Preparing for Departure by Laura Kwong

May 28, 2009

Tomorrow I leave for Greece. I have previously studied and travelled in Asia, but I have never been to the European continent before and, honestly, I don’t know what to expect. American culture is based on the culture of Western Europe, which, in turn, is based on the culture largely developed in ancient Greece; but what similarities and differences exist today? 

During our SPAN preparation days we have tiptoed across the surface of Greece culture, reviewing a map of Athens, watching and discussing the quintessential movie  Zorba the Greek, analyzing Greek poems relating to our study topics, practiced traditional Greek dance and shared enlightening conversations over delicious Greek food, but there is SO much to learn. What do people value? How do they spend their free time? What sports, music, art, and hobbies are popular? And what do people like to eat?

I’m particularly interested in the last question, because the goal of my SPAN experience is to create a fact-filled cookbook on food culture Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria. Specifically, I intend to focus on how the relationship with food impacts perspectives on the environment. In America, most of our foodstuffs are bought, wrapped in plastic, ready-to-eat or at least highly processed. Where does this food come from? How many people actually think about the tomato sauce on a pasta TV dinner coming from a tomato that grew on a vine, slurping up water and transforming the energy of the sun? More and more Americans are becoming aware of “sustainable agriculture,” and choosing what they buy and what they eat with the earth in mind. My plan is to interview the farmers and housewives of the countryside and investigate what the perspective they have on the land. How do these ideas, and those of urban denizens, reflect how the environment is treated? 

My primary research method with be semi-structured interviews focused on five “traditional” meals I share with families. I intend to analyze the meal from farm to plate to dirty dishes. What ingredients are chosen and why? Where are they grown and/or purchased? Who prepares the meal, how is it eaten and who cleans up? When I was young my mother and two brothers ate together, but by the time I was in middle school “eating together” merely meant that we all had the same food in our bowls sometimes during the same hour. It didn’t mean sitting down, conversing, and acknowledging the food and taking pleasure in the meal, as I expect it still means in Europe. How does food culture reflect and affect the values of a population?

I’m excited to delve into the trials and triumphs of travel, make new friends, explore an historic region, and share some wonderful food!