Hello Class:
"An assumption is something we take for granted, something we accept prematurely as being true, something we do not check out carefully. . . . Hidden assumptions are unconscious assumptions that greatly influence a line of reasoning. One form of hidden assumpions is stereotypes, where we try to fit new experiences into old or prejudiced categories. . . . value assumptions [are] basic unexamined beliefs that unconsciously influence our thinking." (Mayfield 155).
Please read "In the Supermarket" by John Bul dau in Chapter 5 164-166.
In comparing American food to African food, what types of assumptions does Bul dau make about American food? Is he making hidden assumptions or value assumptions? Provide textual proof to support your claim. How did Dau's experiences with food trigger your own assumptions about food different from your own culture? What kinds of cultural assumptions are being made in the images above about food?
The original response to this post is due by Friday.
Thanks,
Ms. Wanzo
Image taken from: http://www.diversityworld.com/Images%20-%20store/09MC-CALENDAR/2009multical_pics.jpg
52 comments:
In comparing American food to African food, Bul Dau made value two assumptions when he was in the displays of vegetables. He first thought the lettuce which was pointed by Susan looked like what he was used to feed for his farm animals. Second, he thought a kind of vegetables, called “cucumber,” looked like what farmers feed to the goats. In addition to the displays of vegetables, he also made another value assumption when he is sent a sample of ham which was cut from pig. He thought the meat is only used to describe the meat from cow.
Besides this, Bul Dau made hidden assumptions too. First, he made the assumption when he refers to the clams, lobsters, and shrimp. He called them as “Big bugs.” Also, he refused to eat fish because it was put next to the giant insects. Then, he made the assumption when he passed animal food area and saw the sign “Dog food,” and “Cat food.” He made the assumption that “America dogs had special meals prepared just for them. “
The Dau’s experiences with food triggers my own assumption about Vietnamese noodle. When I first came to the United States, I went to a Vietnamese restaurant with my friend. I was so curious to try noodles because I had no idea what I wanted to order. When the noodles were prepared on our table, I found out that the noodles did not cook. I could barely understand why they kept the noodle uncooked. Our Chinese noodles are always cooked while some of the Vietnamese noodles are uncooked.
In the images above about food, different countries have their own food culture. Some do not eat certain kind of food while some do. For example, at the middle of the top, I knew that is Chinese culture, Chinese eat rice as regular basis. Also, the American loves eating hamburgers according to the picture located on left of the third row.
Thanks,
Ms. Wanzo
In comparing American food to African food, Bul dau make hidden assumptions and value assumptions about American food.
He is making value assumptions by comparing the lettuce as leaves “Susan asked if I wanted some lettuce. I did not know what that was, but it looked as if she was pointing at a bag of leaves, the kind I fed to farm animals in Duk Payuel.” and compare cucumber looked like what he fed the goats at Duk Payuel “I saw something labeled “cucumber” and asked Susan about it. She said it was a good vegetable; it could be sliced and put in salads. It looked like what I fed the goats.” He thinks meat is comes from a cow not comes from pig. “The butcher cut a tiny slice of pink flesh. “What is this?” I asked. “It is ham.” “What is ham?” “It’s meat. It comes from a pig.” Meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow. I thought.”
He is making hidden assumptions by thinking Clams, lobsters, shrimp are not look like anything good to eat. He describe lobsters and shrimp as big bugs “ Clams, lobsters, shrimp- do people eat such things? Yes? I didn’t want to criticize, but they did not look like anything good to eat. Lobsters and shrimp looked like big bugs.” He describes he like to eat fish but he didn’t want to eat anything that came from the counter next to the giant insect “Someone asked if I liked fish. I said no. That wasn’t true; I do eat fish. But I didn’t want to eat anything that came from the counter next to the giant insect.” He is also give some specific food that determine for grow men, small children, and baby at his culture “ And small, sweet foods are inappropriate for grow men, who should eat beef and milk. Popcorn, cookies, sweets-those are for small children. If a baby cries while waiting for dinner, it is okay to drop a kernel of corn near the fire, grab it as it pops, and give it to the child.”
Dau's experiences with food trigger my own assumptions about food different from my own culture. When the first time I came to the United States, I saw people hold a square yellow piece and eat with bread so appetizing. I asked my brother what are people eating with bread? And my brother told me that is a cheese. I try to pick it up and eat but I cannot stand the smell of it like spoil foods and the taste of it so terrible when it came into my mouth. I don’t each cheese with bread in my country, and I only eat bread with butter. Therefore, I so unaccustomed with the new foods that I never have in my country.
The cultural assumptions are being made in the images above about food is hidden assumption by try to fit new experiences into old categories like some picture of a guy sell hamburger, a woman making a pancake, some people are sitting near the bridge to enjoy the cocktail between people are doing the cultivation.
In comparing American food to African food, John Bul Dau made both hidden and value assumptions about American food. He made hidden assumptions when he thought that the seafood he saw were insects and that vegetables are for animals. He had never seen clams, lobsters or shrimp before. It “did not look like anything good to eat” and “looked like big bugs.” He didn’t want the fish which was familiar to him because it was near the “big bugs.” He also made the hidden assumption that vegetables were animal food. When his guardian said that the vegetables were “good” vegetables to eat, it reminded him of “the kind [he] fed to farm animals.” It was also a surprise for him that Americans had a large quantity of food dedicated to animals because where he was from there were barely enough food.
He made value assumptions when he made the decision to not eat the doughnut in the store. His custom was to not eat until he got home: “You don’t eat in front of other people, not even to peel an orange.” He was also taught that “small, sweet foods are inappropriate for grown men.” He felt that he was a not a child, but a man. It was an insult to him to be offered dessert.
Dau’s experiences with food trigger my own assumptions about food different from my own culture. It reminded me of when I first ate Indian food. The only food that I knew originated from India was curry. I didn’t expect to see a lot of “sauce” food where u would dip with naan, an Indian flatbread. I was wondering where all the meat were. When I began to eat, it was good from all the spices.
There are a lot of cultural assumptions being made in the images above about food. On the middle top, it shows that Asians eat rice. On the left third down, Americans eat hamburgers. On the left bottom corner, Eskimos hunt and eat seal. On the right second down, Europeans eat in a relaxed and casually outside.
In comparing American to African food, Bul dau makes value assumption about American food. First, Bul dau describes lettuce as a bag of leaves which is the kind he fed to farm animals. He also describes cucumber as what he fed the goats. Later on, he says he do like to eat fish, but he doesn’t want to eat anything that is near to the giant inserts such as clams, lobsters and shrimp. Lastly, Bul dau compares the dog food and cat food in different cultures. He feeds pets by his dinner meal in Duk Payuel, but America dogs have special meal prepared just for them.
The Dau’s experiences with food triggers my own assumption about food’s difference with my country. In china, rice is necessary for every meal except for breakfast. We eat rice combining with meat and vegetable. In America, people usually eat burgers and pizzas for meal which also with a combination of drink and fries. People eat more than what I ate in China. My culture is rice for meal, but America is burgers for meal.
From the images above, it shows different cultures of food. Different countries have their own way for eating and preparing meals. The second image on the first roll, I know that is grain, such as rice. Rice is the basic food for a meal in China. In addition of the first image on the third roll, I know that is American culture by someone is selling hamburgers. Hamburgers are the most popular food in America.
Reading one John Bul Dau have wrote through his experience, his assumption towards American food were that the there are foods that are new to him, the eating habits is different, and it is well supplied. John Bul Dau use both hidden and value assumptions. The value assumptions is when John sees all sorts of foods and seeing such food that people eat as food that was meant to fed animals. Another value assumption he made was seeing a clams, lobster, and shrimp looking like big bugs yet people eat it. His hidden assumptions is not eating anything next to the what he believe as “giant insect” the reasoning as people do not eat insects. Another hidden assumption was when John decided to buy a donut however does not eat as stated his culture not to eat in front of other people, not even peeling an orange. He assume that there are sorts of food that is only to be eaten by certain group members such as popcorn or candy is for children and men should only associated with beef and milk; as giving a man candy is an insult, a hidden assumption.
Dau’s experience with food triggers my assumption towards Asian and American food, as American food is mostly hamburgers, steaks; macaroni and cheese while Asian food is consider noodles, rice, and sushi. My assumption that whe it comes to an Asian meal will be rice and noodles. My American meal will be steak and hamburgers; of course steak is a special occasion.
In the image above shows all different types of food cultures of how it is made and eaten. Like the very top image in the middle is a picture of someone farming rice is really of Asian culture. Another one is the image of a person making and selling hamburgers on a wheel court, looking that there is American flag on man riding the bicycle that the image is of American culture. There is the image of a person seems to be wearing a hood and warmth clothing and is seem to be fishing; the assumption that the image is of Eskimo culture. Each and every one of the images shows the different types of food from different cultures. Some show where the food comes from, where they sell, and where to enjoy eating the different cultural foods.
In comparing American food to African food, Bul Dau makes hidden assumptions and value assumptions about American food.
Bul Dau’s value assumptions about American food can be found when he saw what lettuce, cucumber, and ham are. When Susan pointed him a bag of lettuce, Bul Dau thought it as “a bag of leaves, the kind I fed to farm animals in Duk Payuel (165).” When Susan told him about cucumber, Bul Dau thought of “what I fed the goats (165).” When Susan told him that ham is meat came from a pig, Bul Dau thought “meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow (165).”
Bul Dau’s hidden assumptions about American food can be found when he saw shellfishes and pet food. Because Bul Dau thought those lobsters and shrimp are types of bugs, he “didn’t want to eat anything that came from the counter next to the giant insects (165).” Because, in African, Bul Dau only gave his dogs a little food from their dinner and there were lots of starved cases, he thought “in America dogs had special meals prepared just for them (165)” when he saw the pet food section in the supermarket.
Dau’s experience makes me think of the Japanese food is different from my own culture. In China, people don’t eat raw fish. In Japanese, people like sashimi, which is a Japanese dish of sliced raw fish. The first time of when I eat sashimi I thought I will have food poisoning after the meal.
In the images above about food, hidden assumptions are being made. Each image shows how different cultural attitude toward food. The images above contained information about how people plant or find food, how people cook, and how people enjoy their food in different culture.
In the excerpt, I think that Bul Dau make both hidden and value assumptions while comparing American food to African food. For example, according to the second paragraph, from “Suan asked if I wanted some lettuce” to “It looked like what I fed the goats”, Bul dau don’t really know about lettuce and cucumber, and he considers them as something like what he used to fed farm animals and goats in Duk Payuel. Here, clearly, he fits the new things (lettuce and cucumber) into old categories that he already knows, so he is making hidden assumption. On the other hand, Bul Dau says: “Clams, lobsters, they did not look like anything good to eat, and they looked like big bugs.” In these words, he jumps to the conclusion that they are not good things to eat before he eats them. That is, he makes an evaluation before examination. Therefore, it’s value assumption.
I am from South China. Since I could remember, uncooked vegetable and meat have been forbidden things to eat before I came to America. Even though I like to eat something uncooked food like Sashimi and salad now, the first time when I saw people ate them, I felt uncomfortable, and it looked disgusting to me. At that moment, I was asking in silence, “Oh, God! How could they put these things into their mouths? Doesn’t uncooked food taste bad?” I just couldn’t believe they like to eat raw fish fillet and vegetable pieces.
I think that the assumption made here is that different countries have different culture about food. For instance, a sort of meat is considered as a food in one country but not in another, just as Bul Dau says, in Duk Payuel meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow.
In comparing American food to African food, John Bul Dau makes both value and hidden assumptions in his article. When John sees vegetables displaying in the grocery store, he makes his value assumption base on his knowledge and culture. He thinks that what Americans eat such as lettuce and cucumber are use to feed farm animals in his country. “A bag of leaves (lettuces), the kind I fed to farm animals in Duk Payuel and “cucumber” it like what I fed the goat” (p. 165) John also make another value assumption when he is introduce to eat a tiny slice of pink flesh ham, which is made from pig. He thinks that ham is not meat “meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow” (p. 165)
On the other hand, John also makes hidden assumptions when someone asks him if he liked fish, he said that he didn’t like fish, which is not true. The reason he refuses to eat the fish due to the fact that the fish are next to the “big insect” (lobsters and shrimps). Another assumption he made is American dogs and cats have special meals prepare for them while some people are starve in Duk Payuel.
Dau’s experiences with food trigger my own assumption about American food. When I first come to the United Stated, I saw a lot of people order salad in the fast food restaurant and they enjoyed it. I am so curious that I asked my cousin to order one. When I opened it, the whole bowl was filled with uncooked vegetable such as lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and cucumber. Also, there are cheeses on top of the vegetables. I tried to eat the salad but I cannot finish it, because it’s taste like eating the grass. I really don’t like to eat salad at that time, but now I realize that eating salad is a very healthy choice.
The culture assumption are being made in the images above are different people have different food culture. For example, Chinese people like to eat rice as their major meals, but American people don’t like to eat rice, they love eating fast food such as hamburgers, pizzas, ..etc.
In comparing American food and African food. John Bul Dau made both hidden assumptions and value assumption about the American food . First, he made a value assumption, when he saw a bag of cucumber in the supermarket. He though the cucumber is not for us. It should be for the animals. He said that “I saw something labeled “cucumber” , it looked what I fed the goats.” Also, he made another value assumption when he got a sample ham. He though the ham was only for descried the meat from cow. Moreover, Bul Dau made hidden assumption. He has not seen clams, lobsters and shrimp when he was in Duk Payuel. These kind of seafood were really unfamiliar for him. He though we should not eat these seafood because they looked like big bugs. He said: “ they did not like anything good to eat. Lobsters and shrimp looked big bugs”.
Dau’s experience with food triggers my own assumptions about food different from my own culture. In China, when we have any food, we have to have the cooed food and make sure it is well done. In United States, people like to have salad or steak. Those are uncooked or rare. We think these uncooked foods that are unclean.
The image above, it shows a lot of different country’s culture. We can know different country how to grow their crop and cook their food. For example, according to the second images, we can see the Chinese farmer how to grow the rice. Chinese people have rice every day, so rice is really important for Chinese.
In comparing American food to African food, Bul dau makes both value assumptions and hidden assumptions about American food. Hidden assumption refers to a fixed idea about thing which is often not true in reality. Value assumption is supposed being true without actual evidences to support it, and value assumption are based on our cultures and experiences.
When Bul dau first visits to an American grocery store, he makes many assumptions in the grocery store because he has never seen so much food to eat in his life. Bul Dau makes value assumptions from his own culture and experience. When he sees a bag of lettuce, he assumes that it is the kind of food that he fed to farm animals in Duk Payuel. He assumes that cucumber looks like a food that he feed the goats in his country. He also made a value assumption when he first saw a ham which is from pig. Bul dau dose not think of it as meat, and he considers that "meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow”. In additional, Bul dau makes hidden assumptions when he sees seafood. He assumes that lobsters and shrimp look like big bugs. Though Bul dau likes fish, he refuses to eat it because he thinks the fish is next to the giant insects. When someone gave him a piece of doughnut, he thinks that it’s not appropriate to eat in front of people. Moreover, candy and popcorn are only for children, and it is an insult to offer candy and popcorn to a man.
Dau’s experiences with food trigger my own assumptions about food in different country and culture. His experiences make me think about the difference between American food and Chinese food. After I immigrate to United States, I found that some American food is uncook or is not roasted enough. I remember that when I first ordered a steak in a restaurant, I was surprised that the steak is not roasted enough. When I cut it, I found that it was still raw inside the steak. This food style is different from China. Many culture assumptions are being made in the images above because people are from different country and they have different culture. For example, some people eat insects as their food but some people refuse to eat them.
This excerpt shows how wide range of diversity of not only people but the foods we eat. Bal Dau’s assumption of American food is that we eat farm animal food, “big bugs”, kid food and meat that is not meat. It is a big culture shock for Dau who is not use to it back home. Dau’s assumptions are hidden assumptions. In the text, when one of his friends pointed at a bag of lettuce in his mind he said that’s what we feed farm animals. Second example is when they went to the meat counter when he tried ham, in his mind he said it is useless meat unless it comes from cows. The thirds example is when saw the seafood he thought they were big bugs. Another example is when they sampled doughnuts, in his country they do not eat in front of other people and the sweets were meant for children. Last example is when he saw the aisle for pet food. Back home, the pets ate whatever the owners had for dinner not prepackaged meals. When I was younger if the food did not look like the foods that I was use to I would not eat it. Now that I am older I am more open to trying other foods that are different from my own culture.
I agree with you, the image presents that people from different countries have different food cultures. Sometimes, there may be big differences among them. For example, in China, the meat of dog is considered as tasty food, while in the U.S eating a dog is evil and crime.
In comparing American food to African food, John Bul Dau is making both value assumption and hidden assumption about American food in his article. He is making value assumption when he sees the displays of vegetables in the grocery store. He thinks that the vegetables are bags of leaves that are using to feed animals in the farm. He also makes another value assumption when he is introduced to eat a tiny slice ham which is a meat that comes from a pig because he thinks all meat is come from cows instead of pig in his country. On the other hand, John Bul Dau is making hidden assumption when he states that lobsters and shrimp looks like big bugs and he also doesn’t want to eat the fish next the lobsters and shrimp which he describes as giant insects. He makes another hidden assumption when he sees the dog food and cat food because many people starved during the civil war in Sudan. They give a little food from their dinner for the dogs to eat, but the America dogs and cats have special meals prepared just for them. John Bul Dau’s experience reminds me on the Vietnamese noodles. For Chinese culture, all the food should be entirely cooked to avoid bacteria get into our body and become sick. When I went to eat Vietnamese noodles for the first time, I found out that the noodles and the meat are uncooked and rare. I think the noodles was not prepare well, so I fear to eat it. However, my friends told me that I need to put the meat into the hot soup and mix the noodle well before I eat. Because Chinese noodles are always well cooked, I think Vietnamese noodles are kind of weird to me. In the image above, it shows the different countries have different cultures. For example, the second image of the first row, I realize that it is a Chinese culture since I can see that farmer is growing rice. Most of the Chinese mainly depend on rice and rice can provides a great energy.
Bul dau makes two types of assumptions: hidden assumptions and value assumptions in the article “In the Supermarket”. He was making hidden assumptions when he ate doughnuts inside the apartment, but not in the grocery store because of his country’s culture. It was like they need to have a meal without other people even peeling an orange. Moreover, he thought that popcorn, cookies, and sweets were only for children. However, in America, those food are children and some of adults’ favorite food. Then he was making value assumptions when he thought that “meat is not meat unless it comes form a cow” and “Lobsters and shrimp looked like big bugs” so he didn’t consider them as meat, but American ate them. In addition, another value assumption is that he thought the vegetable cucumber looked like what he fed the goats as Susan said it was a good vegetable that can be put in salads.
Dau’s experiences with food trigger my own assumptions about Asian food and American food. For instance, i think that Asian food is often cooked and associated with rice and noodles. Yet American food is uncooked or not well done and often related to beef and fast food such as pizzas and hamburgers. Before I came to America, I think that American like their beef is not well done or rare. Unlike American, in my country, people like eating cooked beef with onion or ginger. The image of above shows that the way how the food is cooked and eaten makes us see the difference of our culture. Asians often cook a big dish of food and then share the food with other people. Yet Americans like to cook a small dish of food and then every one has their own one. Different countries or culture has different ways to eat and cook food and different styles.
In comparing American food to African food, John Bul Dau makes both value and hidden assumptions. First, In his country lettuce and cucumber are used to feed farm animals “A bag of leaves (lettuces), the kind I fed to farm animals in Duk Payuel and “cucumber” it like what I fed the goat”. Second, he doesn’t know what ham is, he thinks ham is not meat “meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow”. Third, “Clams, lobsters, they did not look like anything good to eat, and they looked like big bugs.” Fourth, He “didn’t want to eat anything that came from the counter next to the giant insects” when he saw the pet food section in the supermarket. Fifth, when he saw “cat food” and “dog food” he thinks “in America dogs had special meals prepared just for them”. From his images, it shows the different cultures and each country has different foods. For example, American food has hamburger and hot dog, Italian food has pizza and pasta, Vietnamese food has pho and broken rice, Japanese food has sushi and raw fish, Indian food has curry, Thai food has tom yum soup, pad Thai and etc…
The Dau’s experiences with food triggers my own assumption about food’s difference with my country. First time I ate hamburger was the first day I came to America. I couldn’t finish ¼ of the hamburger because it’s not salty and I don’t like cheese and the beef. The taste of hamburger is different, it’s not Asian taste. However, now In and Out is my favorite place ;)
Hi Crystal,
I agree with you, when I tried steak for the first time, I did not understand the reason behind cooking process. Now my family will make steak and when my dad cook it he will ask "do you want it half cook or fully cooked?" When I compared the half cooked steak and fully cooked steak it has a different flavor of taste. To my assumption that Americans favor the uncooked meat because of that. Inferring that half cooked meat is part of the American food culture. I too agree that some people do not see insects as a food product, some do but not many people.
Hi ruiqi chen,
I agree with your idea about different countries or cultures have different ways to eat and they have different cook style. In China, when Chinese cook a meal, they will cook rice, fish, meat, and vegetables to balance their nutrition, and they will share these foods together. There are many kinds of restaurants in the United States, such as Japanese food, Korean food or Vietnamese food. We can learn different food culture when we eat different kinds of food.
In comparing American food to African food, Bul dau made 2 examples of assumption consist of value and hidden. The difference between the 2 is similar to what we discuss in class about inference and fact. Hidden assumption would be basing on "connecting the dots" which is related to the subject with an idealistic guess. Value assumption would be an ignorant wild guess which could be off track from imagination without proof.
Bul dau made many examples of both hidden and value assumption. He thinks that certain type of vegetable such as lettuce or cucumber are used to fed animal and shouldn't be eaten by human (value). He also thinks that such thing as doughnut would be consider as some sort of candy related which is define and should be only eaten by a specific age group. He refused to eat in front of an crowd because it's embarrassing to him.
Bul dau experienced trigger many of the assumption I used to have about other cultures food. I never thought other meats such as horse, goat, etc can be eaten raw other than fish. I never thought intestine of an inside animal is consider a delicacies in most country where it's being thrown as a waste here in US. The whole point of this excerpt made me realize we often make ignorant assumption without really experience or understand the subject/situation. Assumption seems to me that it is wholly based on an own individual experience and or knowledge.
The first time i heard that insects can be eaten, i was disgusted but then as i started doing some research and tried to browse video response of how it taste. Most people agreed that it doesn't taste as bad but it's just a mind over matter thing. All these culture food talk is pretty interesting and it shows how big the world is with all kind of unexpected things.
P.s Anyone know what's an balut?! That's one of the delicacies i just recently tried from the Philippine culture which i thought is pretty good but "doesn't" look good.
Bul Dau looks at the differences between the two courtiers’ food with mostly value assumptions. He assumes that Americans are eating lettuce and cucumber, vegetables that in Sudan people feed their animals. He assumes that “meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow.” (165, Mayfield) These assumption all come from his different perspective because of his cultural values, however in my idea, his tone sounds like someone who is now aware of the fact that those assumptions were only the result of cultural differences.
Although Bul Dau mostly makes values assumption, at the end when he says “later, during the civil war in Sudan, my countrymen starved every day, and tens of thousands went hungry in the dark days in refugee camps, while in America dogs had special meals prepared just for them,”(165, Mayfield) here is sounds as if he is looking at the whole thing with a hidden assumption. As if he is suggesting that American’s are ignorant people who at the time in the other part of the world people are starving, they are spending their money excessively on their animals while they could help those people in need.
Before coming to America, I have traveled to some other countries and I was well informed about the fact that out of Iran the food variety is much wider. Especially in a country like America that people come there from all around the world. However, still I should confess, when I see a scene like piles of crabs at the little water container in a store window, I still think that they look like giant insects and yet they don’t look like a natural food to me!
In my idea those painting each reflect a scene from a different culture and I cannot “assume” that they are necessarily trying to reflect or “assume” something other than reflection of a scene. Some of them like the third one at the bottom left, shows a guy making hamburger while a bike is passing with an American flag on it, so does it mean that the picture is assuming that American’s eat hamburger a lot or is that the way we want to look at it? Or the picture right underneath that shows an Eskimo hunting a seal, but does that mean the picture is assuming that the thing Eskimo’s eat is Seals?
To Kimvy Nguyen:
I laughed when I read your experience with hamburgers because I had almost a very similar experience with them. Of course I had hamburgers before coming to America, but the size of foods here looked gigantic to me when I arrived, so just like what you said I had problem finishing my food and it tasted too much! But after 4 years, now, it tastes just fine and regarding the size looks normal and even sometimes small!
Hi kimhung, I agree with you point that different places have their own food culture. It is true that Chinese people like to eat cooked food instead of uncooked, because the uncooked foods are unclear. But there is another reason; the uncooked foods contain bacteria which cause people sick. Even though the meat is well done, it is not hundred percent sure that the bacteria inside of the meat are kill. Scientists recommend that it is better to eat more cooked food than uncooked food. But for American people, uncooked is a very healthy choice such as salad because it is natural and didn’t add any chemical substance in. Different countries have different way of cook their foods.
Hi Xiao Mei Li,
My mother had same experience as yours, too, even today. Every time she saw me eating a salad, she will complaint, "Why you eat the grass again? It is for animal. I used them to fed animals in farm during my childhood." This is a kind of stereotyped assumption. My mother tried to fit the new experiences of eating salad into her prejudiced categories of animal food.
In comparing American and African food, I think Bul dau used both value assumption and hidden assumption. First of all, even though Bul dau doesn’t know what lettuce is, he can still find it with some directions given by Susan. The reason behind this is because he used value assumption that he finds the lettuce out without examination. Secondly, he thought that meat only comes from cow. When people said ham which is from pig is also a kind of meat, he immediately doubt that and he sticks to his belief. This is an example on how he used hidden assumption, fitting new experience to prejudiced categories.
Salad in Hong Kong is usually made up of fruits like apple, pear, pineapple and melons etc. Therefore, when I enter a restaurant in the United States and order a salad, I expected it will be the same as I ate in Hong Kong. However, salad we eat here is usually vegetables like lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes. At first, I could not stand with this kind of salad as I think there must be many bacteria on it. I put some value assumptions onto it. Usually, we put value assumption on food. We first look at the food and judge it with its appearance. If it looks good, we assume that it taste good as well. This is a kind of value assumption, judging without examination. On the other hands, often times we will put hidden assumption on it especially when we encounter cultural food outside our country. We usually think that the food we ate in our country is better than we ate in foreign country. Like me, I think real Chinese food is way better than that in panda express or other Chinese restaurant. I believe this is because we put hidden assumption to it, thinking that the new things should belong to the old groups.
What we think is exactly the same. I could not bear with the salad here before. Simply because I don’t think we should eat uncooked food. But, I glad that now I like to eat the salad as I found there are so many nutrients inside.
Well it would appear that I agree with everyone else here, both value and hidden assumptions are being made in the story. He refers to the lettuce as being the "leaves he feeds to his animals" but on the other hand, says "meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow".
For me, it is a bit different than it was for Dau. We have many different cuisines available to us in the Bay Area yet at the same time, these are the Americanized versions of those cuisines. It is always interesting for me to go to another country and try the traditional cuisine which ends up being very different from what I am used to.
The images above are stereotypes about different cultures and the foods eaten within the cultures. Most clearly recognizable is the depiction of the Americans and the hamburger stand.
Ken-
It's interesting that you don't eat cheese. While many people in this country and in Europe consider cheese to be a delicacy, it is considered to be taboo in many other regions of the world. When one thinks about it, cheese is really just mold :) On the other hand, Durian is something considered to be off limits here. It is quite delicious even though it smells bad.
hi Kimhung,
Based on your respond, I really agree what you have said. Chinese love eating cooked food, while Americans love eating rare, fresh or uncooked food. It is similar to my example from my respond, the chinese noodle and vietnamese noodle.
Also, different countries have their own culture like our country, China.
Do you have any daily examples that you feel very unforgettable about?
In "In the Supermarket" John used hidden assumptions and value assumption. For the hidden assumptions, when he saw the shrimp and lobsters he said "I didn't want to cricize, but they do not look like anything good to eat. Lobsters and shrimp looked like big bugs". And he said lettuce are looks like "a bag of leaves".
The value assumptions, John didn't see ham before, he didn't know what is that, after susan told him is it meat, it comes form a big. He thought "meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow". After he saw the sign that said "dog food" and "cat food" he remember in his hometown, the people just feed the dog a little food from their dinner. They do not have the food just for the pets.
I lived in China for 15 years, after I came to the U.S. i saw some food that i had not seen before, such as avocado. Even i had eat that food before, but they are not taste the same. Because they have to cater the costems taste. Aslo the cooking stytle and materials are differents.
Hi Cameron,
I would like to ask you more detail about what you said earlier on your respond. Based on your respond, I noticed that you seem to have some experience on eating food by going to other countries in person. If you do have experience about this, would you like to share some to me. I am so curious.
Definately, Americans love eating hamburgers. Also, I found out that they love eating hot dogs too. We can see that there are at least four stalls around Laney campus that sells hot dogs, right? It is so expensive.. three dollars?
Do you agree with me?
Thanks.
Andrew
Hi ka ki! i agree with you that salad in Hong Kong is different than the one in the United States. I think it is depending on the the people's taste in that country. As a Chinese i like the sald with have apple and some kinds of fruits on it better than the lettuce.
In comparing American food to African food, Bul dau make both hidden assumptions and value assumptions about American food. First of all, Bul dau think that lettuce is like a bag of leaves which he used to be fed to farm animals. And, he also though that cucumber was like what he used to fed the goats. He made those assumptions based on his knowledge and his culture. Second, He also thought clams, lobsters or shrimp is like big bugs, and those are not like anything good to eat. He said he didn’t eat fish, because it was near the big bugs which are lobsters, clams, and shrimps. He compared those American food based on what he know about African food. When others told him those foods are good to eat, he was surprised.
For me, American food is almost just burger. In my country, China, we always have rice for every meal. However, I think American doesn’t have rice for every meal, and they may have pasta, or potatoes. In America, people eat a lot, but in China people don’t. One more thing that I found is American love eating beef, but in China people also like eating chicken, pork.
In the images above, it makes hidden assumption based on different cultures. It shows different foods about different cultures. I think the picture that have grains is refer to China, and the one is selling hamburger is referring to America.
The assumptions from, "In the supermarket," are value assumptions. John thinks to himself, not a loud, about the food being offered. He thinks the lettuce and vegetables are the kind of food he would feed to the goats at home. He thinks, "meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow," about the ham. He thinks the shrimp and lobster are like big bugs, consequently he will not eat anything from the same counter. He observes chickens roasting across the way on skewers and thinks he would like to eat them. John accepted a complimentary doughnut to save for later. It is traditional in Dinka culture to eat privately, not in front of other people. Also sweets are considered food for children. Grown men would not dream to eat such food. Finally he is shocked that there is a whole isle devoted to dogs and cats. Dogs receive table scraps and at most a cup of boiled maize(corn). The dog is allowed to eat only after his master has left the room. Value assumptions define as:core beliefs we take for granted; although we may not be aware of their presence they greatly affect our reasoning. I am triggered by male dominant ideals. This is illustrated by sweets and popcorn being food appropriate only for children to eat.I assume that things are different in other places. I would do my best to adjust culturally and account for why things are a certain way. However, I am angered in gender subservient roles that birth from harsh expectations placed upon men. Economics play a role as well in the classification of certain luxuries. This may be partly why. It could seem foolish to eat such things as a grown man. Still it troubles me.
I didn't know what you were talking about when you said that Vietnamese noodles were raw until I read other posts and asked around. It made me realize that Vietnamese noodles are not thoroughly cooked sometimes. I think it is a matter of preference such as how some people like their fish raw or cooked. Some might feel that it isn't sanitary to eat food uncooked or not fully cooked. Some might feel that it takes the taste, purity, or nutrients away to cook it fully.
I think that Bul Dau exhibits both valued and hidden assumptions. The valued assumptions occur first when Bul Dau sees the grocery store; there are so many choices and most of them he seems to regard as frivolous. A bag of leaves as lettuce, a cucumber that he had never seen, but then the banana he did recognize. He seems to have the notion that there would be only as many choices as he had in his own country, maybe a bit different, but not quite so much. As he explains about the dog food and how the dogs are regarded in the US vs. his culture, he can’t believe that “an entire industry had sprung up around the family pet”. His culture seems very different and private while ours is very public and open. He won’t eat food that was next to “insects”, even though it was ham. He also has misgivings about eating food that you would “feed to the goat”.
He is also using hidden assumptions as he expresses the ways of his culture while being offered a “small, sweet food that is distasteful when offered to a grown man”, or that he was “in his culture” to go back to the apartment to eat and never eat in front of people.
Eating food from a different culture can be both scary and delicious. In China, a scorpion is a delicacy, but like Bul, I don’t want to eat something that could have killed me, that just doesn’t seem normal. I think I agree with Bul that my cultural tastes are my own and we all have to listen to ourselves regarding our taste buds.
I see a lot of things in the pictures that Bul probably experienced in his homeland. Growing farming, gathering as a family to eat, preparing the meal, seeds as they grow and develop; these are all things that are portrayed and Very different from the grocery stores we are used to here in the US. Growing our own food is unheard of and takes special permits to accomplish. Nobody is allowed to do those things in the US anymore and we take it for granted.
In the excerpt by Mr. Dau called in the supermarket. Mr. Dau shares many examples of both hidden assumptions, and Value assumptions in regards to comparing American food to African food. For example, a value assumption is made when he is introduced to a tiny slice of pink flesh by the butcher as a sample, he asked what it was? It’s ham a piece of meat from a pig. His initial thought how do these Americans call this Meat? “Meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow”! The second example was when he was directed to the display of vegetables asked by his friend Susan if he wanted some lettuce. He did not know what it was, but it looked to him that she was pointing out a bag of leaves, the kind that he was use to feeding farm animals in Duk Payuel with. Finally, when he sees the cucumber asks his friend Susan what it was she carefully explained; it’s a good vegetable you can slice it and put into a salad. However, to Dau’s eyes it looked similar to what he feed the goats with.
Meanwhile, Mr. Dau hidden assumption were recognized when he walks over to the seafood section, and encountered the lobsters, claims, and shrimp. He asks if people actually eat them. Apparently, he did not want criticize aloud, and said to himself that these items did not look like something good to eat; because the Lobsters and shrimps resembled a big bugs! Unfortunately however, the one hidden assumption that did not see well with me was when it came to mealtime. Mealtimes are separated in the Dinka culture. Therefore, you do not eat in front of other people, not even to peel an orange; moreover, small sweet foods are inappropriate, and an insult if offered to the men, they are for children only. Couldn’t this particular situation have been put to the side for a moment to embrace the American culture?
Indeed, Dau’s experience with food did trigger my own assumptions with certain foods that are different from my own culture. One in particular is the Pilipino culture most consume a food item called billet. I’m probably not pronouncing it correctly, but it’s an egg with a UN hatched bird inside; the way I seen it prepared, and consume was to boil till completion, then poke a hole on top so you where able to suck the contents out. Personally, I thought these people were crazy, and there was no way in heck that I was going to eat that stuff! Call me ignorant, but I’m not doing it!
In conclusion, the kinds of culture assumptions that are made from the image above are how different cultures prepare, provide, and consume food!
Hi David1
i didn't see all of the assumptions that you made about the pictures above. they opened my eyes. I only saw the preparing and gathering and eating as a family. I didn't look closely and what they were doing and who they were. You are right. there are many cultural assumptions being made in those pictures based on what culture and what they are eating in the picture.
In comparing American food to African food Bul dau makes two types of assumptions. He makes value assumptions by saying that ham is not meat. He believes that “meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow.” Another value assumption that he makes is when he asked about cucumbers and he is told that cucumber can be put in salads, but he thinks that lettuce look like what he fed the goats. Moreover, Bul dau makes hidden assumptions when he refuses to eat fish because it is next to the counter where clams and lobsters are. He thinks that they are not good to eat, and compare them with giant insects. Dau’s experience triggers my own assumptions about different food from my own culture. For instance, in my country I used to eat rice everyday at lunch, but when I came to America I realized that here people do not eat rice in their lunch everyday. There are people that just eat a sandwich or frozen food for their lunch. I can not get used to it yet because when I eat a sandwich or any food without rice for my lunch I feel that I have not eaten my lunch yet. In the image I see hidden assumptions because it is based on stereotypes. For instance, there is a man selling hamburgers next to a boy riding a bicycle that has an American flag.
In my country, I used to eat rice in every meal, but when I cam to America I realized that people do not eat rice everyday. They have salads, pastas, sandwiches or frozen food. I prefer to eat rice for my meals, but pastas and sandwiches are delicious too.
Hi Xiaomei,
I like your example that you were curious on American enjoyed eating salad when you came to the United States. In America, people like to eat salad with uncooked vegetables and dressing. In china, people liked to eat cooked vegetables and even cooked meat. The difference of different types of food is because we are in different cultures. I had the same opinion with Mei when I came to the United States. Now, I change my point about salad. I like salad because it is healthy and good. I enjoy adding cucumbers, tiny tomatoes, and carrots in my Home- Made Salad.
The first time when I went to a Vietnamese restaurant and ordered a bowl of noodles, I had a similar shock. The sliced meat looked it’s not cooked well. Did the chef make a mistake? But my friend just told me that Vietnamese are used to make noodles this way; the meat is fresh and tastes good. This really sounded great. However, at that moment, I still doubted whether I would be sick or not after eating this kind of fresh meat.
To Ruiqi,
I put all of Bal Dau's food assumptions under hidden assumptions but I can how Dau's can be both. Every country has their own culture and foods. Their is a certian food idea that is associated to a certain culture. For example,Chinese is rice, Japan is sushi etc. I like the part when you said "Different countries or culture has different ways to eat and cook food and different styles." I agree with this line.
Hello, Xiaomei(Crystal) Wu
As what you have said, in the United States, there are really many different kinds of restaurants which have traditional food of different countries. Like in Korean restaurants their menu often has BBQ food and spicy vegetables such as kimchi. Even though different regions have different culture, they have similarities in making food. For instance, kimchi is similar to the sauerkraut of Germany, the paocai of China, the tsukemono of Japan, and the pickles of other regions.
Thank you
TO Kaki
I had the same experience as you. When I just came here, I had ordered a salad and expected it as fruits salad, but I found that the salad here was made with all vegetables. I didn’t like to eat salad that were just with all vegetables and the taste of uncooked vegetables at first, but now I start to like it.
Thank you
Bul Dau is experiencing the grocery store through his own cultural identity. Culture provides a framework through we understand and question the world and this involves both hidden and value assumptions. Hidden assumptions about masculinity affect how he deems the food appropriate or not. "And small, sweet foods are inappropriate for grown men, who should eat beef and milk." Socially constructed gender roles are often subconscious but affect how we engage in many situations.
Food is an aspect of culture which is heavily influenced by custom and socioeconomics. Bul dau sees many foods in the grocery store as food for farm animals, "Susan asked if I wanted some lettuce. I did not know what that was, but it looked as if she were pointing at a bag of leaves, the kind I fed to farm animalsin Duk Payuel." This could be seen as a value assumption. He is placing value on the recipient of the food.
I have traveled to many different places and am always intrigued and surprised by the food staples in different countries, some of which are easier to eat than others. In Honduras the diet consisted mainly of corn; boiled corn tamales, ground corn milk, ovan toasted whole corn and more. Coming from a culture that incorporates corn, this was an easy transition, but in places like spain that open incorporated parts of an animal like the testicles and the blood, It was much harder to free myself my own value assumptions based on my own culture.
TO Caresse
Thank you for your comment and sharing your ideas. Honestly I am not really sure if Dau’s food assumptions are both of types. However, when Dau makes assumptions based on his experiences and comes up with an unexamined ideas that can affect his thinking, I think that he is making value assumptions.
Ruiqi Chen
TO:Kimvy Nguyen from Annie
I just wanted to say that your experience with the taste of hamburger is really similar to an experience of my own. In spain they use the ink of the squid as a sauce for pasta and seafood much like we think of an Alfredo sauce. When I first got to Madrid I was really apprehensive to try this just because it was so foreign and unlike any taste profile I had had before but once I suspended my own culturally based assumptions I loved it. In and Out is delicious!
Comparing the American food to the Bul dau makes two different assumptions. The first assumption he states "meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow." The second assumption he describes cucumbers he was told that cucumber can be put in salads, but he beliefs that the lettuce looks like the one goats eat. Bul dau makes different assumptions one the different foods. American food is completely different than the food that I grew up with, I was so used to eating tortillas on all my meals it was part of the meal it made it that much better. And here in America tortillas are not that necessary, I remember an occation i was eating pizza and i asked people what happen to the tortillas and although they laugh. They would understand it was my culture but I was willing to explore something else.
I agree with you that American people usually have fast food like hamburger for their meal, while Chinese people usually have rice with meat and vegetables for every meal. Because different countries have different cultures, we should try to get use to the American's culture.
In the "In the Supermarket" by John Bul dau the assumption he makes about comparing African food to American food is that things we buy such as lettuce and certain types of seafood such a fish and shrimp are things he does not eat in his country. He compared the lettuce to bags of leaves, which they feed to their animals. He also compared cucumbers that we eat to things that he feeds the goats in his country. I believe that John Bul dau is making both hidden assumptions and value assumptions. He is making hidden assumption by saying “meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow” and he makes value assumptions when he spoke about the American dogs having a whole aisle of food to feed them when his countrymen during the war where starving and tens of thousand went hungry in refugee camps.
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