Diversity?
BYU‑Idaho may foster more ethnic food choices than students think
In a rural town like Rexburg, some students may feel isolated from the outside world.
But in a town with an estimated population of 24,000, including the students at BYU‑Idaho, there may be more diversity in food than commonly expected.
With 501 international students representing 61 countries, and 5,201 returned missionaries who have served all over the world, students at BYU‑I have eaten all sorts of foods.
Where I went in the Philippines, the people were really poor,
said Doug Cook, a junior from Shelley, Idaho, and served in the Philippines Baguio mission. They ate anything they could find.
Some of these foods included dog, balut and insects.
At BYU‑I, where many students would cringe at the thought of eating foods such as balut (a fertilized duck egg), others have learned to appreciate what they have.
I grew up in a family where if Mom makes it, you eat it,
said Jessica Embley, a senior from Frankfort, Ky. If someone served me balut, I would be grateful that they put the time in to serving me.
Embley lived with her family in Ireland, where she grew accustomed to eating foreign foods. We ate a lot of turnips, and now I really like them.
Other students like Dal Adamson, a sophomore from Pasco, Wash., also had a taste of other unique foods. Adamson served his mission in Madagascar and ate some interesting, disgusting things.
Everything was served on rice. Most people were really poor and would put pig fat or skin on it,
Adamson said.
Adamson also said people ate dehydrated fish and would soak it in water to hydrate before eating.
[In Madagascar] we would drink a Coke a day to keep us healthy. It would kill everything else off in our stomachs,
Adamson said. It was so gross.
In a student’s life where cooking a meal could be a last-minute idea, people in other countries spend much of their time planning a day’s meal.
The women in Mexico would wake up and start thinking about what they would cook for dinner,
said Chris Craig, a freshman from Corona, Calif., who served a mission in Mexico City. They would make everything from scratch.
With all of the diverse foods in all parts of the world, one thing to be thankful for is the abundance of food in America. Mike Sevy, a junior from Yorktown, Va., and a returned missionary from Paraguay, said people in Paraguay ate lots of meat, although they had very little.
I was impressed about what they could make from what they had,
Sevy said. 
