Spring Break
A pastry that shows
a blend of cultures
Subtky Obvious
Sarah Kyo
Issue date: 9/18/08 Section: Opinion
|
In bed.
Sorry, I couldn't help it. Anyways, I was in the on-campus, all-you-can-eat bastion, the Dining Commons, with three international students: one from Hong Kong, another from Taiwan and another from South Korea. Amid the salads, pasta and chow mein on our cafeteria trays were a few fortune cookies.
The Hong Kong student said she wanted to try one, and the Taiwanese student also mentioned her unfamiliarity with the taste.
The Korean student and I looked at one another incredulously and laughed.
On one hand, it shouldn't surprise me that food like a fortune cookie, something that seems cultural and exotic, is actually quite Americanized (Taco Bell and Panda Express, anyone?). Plus, I've also been to many Chinese restaurants where at the end of the meal, they've served treats that are much more "authentic" (read: something that they actually would serve in China) and do not have a piece of paper inside of them.
Still, the irony wasn't lost on me that a fortune cookie, something that is found in many restaurants that serve Chinese food in the United States, isn't actually associated with China itself.
"Cultural shock," the Korean student said.
Is it possible to experience culture shock in your own country? Having all of this transpire right before my eyes gave me room to pause.
The fortune cookies that we had last Friday are part of a bigger picture. They're among the estimated 3 billion that are made each year and most are made in the United States, according to the New York Times.
While they are not from China, fortune cookies may actually have Japanese roots in small family bakeries that made fortune cookie-shaped crackers, according to the article. Fortune cookies eventually made their way to the United States and into its Chinese restaurants, with the confection gaining popularity around the World War II era and beyond.
But who cares about the cookie, which doesn't have much taste anyways? It's just the wrapper, the shell, compared to what people really care about: the fortune.
The fortune, though, is usually nothing to take too seriously (well, unless your significant other decides to have a customized message with a wedding proposal nestled inside of the cookie). No pearls of wisdom or ancient Chinese (or Japanese) proverbs to be found here. Once in awhile, though, you receive something really memorable or worthy to be kept.
Be the first to comment on this story