Food Matters

Getting to America and being given a ride by Americans whom I met for the very first time helped me drop my stereotypic baggage at the airport; it did not come with me on the interesting ride to Athens. But once I began to interact with the Campus and neighboring society, I realized that I was not considered a native speaker despite coming from a country with English (Queen's English) as the formal/national language. I realized that individualism as opposed to communal living reigned and that I must learn to live and let live with issues that were as diverse as the north pole was from the south pole.

Having traveled to a number of places I did not get labeled with adjustment disorder but the TB testing meted out on internationals had its effect on me psychologically especially when the arm scar (which everyone from Nigeria who took the TB immunizations in the 70's have) was not good enough yet Americans need not be tested. But I survived it by ending the weekly drugging.

The quarter system was another thing I had to adapt to. Being used to a semester system where the first week is spent registering, second week spent on introductions and settling-in and somewhere around the seventh week you get to have a break. Here it was a roller coaster system from day one till the end. My survival strategy was to take it one stride at a time, scan instead of read all texts and ensure I don't subscribe to PR/Incomplete as each quarters' trouble was enough for it.

So far I have survived. This made me very proud as I held a pair of scissors as a representative of my dear country to cut the ribbon at the opening of the new Baker Student Center. For me the new Baker Student Center being opened under Professor McDavis and the idea of having all nations represented at the ribbon-cutting, symbolized diversity and freedom to live not merely co-exist in America; freedom to be me. But little did I know that though Baker represents a place to be me, it has a limited space for me as an international student to explore my freedom.

Food is a major part of any culture or society. It is one major thing international students have a hard time adapting to yet to survive they must adapt ASAP. But knowing that there are few days when all will be on deck to help you reminiscence about home with the right music, attire and food goes a long way to alleviate the nostalgia. But what happens when the rule hinders the celebration of your culture?

To have any international function at Baker Center, a group must be willing conform to the policy which means allowing Baker Catering Services to do the cooking or consent to doing all the catering at any of the student halls which gives automatic exemption on bringing in food. Otherwise, sorry no international food! Let's look at the factors in these options.

Catering by Baker Catering Services:
In most instances, no one on the staff knows the food let alone the recipe so you have a situation where you write down the ingredients and recipes and then for Jollof Rice you end up being faced with a soup like dish; for plantain you end up having chips and for vegetables you'll be lucky to have mixed-veg!

Catering at the dinning halls:
This is never stated but, on getting to the halls to make your booking, you'd realize you have to pay the staff; usually where your organization is not sponsored by ISU or ISFS or others you may have to give up the idea especially when you realize the minimum hours to subscribe to is two with two members of staff paid $24 per hour. After making the booking, if you do make the booking, you are compelled to volunteer or find volunteers to cook but they the dinning hall staffs are paid to supervise. Don't forget that even though they may know all the rules about hygiene they know nothing about the safest preparation method for the particular dish you choose. People have had to spend 7-hours in the heat yet at times even drink to abate the heat is rationed.

No International Food:
If you cannot afford to let catering services cook, or cannot afford to pay for the supervision and you insist on Baker, then sorry you may have to settle for anything Baker can provide. But you and I know how much that takes away the shine from the event being international or cultural.

The rule of cooking in any of the dinning halls is great as you have the opportunity to cook in an industrial kitchen but what happens when little things you need like blenders are absent? What happens when you just cannot afford to pay for supervision? I don't know the statistics on poisoning amongst students especially international students that made this rule so important but I'm sure there is a better way out and a committee can be set up to look into it because being supervised by someone who is not an expert on your dish appears condescending.

From the top of my head I can think of something that may work in the interim. Employ volunteers who are penciled down to cook the dishes as contract staff. That way, it would make sense to be supervised and the supervisors can learn or at least document the process such that in future even when fewer internationals are available to do the cooking; the process can be followed to make dishes that are at least similar to what we have back home and to give others an opportunity to share our culture.