| I like rice, so rice was my major food at every meal in my country. Now that I've come to San Francisco, I eat some once a day, and it is not as delicious as my country's. I can't cook well. I don't enjoy cooking. However, I sometimes cooked food if I had something I wanted to eat. At that time I went to the supermarket or found ingredients that I needed to cook at cooking sites on the Internet. But now I feel some difficulty to buy something at the supermarket. I don't know all of the English names of foods and ingredients because my English is weak. In San Francisco, I haven't gone to any restaurants. I want to go to many kinds of ethnic restaurants. I don't like meat except for chicken. I think meat is an oily food and it's chewy and not fresh. I like vegetables. American food almost always includes meat. I don't really like American food. It makes us get fatter and gain weight.--Eun Sook |
| I'm from Russia and like Russian food. I eat borscht and meat fried in the pan. I like fried potatoes and eggs. I like cold soup made from potatoes and sorrel. I like fruits (apples, strawberries, and pineapple). I dislike sushi. When I came to the USA, all the products were the same as in Russia, but prepared a different way. In the USA the vegetables have more chemicals than in Russia. American people go to restaurants all the time. The kitchen in an American home is always clean. The habit of American people is to go in a shop to buy a lot of food on the weekend. I eat in a restaurant one day a month. I go to the Russian restaurant Russian Bear. That is my favorite restaurant.--Iosif |
| In nineteen fifty-five I went from Peking to Yunnan Province, Lan Jong County, to work in a lead mine. It is a no good food, no meat, no vegetable area. There was no supermarket and no store. On Sunday, my wife and I went to the country to look for some native women to buy eggs, meat, and vegetables from because they went to the farmer's market to sell their products and to exchange for things that they needed. Ten years passed and the situation had changed greatly. Stores and restaurants were opened and we could buy anything. In 1988, I arrived in San Francisco. We can eat very good food. In the supermarket we can buy anything. There are many favorite restaurants we can go to. I feel very happy and enjoy myself.--Tony |
| I'm from Korea. I like Korean food, especially kimchi. When I came here, my family was really worried about my food because I'm a vegetarian and I couldn't imagine being without kimchi and Korean food. So, I brought instant Korean food--more than my clothes or books--because I thought I couldn't buy Korean food at that time. Now I know I can buy Korean food in this city. I love pancakes, Chinese food, and Japanese food. I'm trying to eat all kinds of food and enjoy them. One time, I was invited by my friend who is a Japanese-American for dinner. I ate soba. We usually eat silently when I eat noodles, but in Japan, they make a sound because it is more polite.--Giryun |
| I like all kinds of food if they are tasty. A new food for me was Japanese food, especially sushi. It was very exotic, but I don't like raw fish. I'm very intereted in new dishes, but my habits don't change. Russian food is good for me. I like Chinese cuisine and sometimes my family goes to a Chinese restaurant. I go shopping at least once a week and buy my food in different supermarkets. (It depends on sales.) In my country I went to farmer's markets more because it was cheaper and better than in the store. In San Francisco I don't eat in restaurants very often. I don't like to go to the Russian restuarants because they are so expensive. My favorite restaurants are French and sometimes Italian. I like European style. I don't like the fast food restaurants. My favorite foods are meat, fish, seafood and vegetables, if they are tasty and not very spicy.--Lilya |
| Certainly my style of eating is very different than American customs. In my country, we usually cook some natural products like rice, wheat, potatoes, or bananas. We also cook some hot or soft meals based on a lot of various fishes, and we have mangoes, pineapple, papayas, lichees, or tangarines for dessert. There are many ways we cook because of the different influences from Indian, Arabic, African, Malayo-Indonesian, and French cooking customs. Two of our special meals, among many others, are the mkatre wa siniya and the madaba. For cooking the first one, which is a type of cake, you need the following ingredients: flour, coconut juice, salt, oil, and sugar, but for the final preparation you must leave it under the sun for 24 hours before really baking it. --Ali |
| Filipino is the best food for me, especially adobo. Adobo is the most popular food in our country. My husband really likes it too. I used to cook this kind of food twice a week. And not only adobo, there is a lot of food there that you can find and you can love because the taste is good. Here in America, people like eating cereal with milk, fruit and dessert for their breakfast. For lunch they like roast beef with gravy, green salad with dessert, and for dinner things like baked chicken with potatoes and carrots, etc. with gravy and dessert. But in our country it is different. In the morning we eat things like rice with egg or fish and water. That's all. For lunch, rice with meat and vegetables, and for dinner rice, fish, meat and vegetables again, with water. We could buy everything here because there are lots of stores with Asian food here in San Francisco, so I can cook all kinds of Filipino foods. The new kind of food that I've tried since I arrived here was American food, because we stayed at the house of my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. My brother-in-law is American, so when my sister-in-law cooked our food, for breakfast she gave me cereal with milk or bread with butter or jelly. I couldn't eat because I never tried that before in our country. Also, the salads were all greens and I never saw it in my country either. I didn't touch it, so my sister- and brother-in-law were worried about me because I wasn't eating. I decided to find out where the Filipino stores were to buy some stuff, and then I was going to have our own food. In our country there are only small farmer's markets because the population there is too small. We very seldom eat in restaurants, usually on our anniversary and birthdays.--Maribeth |
| I'm from Lebanon. I eat Mediterranean food. In my country we have bread with every meal. Some food is similar to American food, and some eating customs are similar. When I got married in the USA there was no time for cooking because I was working. There was mostly time to eat in a restaurant. I ate Mexican food, and Japanese food, like sushi. It was new for me. In my country, people shop every day. Everthing is fresh. We get it from the farmers in small stores or from the supermarkets. My favorite restaurant is Spinnakers in Sausalito. I usually eat Mediterranean food. I can't eat Chinese food too much because I get tired of it. I like to eat lichees. In my country we don't have it. In my country we have Italian and French food besides our food.--Sania |
| My first impression when I arrived in San Francisco was that the food is not so different from that in Switzerland, but when you look deeper, you can find some differences. What is different is that Americans mix the food more; for example, when you go to the restaurant and you want to eat just a green salad, it's difficult to find because they like to put many things in the salad. The second thing is the size of the plates. They are very big. You can never finsh your plate. Yes, you have many little differences in thinking about food. The taste is not exactly the same as that in Switzeland, but it is not so shocking. And in San Francisco you can find everything; Chinese food, Indian food, Mexican food, European food, and American food.--Laeticia |
| In my native country, we usually hold a bowl to drink soup, but here I saw Americans always use a spoon to eat soup, and they make the soup very differently. For example, if somebody has a cold in my country, they can't drink chicken soup, but here, I heard somebody say, "Eat some chicken soup. It's good for a cold." They say chicken soup is like medicine, but I don't know. Maybe I'll try it.--Joanne. |
| I love to eat. In my hometown, Nanjing, salt-cured duck is a very famous dish. The duck isn't fat like here. It isn't fat and it smells good. I used to have that twice a week. Many tourists buy the Nanjing duck to take back to give to a friend as a gift. In America I have been trying lots of different kinds of food, but I still miss the taste of Nanjing duck. In San Francisco I love to have French food. I like lamb chops, crab cakes, fois gras, duck breast and baked mussels. When I eat in a French restaurant, I always drink a glass of wine. Wine makes food taste better! Then I have a cup of coffee. That will be perfect! I am always on a diet, but I never stop having delicious food.--Cindy |
| I like all kinds of food, but not too spicy. American eating customs are different than in my country, because we eat cheese with tea or orange juice in the morning. Then at 1 or 2 PM, we eat lunch, and this is the most important meal of the day. Then we eat dinner. In my country we used to buy all the food and other things that are necessary for the house in the supermarkets. We used to go twice a week.--Cristina |
| I was so surprised when I went to a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco, because everybody ate sushi with rice. Most people put soy sauce over the bowl of rice. If you order sashimi, I understand, but... I couldn't buy fresh chicken meat. I like chicken sashimi. It's very good. I'd like to try everything, different foods and restaurants, but my husband doesn't like new things. We always go to the same restaurants; Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese. One day we went to an Indian restaurant. He didn't say anything. It meant it was not good! American food has everything on a big big plate. It is a Japanese custom, "You must finish your plate." It was difficult for me before. Now it's okay, but I've gotten fat.--Ako |
| I had a small talk with a Swiss friend yesterday. In her native country, they usually like to eat pasta for their daily meal. When she was in her native country, she usually had to go shopping and buy food in the supermarket two to three times a week. When she first arrived here, she really enjoyed staying in San Francisco. She likes to try food from different countries. Japanese food and Indian food are her favorites.--Helen |
| In my native country, people have three meals a day. They usually shop early every morning and buy everything for the whole day. Our custom is when a family member has a birthday or a promotion, we eat out with family or friends. When I came to San Francisco there were some differences, because when we ate out at an American restaurant, all the people used forks. No one used chopsticks, and there was no rice either. Now I have been living here for many years. I have gotten used to it. I can eat everything if I like it.--Lindy |
| I really miss lichees. They taste very fresh and sweet. When I wanted to eat them, I always picked them off a tree or went to the farm to buy them when I was in my country. But I can't get them here like that, fresh and sweet. After I came to San Francisco fortunately I found another favorite fruit. That is durian and it is new to me. When I was in my country I never used to eat durian because it was very expensive and it was hard to find in the market. Finally, I am used to eating durian two times a month. I really enjoy it.--Kerry |
| I am good at eating. I like to eat everything. Before I came to San Francisco, I had been in many countries in the world and had eaten different kinds of food. My eating habits changed depending on the country I was living in, but I kept my native eating habits most of all. I was surprised at how many different kinds of food you can get in San Francisco. A lot of people from different countries can shop for food they like, because there are many shops like in China, in Russia, in Mexico, etc. I am interested in eating different kinds of food in restaurants, but I can't afford to do it often. If I go out, I usually have Japanese, Chinese, or Thai food.--Irina |
| There are many kinds of food in San Francisco.; Mexican food, American food, Japanese food, Korean food, Chinese food, Thai food, etc. I am very lucky I can live here to try different kinds of food. Most food I liked, especially Japanese food. It is heealthy, has not too much oil, and it tastes good. Usually I cook by myself. I like to steam fresh fish and cook many vegetables, but it is a little difficult to eat fresh fish here because we shop once a week, not like in my native country. We used to shop every day, so we ate fresh fish every day. Now we eat fresh fish only onSaturday or Sunday. Anyway, I will try to learn how to cook other kinds of food, because there are many kinds of food here.--Emily |
| American eating customs are somewhat different from those in my native country. In America, breakfast and lunch are casual, and Americans will have a good dinner. But in my native country it is different. Breakfast and lunch are very important. You must eat enough for breakfast and lunch because a person needs plenty of energy to work in the daytime. In the evening they will have a good dinner, but not any more, so that they can rest well. When I came to San Francisco, I could taste all kinds of food here. I feel very happy. Although there are also many kinds of food in my native city, it's expensive, so I must taste different food here. I like seafood, Japanese food, sushi, barbeque and so on. Sometimes I eat in restaurants with my family.--Ricky |
| Food is very important to me. I like to eat, but I especially like sweet food. I can eat cookies and ice cream all day long, but of course I don't because it isn't healthy. I don't have any difference between eating in Russia and eating here. There are a lot of Russian markets, and I can cook only Russian menus. My knowledge in cooking is very poor because in Russia I seldom used to cook; my mother did. Now that I don't have my mother with me, I have to cook for myself and I like it. Yesterday evening, for example, I did a special meat with vegetables, which were still fresh in my fridge. At first I fried the cubes of meat in hot oil until boiling and then I added some beans from a can and then onions, carrots, and celery. Finally I added a little salt and pepper and some tomato paste and a cube of chicken broth and poured hot water on it so they wouldn't fry, but stew. After 1 to 2 minutes I turned off the stove. The dish was done. My husband said it was delicious. I didn't try it because it was too late for me, but today when I come home after school I'll eat it with great pleasure because I'll be so hungry.--Julia |