Taking the Good with the Bad

One of life's most difficult challenges is probably the lonesome process of adapting to a new culture. Still, research shows that the average number of immigrants that annually enter the United States is 800,000. Depending on whether you originally come from an eastern or western culture, the personal experiences of adjusting to the American culture do certainly vary. In my case, I claim that it was easier for me to give up German habits than for someone who didn't grow up in the western world, yet I still have had a hard time adapting to certain aspects of the American culture. Furthermore, I anticipate to only stay in this country as an Au Pair for a certain amount of time, which makes it even more difficult for me to renounce German culture in most instances and to live the real American way of life. Even though I fell in love with this country the very first day I got here I've had and I am still having trouble getting used to American food and the eating habits that come along with it.

One of the first things I noticed when I arrived in America was the great amount and variety of fast food establishments. The average American probably eats out at a fast food restaurant four to five times a week. I can definitely see the advantage of saving time and money, but nowadays people are just getting very lazy and are not cooking nutritious meals for their families anymore. Instead, those families are going out eating fatty and greasy food. Preparing fresh meals for dinner has become very rare and throughout the day you can expect to find tons of junk food in the kitchen. I once checked the list of ingredients on the back of a cereal box and shook my head in disbelief. Besides scary sounding miscellaneous I was shocked by how much sugar I am actually eating with just one bowl of this certain cereal every morning. It actually seems like that there is sugar in every kind of food in America. Considering the great quantities of food and the free-refill offers made at almost every restaurant, it is evident that America is the country with the biggest obesity problem in the world. However, the awareness that any kind of fast food is unhealthy and that a large consumption can quickly lead to overweight, does not seem to stop Americans from eating another cheeseburger at McDonald’s.

The habit of going to a fast food restaurant or ordering food in does certainly save time, but it makes eating healthy secondary. Since I was used to eating a lot of fresh food in Germany, I value taking time to prepare and eat fresh meals. Most Germans enjoy eating socially and making eating an experience for everyone joining them in their daily meals. In America, I have the impression that everybody is always too busy to eat. Many Americans are always in a rush and only manage to snack on food in between appointments. Moreover, it is also tough for me to get used to the fact that a warm meal is usually served for dinner. In Germany, we consider lunch to be the most important meal of the day, which is the reason why we rather have a warm meal for lunch than for dinner. Besides we believe that a good lunch gives one his/her necessary load of energy for the day, and that one rather skips dinner before he/she is going to have a large meal before nighttime.

Since I am living with an observant Jewish family, eating kosher became another aspect of my new life that took me quite a long time to adjust to. At first, it was hard for me to keep the rules of eating kosher in mind and also to remember not to use the wrong dishes or to make sure that they don't get mixed up in the kitchen. I once forgot that dairy products and meat must not be eaten together, and I fried a piece of chicken in butter in a dairy pan. Not only did we have to throw away the chicken, but we also had to get rid of the pan. That was the day I gave up cooking in a Jewish household.

Despite gaining weight, not being able to experience German eating habits anymore and sticking to the rules of eating kosher, I have never really had nor will I ever have a lot of difficulties of adapting the American way of life. Although I never expected to miss German food as much as I do, I don't regret my decision of coming to the U.S. because I feel very comfortable in my new environment. Especially as time passes by, I have the feeling that it becomes easier to accept the cultural changes.