Intercultural Senses

Intercultural adventure assaults the senses. Taste is one adventure that requires bravery, patience and sometimes an iron gut. Before I left for Uganda, my professor Dr. Chapman gave an ominous warning, “…you will have to learn to like Matoke” the staple of the southern Ugandan diet.. After plate after plate of Matoke was served, and each time I struggled to adjust my palette with a little self coaching. Yes! Matoke again! I love this special dish. It is the pride of the nation and the food that brings the men back home to their wives. I would tell myself as a heaping pile of steamed unsweetened mashed bananas was added to my plate. By the end of my trip I had made my peace with Matoke and was eating it regularly.
I didn’t think the roles would be reversed so soon. Now I am attending a district conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where various Rotarians from East Africa are attending. While waiting in line for Ethiopian food I overhear various Ugandans express their difficulty with the local bread, ingera. “It is too difficult, I cannot handle it”. “How can they eat this?” “Beware it bites you back.” This morning I ask various Ugandan Rotarians, “how are you enjoying the ingera?” I am met with scrunched faces, “Alex I tell you, it is difficult.” “I bet you are waiting to eat some nice matoke again.” I learned to say these things while in Japan. Forming bonds while talking about food is very effective. “Yes, it is not long now till I can enjoy my wife's Matoke.”

Intercultural tip: Talking about food is an effective way to break the ice. It is more culturally specific and interesting than talking about the weather.