While the Coronavirus Pandemic has disrupted every area of life as we know it, nothing has changed more than the ways in which we travel (or don’t travel).
Marria Peduto
Class of 2021
International Studies | East Asian Language and Cultures
Though my three overseas experiences were canceled, my summer was still full of international experiences. I participated in HLS’s Summer Language Workshop for 4th year Chinese, ordered takeout from my favorite local, international restaurants, and fell down a digital black hole of Youtube’s finest cooking grandmas.
For the last five years I’ve created a list of “25 Scratch Made Meals” from all across the world to prepare throughout the year, so this year I decided to double that goal. Jollaf rice and lamb with Obe Ata from Nigeria?
Of course. Bo Ssam with home fermented kimchi from Korea? Now a staple of the Peduto household. Poulet vallee d’auge from the Normandy region in France? The best way to use autumn’s apples. Falafel, shawarma, and hummus from many countries within the Middle East? There’s no way I’m ever going back to the prepackaged stuff.
Hand pulled Biang Biang noodles from the Xinjiang people? Arguably the best meal I’ve ever made. All of this to say that I traveled around the world many times over without even leaving my kitchen.
Perhaps the most exciting way that I’ve begun to “travel” while sitting on my living room couch is through virtual cooking courses hosted in partnership with language instructors, students, and friends from all over the world and even from IU.
A Global Student Seven and National Security Language Initiative for Youth partnership, the Around the World on a Plate Series is a virtual cooking course that shares recipes and language tips from native speakers while preparing dishes important to each hosts’ culture.
In August we made Draniki, a potato pancake dish, with Maria, an exchange student from Ukraine and this month, we’re hoping to prepare some dishes from countries within the Middle East and Indonesia! The event is open to the public and we publish an ingredient list beforehand so you can cook alongside our hosts.
As I returned to Bloomington, I knew my travels would have to wait a little while longer, but with a little creativity and a good wifi connection traveling the world through food is easier than ever.
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