Looking from the outside
as a resident of the United
States, I think it’s easy to
think that America is one
of the only places that face
a history of exploitation
and injustice. However,
anyone willing to look a
bit deeper into the history
of
many
modern-day
countries can see that
systems
of
oppression
were used to mobilize
those who had guns in
their hands and identified
themselves as superior. If
there is one thing I think
many of us suffer from, it’s
that we think there aren’t
other people who share
our experiences of being
abused by people who had
power,
simply
because
our experiences occurred
in a different way than
the experiences of those
who came before we did.
I want to draw attention
to the fact that there is
much more to unite these
atrocities
that
many
of us faced than what
creates division between
us in America and with
colonized countries across
the face of the Earth.
Despite
this
terrible
past, one of the amazing
things that resulted from
these atrocities is the
food.
Knowing
there
is such a rich cultural
element
within
the
country’s history, there
is no surprise that its
food would reflect these
features, from the curried
chicken served to me at
the
wedding
barbeque
to the roti I scooped up
my collard greens with
and
then
dipped
into
my
sweet
yams.
Roti
andcurried chicken are
both traditionally a part
of Indian cuisine, and
because these dishes are
such an integrative part
of Trinidad and Tobago’s
African
heritage,
these
dishes reflect the history of
India and Africa. Doubles,
or the Caribbean street-
food
sandwich
made
with a flatbread called
bara and then filled with
curried chickpeas, was
one of the most popular
foods
that
everyone
raved about during my
time in Trinidad. In fact,
doubles are so popular in
Trinidad that the bride
and groom arranged for
the “Doubles man” to
make an appearance at
their wedding to hand
the delicious treat out
to their wedding guests!
I have to admit: Upon
trying one, I wasn’t sure
what I was in store for
and I was definitely not
disappointed.
Trinidad and Tobago
also have some of the
best Chinese restaurants
because, like their Indian
roots, they also have a
rich history of Chinese
immigrants who brought
their food over to the
country. This is combined
with the mangoes growing
on every tree that were so
juicy that if they fell from
a tree, they would most
likely splatter over the hot
pavement. The cuisine of
any country is a direct
reflection of its history and
culture, and Trinidad’s
food
is
definitely
an
unforgettable experience
that reveals how much
history can truly affect the
composition of a country.
There is no doubt that
food is a reflection of
tradition and culture, but
if there one is an event
that ties together food
and tradition, it is the
celebration of a wedding.
My
family’s
friendship
with the groom is what
brought
us
down
to
Trinidad in the first place,
and getting to know the
place where one of our
oldest friends grew up was
really breathtaking. Much
of the ceremony was taken
from traditions found here
in America; just as we took
from English tradition, so
does Trinidad. However,
some
things
that
are
unique to Trinidad were
in the details of the
reception.
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
I remember my dad
pulling me aside at a
family gathering to a
plethora of Jordanian
food including mansaf,
kanafeh and tabbouleh.
As every other one of
my 40 cousins piled food
onto their plates, I stuck
with the chicken tenders
placed
on
the
table
almost entirely because
of me. I had recently
arrived in Jordan from
America and definitely
wasn’t used to the local
cuisine. Instead, I was
content
with
playing
on my Grandpa’s swing
with the soda I had
snuck from the kitchen.
I have always been
the stubborn kid at the
dinner table. I was a
messy eater growing up
and my mother even took
me to etiquette classes.
Along with this, I was a
picky eater. I spent my
adolescence being often
told to eat my chicken
or reminded not to play
with my food. At an early
age my family started
flying me to Jordan to
spend summers with my
grandparents.
Though
I was in a different
country,
I
was
still
constantly told at the
dinner table not to eat
with my hands or to try
some of the local cuisine.
Like most kids, I rebelled
and often tried to sleep
through breakfast. At
dinnertime, I would sit
by and fill up on tea and
salad
before
running
off to play soccer with
my cousins in the local
streets. To this day, I
still do not like most
Arabic food. However,
just as most kids are
taught
to
eat
their
vegetables, I was taught
to begrudgingly eat the
food my grandparents
made.
My dad, who was not
having my whitewashed
taste buds, picked me
up from the swing at
that family gathering
and dragged me over to
the mansaf. Mansaf is
usually rice and lamb
served with fermented
dried yogurt as a type
of sauce. As I whined
on the way to the meal,
I noticed everyone for
some reason was walking
up to the huge piping
hot plate of mansaf had
just been placed on the
kitchen counter. I was
even
more
surprised
when every single person
began picking up balls of
rice and lamb and eating
it with their bare hands.
As we approached the
plate, I was sure there
was no way my civilized
father would do the
same, but he did! All of
the Arab men who had
nagged me for being a
messy child were now
eating rice with their
bare hands. Of course, I
immediately began to eat
the mysterious food. And
though I hated every
single bite, I had a great
time. Eating mansaf that
day was just fun. It was
the first time I really
remember
connecting
with my culture because
it was as childish as I
was.
This past summer, I
did a study-abroad trip
in China and had my
first swing at chopsticks.
Needless to say it was
a mess and I probably
looked
pretty
dumb
to
the
locals
sitting
at the table next to
me.
However,
once
again, it was a time of
enjoyment
because
I
was trying to acclimate
to this new cultural
norm.
Meanwhile,
a
lot of people on my trip
asked the waiter for
forks. The issue with
asking for a fork in a
Chinese restaurant for
me is it showed a clear
disingenuous connection
to the process of eating.
We went to China to eat
an
authentic
Chinese
meal, yet we were still
trying to have little bits
of
America
infiltrate
our
meal.
Though
I
may have looked dumb
while I learned to use
chopsticks, it was all part
of the fun of traveling to
this country.
A country’s food is
so much more to me
than just something to
fill your daily intake of
calories. Every authentic
meal is placed on that
menu because it holds
some type of significance
to that country. That day,
my dad really taught me
to enjoy food for more
than just the flavor. Food
is a piece of a country’s
past and a telling trait
of its people. Of course,
nobody can like every
single food out there.
However,
I
implore
everyone to let yourself
taste something awful
— because while the
aftertaste may not be the
best, you’re sure to feel
better later.
By KAREEM SHUNNAR
MiC EDITOR
Weddings, colonialism and food:
My trip to Trinidad
By LORNA BROWN
MiC MANAGING EDITOR
LEVANT FOODS