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| Racheal Alvstad / Scroll |
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| International students at BYU-Idaho find nutritional habits different than what they are accustomed to. Ingredients for dishes that are commonplace in their countries are sometimes difficult to find here. |
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The food that most students on campus have grown up eating can be found at a local grocery store. But what if you haven’t grown up in the United States of America? What if you have grown up in Mexico, Russia or France?
International students have a unique view on the food on Rexburg, especially since sometimes it means big change for the student’s eating habits.
“The international students generally don’t complain. They of all people understand the privilege it is to be here,” said Lila Gold, the Cultural Well-Being adviser.
However, when asked questions about what they didn’t like about the food in America, many international students didn’t have a hard time coming up with a reply.
International students have noticed quite a few differences between the food that they eat at home and the food that is available here. Mike Oswald, the Dean of International Students, said that the food in Rexburg is kind of boring.
“They don’t have variety,” said Sayoko Oda, a senior from Kobe, Japan.
That statement seemed to be the general consensus of most international students, especially regarding fresh food.
International students have some insights into the issue of Americans becoming increasingly overweight.
“The portion sizes are too big,” said Karine Hachon, a sophomore from Aulnay Sous Bois, France. “Even though the portions are big, they aren’t satisfying.”
“The food here is fattening,” said Alyona Veselova, a sophomore from St. Petersburg, Russia. “I gained more than the freshman 15, I gained the international 30.”
Mirza Garibovic, a freshman from Helsinborg, Sweden, often eats at the Galley and he has noticed that there is quite a bit more meat served than he expected.
“The [meat] portions are too big. I expected less meat because of the Word of Wisdom,” said Garibovic.
Most international students agree about the taste of the food in America—it has no taste or tastes like preservatives.
“The nectarines are like water with sugar inside,” said Riland Duka, a sophomore from Tirana, Albania.
Oswald said that when international students cook their ethnic food, it can cause problems with roommates because of the strong and different smells that result from cooking with unfamiliar spices.
“It can either be an opportunity for learning or an ethnic clash,” said Oswald.
Both Gold and Oswald agree that students planning on serving missions should be especially open to trying other ethnic foods, as they might be required to eat unfamiliar foods on their missions.
