Michael Adiemeli

Esl 100

September 25, 2019

                                       Blending the past with the present

I wondered how life would be in the United States of America. I had just won a scholarship to go and study in the US. I had applied for the award for several years, and now a great opportunity had presented itself. My family held a family and friends party to bid me farewell before I could depart. I could not go with my family because I was going to further my studies. Everyone in the party believed I was so lucky and associated me with success. We ate our traditional meals, dressed according to our culture, and danced. It was a memorable day.  Time for me to leave for the United States came, and as I boarded the plane, I was so happy. My dream to study in a different country had finally come true. I could not stop imagining how the place looked like and the new friends I would make. My parents were filled with joy and gave me their blessings. I later realized that Nigerian food and drinks are different from USA meals.

          I missed traditional Nigerian ceremonial foods eaten during Ogun festivals, Nnewi Afiaolu, and Osun festivals. Nnewi is a festival held around July in Nigeria. The festival Nnewi heralds the availability of new yams. Osun is a festival held at the end of a rainy season usually in august. Lastly, Ogun is a party observed by the Yoruba people in Ondo state. Ogun is a festival held in honor of a warrior called Ogun.  Nigerian parties had different meals. The pepper soup, which serves as an appetizer in most Nigerian parties was usually the first to be served. Presence of pepper soup acted as a reminder that there would be plenty of food in the party. Pounded yam is served later with soup like ogbono or vegetables. These were the yams which were boiled and smoothened. Besides, the yams are consumed during the Nnewi festival ceremony.  Garri is my favorite during the parties. Garri is prepared from fermented cassava tubers. It is mixed with hot water and served with all kinds of stews and soups. The Osun festivals could not end without the jolly of rice. It is rice that is so colorful and made from tomatoes, onions, chilies, and spices. The jolly of rice is served with meat or chicken, and it marked special or social events. Also, suya is a standard meal at the Nigerian parties. Suya is commonly eaten in the evenings at the Nnewi festivals, and it is more snack-like. Suya is made from fish or meat mixed with spices. The spices used to make the suya include peanuts, onions, stock flavors, and at times pepper. This meal is not found in the USA ceremonies, and this made me feel distanced from my home country.

Moreover, hotels in the US prepare meals that are different from the food made in Nigerian hotels. There are international hotels in the US that cooked cuisines from different countries; however, their meals were so expensive. I longed for the Nigerian cooked noodles. There are noodles in the US hotel. However, Nigeria noodles are unique. The uniqueness is because Nigerian noodles are made from fresh pepper, ugwu, and spices giving them the taste they have. Amala and Ewedu is also a meal I liked eating in Nigerian hotels. The tasty meal is made from grinding dried yams and potato barks to come up with powder. The powder is then mixed with hot water. The Ewedu is made from vegetables and spices. Unfortunately, this Nigerian food could not be food in any hotel in the US. I loved cooking, but I preferred taking this meal in the hotel because preparing it consumed time. I also enjoyed taking in the company of my friends. Moin-Moin is another typical dish in Nigerian hotels. Moin-Moin is available in the US international hotels under Nigerian cuisine. Moin-Moin in the US is so expensive to acquire and is also prepared quite differently from the original Nigerian moni -moni. The Nigerian moin-moin recipe includes grounded beans and tomatoes and is eaten with joll of rice, ijebu, garri among others. I mostly missed the moni-moni added to eggs and chicken. I remember specifying my requirements for the meal whenever I visited the hotel. I would carry the food home and enjoy it as I listened to traditional music, and the feeling was unexplainable.  The moment of listening to music while eating moni-moni remained a dream in the US.

Lastly, traditional Nigerian drinks so amazing and addictive. I cannot make drinks in the US because I lack the ingredients. I was used to taking zobo made from dried red calyces and sepals of Rosemary leaves. The drink is later mixed with ginger. I always drunk zobo whenever I felt tired because it refreshed the body and regulated blood pressure. I missed kunu, a sweet and spicy drink. Kunu is a drink with medicinal value but very tasty. The common ingredients of Kunu are rice, millet, and sorghum. I remember taking this drink whenever I could experience indigestion problems, and never once did it fail me. My grandmother always believed kunu to soothe cold and coughs and also reducing the risks associated with diabetes. I longed for the day I would be home and enjoy these drinks.

Conclusively, there is a lot of difference between Nigerian foods and food in the US. The scholarship I got allowed me to experience life in a land far away from Nigeria. My love for traditional Nigerian meals made it possible to note a difference in food between the two countries. Food eaten in the Osun and Oguna ceremonies in Nigeria is easily distinguished from foods prepared in the US parties. Nigerian celebrations are made of foods such as joll of rice, suya, and pepper soup. Also, most of the hotels abroad have Nigerian cuisine though it is expensive and tastes quite different from the traditional Nigerian food. In Nigerian hotels, I loved eating the Nigerian nodules, Amala and Ewedu and moin-moin. Lastly, Nigerian drinks such as zobo, and kunu could not be found in the USA. Memories of the meals and drinks back in Nigeria gave me homesick. I am getting used to new recipe and meals, but I still love my traditional meals.