Blog 4

My name is Olivia and I have lived in Michigan, Illinois and Nevada throughout my life. The town in which I lived in Michigan had almost no diverse foods, Illinois had a huge variety and Reno has a little bit of everything. I have always been a rather adventurous eater and enjoy finding out what other people enjoy to eat. For this interview, I decided to talk to my uncle who grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin for the first twenty three years of his life. He lived in Wisconsin all the way through college, so I thought it would be interesting to see how or if his eating habits stayed the same throughout that period, or changed. I myself am a vegetarian and he is not, so I was interested on how much meat he consumed on a regular basis.

Question 1: Was the food you ate in Wisconsin more healthy or Unhealthy?
- We rarely went out to eat and though my mother is good at cooking, it was rather unhealthy. We put butter and salt on almost everything.

Question 2: What was a typical meal you had growing up?
-For breakfast we often had pancakes and eggs. Dinner usually consisted of meatloaf and beans, macaroni and cheese, Chick beef on toast, casseroles, and chili.

Question 3: Did you ever have dinners with distant family members and relatives?
-Yes, on Fridays we went out with moms side of the family for a fish fry and on Sundays we went to dad's side for a family style meal, or all you can eat chicken. These family gatherings formed a tight bond to the family, and gave us something to look forward to every week.

Question 4: Did you ever eat fast food? If so, what did you eat?
-Yes, when I was a teenager I went to McDonalds a lot. It was cheap and I did not get into health foods until after college.

Question 5: What was your favorite dish to eat growing up?
-Mom's homemade spaghetti. She spent a while making it, but it was well worth the wait. She always put meatballs in it and bread and butter on the side.

Question 6: Did you stereotypically eat a lot of cheese while living in Wisconsin?
-No, oddly I have never enjoyed the taste of cheese.

Blog #4

My name Isaac Escritor,  for most of my life I have lived in the state of Nevada. Growing up I have eaten a mixed variety of foods that were influenced by American culture. For my interview, I wanted to interview someone who wasn't born in Nevada , I decided to ask one of my friends, who is from Hawaii. His name is Bailey Jacob.

Question 1: What kind of food did you grow up with?
Since living in Hawaii you're mostly surrounded and influenced by Asian culture. So, I would eat a mix amount of Chinese, Japanese and Hawaiian food.


Question 2: What was your favorite food?
If I had to choose from out of the three cultures, I would pick Hawaiian food as being my favorite type of food. Specifically, I would eat Poke and Kalua Pig. Poke is basically raw fish mixed various spices and condiments. While Kalua Pig is just cooked pork.


Question 3: Is there any fast food restaurants do you like to go?
If I had to say I would always visit a fast food restaurant called "Hawaiian Barbecue" or similar place called "L & L."


Question 4: Were there any specific foods you would eat during certain celebrations or holidays?  
On holidays or celebrations I would like to eat chicken katsu, chicken long rice, and noodles because its part of family's culture.

blog 4

Hi, my name is Mandy Lu, I live in Las Vegas and my family is from China, Fuzhou. My favorite drink is boba and I love seafood. I going to interview my international friends from China, Beijing. Her name is Lisa Yin.

What is the authentic Beijing cuisine, and what is your favorite food?

Beijing Duck is famous in Beijing cuisine. Everyone would have a try when they come to Beijing. For me, my favorite food is Beijing Duck as well. I like the taste of the crispy duck skin dip with sugar and the fresh thin spring roll wraps.

Do you think to make Chinese food connects you to your culture?

Sure. In the US, it's hard to find a good Chinese restaurant, so I always make Chinese by myself or with my friends. For example, in China, we like to hangout oft off work or on weekend, so making a hot pot every weekend can make Chinese students in US closer and feel like a home.

What are the differences between Beijing cuisines and other parts of China?

China is a really large country. The different province has a distinctive eating habit. Take noodle as an example, noodle in Beijing is wheaten but in the southern area, especially Guangdong, Yunnan and Guangxi province, noodle there is make in rice.

Is Panda Express in your opinion consider as Chinese food?

I don't think Panda Express is Chinese food, I prefer to call it American Chinese food. It's tasteful but I think the flavors are for American people instead of traditional Chinese taste.

Living in Reno for many years, what Chinese restaurant do you like?

The Wok is my favorite place to eat Chinese food. Since I originally from Sichuan province, I prefer spicy food. And the chef in that restaurant is from Chongqing. Even some of the materials are not traditional Chinese spice, but the chef has made the best Chinese flavor food.

Blog 4

My name is Sydney Vann and I grew up in an Asian household. I had lots of Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese food. I wanted to interview someone who had a different background than me and I would like to get to know more about what they did and what kinds of food they had. Luckily for me I have a friend who use to live in Austria, his name is Dalton Taylor. I decided to interview him to understand what he had to eat every day and how it differed from my culture. I got to know how he grew up and what he did as a child. Here is our conversation. 

Q: What kinds of food did you eat growing up?

A: My diet included cold cuts, fruits, different types of whole grain bread, and a lot of beef and pork. We also drank lots of freshly squeezed orange and apple juice. Where I went to school, there were apple and orange trees, so for school breakfast and lunches we would have fresh juice to drink. All our meals were cooked freshly every day, so we had great food. We had a buffet style when we were at lunch.

Q: Would you cook for yourself or did you have someone cook for you?

A: Ever since middle school, I’ve been cooking my own meals, especially breakfast and dinner. I would be the first one to be awake and the last one in my house so I would have to cook for myself.

Q: What was your favorite meal when you lived in Austria that we don’t have in America?

A: Schnitzel, which is pork, can be turkey, pounded out thinly and deep fried. Usually there are roasted potato wedges and lemon on the side. For dessert we would have Heidelbeer strudel, which is warm blueberry pie with hot vanilla sauce on top.

Q: What was a favorite restaurant of yours when you lived in Austria?

A: There were two great restaurants, Prontos, which was an authentic Italian pizza and pasta in a shady alley in Graz. Second was Urdlwirt, which was a hotel/restaurant. The restaurant would be open to locals only three days a week, and they had freshly cooked food. They had a farm in the back. The Urdlwirt was also known for their pumpkin soup. I would eat there every day if I could.

Q: What were some family meals you had while growing up?

A: We had lots of beef and pork. There were tri-tip, burgers, brisket, and pork chop. There were not many veggies or fruits. Potatoes were a huge thing while growing up, from potato salad, baked potatoes, mashes, etc.

Q: Were there certain foods you ate on holidays?

A: There was nothing specific. For holidays, my family would go out for dinner because my parents hate doing dishes. On Easter and over the summer, my family and I would always go to Buschenschank. There were large homes that would be converted into restaurants in the country, and they had massive vineyards, there were lots of homemade wines, fancy spreads and dips that were native in Austria, there were lots of cold cut, and cheese. My family and friends would drink wine and the kids would have grape juice. The spreads were homemade.

Q: What were some foods or snacks you hated?

A: There were specific ingredients that I didn’t like such as onions and whole tomatoes.

Q: Were there any beverages that were popular in Austria?

A: In Austria, at a very young age, children would drink. They say, “if your feet touch the curb, then you can drink, at least in the house with parental supervision”, so we could sip on wine and drink beer most of the time.

Q: What kinds of snacks did you have?

A: Most of our snacks were crackers such as Ritz and wafers. We would also eat cocoa puffs, cereal was a big thing in my household.

My name is Jasmine Ramirez, I have lived in Nevada all my life born in Carson City, Nevada and raised in Yerington, Nevada where there is not much diversity what’s so ever. Going to high school in Yerington was pretty lame if I’d say so myself and it was a really small town. My graduating class really consisted of about eighty people, tops. And at first, I didn’t know who to interview because just about everyone I know is from either Reno or Las Vegas and didn’t think I was going to be able to find someone in time but luckily the person I needed was right in front of my eyes the whole time. Her name is Sara Sears, she has been a friend of mine for a couple of years now and before you start thinking or saying how could she be your friend if you didn’t even know where she was from? Well for starters she’s my sisters’ friends who they happen to be seven years older than me. So, I know her because of my sister and she has helped me a lot getting settled here in Reno while my sister had left to go live in Arizona. So, we’ve gotten a lot closer this year. I had decided to interview her and she was actually born and raised in Sulphur, Louisiana which is crazy because that’s the same place where Donald Link grew up in as well. Though Sara only lived there till she was five then moved to the Bay area with her father but she still thinks back to the times she lived there and how it is now when she goes back to visit her mother in Sulphur.

The first question I had decided to ask her was what was the first think that comes to her mind when she thinks of her city back home and immediately, she said the smell which I thought was funny but she said it was true because the entire town smells like sulfur. But she also said how the food is generally cooked outside and visit having the whole family there. The second question I asked was what her favorite dish was and she responded with gumbo and I asked her reasoning behind that and she said because when she had moved away from Louisiana to the Bay area she was a very picky eater and had a hard time getting used to her new home and overall just how things were. So her mom went out of her to get a recipe on gumbo did a little tweaking to it to make it her own and that became Sara’s favorite dish and it really made her more at home, which was able to comfort having to be so far away from her mom and siblings which took a toll on her growing up and being able to have a dish that ties in with so many memories and reminded her of family was good. She believes that this has really shaped her a little bit as a person. The third question I asked was how living in Louisiana affected her to today? And she had said not much besides that she was more exposed to a variety of foods that they had down there compared to here in Reno, Nevada. She also said that she tries to visit as often as she cans because of her family and all the memories’ that it holds.  

Blog 4

Hello, my name is Tae Ho Shin. To give a piece of background information about my self, I am from South Korea and I am currently living in Las Vegas. I like food from Asian culture, but I love cream pasta. I interviewed my friend Kenneth Pi.

Q: Could you give me a short introduction about yourself?

A: I'm Chinese American, but my dad came from Taiwan, and my mom came from Vietnam. I'm mostly just American though. I am from Las Vegas and lived there my whole life.

Q: You know how people get closer by playing sports together or playing video games right? In your opinion, do you think there’s something special about Chinese food that brings people together?

A: Chinese food definitely brings people together, but I think all food brings people together, really. However, for specific Chinese meals, like hotpot, a large gathering of friends and family is common. I think this experience brings many people together where people can celebrate or socialize on normal or special occasions.  

Q: Personally, I grew up eating Korean food and I still lean towards Korean food if I have the option to choose between other food from any culture. By having a bit of a conservative preference for food I couldn’t eat a whole slice of pizza or hamburger at first, but now that I’m used to it, I can manage to enjoy them occasionally. Did your experience of eating Chinese food shape your preference for food at all? Are you open to any food or do you like food that are in the same category?

A: I've had a slight preference for Asian dishes in general because that's what my parents cooked and I grew up eating them. However, I am not too picky of an eater so I usually try a lot of food from a different culture. Preference wise, I like to eat food that is similar to similar Asian foods, usually from countries like Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

Q: When most Americans think about Chinese food, they think about take out places of fried rice or food like orange chicken. When I think of Chinese food, I think about real authentic Chinese cuisine with ingredients that aren’t common in America. Do you think Chinese food is underrepresented in your opinion?

A: I don't find Chinese food underrepresented that much. Even though most people think of Chinese food as Chinese takeout, that's pretty much a type of Chinese food from certain regions. I think Americanized Chinese food is also a part of Chinese food. There are plenty of Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants with food that are similar to Americanized Chinese food culture, especially with the level of diversity that exists in Las Vegas.

Q: Growing up, watching my grandma and my mom cook, I was self-influenced to cook food by myself and I am pretty good at cooking. Do you feel Chinese food has influenced or affected your life personally?

A: Seeing my family cook dishes that I enjoyed eating passed on the will for me to cook. I wanted to make my favorite dishes that I would commonly eat at home, to remind me of it when I’m away at Reno.

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Tim Costa Blog 4

Hello everyone, my name is Tim Costa and I will be the one conducting the interview in this blog. I am a caucasian male who grew up in the Central Valley of California. In terms of my financial situation growing up, I think I was around middle class or so. The person that I am interviewing today is my roommate. I will not disclose my roommates name but he is from North County, San Diego. He is also a caucasian male who grew up in a middle class family.

Some of the first questions I asked my roommate were what foods he primarily ate when he went out. He responded by saying that most common food to get was Mexican food. He stressed that the food down south is much more authentic then some of the Mexican food we would find in Reno or Northern California. He also mentioned that it was more likely you would find an authentic Mexican Restaurant as compared to a chain restaurant like Taco Bell. I ask if there were any other types of foods that came to mind other than Mexican food, he responded with Sushi. My roommate mentioned that if his friends and him ever wanted to get a little more expensive food, Sushi joints are a popular places to go investigate. Still on the same topic of eating out, my roommate discussed how on the beaches down south you can find food that you would see on Instagram Gourmet profiles. What he meant by this is that the food pretty much looked esthetically pleasing, despite however it actually tasted. Moving on from eating out, I asked my roommate about what was primarily eaten at home while growing up. He mentioned that his parents tried to cook as much as they could during the week, whether it was something small or a grand meal for a celebration. He told me that in his household junk food was not a common thing his parents bought, therefore they had little to no craving for it growing up. However now that he is in college he will occasionally splurge on some junk food at the store and will eat it. As of learning how to prepare food, he discussed how his parents taught him the basics on how to cook and make things. Some simple things included breakfast, rice, chicken, sandwiches, how to operate the stove, microwave, and toaster.

It was interesting to compare and contrast my experiences growing up with food as compared to my roommates experiences growing up with food. One thing we had in common was that my parents tried to there best to cook meals for the family as much as they could. As for some of the things we did contrast in was our knowledge of preparing food. I think his parents spent more time with him on how to make meals. I understand how to make basic foods to keep myself alive, but I think as to who would be able to cook a better meal, my money would be on my roommate. For the most part we share a lot of the same experiences with growing up with food.

Blog 4 Interview

Sydney Hinkell

04/09/19

English 101

Blog 4

Interviewer Background: My name is Sydney Hinkell and I will be conducting this Interview. I am a nineteen year old caucasian woman. I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. My ethnicity is German, Irish, Polish, Italian, and Czechoslovakian. From my culture the dishes we make homemade are Italian and Polish dishes. I would like to start incorporating more of my culture into the meals I make.

Interviewee Background: The person I choose to Interview is my new friend Glenna Mestas. She is an eighteen years old woman. She was born in Sparks Nevada, but then moved to california shortly after. After living in California for nine years she moved to Montana where she attended high school. Glenna is hispanic, native american, and Eastern Europe. She says that she loves to cook, especially food that originates from her culture. Her favorite food to make homemade is tamales. One of her favorite memories is spending the day with her family and close friends making over a hundred tamales. While living in Montana she embraced her culture and loves everything about it.

INTERVIEW

Question: Where are you from?

Answer: Billings, Montana.

Question: What are your interests?

Answer: I love going on hikes, riding dirt bikes, playing soccer, taking naps (just kidding don’t put that), and cooking.

Question: Where?

Answer: Sparks, Nevada.

Question: Describe your childhood.

Answer: My childhood was pretty normal but I moved from Nevada to California to Montana.

Question: What kind of foods do you eat?

Answer: A lot of meat, species, and mexican food.

Question: Do you incorporate you culture into your meals?

Answer: My family tries to incorporate some of spanish culture into our meals.

Question: What are some dishes you and your family make?

Answer: Homemade tamales, tortillas, enchiladas, fry bread, and carne asada.

Blog 3

Food waste and donations

To whom it may concern:

In america there are many people who go to bed hungry without a penny for food. Then there is the other side of america where people have an abundant of food and waste it half of the time. It is shocking to see mountains of food piles in landfills that are perfectly good in a mountain of trash. The reason for many of the landfills is the action that grocery stores and people don’t donate the food they are throwing away.

The first problem we have in america is many people wasting mountains of food. The wasting of food is creating several problems not just in america, but the rest of the world as well. The problem here in america is that the food americans are wasting and thrown in the garbage is food that other people could’ve eaten like the homeless, families with poor income etc. The problem is that grocery stores and people don’t donate food that they don't eat. Grocery stores waste so much food because of the expiration date, but experts say the food is still good even after the expiration date, but still grocery stores throw it away.  The problem that the world has to deal with is the food landfills are creating many problems and the biggest is the increase of greenhouse gas emissions. That carbon footprint people are leaving is destroying the world.

A solution that I propose that everyone should implement is the donation of food. Donating to the homeless or the poor can be beneficial because people will be fed which will waste less food. Grocery stores can donate the food to homeless shelters or even shelters for the poor after the food has gone past the expiration date or if the food doesn’t look good. This solution can be beneficial not only to people, but also the world because not only is there less food being wasted, but the less landfills that are necessary and the less carbon footprint people will be leaving which is helping earth stay healthy.

This is the problem and solution that I propose for food wastefulness. Thank you for reading my letter.