My family has always been very culturally alert. My dad went on his LDS mission to Taiwan, my mom to Honduras, and my older brother will be in Montreal, Canada in about two weeks. I love foreign music, and everyone in my family is at least bilingual. But I still think I like the food the best!
Even now, I can tell that one of my favorite childhood memories when I get older will be the smell of my dad's Chinese cooking. He has exposed my family and I to the language, the music, and the food he would buy on the streets of Taiwan. Sometimes we go with him to the Asian markets in Salt Lake City. He buys ingredients to make what he would eat in Taiwan: guodz (GWOH-dzuh), or "pot stickers"; Ma Po Tofu, a rice and tofu dish; Dan Bing (DAWN bing), which is a fried egg wrapped in the Chinese equivalent of a crêpe; and a Vietnamese hot sauce made of chilies called "Sriracha".
On top of my dad's cooking, my family goes to a LOT of international "Ma 'n Pa" restaurants. We like these better than the "Americanized" restaurants because they serve authentic food. I'm not talking Taco Bell or Little Orient. Those places all buy their sauces from the same place, where as Gourmet Garden or Mandarin Cafe make their food from scratch, with recipes straight from their home countries. My family goes to international restaurants about once a week, ranging anywhere from Indian, Spanish, French, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, and even Peruvian. I have come to love spicy foods (Sriracha, Tabasco, Wasabi... The spicier, the better!) and I always look forward to trying new regional flavors.
My dad's favorite radio station is a community radio called KRCL 90.9 FM. Their website describes it really well (so check it out and tune in!). They said they have over eight different languages, representing the minorities of Utah. Some of the programs are "Ethno-Sphere", which is music from all over the world; and "Jumbo-Africa", which is all African music; and "Voice of the Vietnamese". They have volunteer DJ's from their respective countries that know the culture and music. I love listening to their accents and what they talk about; they always have the coolest stories in between songs. It's so interesting to hear what they have to say!
My older brother, Iain, took six years of French throughout his schooling, so we all thought it was hilarious when he was called to Montreal, Canada to speak Mandarin Chinese!
Hmm. So it looks like I'm running out of time to do this.... I might come back to this particular post some other time, because I would really like to keep talking about it....
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