Rice AND Chapatti: How to Adapt

Today I brought my first home-cooked meal to work for lunch. I was proud of myself for spending 1.5 hours cooking last night and decided that it (finally) tasted good enough to take to share with coworkers. When we sat down to lunch, I opened my tiffin (lunch) box and was immediately ridiculed. I brought rice and chapatti?!? But how do you eat rice AND chapatti? Chapati goes with vegetables not rice! I tried to point out that the rice was actually 50% vegetables, but to no avail. Don’t try to speak above Indian women when it comes to food.

My perspective on food can represent my outlook on cultural assimilation. New food is fun and exciting to try. It’s a new experience and helps open my mind to new things. Often, it tastes good and I want to try more. Yet eventually, I will crave a good cheeseburger and an Americanized burrito loaded with cheese and guacamole. And vice versa for the host country; they will try mac n’ cheese and PBJ, but ultimately, they are going to ask for a plate of rice.

I believe that 100% assimilation is rarely achieved because at the core we are our native selves. At the core, I will eventually desire a cheeseburger, which will bring me out of the culture I’m adapting to, if only for a few minutes. And during those 5 blissful minutes, I will mentally transport myself to a sunset mountain-view in my parent’s backyard and remember the culture I came from, my roots.

Have I adapted to India? Yes. If I hadn’t I wouldn’t be happy here. I have a better understanding of the work environment, scheduling and the benefits of clear communication. I now have a deeper appreciation for their religion, and even more so, their devotion to their set of personal values. And I now call strangers “sir and “madam,” a habit I now find endearing. But, sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I cannot help but wonder, “what are they thinking when they do that?”

I’m sure they do the same with me and wonder, “why is she eating rice AND chapatti?” or “why doesn’t she let any random stranger drink from her water bottle like everyone else?” And no matter how many months pass, I will still stick out like a sore thumb and win the stares of children and adults alike.

Overall, I will adapt where I can and need to. But, undoubtedly, I can’t assimilate in every way. Sometimes I will use my house as a cultural reprieve (my own, self-created mini-America) by bursting in to my house in the evenings, putting on a tank top, cooking pasta and watching The Office in one rapid sweep. Other times, I will embrace a chaotic night at the local market bargaining for DVDs and vegetables.

I am grateful to India for teaching me what it has thus far. And I’m excited to know that I have so much more to learn. I will continue to eat traditional breakfasts of idly (a fine rice & lentil patty) and sambar (a spicy vegetable soup). But God knows when I get my hands on a bowl of yogurt, fruit and granola drizzled with honey, I will be in heaven. Yum.