"An assumption is something we take for granted, something we accept prematurely as being true, something we do not check out carefully. . . . Hidden assumptions are unconscious assumptions that greatly influence a line of reasoning. One form of hidden assumpions is stereotypes, where we try to fit new experiences into old or prejudiced categories. . . . value assumptions [are] basic unexamined beliefs that unconsciously influence our thinking." (Mayfield 155).
Please read "In the Supermarket" by John Bul dau in Chapter 5 164-166.
In comparing American food to African food, what types of assumptions does Bul dau make about American food? Is he making hidden assumptions or value assumptions? Provide textual proof to support your claim. How did Dau's experiences with food trigger your own assumptions about food different from your own culture? What kinds of cultural assumptions are being made in the images above about food?
Image taken from: http://www.diversityworld.com/Images%20-%20store/09MC-CALENDAR/2009multical_pics.jpg
62 comments:
John Bul Dau is making value assumptions because he draws from his cultural or family experiences as he states that the vegetables in the grocery store looks like the food he fed to farm animals in Africa. Another value assumption Bul Dau expresses is when he questions a ham. He states that, "Meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow, I thought." (para. 8).
I think Bul Dau makes a hidden assumption too because he says, "But, I didn't want to eat anything that came from the counter next to the giant insects." (para. 8). Another hidden assumption is when Bul Dau passed the dog and cat food aisle and says, "...America dogs had special meals prepared just for them." (para. 10).
Bul Dau's experience with food triggered my own assumptions in that I started to think about all the different cultures of food I love and dislike. For example, I went to Vietnam about 13 years ago for the first time, since I left when I was a baby. I had similar experiences to Bul Dau in that I did not want to eat any meat (chicken, beef, pork) during my travels because I saw ladies with carts selling meat that seemed to be too fresh off the farm. It was as though they had just cut the heads off these animals or plucked the hairs off of them as they hung in the windows of these carts. I was disgusted, so I stuck with a seafood diet the entire three weeks.
The cultural assumptions being made in the excerpt are value assumptions based on how Bul Dau was raised within his culture. It's what he is used to or a cultural belief.
Bul Dau made both hidden and value assumptions about American food and culture. When he saw the vegetable, his first reaction was livestock feed. He related to what he was accustomed to and judge that type of food that Americans eat. Also he made a premature conclusion when seeing the shellfish, he didn't want to eat it even though he never tried it before. Bul Dau stereotyped the crustaceans to "giant insects", making it less desirable to consume. He used his own culture and compared with ours, being ethnocentric. Bul Dau judged what he felt was the norm in his society without taking into consideration that his in a foreign environment where they might not share the same views as him. Dau's experiences with food trigger my assumption of what food really is. Every culture has their perception of what is food, from minor to major differences. Customs of food are form from what’s locally available to eat, shocked when other cultures don’t share the same taste like Bul Dau was. The images suggest that each culture have their own way of getting and preparing food, creating a diverse society in which we live in.
The assumptions of American food that he makes is that the food looks like some of the things he fed to the farm animals. During the whole story he is making both hidden and value assumptions. The hidden assumption is when he didnt want to eat anything that came from the giant insect counter, but not far away he wanted to eat the chicken. An example of his value assumption is when he explains how someone gave him a sample of a donut, but he didnt eat it because in his Dinka culture you dont offer men junk food because it is for small children. Daus experience is very similar to my assumptions about food outside my culture. Being more then one ethnicity gives me more then one point of view on food.
John Bul Dau makes value assumption from his own culture when he sees vegetable displays in American’s grocery store. He thinks these vegetables are using to “[feed] farm animals in Duk Payuel.” He also makes value assumption when he is introduced to eating ham which is made from pig because in his country, “meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow.”
Dau makes hidden assumption because he refers lobsters and shrimp to “big insects” and he refuses to try fish because it is next to “big insects”. When he sees dog food, he also makes hidden assumption that “America dogs had special meals prepared just for them…An entire industry had sprung up around the need to feed the family pet.”
Dau’s experiences triggered my own assumption about American food. I remember the first time I tried salad in KFC. My mom ordered salad for me because I never had it and I cried to have one just for curiosity. When I opened it, the whole bowl was filled with uncooked lettuce and sauce on it smelled sour. I barely could understand how these raw vegetables could be eaten just adding some sauce. It looked like the food eating by pigs.
For the image of food, value assumptions can be easily drawn because different country has different culture and people from different region has different perspective.
To John Bul Dau, the American food that he sees, such as lettuces and cucumbers are the food that he feeds to his farm animals back in his home country. Dau is not familiar with the food that Americans eat as it is something that is different from what he grew up eating.
Dau makes a hidden assumption when he said that he didn't like fish, which is not true. In fact Dau stated that he do indeed eat fish, but he said he didn't like fish because of the fact that the fish were next to the lobsters and shrimps which he referred to as "giant bugs". He makes a value assumption when he said "meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow, I thought". When he first sees ham, he did not think of it as meat. He assumes that the only meats have to come from cows. This assumption is probably based on what his culture defines "meat" to be. In this case it is clear that the only meat he knows of are the ones from cows and no other.
Each culture is different and have different types of food from another. What one culture eats or considers as food may not be what another culture would think of as food. For me, I find that it is difficult for me to eat some of the things that other people eat in different parts of the world. In Thailand, crickets and wood worms are fried and eaten as snacks whereas I see it as insects that are not edible.
The images represents different people from different culture and their way about gathering their food. One image shows a person working in what looks like a rice field and another shows one fishing for food.
He is making assumptions based on his experiences that he had from both his family and culture. He once had mentioned that the vegetables that were in the grocery store reminded him of the food that was feeding to the farm animals down in Africa. The fact his first assumption was animals in the farm it was interesting for him to relate the food to something of his own cultural experience.
John Bul Dau is making both value assumption and hidden assumption.
He said vegetables such as lettuce seemed similar to what they would use as food for farm animal in his country. His statement shows how he took granted that the vegetables are food for animals only, in his culture and assumed, it's same everywhere else in the world. Which is an example of value assumption.
And the hidden assumption can be seen from the last paragraph of the text. He mentioned how dogs are fed by leftovers in his home and people are dying of hunger everyday while we have expensive, special pet food for our dogs or cats. The hidden assumption for this would be ; the fact that people here in states spend lot of money on pet food is somewhat disturbing when people are dying of hunger. It's unnecessary luxury when we can help those who are suffering from starvation and save lives.
Personally, I like to explore and experiment with different foods from different cultures. I try not to reject the food that's offered to me when I'm overseas. Food is big part of culture. So I try to be respectful to the culture and enjoy the food as much as I can. However, there are times when I really think certain food isn't for me.
Solongo to Meuy S:
I agree with your statement about what you eat may not be considered as a food in other culture. Food is big part of culture as I said in my blog. And every culture have their own unique food which we might not see as edible.
John Bul Dau compares American food to African foods by the way each food looks. Like the way the lettuce looks as if it were a bag of leaves and the cucumber looks like something he would feed his goats. And how the lobster looks like giant bugs. It was not appealing to him. Furthermore, there was a part towards the end, he describes the dogs he had in Duk Payuel. He gives them leftover dinner plates, but the dogs would wait until he was finish eating his food. But in America, our supermarkets have large aisles filled with cats and dogs food. While the animals in Duk Payuel are starving in camps until dark, our pets in America are well fed.
Bul Dau makes hidden assumptions about Americans foods and what his farm animals eat. Americans tend to feed their pets good quality food.
In Cambodia, people are likely to eat crickets and dried fish as an everyday food. Unlike America we tend to eat healthy food such as fruits, oranges, melons, strawberries, and bananas; vegetables, lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots; meats, fish, beef, and chicken. As for America food is easy to find and consume, unlike third world country where food is tough to gather.
As Bul Dul was walking down the aisle of the grocery stores he made numerous value and hidden assumptions by comparing African food and American food. The first assumption he made was about lettuce. Bul Dau compared it to "a bag of leaves, the kind i fed to farm animals in Duk Payuel" and relating the cucumber to what he fed to his goats. Bul Dau was able to make a value assumption when he was asking about the ham from a pig. Based on his culture he naturally assume that "meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow." Even though Bul Dau enjoyed fish, he was not willing to admit it because he did not want to eat anything next to "giant insects" which he referred to lobsters and shrimps.
Since Dul was accustomed to the food in his culture, he made natural assumptions about American food when he saw something different. His experiences trigger my assumptions of the different delicacies from different cultures. Even though in America we see snails as slimy disgusting creatures, other countries see snails as a luxury such as France. Other countries in Asia eat what they considered as gourmet food, while in America we see it as friendly non edible animals. Every culture is different in that we value different types of values including food which makes every culture so unique. WE naturally grow accustom to what we consider as delicacy because we seen it our whole lives. However, once we are in a new environment like Bul Dau everything changes because everything is different from what we are familiar to.
John bul Dau seems to have come from a remote area in Africa where he is not familiar with types of vegetables and he is comparing what he is used too with the american foods.He is making both value assumptions and hidden assumption.
He made value assumption where he saw the cucumber and asked what it was then concluded that, "It looked like what I fed the goats".He also said that meat is not meat unless it's from a cow and finally when he was given a doughnut, he didn't want to eat it in store untill he got back in the apartment.All these are related to cultural value.
He made a hidden assumption where he said He doesn't eat fish and it was not true just because the fish was coming from the counter next to the giant insects and big bugs which were shrimp and lobsters.Also he commented that America dogs had special meals prepared for them while in his country some people starved in refugee camps.
The cultural assumption made about food is that every culture value food differently what one think is good might not be valued by others depending on the originality as the case we've seen with John Dau,cucumber and lettuce are valued here but for them they feed them on goats.Their culture know meat as the only one that come from a cow and non-else.
Both value assumptions and hidden assumptions were used in John Bul Dau’s excerpt.
When John Bul Dau considered “cucumber” as “a bag of leaves” and “what he used to “fed the goats” in Africa, value assumptions appeared to be associated with his own culture and family experience. Later, when he received the reorganization from Susan that “[ham] it comes from a pig”, he was shocked because he thought “meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow”.
Besides value assumptions, John Bul Dau also made hidden assumptions in comparing American food and African food. John Bul Dau stated that he didn’t like fish not due to the fact that he didn’t eat fish, but due to the fact that he refused to take the food that next to the “big insects” which he considered lobsters and shrimp as. When he saw “dog food” and “cat food”, he drew a conclusion that “An entire industry [of America] had sprung up around the need to feed the family pet…”
Dau’s experiences with food triggers my own assumptions about various kinds of food in different regions even in one country, China, for example. Last time when I had a trip in Si’Chuan, where spicy food is famous in China, I could not even afford that hot smell. My tears burst out of my eyes before I tasted. I could not even imagine that how people in that region could take those hot soups with thickness of spicy red pepper and oil.
From the images of food above, value assumptions will be easily drawn as different cook methods associate with their own culture or region.
Hi solongo,
I deeply agree with your view that “be respectful to the culture and enjoy the food …” since we act as foreigners in others’ countries and we don’t know much about their culture and the meanings behind those foods, enjoyment and respect, but not rejection, should be kept in mind.
Pei liang
In comparing American food to African food, when Bul dau sees vegetables displaying in the grocery store, he makes his value assumption about the vegetable; therefore, what Americans eat, such as lettuce and cucumber looks like what he fed to the farm animals in his own country; however, when he is introduced the meat, such as clams, lobsters and shrimp, he make hidden assumption because he thinks that people do not eat such stuff looked like big bugs in his country.
Dau’s experiences triggered my own assumption about the difference between American food and Chinese food. In America, I do not like to eat bread with milk in the morning; instead my family always cooks noodle or rice to eat for our daily diets.
The cultural assumptions are being made in the images above about food are described as that different people have different food culture in their country. For example, some country forbid people eat certain kinds of food; however, some countries allow people to choose their own behaviors.
John Bul Dau is making hidden and value assumptions because he reflects back to his own beliefs and culture. When John was by the meat he thought that seafood looked like insects and he didn't even try it he just assumed that it wasn't good.He stated, " Meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow. " He basically didn't think all the different types of American foods was equivalent to his type of food. People make a hidden assumption when they see a type of food they are not familiar with just because it smell or look different.
A value assumption he states is, " Dinka culture dictated that I go back to the apartment , go inside, and eat...And small, sweet foods are inappropriate for grown men, who should eat beef and milk. Popcorn, cookies, and sweets- those are for smll children. If a baby cries while waiting for dinner, it is okay to drop a kernel of corn near the fire, grab it as it pops, and give it to the child. But it is an insult to offer a trifle such as popcorn or candy to a man..." Bul Dau felt a little uncomfortable being in the grocery store with certain foods and actions taking place that he didn't believe or is use to.
John Bul Dau's experience with food triggered my own assumptions in a positive way because I rarely try a new type of food. Im curious to how it may taste but I won't know until I try it. When I went to Italy my 12th grade year in high school I would look at some of the meals and say, "what is this"? If I didn't know what it was I wasn't going to eat it. Now I sometimes try different foods.
The assumptions of John Bul Dau were imputed to his preconceived consciousness of what food should traditionally be, according to this original cultural background. The vegetables that are displayed and sold in American grocery stores were described as something that he fed his animals with in Africa – “the kind (leaves) I fed to farm animals in Duk Payuel” and “It (cucumber) looked like what I fed the goats.” His doubt in the explanation as saying ham is meat from pigs is also an assumption he had made; as what he indicated, “Meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow.” Another value assumption that John Bul Dau declared was his realization of how pets were being distinctly fed. In Africa, “We gave them (pets) a little food from our dinner;” in the United States, “(pets) had special meals prepared just for them.” These value assumptions had been obviously stated throughout his comparisons between American and African food. On the other side, as a hidden assumption, it was implicitly expressed as when he dug through and beyond those comparisons. “Tens of thousands went hungry in the dark days in refugee camp, while in America… an entire industry had sprung up around the need to feed the family pet.” The hidden assumption in his statement was an unconscious psychological connection between the ongoing hunger in Africa and the excessive level of passion that the business community has in investing the U.S. pet food market.
John Bul Dau’s experience with multicultural food indeed triggers my own assumptions. The modern development of China is progressively attracting more and more food industries to franchise, which may expand individuals’ traditional perception about food. In fact, as what the Chinese cultural has historically expressed, all kinds of food must be entirely cleaned and cooked for being healthy to eat. My first time of consuming rare steaks in an American restaurant overthrew such perception. What was served onto a table was a moderately raw piece of beef with freshly smelling blood – those were definitely unrelated to either being clean or completely cooked. The consequence became that I had not touched or consumed any steaks until my teenage life gradually approached. Cultural assumption beyond the blog post image is that every culture has their respective value of food, and unavoidably, there are possibilities that their food might not be admired or even recognized under a foreign cultural perspective.
To Chhienda M.
I agree with you when someone is introduced to a new food. They tend to look how it looks, the texture,color,and smell. Instead of tasting it first. People are not use to being introduced to something new and different.
I agree with you that culture is a factor towards what we eat. People eat the types of food that’s available in their country. For example, most Asian communities eat rice or rice based products for dinner while others eat a different source of grain. Rice is affordable in Asian countries so they eat it on a regular bases.
To Ke Yu,
Like your family, instead of eating what Americans would usually eat for breakfast my family also eats rice or noodles. American breakfast would be something like cereal and milk or pancakes, but my family always eats rice with vegetables or meat and never anything sweet.
Hello Shadow,
I remember my trip to Cambodia in 2006, and there is a famous cultural dish called prahok, which is a gray, pasty preserved fish that has a distinctive taste when you eat it. The taste of prahok is delicious, but the smell of it is horrible. However, as you said China famous dishes are spicy, but in Cambodia prahok is a famous ingredient that can be mix with many Khmer dishes, and is not spicy.
From the excerpt by John Bul Dau, he was making both hidden assumptions and value assumption when comparing the American food and the Africa food in several ways.
He made value assumptions based on his culture and his own belief by referring the vegetables such as a bag of leaves and cucumber as the thing he used to feed the farm animals. When he heard a slice of ham was considered as meat, he thought “meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow” (165). Also, he thought the lobsters and shrimp just like “big bugs”.
He also made hidden assumptions when someone gave him a piece of doughnut, and stated that it’s not appropriate to eat in front of people. Candy and popcorn are only for children but not for men. When he saw those bags contained prepared food especially for dogs and cats, he was shocked because he only fed his dog with boiled maize. He thought people starved and died from hunger in his country, but American pets could enjoy their prepared meals especially for them. This revealed his thoughts that there’s no need to spend a lot of money towards the “pets”.
Dau’s experiences with food trigger my own assumptions about food in different culture. Two years ago, when I went to Thailand, there were a lot of cooked insects or bugs in the food markets and restaurants. I could not imagine how people could eat those and I did not dare to see people putting insects into their mouth. But I respect their culture because people from different places have their own demand on food.
I agree with your point of view. Food is an important resource for everyone in the world. That is, different places have their own eating style and culture. Some people work on the corn field and others work on the wheat field or rice field. No matter how different the ways they work for food, we should respect one’s culture and habit.
Bul Dau makes both hidden and value assumptions when comparing American food to African food. Value assumptions included when he the vegetables that he used to feed his animals back then. Another value assumption was when he saw the ham. He didn't know it came from pigs because he only assumed meat came from cows.
Bul Dau also makes hidden assumptions when he saw the fish and said he didn't like to eat it. He ate fish, but he just didn't want to eat anything from the counter next to the "giant insects". Also, when he sees the dog and cat food, he assumed that America dogs had special meals prepared just for them. He wasn't used to it because his own dog would just eat his leftovers, instead of having his own food.
Personally, I have tried lots of different foods from different cultures when going to some of my friends' houses. I have some Mien friends and I've been offered many variety of foods. Sometimes I don't really like the smell of it, so I assume that it doesn't taste good, but I liked it a lot more when I got more used to it.
In comparing American food to African food, Bul Dau made both hidden and value assumptions. According to Mayfield, a stereotype is a form of hidden assumption. “Stereotypes are hasty generalizations about life that are assumed to be true…,” wrote Mayfield (145). For example, Bul Dau made a “hasty generalization,” when he misconstrued the store clerk’s offer of a doughnut as an personal insult, instead of an attempt at being polite (145).
However, Bul Dau’s perceived insult could also be categorized as a value assumption because “ Dinka culture dictated that I go back to the apartment, go inside, and eat [the doughnut]” (165). In our text, Mayfield described value assumptions as “basic unexamined beliefs that unconsciously influence our thinking,” (155).
During the course of his cultural journey into American food, Bul Dau made several value assumptions based on what he observed. Firstly, Bul Dau considered basic salad components such as lettuce and cucumbers, as foodstuffs normally fed to live stock. Secondly, a trip to the meat counter provided Bul Dau a novel experience in tasting ham, which is not considered a meat source within his culture. Also, shellfish and crustaceans proved to be another challenge, which Bul Dau thought “looked like big bugs”(165).
Next, the pet food aisle provided Bul Dau his “biggest shock.” He was overwhelmed at the selection of “dog…[and] …cat food.” Back home in Duk Payuel, dogs were fed “a scoop of boiled maize.” Bul Dau made another value assumption when he compared and contrasted the bountiful supply of American pet food to the lack of food available for his “countrymen…during the civil war in Sudan.” Clearly, the abundance of pet food in American concerned him when his fellow Sudanese suffered from starvation (165).
This question assumes facts not in evidence-namely, that even after years of cooking and eating foods from all over the world, any such “assumptions” or “my own food culture” have survived or even could survive. At this juncture, all Bul Dau’s experiences can do is add one or two new flavors to a well-seasoned melting pot.
The images portray various cycles in the food chain, beginning with planting, progressing through harvesting, and ending with the consumption of food. There are several cultural assumptions that could be made, such as: several images show people from different cultures planting, tilling, and harvesting a variety of crops. It is easy to assume that these individuals might be servants doing the work, instead of landowners.
Next, the first image on the left hand side of the graphic’s second row has two individuals engaging in what appears to be a dance, possibly celebrating a successful harvest. Directly below on the third row, there is an image of a hot dog cart within a park setting. Several patrons can be seen milling about the cart, one of which appears to be a child riding away on a bike decorated with an American flag. The preceding image could invoke Norman Rockwell-like assumptions of American culture.
Also, there is an image of a painting that resembles neo-Impressionistic painter Georges Seurat’s pointillism style. The viewer could easily assume that the individuals seated beneath the red umbrella are tourists enjoying a leisurely lunch somewhere in Europe.
Racquel to Solongo:
I am relieved to hear that someone else noticed the presence of both hidden and value assumptions within the Bul Dau excerpt. I like how you made specific references to portions of the text that were relevant to particular assumptions.
Hello Chhienda,
I agree with your comment on how we have more variety in America compare to third world countries that can barely survive with the resources they have. It is sad to hear about it or even talk about it, but this is a sad fact. Even though other countries' food might not be the same as ours that does not mean it does not taste good. It might not look edible or smell good, but we will never know unless we try it. Maybe one day ill eat a cricket or two and see how it taste. Maybe that is my next favorite food. We should never judge the book by its cover.
Hello Anna,
Your response is very good. You appear to understand how assumptions can be made and are made in the Dau text.
In your response you state, "I think Bul Dau makes a hidden assumption too because he says, "But, I didn't want to eat anything that came from the counter next to the giant insects." (para. 8). Can you explain why this is a hidden assumption?
Ms. Wanzo
Hello Phillip,
This is an insightful response. In it you state, "Dau's experiences with food trigger my assumption of what food really is. "
Can you explain what you mean here?
What is food really?
Bal dua makes many assumptions when he first encounters American food. I feel that his statement about the dog food was a value assumption, since he pulled that not from a personal experience, but from what he saw. It is valid that Americans feed their dogs really well and overly lavish over them. The other assumption about eating publicly is a value assumption as well. He hasn't pulled from his experiences and its a valid statement. We tend to do things publicly, whether its showing affection, anger, or hunger.
I'm ethnically from Pakistan, and in Pakistan, there is a lot of emphasis on the "head of the table". My mother once told me that when she and my father were newly married, every time they ate together, she would serve him the food, wait until he took a bite, drank some water, and then she served herself. My father was not a fan of this practice, but to this day she does this, maybe subconsciously half the time.
When I would go to American friend's houses, I would see them get served first and leave last. I would always find it very strange.
It's very true that we in America are keen to call other foods weird or unhygienic, when we have the better end of the stick. In most Asian countries, food is available when the season is there, versus here in America, the season doesn't matter, because we have everything all the time.
I liked the way you explained John bul assumptions, you said that with his assumption ,he reflected his beliefs and culture. I also liked the example you gave when you went to Italy, I bet you experienced the same assumptions as John did.At first it was not easy for me to identify the hidden assumption.
According to the article "In the Supermarket", John Bul Dau describes the his first experience in the American grocery store. Since he came from Africa, the only thing he familiar with was banana, and all other food in the store gave him a great different impression about "what to eat".
He made the value assumption based on his Dinka culture and his life experience in Africa. When he saw the vegetables, he thought that were the food he used to fed to farm animals in Duk Payuel. When he saw the seafood, he thought "lobsters and shrimps looked like big bugs". And he also said "Meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow" when he saw the ham.
He made the hidden assumption when he walked through the dog food aisle, and he thought that "America dogs had special meals prepared just for them", while his dog was fed with the leftover food in Africa.
These assumption are made by the culture shock, and as for me, a immigrant from China, I had my own assumption about the American food. The food are similar to what we have in China, but the difference is the size. When I first ordered a steak in a restaurant, I was shocked by how big it was. This big steak is for one person in America, but it would be enough for our family in China. Chinese people usually have rice, vegetables and meat balanced quantity in meal, while American people's mainly intake is meat. But I think different country has its own "food style", and it's interesting to know and learn different culture through the food on the dinner table.
In this article the assumptions that John Bul Dau is making is base on his personnal, culturaland family experience,while in the super market he said "the vegetables look like the food i fed the goats" with in Africa.
The other assumption Bul made is when i was asked to try a sample, he asked "what is this?"... it's meat. It comes from a pig." He said meat is not meat unless it comes from cow, i though. Claims, lobsters, shrimp- do people eat such things? I did not want to criticize, but i did look l ike anything good to eat. i do not want to eat these, they look like big bugs... refering to shrimps and lobsters, he also talked about his biggest shock when he passed the dogs and cats food aisle.
"During the civil war in Sudan many people starved every day and many died of hungry"... American dogs and had special meals prepared just for them.
After reading this excerpt i too is from Africa but i can say that my experience of coming to America is very different from Bul, and our culture is also different.
For example, when i first came to this country i find American food to be very sweet compare to African food, though i do eat burger i don't like American food.
The point made by Bul on this excerpt are based on values assuption and how different we are and were raised. The most important thing is to stay true to your value and belives.
kkkk
Hey San Ming, I agree that every culture is unique because of the different kinds of food they have. We are so used to eating our food everyday that we're sometimes afraid to try new kinds of food. Food that we've never seen before may look and smell different, but it is what other cultures eat on a daily basis and we should respect that.
I think that Bul Dau states a hidden assumption because in his mind the seafood looks like insects, and the hidden assumption could be that eating insects is not beneficial for his diet. I am still unsure, though. Am I on the right track Ms. Wanzo?
I definitely go by smell too when it comes to trying new food. I will not eat anything that has a bad odor, but I have also been wrong with my assumptions. I am just more cautious and picky now given that am more aware of the food industry in that our food is being contaminated with pesticides, preservatives, etc. I am more selective with fruits and vegetables as well as meats. What's your take on American food?
John Bul Dau used both value and hidden assumption in his article. According to meaning of value in the textbook Mayfield on page 149, it says when first adopted, if they were.......awareness and reconsideration. Because john is the first time to visit American grocery store, eveything to him is new and he have not examine it at all, So he just compare afican food and America food with former information from his family and culture.There is a valued assumption ,what is ham?....i thought.(Paragraph 7,8,9) He didn't examine the food,then make an assumption. So it's an value assumption. And hidden assumption to assumptes with our old information or knowedges . There are many hidden assumptions in this article.For example,if ababy cries while ............... candy to a man.(paragraph 10) This is base johns sterotype.
Dau's eperiences with food triggers my assumptions about food that the American peopel eat.Each country have their main food.i dont know what are the main foods they eat in daily. As i know most of the Asia are eating rice, Some country eat meat, Some coutry eat something that make with flour. However, i think this may be related to their culture .
John Bul Dau makes alot of value assumptions when he makes assumptions about the food in the united states. when he references the food in the grocery store as "things fed to farm animals in Duk Payuel".(para. 2)when he makes the comparison to the bananas that he did recognize from his native land, as something he could relate to that is his way of an hidden assumption. Dau also makes a value assumption when he refers to the ham as "tiny slice of pink flesh".
Dau's assumptions to food in the united states made me assume that american food was disgusting and that we eat anything that is advertised to consume. the way Dau compared and provided details into the food from Africa and its relevance to eating it from a cultural perspective. when Dau stated "meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow", i took that Dau's way of explaining meats purity. I took that Dau did not think that american food was pure and his culture had more meaning behind their choice in food. Dau's reasoning made me question the things i choose to consume and why i thought it was meant to eat. the cultural assumptions i gathered from the images Dau made about the food was that it was vile and not worthy to be consumed by humans.
To Jiaqi Ye
I agree with that you say the size of a food is bigger than china.In U.S, the food are usually go double that compare with china. For example , in the fast food restruant they ususally offer some meals if you pay a little more, then your meal can go large or exrra large.And i think this may be the cultural difference in each country.
@ anna;
anna i like your references to what Dau said and i wanted to ask you if after reading his excerpt and your experiences in your travels make help you understand the reasoning behind the way they sold meat in Vietnam?? i know after reading what he had to say it made me question the freshness of the things we consume considering i have not had the luxury of any other countries food customs. i can appreciate the way he made his assumptions because it caused me to critically think about places beyond my own cultural beliefs.
I do agree with your points. Different countries have different food culture. People have their rights to choose what kind the food they want to eat. As a Chinese, in my family, we used to eat Chinese food as primary food. However, we also eat other countries food, such as American, Japanese food, and so on. I remember that the first time I ate American food, and I didn’t feel comfortable with it. Anyway, as time went on, I have used to it now.
I agree with your statement that different culture has its own behavior, and some of them may be unacceptable by us since we come from different country and have different value. But knowing other culture is an interesting experience to learn it, feel it, and enjoy it.
John Bul dau makes both hidden assumptions and value assumptions during his first experince in a foreign supermarket.
Bul dau makes value assumptions when he decided not to eat his doughnut in the store because his culture had dictated against rating in public. This is a value assumption because this was a belief in his culure in his home, which unconsciously influenced the way that he thought about eating food. He also made a value assumption when he thought of the cucumber and lettuce because in his homeland, he fed his animals cucumber and lettuce.
Bul dau makes a hidden assumption when he refuses to eat the fish because it was next to crabs, lobsters, and shrimp that he called "giant insects." This is a hidden assumption because he came to this conclusion without any reasoning and without really thinking about why or how. He thought that the sea food looked disgusting and therefore assumed that they were "giant insects" that would not taste good.
Dau's experience with food makes me think about the time when I saw some foreign food in a DVD that my parents were watching. My parents are half Vietnamese, and even though that makes me half Vietnamese, I have very little limited knowledge of the Vietnamese culture. In a DVD they were watching, it shows markets in Vietnam selling cockroaches to eat. I thought that it was disgusting how people were buying these cockroahces and eating them like they tasted good, but my parents said that in Vietnam, cockroaches were eaten all the time. In this case, I made a hidden assumption because I thought that cockroaches taste bad solely because of the appearance and nature of cockroaches.
To me, the image shows the different types of ways that cultures eat and prepare food. In one picture, we see a person working in the field while in another, we see someone selling hamburgers. This just shows how diverse the world is in terms of culture and just our culinary arts and practices in general.
I know that accepting kinds of food that are against your original culture is undoubtedly difficult. Your comparison of the values of snails between France and America is a very representative example - as one party considers them as luxury while another party is thinking that they are non-edible. Personally, I frequently ate snails in China and loved that taste. However, I simultaneously understand why snails might be apparently non-edible, because they indeed look disgusting.
In fact, from the text, I found that John Bul Dau made assumption by looking, listening, and feeling. For most of people , they would like to make the inference through their personal experiences and knowledge. For some of them, they would like to make assumption by comparing his/her own culture. From the above students’ opinions, we could find more and more evidences from the story like the words they said and the way they are talking about. Moreover, different kinds of people have different kind of inferences while they faced the same things. Like John Bul Dau in the text, he made the assumption that the food what we have in the stores are the same thing to feed the animals.
I do agree with what you are talking about. When people with different cutural background face the same same things, they would make differnet assumption about them; therefore, from the views of different people, we can conclue that people with different culture would have different food culture .
Hey Solongo and Meuy
I do agree with what you said, and also think that our culture and how we were raised is an important factor in the way we value life.
The assumptions that he made are based on his personal experience.
In my country food is a big part of people culture, you can determined where a person is from by the way they cook and eat certain food, especially in Africa our food is the way we can be recognized.
Bul Dau made hidden assumptions when he was comparing the American and African foods. When he saw the clams, lobsters, and shrimp, he unconsciously assumed that those "insects" were not good to eat. He made another hidden assumption when he observed the dog and cat foods. He assumed that the dog and cat foods were kind of pointless since many people were still in hunger.
He also made his value assumptions on the basis of his culture. For example, when he saw various kinds of vegetables, he said that they looked like what he "fed the goats." Also, when someone gave Bul Dau a doughnut, he didn't eat immediately. He assumed that eating "in front of other people" was not proper in the US as well.
Dau's experiences made me think about the difference between American food and Chinese food. I noticed that Americans like cheese a lot, which never appears in Chinese food. Even it has been a long time, I still could not stand the taste of cheese. Maybe I am too weird. I don't really understand why people put cheese in every foods.
In comparing American food to African food, Bul Dau both makes value assumptions and hidden assumptions. He makes value assumptions based on his culture when he thinks some American vegetables are used to feed the animals. Like he thinks that " a bag of leaves, and kind I fed to farm animals in Duk Payuel" and "It looked like what I fed the goats". Also, when he knows that meat comes from a pig, he makes value assumption that "meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow, I thought". Since the cultures between America and Africa are different, people would make value assumptions based on their own cultures. Moreover, Bul Dau makes hidden assumptions when he thinks that nobody likes to eat something look ugly. For example, he thinks that "Lobsters and shrimp looked like big bugs" and "I didn't want to eat anything that came from the counter next to the giant insects".
Dau's experiences with food trigger my own assumption between American and Chinese food. Normally, Chinese think animal organs are nutrient and good for people's body so that they often cook animal organs for meals such as heart, liver, gut that comes from pigs, cows and chicken. However, Americans thinks that eating animal organs are horrible and disgusted, so they refuse to eat those things.
The assumptions that are being made in the images above about food are different people in their countries have different kinds of food they eat based on their own cultures. To illustrate, some countries of people like to eat rice as their major meals and other countries of people like to eat meats.
Hello Yilin,
I love your own assumption about American food. You are talking about salad which contains row vegetables and sauces. I have same feeling with you about the salads are like food for pigs. Also, I think there are lots of differences between American food and Chinese food such as rice we eat everyday but Americans don't.
“In reasoning, we assume when we take something for granted or accept an idea without sufficient proof of its truth or certainty” (p 139). It means that an assumption is something we make up without proof. It can be a hidden or value assumption. In the story, the first assumption Bul Dau made is a value assumption which is he thought lettuce looked like what he fed to farm animals in his country. He stated that in the story, “… the kind I fed to farm animals in Duk Payuel… it looked like what I fed the goats” (163). By making this assumption, he based on his own culture and knowledge since they don’t used to eat this kind vegetable, but used to use it to fed farm animals. In the same reasoning, he also made another value assumption when he mentioned that ham was not meat since he thought “meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow” (163).
On the other hand, Bul Dau also made hidden assumptions when he saw dog food took up an entire aisle of the store. Comparing to his country, there was not enough food for many people. Many people were sill in hungry. Therefore, in this hidden assumption, he is actually complaining those dog and cat food in America are nonsensical when many people are still hungers. I think that’s also why Bul Dau said “I had my biggest shock…” (163) in the last paragraph.
After reading Bul Dau’s story, it triggers a value assumption I made when the fist time I ate Japanese fool, Sushi. As a man who is raised up in Chinese cultural, I had not eaten any food without cooking until I ate Sushi. As a little kid, I thought eating uncooked fish which on Sushi would make me sick. Sushi is a popular food in Japan and other courtiers, even now, but because of the different food cultural, I really didn’t like and want to eat Sushi at that time. However, I love it now.
Hi Ricky, thanks to your response, I just notice the image in the blog. I agree with what you said about the picture. It shows the ways that various cultural groups gather their food. People usually assume that their "ways" are the proper ones. Thus, it determines what kinds of food they can accept. This kind of cultural assumpation is also what Bul Dau encountered in the American Supermarket.
Hey Jing Cai, I know what you're talking about when you say that Americans don't like the thought of eating animals organs such as livers and hearts. My family members all enjoy eating those organs, but I can't stand thinking about eating chicken blood or pig tongues, so I try to avoid them.
I believe that the assumptions made from Bul Dau are both value and hidden. His guide took him to what we (Americans)would consider the healthiest part of the grocery store and Bal Dau wondered why he was being lead to a section of food that is fed to only animals. The dog food section that was mentioned really triggered a light bulb to go off in my head. There are so many hungry people all around the world, including America, yet there is a industry dedicated to the processing of food for animals. In Bal Dau country the animals eat what is grown, the very things we are purchasing for enourmous amounts of money in an attempt to stay healthy. Bal Dau's assumptions were based on his value system and cultural beliefs, so not wanting to eat the "treat" offered to him because sweets are for children and men eat meat in his country could be considered hidden or value.
Bal Dau's experiences made me want to do more research about other cultures and think about where my value system came from. Is is something that I would honestly do had I not been taught and what things might I want to change or adopt from another country.
Bal Dua felt confused comparing American food to African Food at the grocery store he went to. The first assumotion he made was about the vegetables, he felt as though it was only for the animals because that was what he fed them. Heading towards the meat department he had a sample of ham, he did not think anything that was not pig was meat. Following that he went to the seafood department, and felt disgusted by shrimps and lobsters because they looked like insects. Then how a employee at the store gave him a donut, he felt as though children only eat sweets. The last assumption was when he saw dog and cat food, he did not understand why animals had their own special foods.
He makes both hidden and value assumptions with his first experience at the grocery store. The hidden assumption he made was stereotyping when he was in the produce section, that all the vegetables were only for farm animals to eat. Another hidden assumption would be when he saw the seafood, the lobsters, clams, and shrimps looked similar to insects so therefore he did not want to try them. A value assumption he made was when he was handed a sample of a doughnut, in his country men are not allowed to eat sweets, and are considered innapropriate. On top of that assumption, he felt pets should not have their own special food and they should just eat leftovers.
I do find myself making assumptions on other cultures. When I went to Honduras iguanas were the most common thing to eat over there, I felt as though a reptile should not be eaten and it does not look appetizing. The cultural assumptions being made in the images are hidden assuptions becaus it is assuming that those are the main things a culture eats. Hidden assumptions are more likely to occur approaching another cultures food because we are not accostumed to what they are eating daily. Value assumptions can occur through religion because in certain religions they are not allowed to eat certain things or else it is dishonor to their religion.
To Fan Wu,
I seem to agree with you, American food does have a lot of cheese put into it. It taste good to me because being from a Mexican culture we perceive to be normal. Cheese is just a dairy product, that enhances the flavor of many foods.
Bul dau is from Africa. When he came to the Unite State and shop in the supermarket he saw salad, and he is curious about why does the American likes to eat salad since salad is the food he fed animals in his country Africa. Also, he saw seafood, he is curious about why does the American likes to eat them, since it looks ugly. He is making value assumptions because it is about cultural differences. I went to Thailand for vocation last summer. And I saw the people eats worms. I thought that it was really nasty, because I never seen this kind of food before in my culture. However, It is a healthy food in Thailand. Therefore, I'm making value assumptions.
Hi Fan Wu,
I agree that American food is really different to Chinese food. When I first came to America. I didn't like the food here a lot. Especially cheese and salad, it is really making me sick. Now, I can barely eat American food. I realized culture really does influence you a lot.
Bul dau think beef is the only thing should be called "meat". He makes a hidden assumption.In the text Bul dau writes" Meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow, I thought."
In southern China, women tell their husbands and children come for a meal by saying "come to eat rice". In China, grain is the primary food. Chinese people, except rich folks, consume more grain than meat or vegetable. Meanwhile, rice is the major grain in southern China. Nowadays, even though the people who live in southern China don't necessarily have rice in every meal, we still use the sentence, "come to eat rice", all the time.
The cultural assumption about food in southern China is rice is the food we will eat for every meal.
Hi,Ke Yu. Thank you for your respond. In fact, we have different background in that case we have different summation . As I am one of the Chinese, I would like to eat Chinese food rather than other food. I found that Chinese food is very good. Not only it has different kinds of styles, but also it is very déclassé. As the same reason in the story, we could find that he made assumptions basic on his background and knowledge.
In the story "In the supermarket" by John Bul Dau he makes hidden and value assumptions. He makes many hidden assumptions throughout the story. All the times he used his culture to justify how he felt was a hidden assumption. For example when he said " Meat is not meat unless it comes from a cow" he was drawing from his experience and culture in Sudan. Also when the ladies offered him a doughnut he used his knowledge from Sudan that told him sweets are only for children.
From my own experience I traveled to Egypt a few years ago. My mother warned me before i left to not eat the meat out there because it might get me sick. When i got there my egyptian family constantly tried to get me to eat pigeon, beef chicken and basically every type of meat they had to offer. But from the assumptions I had made before i left, i made the decision to only eat fish and vegetables.
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