When Food Becomes the First Line of Institutional Globalization
In any university, often the cafeteria becomes a sort of the student body's microcosm. The cheap and hearty fare of the speedy provided lunch menu is a godsend for poor students with tight class schedules. Even for those with time to spare, cafeterias are perfect places to meet up with friends within the college, as they are usually centrally located, easily reached from offices and classrooms scattered around the school campus. It is over the busy lunch hours when student life at its most basic social aspect becomes apparent. Gossip, stories, and laughs fly across food halls unusually loud by Japanese standards.
In the world's most global universities, those gossips and stories can be heard in many different languages. That is not different here in the University of Tokyo. Big groups of Indians, Chinese, and various Asians dominate, while some English, native and otherwise, can also be heard over lunch. Aside from the usual mundane conversations of courses and daily life, one of the most commonly overheard conversation topics is actually on the topic of food offered at the cafeterias. People ask each other what is that they are eating, how are they cooked, and what are the ingredients and tastes.
No wonder, as even in Japan's most global university, the cafeteria menu is overwhelmingly Japanese. Practically everything is complemented by rice and miso soup, with occasional Japanese-style pasta dishes and fried meat cutlets the only non-Asian oriented offerings. In the cafeterias' entrances, groups of foreign students often loiter around the pictures of today's choices, explaining in their native tongues to each other what each of the offering is, and which one could be palatable. It is a rather unique sight, given that the university's Japanese students and staff barely bat an eye to the menu before heading to the counters.
It is often in trivial matters like cafeteria offerings that globalization is slowest to seep in. Despite Japanese foods' incredible popularity abroad in the recent years, non-Japanese familiar with Japanese cuisine remain rather limited. And while Japanese "specialty" foods like tempura, sushi, and ramen have gained quite some traction in many parts of the world, more "regular" Japanese foods, like the obscure main dishes complemented by rice and miso soup offered at the university cafeterias, remain unusual even for those foreigners used to eating Japanese cuisine on a regular basis.
The perplexity with which foreign students scrutinize the food offerings in the cafeteria is a situation more or less unique to non-Asian countries. While cafeteria food in Western countries can be much much worse in terms of quality (both in terms of adverse impact on health and wallet, not to mention lack of diversity and nutrition), at least they offer menus that are easily understood, with tastes easily imaginable even for people who have never eaten them. Some of them, like hot dogs, pizza, and burgers, have become so global that it is difficult to imagine people who would discuss what they are and how they are cooked.
Thus, while foreigners studying in Western universities may not enjoy the food offered by cafeterias, they will at least not have a culture shock simply because of the food. They will complain, but they will not be mystified in ways that foreign students in Japanese universities. And because food is so familiar, feeding oneself cheaply (even if not so pleasantly) becomes a breeze. One less pain to deal with in the daily struggle as a student in a foreign land, learning not only from the books but also from just living. Familiar food makes the struggle a little less daunting.
Of course, Japanese cafeterias are doing their own parts to make foreigners feel a little bit more at home. At the University of Tokyo, halal menu items are clearly marked in English for the benefit of Muslim students, an act in itself unimaginable in the vast majority of regular Japanese eateries. And the fact that all menu items have comprehensible English names describing what they are does help to demystify the culinary concoctions to foreigners. Again, the prevalence of the English menu, and the meticulous care with which the translations are done, is highly uncommon in regular Japanese restaurants.
Yet, ultimately, for people who did not grow up with Japanese food, eating it daily can be difficult. The author, for instance, has many white friends who mentioned the difficulty of eating rice on a daily basis. Cafeterias, given their subsidized pricing, essentially are a public service for cash-strapped students. Making greater attempts to make them truly public to a global student population would be just as important as any internationally renowned research and faculty for making the university a more global one. Restructuring the cafeteria menus to be more inclusive would be a good first step.
In the world's most global universities, those gossips and stories can be heard in many different languages. That is not different here in the University of Tokyo. Big groups of Indians, Chinese, and various Asians dominate, while some English, native and otherwise, can also be heard over lunch. Aside from the usual mundane conversations of courses and daily life, one of the most commonly overheard conversation topics is actually on the topic of food offered at the cafeterias. People ask each other what is that they are eating, how are they cooked, and what are the ingredients and tastes.
No wonder, as even in Japan's most global university, the cafeteria menu is overwhelmingly Japanese. Practically everything is complemented by rice and miso soup, with occasional Japanese-style pasta dishes and fried meat cutlets the only non-Asian oriented offerings. In the cafeterias' entrances, groups of foreign students often loiter around the pictures of today's choices, explaining in their native tongues to each other what each of the offering is, and which one could be palatable. It is a rather unique sight, given that the university's Japanese students and staff barely bat an eye to the menu before heading to the counters.
It is often in trivial matters like cafeteria offerings that globalization is slowest to seep in. Despite Japanese foods' incredible popularity abroad in the recent years, non-Japanese familiar with Japanese cuisine remain rather limited. And while Japanese "specialty" foods like tempura, sushi, and ramen have gained quite some traction in many parts of the world, more "regular" Japanese foods, like the obscure main dishes complemented by rice and miso soup offered at the university cafeterias, remain unusual even for those foreigners used to eating Japanese cuisine on a regular basis.
The perplexity with which foreign students scrutinize the food offerings in the cafeteria is a situation more or less unique to non-Asian countries. While cafeteria food in Western countries can be much much worse in terms of quality (both in terms of adverse impact on health and wallet, not to mention lack of diversity and nutrition), at least they offer menus that are easily understood, with tastes easily imaginable even for people who have never eaten them. Some of them, like hot dogs, pizza, and burgers, have become so global that it is difficult to imagine people who would discuss what they are and how they are cooked.
Thus, while foreigners studying in Western universities may not enjoy the food offered by cafeterias, they will at least not have a culture shock simply because of the food. They will complain, but they will not be mystified in ways that foreign students in Japanese universities. And because food is so familiar, feeding oneself cheaply (even if not so pleasantly) becomes a breeze. One less pain to deal with in the daily struggle as a student in a foreign land, learning not only from the books but also from just living. Familiar food makes the struggle a little less daunting.
Of course, Japanese cafeterias are doing their own parts to make foreigners feel a little bit more at home. At the University of Tokyo, halal menu items are clearly marked in English for the benefit of Muslim students, an act in itself unimaginable in the vast majority of regular Japanese eateries. And the fact that all menu items have comprehensible English names describing what they are does help to demystify the culinary concoctions to foreigners. Again, the prevalence of the English menu, and the meticulous care with which the translations are done, is highly uncommon in regular Japanese restaurants.
Yet, ultimately, for people who did not grow up with Japanese food, eating it daily can be difficult. The author, for instance, has many white friends who mentioned the difficulty of eating rice on a daily basis. Cafeterias, given their subsidized pricing, essentially are a public service for cash-strapped students. Making greater attempts to make them truly public to a global student population would be just as important as any internationally renowned research and faculty for making the university a more global one. Restructuring the cafeteria menus to be more inclusive would be a good first step.
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