Adrian Karapunarly If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I Narrative Essay Adrian Karapunarly Fall 2020, English 1010 Word Count: 595 Greeta Kothari, like most foreign kids in America, grew up eating different foods. During Greeta’s childhood, she had a very different selection of food than most people would eat in America. It is a complicated lifestyle for her because she does not like either sometimes. She feels like she can not identify herself in either culture sometimes. With Kothari’s experience, I do understand and can relate to her. My family is also foreign and I grew up in Slavic culture with Slavic food. The food is very different than what I would hear most people eat. I would also eat American food; I know how she feels when she doesn’t completely locate herself with American culture. But since I am not the only child; my siblings also are able to understand. We are all able to connect because of this and to this day we still have gatherings and eat the same foods. I was one of three out of eight children who were born in the United States. The rest of my siblings were born in Europe. Since we were foreign we grew up in a different culture with different food. My family didn’t just change lifestyles completely once they moved here. They definitely had to adjust but the food was something that stayed the same. My parents would rarely get food that was not from Slavic culture. I grew up eating this kind of food but when I first encountered American delicacies it was obviously strange. Although since I was one of the youngest in the family I got to experience this food a lot more. There was a lot more food I liked Adrian Karapunarly than my traditional diet. Growing up it was basically a big cycle of all of the same food and. So to transition to a different food style gave a big opening to a lot more possibilities. Even though I grew up eating my traditional food, I now eat closer to American food. For the purpose of my health. Since there are a lot more possibilities that means there will be a lot more healthy options. Not all Slavic food is healthy and as nutritious as other alternatives. Most dishes are filled with oil and sometimes don’t have a lot of flavors. It was much easier for me to go out and make my own food especially if I needed something healthy. It wasn’t a hard decision but I still continue to eat Slavic food because they feed my cravings. As well as me my family also feel the same way. Whenever we have gatherings we usually eat Slavic meals. During holidays or just a regular Sunday, we all go and eat at my mother’s house. Usually, it’s Slavic dishes she prepares for everyone. While we all eat differently now we still enjoy the food she makes. It’s pretty much the center of the gathering. Everyone goes to eat and talk about themselves like a family would do. It is still a big part of all of our lives since it brings everyone together. It has been in everyone’s life and it hasn’t just disappeared. It’s still consumed regularly even if it’s not the main source of food. Although my story was simpler than Greeta Kothari’s, I am still able to relate to some of her issues. It is understandable about not being able to identify with neither culture. Growing up was an obscure time to deal with food. As an adult it’s much more manageable to pick food and be able to balance what I like from each culture.
