There are nearly 40,000 restaurants in London. An incredible number!
In addition to traditional British historic pubs and coffee houses, most of them offer ethnic cuisine. You can taste the specialties of every country in the world, from the Colombian Bandeja Paisa to the Iranian Tahdig rice, from the Mexican Chilaquiles to all the versions of the Asian Dumplings just to name a few, but there is a whole wonderful universe of flavors and aromas available to those who want to enrich their experience and mind.
Over the years I have been in London with many students I have been happy to notice a change in their attitude towards ethnic food. Several years ago, when choosing where to have dinner together and suggesting them a Lebanese, Japanese or Thai restaurant for instance, the reaction was often the same: " no teacher, let's eat Italian ... better a pizza ... I don't like it! .... we cannot eat a lot there! ... it's spicy! " Then, after insisting for a long time, some of them were able to appreciate dishes they tasted for the first time. But only a few.
During more recent mobility, the most requested dishes were not the Italian ones, but rather the ethnic ones. "Teacher, Japanese tonight, ok? .... ok with Ramen at Japan Center! ... why don't we go to Din Tai Fung in Covent Garden? .... nice that fusion place in Soho! ... teacher, why don't we go back to Saffron tonight?
What a joy to see that they have finally begun to approach and taste new food! Food is the culture of a population. It is difficult to separate food from the culture that generated it. Many dishes stand for both the distinctive products and the history of a country. Getting involved in the atmosphere of an ethnic restaurant, feeling its scents, observing the colours of its dishes and tasting its unique notes, help us to know the people who are part of it more deeply, bring us closer to their thoughts and preferences. We can understand what they love. Every country has its own traditions and food and the way it is cooked and served, represents its soul.
When you live your Erasmus experience, take full advantage of this opportunity!
Be curious! Curiosity, innate or demanded by people and situations we run into in our life, is the starting point, an immense resource that pushes us to experience the essence of far countries. And this can only help us grow, open ourselves to others, to the world.
Flavors and local foods, the typical cuisine of the territories belong to the "Intangible Cultural Heritage" (Convention for the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage - UNESCO - Paris 2003)
Daniela
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