Take Me Back

     Now that the term is nearing the end, I feel that it is important for me to return to the questions I wanted to ask myself at the beginning of term. I wondered how people, like myself cope with culture shock. Before heading out here to London, we were all prepped by an advisor about the four stages of culture shock: Honeymoon phase, Hostility, Humor, and Home. Everyone’s experience with culture shock is different some people get it really bad while other’s barely feel affected. I may be one of those who are barely affected. I think that surrounding myself with other people helped me cope with whatever culture shock I had encountered (I don’t really remember). Perhaps London, is just too similar to the US that it wasn’t as big as a shock to me as it would have been for someone studying abroad in Japan. From my time here the only thing that made me feel remotely stunned was the food. It contributes greatly to culture shock, realizing everything that you were comfortable with digesting has disappeared and now you have to let something abnormal to you sit within your stomach. The constant comparing that was done while we were eating and trying different things just refers to our need of comfort. Along the way we were constantly comparing things to something else only because we are exposed to similar situations back home.

     Living in Hawai’i is so simple compared to living in London. The only thing to adjust to is the pace. Hawai’i has what they like to call “Hawaiian Time” meaning we get there when we get there, we do things when we do things. There is no need to rush. Living in a giant city, I constantly felt like I was forced to move in fast-paced manners, however, I no longer care. Everyone has their own pace, mine is just a lot slower than here. Just as Hawai’i’s food culture is heavily influenced by the multitude of different ethnicities that make up the communities, London’s food culture has dishes from all over the world. The only place that London needs on their food map is a Hawaiian place.

Title of the post was taken from this song:

Work Cited

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. New York: Sam’l Gabriel Sons & Company,        1916. Digital File.

Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. New York: Puffin Books, 1998. Digital File.

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist or the Parish Boy’s Progress. Tustin: Xist, 2014. Kindle.

“Ehukai… “Moloka’i Slide””  YouTube. YouTube. n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.

Ephron, Nora. Heartburn. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1996. Kindle.

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Arthur A. Levine, 1999.     Print.

Wallace, Sam. “The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin, 1594, 1597.” The Good   Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin, 1594, 1597. N.p. n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2015

Surprise, it's illegal!

    With Easter just around the corner and our class having just read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I thought it would be appropriate to write about Kinder Surprise. They are illegal in the United States of America. Yes, these children confectionary products are illegal in the USA because of the risk of choking on the toys inside. While many children in Europe get giant Kinder Surprise eggs for Easter, in America, they get giant, hollow chocolate bunnies because eating a giant chocolate egg is weirder than eating a giant chocolate bunny. When I was younger, I remember there being a similar treat known as the Wonder Ball that had either a toy or more candy inside. These are also banned in America. Being able to get my hands on a Kinder Surprise, took me back to when I was a child. The thought that both of these candies are banned in the United States only reinforced my need to eat this chocolate.

     The other Hawai’i girl that I live with bought one just to reminisce about her childhood as well. Hilarity ensued when she took a great big bite out the egg only to have the entire thing shatter and crumple onto the table. Picking up the pieces, we tried to remember what it was like as child to bite into the chocolate and discover something inside (obviously we didn’t choke on the prizes), and we barely remembered them. These moments that we attempted to relive as adults no longer holds the same meaning as they did when we were children. However, we did get some sort of thrill knowing that what we were eating was illegal…in America.

Natasja is so excited about this illegal egg. 

Nando's and Zippy's

     In this week alone, I have eaten at a Nando’s restaurant 3 times, twice in Soho and once in Hammersmith. Now, I’m not obsessed with this food chain, but just like the fish and chips, I was advised to eat here. Past study abroad students from my home university often raved about Nando’s being the best chicken they have ever had. This being my last week in England, I thought that it was best to eat at Nando’s as much as possible (also I don’t have anything in my fridge or cupboards) since Hawai’i, or even America for that matter, has a Nando’s. Against all popular opinions of this restaurant’s chicken, I have had better.

Nando's 

     There is no Nando’s chain in Hawai’i, and there is no Zippy’s in the continental United States. What is Zippy’s? Zippy’s is a Hawai’i restaurant chain that focuses on many local favorites like their famous chili (trust me it’s a local favorite) to saimin. If there is one thing to know about Hawai’i, it is that we like to grind (Hawaiian Pidgin English: to eat). I would often find myself calling my best friend in the middle of the night so I could pick her up just to make a quick stop at Zippy’s. If you were to go there in the middle of the night or early in the morning, you could find the most interesting characters, from the most-likely-still-drunk-from-the-club to the respectable businessman, Zippy’s is the go to restaurant.

Zippy's Zip Pack

     Founded in the 1960’s by Francis and Charles Higa, Zippy’s pulls from the multitude of cultures that reside within Hawai’i. During Hawai’i’s plantation days, many of the workers had emigrated from different Asian countries, the first of whom were Chinese, then Japanese, Koreans, and Filipinos. Their cultures converged, as they had to learn to coexist with one another, they created a new ways of communicated, Hawaiian Pidgin English, and shared cultural dishes. Zippy’s houses most of these cultures with Korean Chicken, Fish Tempura, Spam and rice, all within a single plate known as the Zip Pack.While Nando's pulls from Portuguese influences, Zippy's has bragging rights of being better because it is able to unite so many different cultures in one place, and still be really, really, really good.

Fish and Nope.

    Before my arrival in London many family members and few friends constantly told me one thing, try the fish and chips. Such an iconic dish stapled to such a city was even mentioned at being in some sort of existence in Charles Dickens’Oliver Twist and the “fried fish warehouse.” Quite literally the next day of my arrival in London, I found a pub that served fish and chips. A filet of Haddock covered in oily batter served with a large portion of fries…I was completely disappointed. The hype of this dish was immediately crushed the moment I cut into the fish and realized the batter to fish ratio was at too much batter and not enough fish. I thought that it was just the pub’s inability to cook a decent fish and chips, so I tried it again, two more times to be exact. I don’t even want to discuss the second attempt to enjoy this dish. The third time and final time, I gave me a little more hope for this dish.

     I had taken a day trip down to Brighton and was given instructions to try fish and chips from there. Given the last time I was told to try fish and chips, I was fairly sure that I was going to be disappointed once more, but I took the chance. I waited to be seated by a restaurant with an ocean front view with my fingers crossed, hoping that this time I will be satisfied enough to never have to try this again. Thankfully the ocean town knew what it was doing when it came to this dish. The fish and chips were both gold and crispy. It wasn’t oily like the first time and was not atrocious like the second. I am just glad to know that the “fried fish warehouse” of England never has to follow me home…