During the past weeks I had to meet with different professors,school staff and friends for different activities I am involved on campus. I just had meetings back to back and I just realized that every one those had to involved food. Sometimes, it was a breakfast, lunch,dinner or in the middle of the days. But, I spend my days eating cookies, brownies and different things to munch in every meeting. Is that important to eat so many times a day or did culture makes as think that we need food to be able to socialize. This is something that not only happens here but also happen in every other country that I has the opportunity to visit. I am going home for fall break and when I looked at my agenda for the 4 days that I am going to be there, is full of breakfast, lunch and dinners. I will have to go to every single one of them because I need to see all my friends and family.

This week I went and talked to the group of students that will be going on Lafayette’s interim trip to South Africa this January. I went on the same trip this past year and loved it. The trip was one of the greatest experiences of my life. While in South Africa I had the opportunity to experience a completely different culture, see a beautiful, very different landscape, and even try some new foods.

A big part of South African culture is a meal called a braii. Braiis are basically the South African version of barbeques. They are usually made outdoors in an open braii pit where food is slow cooked over a wood fire. At our braiis we mainly ate meat with some starch side dishes, and usually a light salad beforehand. The braiis last for hours and are a very social experience, but probably the most unique thing about our braiis was the food I got to taste. At the beginning of our trip I tried springbok, ostrich, and warthog at a braii-style restaurant. Later, while on safari, we had our first real braii where I ate impala and kudu (for those of you who have never heard of a kudu it is kind of like a big deer with white stripes, but I’ve included a picture of one we saw on safari for reference). I asked the cook about the food and found out that impala and kudu fall into the venison family.

What is with those foods that you absolutely can’t have just a few? What is it that makes them so addicting? Texture? Size? Flavor? All of the above? Pringles, Cheez-Its, Wheat Thins, Ritz Crackers, Goldfish, pistachios, honey wheat pretzels…the next time you feel like munching on one of these delicious but dangerous snacks, I dare you to try and eat only a handful. If you succeed, I envy your willpower.

Just the other day I bought a bag of those Toasted Ritz Chips, thinking that they would be nice to have in the room if I ever wanted a small dose of something crunchy. Yes, that would have been nice. However, within two days the bag was gone, just like that, donezo. I was doing my homework while eating the Toasted Ritz goodness and I had one of those reach in the bag and nothing’s there moments, which was both impressive and appalling. I was not only disgusted with myself, but also extremely upset that there were none left. What was it about these chips that caused me to completely devour them in minutes?

Each day gets a little cooler than the one before it. I find myself wrapped in a blanket closing my windows. The sun starts on its descent earlier and earlier. Fall has arrived, my favorite season of the year. Maybe it's because I was born in the fall and have some strange connection to it. Or maybe it’s because I grew up on a farm where fall is the most important time, the end of a whole year's efforts. Whatever it is, I can't get enough of the fall atmosphere. Sweaters at night. Leaves changing colors. And most importantly, the seasonal food! From Pumpkin lattes at the Cosmic Cup to maple syrup cookies, and from pumpkin pie to apple streusel, everything has that rich fall aroma, full of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin. Maybe even more popular at this time are apples. Apple pies, apple cookies, apple cider, apple cider doughnuts, caramel apples, apples dipped in chocolate and peanuts, and apple salads just to name a few. Where could you find such a plethora of apple creations? At the innumerable apple festivals held each year throughout the country. Apple and fall festivals have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. For me, there are few things that beat building scarecrows while sipping hot cider. Or taking the first bite of a warn apple cider doughnut on a hayride. I writing, I began to wonder why apples play such an important role in US culture. Aside from their commercial and nutritional value, apples have many superstitions associated with them. I thought I would share a few with you here:

During the majority of my life, global warming has been the hot topic scientific and political debate. The majority of those who subscribe to the concept of global warming agree that it is a result of the emission of greenhouse gasses. The major concern among these subscribers is the emission of the most abundant greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. The general consensus seems to be that the remedy for global warming is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released by making changes in the personal transportation sector because our major forms of transportation. Although this is certainly a contributing factor to today’s increasing problem of global warming, other important contributing factors are the less abundant greenhouse gasses, such as methane and nitrous oxide.

Why do you eat what you eat?

Have you ever thought about the reasons why you choose to eat the food you eat? I mean, have you ever sat down and asked yourself, “Jess, why are you eating a bagel with cream cheese?” “John, why are eating an ice cream cone with hot fudge?” Or, “Melanie, why are eating a pan seared steak topped with marinated shrimp with a side of roasted garlic parmesan red potatoes and steamed asparagus?” Personally, I never have until I watched Super Size Me.

In this film, Morgan Spurlock associates his depression with not eating McDonald’s and happiness with eating food from this establishment. Overtime, it appears that the sum of his emotional well-being was dependent upon this fast food corporation’s eatable output. This became more apparent as the viewer could see the happiness that consumed Spurlock while he was eating McDonald’s food. Therefore, although Spurlock began this experiment in an effort to see the effects of eating fast food for every meal, he continued this experiment, because it simply made him “happy.”

I have had the privilege of experiencing some amazing things in my life. I have climbed to the peak of the Swiss Alps, I have walked the halls of the Sistine Chapel, and I have stood atop the Arc de Triompe. During my first semester of my senior year at Lafayette, I have witnessed something arguably as impressive: the fast food giant of Lafayette. I will leave names out, but there is a student at Lafayette who has mastered the art of eating enormous quantities of fast food.

I would be a hypocrite to ignore the fact that I indulge in the occasional fast food binge, but this person takes binge to a whole new level. He is to fast food what Michael Jordan is to basketball, Kobayashi is to hotdogs, and George Bush is to incompetence. While most people feel completely disgusted an hour after a large fast food meal (What our friend Morgan Spurlock refers to as the “McStomach ache”), this person feels only satisfaction after completing a massive fast food meal. You would think that this person just got a 4.0 GPA or a text from a girl he met at Drinky’s during their notorious college nights the way he wallows in complete ecstasy after his meal.

I can’t believe it’s finally here. How long have I been anticipating this day to come and now that it’s finally here, why am I so terrified to go? Stuffing my over weight suitcases with as many clothes as possible for the next 5 months, double checking my flight itinerary, passports, oh wow what a stressful process.
Going to Spain, more specifically the Basque Country was something that was very normal to me, yet strange to everyone I knew. I didn’t know of anyone that had to cross the Atlantic to see anyone in their extended family. Ever since I could remember my summers have been a whirlwind of family reunions in Arrate or Urdaibai in the Pyrenees and afternoons spent at the beach, and as cheesy as might sound, filled with a lot of happy memories. Memories that could never be repeated or replaced.

Entry 1

If given the opportunity, what would you change about yourself?

What is your best feature?

Define beautiful.

Is there a difference between society’s definition of beautiful and pop culture’s definition of beautiful? Or, does pop culture determine society’s definition of beautiful?

Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to explore the definition of beautiful. At the end of the semester, I hope to discover the connection between beauty and myself, a 21 year old African-American woman who weights 165 pounds, loves to cook, and desires to live a healthier lifestyle.

On a macroscopic level I will be conducting interviews, administering surveys, and compiling video documentaries surrounding the topic of beauty.

On a more microscopic level, I will endeavor to live a healthier life with a heavy emphasis on accountability. Therefore, my blog entries will consist of weekly reports on my progress.

This semester has been a really busy one. The second week of school, I had a very tired and long day and my roommate decided to surprise me with a nice meal to make me feel better about my day. I was really excited to come home for a home made meal because she prepared everything from scratch. She prepared rice and a type of chicken that looked yellow, and she told me that the chicken may be a little bit hot. I usually do not eat spicy food but I was so happy that she did something like that I did not pay attention to that comment. The first piece of chicken I put into my mouth and I felt that everything inside me was burning. I started drinking water and bread but nothing was stopping the reaction. Sometimes, I forget that my roommate is from Nepal and that a little bit spicy means REALLY HOT!! .