Greetings and Happy Midweek!
And since today is mid-month, it’s time for another of our RAP sessions (Review And Process, deeper and wider).
Each RAP revisits a cross-cultural theme or topic from a previous Connect.
This month we are going to revisit the topic of food, specifically looking at cultural differences in what is considered ‘sweet’ or ‘savory’.* And we’ll see what cross-cultural threads we can pull together through this! Our Global SKILLs PROACTive strategies explore these types of differences in several sections including Applications and Transformations. **
An earlier connect (see below in Notes) notices that many folks here in the US consider pumpkins and related squashes as decorations around this harvest time of year, while much of the rest of the world considers these hearty vegetables primarily if not solely as food to be put on the table, or eaten while sitting on a mat around the communal bowl. Given American’s prevailing sweet tooth, when pumpkin is eaten, it is often in a very sweet (delicious!) “pie” and when butternut squash is eaten, it is (wonderfully!) slathered with maple syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon. But in the Middle East and other regions, many varieties of squash are used in richly savory stews, breads, and even drinks. I loved shopping in the ancient Medina in Tunis, where colorful piles of spices (cinnamon, cardamon, allspice) and sweet, dried fruit were sold in stalls alongside vegetables - because these were used to embellish savory dishes.
‘Sweet’ and ‘savory’ cultural moments are also wonderful, aren’t they? Whatever we perceive as sweet stuff, like an unexpected act of kindness, can be so encouraging. And whatever we might perceive as a ‘savory’ situation, like a complicated interaction, can add spice to an otherwise dull day. Watch out though, your friend from another culture might well have a very different take on all this! Let’s treasure both, the easily shared understandings and memories as well as the sometimes challenging new ways we come across to perceive all things sweet and savory!
How about you ~ Name one favorite ingredient you enjoy differently from how a friend enjoys it.
Share about that with your friend or note it here.
And check out the Global SKILLs LINKs below for some sweet and savory ideas…
Thanks for being part of this Connect community.
Until next week,
Betsy
Global SKILLs LINKs
I’ll get you started here on finding different ways to use familiar sweet or savory ingredients:
~ in the US, pumpkin is for the most part considered sweet https://www.frugalandthriving.com.au/savoury-pumpkin-pie/
~ in many places fruits and spices are used in savory dishes
Now…it’s your turn!
Notes:
* Previous Connect posts which covered this topic are: 11/25/20 when we considered how pumpkin squash are used; 11/24/21 where we looked at food preparations, specifically dry ingredients. To revisit these use this link: https://www.globalskillspartners.com/blog-1
** Through my business Global SKILLs and several partner subsidiaries I offer unique cross-cultural consulting and training including:
3 Dimensional Dynamics Model: 1st dimension = HOME ; 2nd dimension = HOST ; 3rd dimension = HARBOR)
PROACTive Learning Strategies:
PRO = PROfile, PROcess, PROgram
ACT = Application, Collaboration and Transformation (which we explored this week)
~ contact me for more information on this model and these strategies and how you might use them in your current programming
2022 ~ Celebrating 40+ years of working in
intercultural communications and global community building
“It takes a community to build a community”
Please Note: this is copyrighted content.
Please do not reproduce or share without my permission (betsy.barbour@gmail.com)