Assignment Description
The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to a new cultural food experience. As part of the assignment you will visit an ethnic food market of a culture that you have never experienced before.
Deliverables
For this experience you will need to write a two-to-three page paper reflecting on how this experience enhanced your awareness of the interconnectedness and diversity of the food culture and upload a receipt to prove you were at the store you are writing about.
All papers must be word-processed, double-spaced, Times New Roman and 10-12 point size font with one-inch margins. Be sure to include the name and neighborhood of the market you visited in your narrative.
Your uploaded receipt is proof of participation in the assignment; it is ok if your receipt is for a nominal amount – the intent is to prove you were there!
Don’t forget to also upload your receipt when you are uploading your paper. If there is no receipt, the assumption is you did not go to the market.
All papers must be submitted in either .doc, .docx or .pdf formats to be graded, or you can also submit your written paper via google doc link. If you choose google doc link option, you must have the permissions set to that anyone with the link can view. If you do not have these permissions set and the grader can’t read your submission your paper will not be graded. Put your full google doc link (with permissions set to anyone with link can view) in the Text Entry or Website URL portion of this assignment submission.
What Ethnic Market Should I Visit?
You may visit any ethnic market of a food culture that is new or not familiar to you. Please do not visit a restaurant; there is a separate Ethnic Restaurant assignment later in this course. Make sure it is a supermarket or food shop of a new food culture.
If you need ideas of markets in the San Diego region, here is a list of markets (Links to an external site.). Be sure to confirm they are still open and operating before visiting.
If you need an alternative assignment because of logistics or transportation reasons, please contact your instructor by email immediately for alternate accommodations.
Questions and Inclusions to Consider for Your Paper
Please refrain from taking a pen and paper and taking notes at the market – it makes the owners and employees nervous. Take in the sites and sounds of your experience in your memory and jot your notes after leaving the market.
Here are some ideas to consider as you prepare your experience – you don’t have to cover all of these in your paper but they are ideas to trigger your creative juices:
- Name and address of the market, what neighborhood is it in?
- What ethnic group or country(ies) is/are represented?
- What were your impressions when you first entered the store?
- Was there a distinct smell or odor, sound of music, bustle of people or empty?
- What is or are the background of the staff members?
- How big is the market?
- How are the items in the market displayed and how does the layout differ from where you
usually shop?
Visit different sections of the market and note three items that differ from foodstuffs you
typically purchase.
- What types of staple foods are featured? (Rice, manioc, bread)
- What jumped out at you as being significantly different from your own culture’s food purchasing mechanisms?
- How do the prices of food compare to your typical store? Pay special attention to produce and meat.
- What do you think about the quality of the produce you observed?
- Pick an item you don’t recognize and ask a staff member what it is and what you do with it.
- What is your overall impression of the store?
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