I lived in Am Steingarten in Mannheim. This was a dorm-like residence building where many other exchange students lived. About half way through the semester, some of the exchange students began cooking big dinners for everyone. We started a rotation where we would switch off between American themed dinners, Chinese, and Norwegian. These dinners gave us something to look forward to and to break up our school weeks. It gave us a chance to be reminded of home by cooking dishes familiar to us and also gave us the chance to try foods and traditions from other cultures as well. We tried to cook fun American dishes such as sloppy joes, pancakes and waffles, burgers and hotdogs, and mashed potatoes. Although it was nice to eat these familiar dishes, it was nothing compared to the international meals we were treated to. The only Chinese food I had ever had was the greasy yet popular American version of it. This was nothing like the fresh and authentic Chinese food we had prepared for us. Our Chinese friends shopped for the freshest ingredients at a Chinese market and prepared some fantastic meals. Another memorable meal we had was created by our Norwegian friends. They prepared a traditional porridge for us which is usually served around Christmas time. They played us some soothing Norwegian music, and taught us about their traditions. They had hidden an almond in one of the bowls of porridge. The person who ends up with the almond wins a prize. In our case, it was a large bar of Norwegian chocolate, according to them, “the best chocolate in the world.” This was a really fun way to learn more about the cultures of the friends we were living with. The dinners were always a fun time and I highly suggest organizing something like this with international friends.
