How We Learn Culture
One of the
more philosophical takeaways I had after we left the park was the idea of food
as an important cultural icebreaker. There was a long stretch of
food trucks and vendors at the festival selling Iranian cuisine, Mediterranean
food, and American summer classics like ice cream and beer. The
smells from the food trucks were enticing, and likely drew in passers by who
had simply been exercising or passing through the park. Because there
was a good variety of cuisine being offered, and because the vendors were so
nice, people felt comfortable to try something new. I also suspect
that once they got their food, they also walked around the festival to the
dance floor, children’s area, or cultural tents. Having been “lured”
in by the delicious food, they stayed and learned about the culture.
I like to
think of food as a way to allow people do dip their toes into the cultural
waters, so to speak. Perhaps a passerby has a negative view of
Iranians and has no desire to learn about their culture and history because of
his preconceived notions. Trying the food and realizing it is
actually delicious might be a way to warm that person up to the possibility of
learning more.
I also
thought a lot about how we learn about culture. My husband and I
purchased two ice cream treats as refreshment towards the end of the afternoon. One
was a rose water flavored ice cream, and the other was saffron pistachio flavored. While
the saffron pistachio flavor was so foreign to our tongues we did not know how
to process it, we found that the rose water flavor tasted like a Korean rice
drink called shik-hye. We
remarked over and over again how much the two foods tasted alike and I realized
that one of the ways we process new cultures is by finding a point of
comparison between the unknown and something with which we are familiar. My
husband did it again when we started to notice the Persian family groups
sitting in the shaded area of the park. “It’s just like Koreans,” he
said. “We hate sitting in the direct sunlight. We must be similar
after all.” In order for us to process the new cultural information
we were gathering, we found ourselves comparing it to our own cultural
experiences.
Even a month
later, I am still debating whether or not this is a good thing. On
one hand, it does allow us a way to more quickly understand a new concept,
taste, or activity, and I do think this is useful. If we can find a
connection between what we know and something foreign to us, we might be more
likely to accept this new thing rather than push it away. However,
on the other hand, I also believe that trying to draw comparisons in this way
prevents us from fully experiencing the unknown. In my personal
life, I am constantly exposed to a culture about which I still have so much to
learn. In the beginning, I found myself constantly trying to make
connections between my American upbringing and the Korean traditions and ideas
my husband brought to our marriage. However, at a certain point, I
stopped trying to draw those lines and started to simply let these experiences
happen to me without putting them in more familiar terms, and I believe this
has led me to a more nuanced understanding and appreciation of this culture.