My Families' Foodways

I'm sick so today i'm having home made chicken broth soup.


My mother was born in Haiti, but was raised in the United States, when she hears food she thinks of Haitian food, specifically djon djon (Haitian black mushroom rice), and dinner at her grandmother's house. She believes she has the same eating habits and food values as my great-grandmother, such as everyone eating at the table and spending time together. The typical dinner's my mom used to have was basically a 3 course meal, appetizers, salad, a main meal (rice, chicken, beef, pasta it varied), and than supper which was always something light. When I lived in Haiti that was the same way I ate everyday as well, until I moved back here. When my mom moved to the United States, everything was the same as it was in Haiti. Things only changed when my mother was a teenager and would go straight home instead of my great grandmothers house afterschool. By than my mom knew hot to cook, so her and my aunt (her sister) would make dinner and go watch TV in there rooms or go outside and hang out. My mom thinks my generation eats more junction food and, eat out more and eat less home cooked meals. She believes it's mainly in the United States that people have less family table habits. She also said an interesting comment about how in the united stated states the time to eat is short, unlike other countries where eating is more sacred and eat for longer periods so instead of an hour lunch its maybe 2 hours, so they have a resting period. My mom thinks food is sacred, but doesn’t think in the united state food is seen as being sacred, but people who are less fortunate probably do because they work hard to eat. My mom thinks that I have some of my families table values, because I grew up with those values, because when we have to eat at the table I do. It’s only when I’m home I don't eat at the table wait for people, because it’s my mom and I, but if I’m ever at my grandmothers, or grandaunts, or granduncles house, I always do because there’s more people in their house. My mom thinks the reason many people who become Americanized probably lose their eating habits is because the united states is very diverse people of different cultures start to adapt with the other persons culture, and start using less of their habits.