The First Crack

            Since I am an international student, coming all the way from Hawaiʻi, I have noticed often times, myself as well as the other students coming from Hawaiʻi find comfort in the familiar. When we do find things that are similar to what we have at home (like sushi), we often find oursevles comparing London to Hawaiʻi. This blog was created to find out whether it is because we just like Hawaiʻi food more than London food, or if it is a result from culture shock. Throughout the term, and perhaps even after the end (we will be traveling together to other countries) I hope to answer these questions:

1. How do people cope with culture shock?
2. What contributes to culture shock? Does food play a big factor?
3. Why do we, as students from Hawaiʻi compare new experiences with familiar ones? Is it a part of the culture shock?
4. What makes the island home that we’re from and the island that we are currently residing different?
5. What influences the London food culture? Hawaiʻi?
6. What differences, other than the obvious, have we found with Hawaiʻi and London?

I hope this food journey is not a struggle, and will lead us to new and exciting things. From what we have experienced so far, there is nothing that we will not try, and no where we will not try to go to find home in London. As we search through London for things that I hope will remind us of Hawaiʻi, we will also attempt to try foods that we have only read about in books that we have had within our own personal libraries. Therefore, all the while that we are here exploring this great city, we will not only be comparing it to our own foods found at home, but also to the foods that we have grown up reading about.

Aloha,

Moani

List of books:

• Aliceʻs Adventures in Wonderland –Lewis Carrol
• Mad Tea Party
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban- J.K.  Rowling
• Butterbeer
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
• Bird Egg Sweets