Across cultures

The French and their bread…

As you most likely know, the French could not have a proper meal without bread! How would they eat their cheese, wipe off their plates or make the tartines they dunk in their café au lait?

Bread was discovered by our hunter-gatherer ancestors some 30,000 years ago! No need to tell you that we have had quite some time since to master our technique for producing perfect dough !

10,000 years ago, we domesticated wheat and barley in our green and fertile valleys and were producing a type of flat bread, a modern version of which is still baked in many Mediterranean cultures.

It was not before the Middle Ages that we adopted and institutionalised the art of producing leavened bread which had been “invented” many centuries earlier.

Why didn’t we adopt it earlier!? No one really knows…

Not only bread then became an indispensable part of our feeding habits, but we used large slices of stale bread as “plates” or trenchers. Once the meal finished we gave the trenchers to the poor… or to the dogs…and the beauty of it is that no dish-washing was involved!

Weren’t we generous and smart?!

The colour of our bread evolved with society. Until the late 20th century, wealthy people would not been seen dead buying and eating anything else than white bread, while the less well-off contented themselves with dark bread made from whole wheat flour.

The irony is that whole wheat flour is much healthier as it has superior nutritional values. It has now become the ‘thing to do” if you are health conscious as too many chemicals are added to obtain perfectly white flour!

The whole world thinks that French only eat Baguette…well, it is not entirely true! We keep it for the tourists as it is what they expect to see in our boulangeries… and we buy grey or dark bread for ourselves and eat it with immense pleasure in the privacy of our homes!

But don’t tell anyone….

A taste of the Middle East in Sydney’s Lakemba

If falafels, shisha pipes, rosewater drinks and Lebanese pastries don’t scream ‘Sydney’ to you then you may be spending too much time in the city’s swankier, leafier, beachier addresses. Sydney visitors, and indeed residents, can experience a taste of the Middle East on their own doorstep just a short train ride away.

Sydney, in case you haven’t discovered, can be a tribal kind of place. There is the glamourous, beach dotted east, the leafy and prosperous north shore, the bohemian inner west, the parochial south and the sprawling expanses of working class suburbia and culturally diverse suburbs to the west. Sydney residents often stick to their own tribe, to the extent that crossing the harbour bridge can evoke accusations of ‘crossing over to the dark side’ – the dark side being the opposite direction to where you dwell.

More open minded and adventurous Sydney-siders are branching out and discovering neighbourhoods beyond their backyards, whether influenced by a local food show on TV or a passionate food blog, or even by joining a food tour to a particular part of the city with interesting eats.

One suburb well worth exploring is Lakemba, found 15 kilometres south west of the city. Home to a large Muslim population, Lakemba’s residents have origins from the Middle East to Africa, to the subcontinent and South East Asia. Arabic is the suburb’s most spoken language according to Australian census data, followed by English and then Chinese.

By taking a stroll along bustling Haldon Street, Lakemba’s main drag, it soon becomes apparent this is a great place to eat, particularly for lovers of all things Middle Eastern. There are Lebanese sweet shops laden with sweet and sticky baklava, halal barbeque chicken shops, delis purveying nuts, dates, and spices, and there’s even an Egyptian gift shop featuring drums and toy mosques.

Some of Sydney’s most revered (and cheap, and generously portioned) Lebanese food can be found at the legendary Jasmin’s, with similarly delicious fare at Al Aseel. There’s even a café devoted solely to falooda’s, a rosewater based milk drink of Persian origins which is popular in the subcontinent. Among the mix is a Hyderabadi biryani restaurant, an Indonesian ‘warung’ and possibly one of the city’s most unique eateries, Island Dreams Café featuring cuisine from Christmas and Cocos Islands (think Malaysian style food, with a tropical twist).

The people watching in Lakemba can be just as fascinating as the eating and food shopping; with residents hailing from all over the planet found lounging at a streetside café or stocking up on fruit at one of the market-style fresh produce shops with amazingly cheap prices. Some are getting their hair braided at the African hairdressers, while others are trawling the fabric stores for headscarves or flowing robes.

Lakemba offers a window into the world of multi-cultural Australia, and through the universal language of food (and its close cousin, shopping) offers the opportunity for some fascinating cross-cultural insights and exchanges. The beach can wait for another day.

Ana’s Multicultural Household: Argentine and British Couple Living in Dallas, Texas

Meet Ana from Argentina! Ana, shown below at the historic train station of the town of Capilla del Señor in the province of Buenos Aires, is from Argentina but currently lives in Dallas, Texas with her British husband. Talk about lots of very different cultural experiences! Ana is a contributing editor here at Pocket Cultures, and also writes her own blog too, Ana Travels.

Where do you live? Where are you from? If those are different, can you tell us a little about what inspired your move?

I’m currently living in Dallas, Texas, which is very different from where I grew up, Argentina. We moved to the US because of my husband’s job in the fields of telecommunications.

If you would describe yourself as multi-cultural, tell us a bit about what culture you most identify with and why.

We definitely have a multicultural household since I’m Argentinean and my husband is British. And we live in the US, which is a whole different culture from either of ours. We managed to blend some of our customs and create new ones but sometimes there are glitches in communication. I most definitely identify with my own culture.

Why did you decide to become a Pocket Cultures contributor?

I thought it would be a great way to clear some misunderstandings about my country and share different aspects of our culture.

Can you describe a typical day for you?

When we’re not travelling, I’m a full-time housewife so I don’t think readers will be interested in how many times a week I do laundry or what we have for lunch! I’m also on a tennis team and compete locally, and I spend some time editing and writing for PocketCultures and my own blogs.

What is the best part of living in your country? The worst?

It’s difficult to be objective here. I love my family and lifelong friends, so being close to them is very important to me, it partly defines who I am. The worst part of living in Argentina is probably the economic instability.

What books or films would you recommend someone who’d like to know more about your country?

Here’s a PC post I wrote a while ago about Argentinean films: http://pocketcultures.com/topicsoftheworld/2011/07/06/argentina-through-film-2/

What’s something that visitors are often surprised by when getting to know your country/culture?

The European influence on architecture, food, way of life and even the way we look is something that surprises visitors. Also, the mix of European and Latin American sometimes takes them unawares.

 

PocketCultures world tour: best of 2011

Happy New Year! Our roundup of 2011 begins with a reminder that 1st January is not the beginning of a new year throughout the world. Carla wrote that Brazilians consider the year to start after February’s carnival, and Anu wrote about new year celebrations which take place at different times in different parts of India. Of course many parts of the world do celebrate the start of the New Year on January 1st, and Sandra’s post explained all about new year celebrations in Portugal.

Bolo Rei – part of the New Year celebrations in Portugal. Credit.

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Why is Malaysia called “Malaysia, Truly Asia?” LeX gives us the inside scoop!

LeX, one of our Pocket Cultures regional contributors is a student traveller, currently in France, but originally from Malaysia. Malaysia, in it’s own right, is a multi-cultural country, melding together the Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures. Read more to learn about why LeX joined the Pocket Cultures team, and how to easily detect a Malaysian speaking English!

Where do you live? Where are you from? If those are different, can you tell us a little about what inspired your move?

I am a student traveller, LeX from Malaysia. Actually my real name is Tan Yih Liang (陈奕良/단익량 – Chinese/Korean) and LeX is what people always call me. Education and study are the motivation and direction that inspired me to move! South Korea was the 1^st foreign country I stayed and currently studying in Europe and operating a travel blog call “LeX Paradise”.

If you would describe yourself as multi-cultural, tell us a bit about what culture you most identify with and why.

I was born in a multi-racial country which is Malaysia where majority include Malay, Chinese and Indian. Firstly, as Malaysian, most of us tend to speak more languages like Malay, English, Chinese and Indian. So actually, we experiencing cross cultural all over Malaysia. We celebrate different kind of festival together along the year! Finally, the last thing you can easily identify Malaysian is “LLa”, almost all Malaysian speak casual English with “LLa” at the end of sentence. OK LLa!

Why did you decide to become a Pocket Cultures contributor?

The main reason that I decided to become a Pocket Cultures contributor is the whole idea of Pocket Cultures. I am a person that likes to share cultural experiences with people and like to understand people from different parts of the world. Pocket Cultures acts as a platform for us to share, discuss ideas and get to know others amazing contributors! It totally suits me! So that’s why I am in LLa!

What is the best part of living in your country? The worst?

The best part of living in Malaysia is you could experience cross culture of Malay, Chinese and Indian! The experience of cross culture stands out the uniqueness of the country! As always “Malaysia, Truly Asia”

As for the worst part of country is the hot and humid weather.

What’s something that visitors are often surprised by when getting to know your country/culture?

The population of Chinese and Indian in Malaysia often surprise the visitor, since they are so curious how Malay, Chinese and Indian with different beliefs living under the same roof.

Do They Really Eat Garlic and Drink Wine All Day? Read On to Learn More About DeeBee’s Beloved France

DeeBee, born in Paris, has been living abroad for 20+ years, currently in the UK. Although DeeBee has been living outside of France for a long time and speaks mostly English on a day to day basis, DeeBee loves to share her home culture with  us here on Pocket Cultures as a regional contributor and also on her personal blog: www.onlinetravelfrance.blogspot.com.

Where do you live? Where are you from? If those are different, can you tell us a little about what inspired your move?

I left France a long time ago, spent nearly 20 years in Asia, and have been living  in the UK for the last 3 years. Why did I move? To follow my husband’s various professional postings.

If you would describe yourself as multi-cultural, tell us a bit about what culture you most identify with and why. If you have kids, what culture do they most associate with?

I feel very French in my way of thinking but hardly speak French as most my friends and family speak English.

In fact I feel very European!

My teenage daughter was born and lived abroad for most of her life and feels that where she was born is “home” which is natural.

But despite having dual nationality she feels more English than French as English is her first language and she never lived in France.

Why did you decide to become a Pocket Cultures contributor?

I came across Pocket Cultures while reading someone whose blog is listed as a Blog of the World and thought that it was a very interesting and different approach to travelling and learning about foreign cultures

I also like the idea of contributing to a team work when I can.

Can you describe a typical day for you?

A lot of time on my computer as I am running my own web site and my blog

What is the best part of living in your country? The worst?

Best? Superb climate, architecture, cuisine, way of being…There is really a “French touch” as we are mid-way between the Italians and the English, we combine the best of these two opposite cultures!

Worst? Thinking that we are so perfect – but we are, aren’t we?!?!

What books or films would you recommend someone who’d like to know more about your country?

Films: Any from the 60s or 70s as they were produced by a very inventive and innovative type of producers and reflect quite well the way French are.

Books: Any historical or social novel from the late 19^th century (when society went through a major transformation) to the present day.

 What’s something that visitors are often surprised by when getting to know your country/culture?

That we don’t eat garlic from dawn to dusk!

That we don’t eat white bread as it is bleached and therefore is bad quality!

That Paris cafe waiters are very rude…even to us! Not good, but sadly true…

That French people drink less wine than people think or at least they drink less but better quality

That it can rain…even in France!