Ahn / Nicholson readings

The similarity of the authors' attitudes towards their traditional culinary fare is quite striking, especially considering how different that fare is. Both heavily associate certain foods with the cultural roots of their lost parents and their former country. While they admit that their own personal selection of foods may be somewhat different than those of their parents, a more Americanized palette, they assert that their selections stem from those of their origin.

Ahn in particular seems to associate his Korean culinary roots with a fleeting heritage, something that must be preserved and remembered not only for himself but for future generations. This is understandable, since his connection and access to those foods was originally severed with the tragic loss of his parents. He seems to feel that he lost a good deal of his heritage along with the recipes that his mother once prepared and is determined not to let what is left of his own Korean heritage be lost in the same way as he raises his own son.

In contrast, Nicholson's break with his mother's traditional cuisine seems much more complete. While he still remembers it quite clearly and enjoys it from time to time (as is evidenced by his search for the right kind of flavorless, processed Cheshire cheese), he lacks a good deal of the remorse of losing his connection to that kind of food that Ahn expresses. Perhaps it is simply because Nicholson's mother's food was purposefully bland as almost  a statement of intentional practicality, while Ahn's fare involved a rich culinary history and variety of its own. I rather think, though, that it has more to do with the fact that Nicholson's mother lived a relatively long, healthy life. She was available for him to occasionally visit and eat with as a reminder of his culinary origins while he developed his own tastes for himself. In contrast, Ahn was left to spend his life painstakingly trying to reconstruct what he could of what he had lost.

Personally, I feel no such connection to my past or origins through food. My mother did prepare meals for us when I was young, but there was never any cultural theme to them that I can pick out. Save for a few special occasions, there was nothing that would indicate any sort of cultural heritage at all. I don't feel that I missed too much, though. I appreciate the freedom to choose what types and cultures of food appeal to me for myself.

My most recent meal

My last meal was a cheeseburger and half a slice of cheese pizza with a glass of skim milk at the meal hall. They were out of 2%, and I had to wait quite a while for the burger. It was not the best experience that I've had there. I ate with several friends of mine from Japanese class - since the two sections go from 11-12 and 1-2 both sections all usually wind up heading to Nelson together.I can't say I paid all that much attention to the food itself. I generally don't. Unless there's something in particular that I intend to enjoy, food is basically just fuel as far as I'm concerned. I was more interested in the political discussion we were having.

One thing I do care about, though, is keeping hydrated. It's sort of important here in Denver. After my class from 1-2 got out early, I went back to Nagel to buy a drink. I've been favoring the blue machine flavor of "Naked" juice lately, although I wish they would change that name. This time I tried the red machine flavor for a change of pace and found that I didn't care for it as much. Plus, I'm still thirsty. I suppose I'll just have a snack and something to drink when I get back home later.