for the sake of DIVERSITY!

Dear Diary,

I’m not surviving. I am thriving.
In my various assiqnments, I am opportuned to deal with lots of people from varying cultures and backgrounds.
If there’s anything I’m fascinated about, it’ll have to entail DIVERSITY. I always wonder what life will be like if we all had the same fashion sense, fancied the same cars, spoke with the same accent and ate the same foods..what a bore that would be..so in the light of diversity, me jus wan tel yuh what me eat yestiday, ACKEE &SALT FISH!! Well garnished with green bananas and yam.

Bwoy was it good!
If you don’t know, Ackee and Salt fish is the beaver and Maple syrup of Jamaica and to my non Canadian friends who don’t understand our obsession with the beaver, this meal is the only thing that matters on the Caribbean shores.
Today was my first time trying it though ‘ve always longed to try it, today a colleague of mine who's Jamaican by descent decided she was sick of hearing me ask what Ackee tasted like and so treated me to a dish of Ackee and saltfish.

But why the obsession with this food though? It’s the staple meal in Jamaica, eaten by some for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. People of Jamaican descent do not joke with this food..its a national heritage!

As I enjoyed the meal, it led me to ask some questions and do some research about this meal and I found out that Ackee can be a fruit or a vegetable, there’s a huge debate on what it really is since it looks like a fruit, has seeds but is grown like a vegetable, i learned that if not properly prepared/cleaned, it can be poisonous.. I also learned that this food was originally brought from West Africa and it’s a slave food!

There’s so much history and emotion Ackee and salt fish carries..you wonder why its such a unifying agent which forms bonds amongst the people

At my first bite of this “strange” food, evry thing tasted weird..buh as I kept on eating, I realize this is good food and it made me think of how many people must think the typical African food taste “bad” or “strange” cuz you’re not used to it..

I am reminded of when I had a Ghanian Staple, "Kenke" for the first time, I thought to myself, does food have to stink? Buh hey, when you get into it, you’re home with that delicacy or Sushi which I originally thought was nasty and gross..but today has made its way to one of my favourite meals and when am with my red dragon, nothing else matters!



Eating Ackee & Salt Fish with green bananas/yam @ work is the TRUTH!


LESSONS LEARNED

Be open and accepting of other cultures because in as much as you think their food sucks, they def think you’re insane for eating all that 'molded substance' with slimy stuff you call soup!

No food was ‘created’ delicious…don’t confuse an acquired taste with a good taste. I realize evry one including corporations claim diversity but hardly does any one ever Walk the talk..try something from a different culture today... for the sake of DIVERSITY!