Many of you read my other post and I was very pleased with the advice I received and am looking for more -
This week is Thanksgiving, and I would like to include our student in the "goings on" - We have talked to her about Thanksgiving - but she is having a difficult time understanding it - Is there any holidays in Switzerland that would be comparable, so that I can explain it to her better?
In addition, we are having a difficult time finding food that our student will eat.....I have asked her many times what she ate in Switzerland - but she does not know - I actually asked her to ask her mom more than once....but we still can not seem to get an answer....so no worries on that - I am wondering if I can find some more great advice on this forum instead......
As I am a vegan - and she says she was a vegetarian - but she eats meat now..... it is confusing.....what type of food do many of you eat?
When I look on the internet - It seems like the only thing I can find is fondue, chocolate in everything and swiss cheese - are there any good sites that you can recommend - as when I search - I can't seem to find a lot of info.........
We have a huge Thanksgiving Dinner at our brothers house (40 people)- and I thought it would be fun to bring a Swiss Dish.....(something easy to prepare though....) I have asked her - but she really does not know.....
The things that I will be bringing are - Apple Pie - Roasted Sweet Potatoes - Butternut Squash Soup - Oatmeal Rolls -
Any "easy" Swiss recipes that are staples of holidays would be so fabulous!! Plus hopefully it will help us bond if we make it together.....and I think that she would enjoy bringing something that is Swiss........
But I can help you on the holiday food issue. Grilled koi carp. It's a very popular Swiss speciality and your new daughter will love it. It's fun to cook too, especially if you start with live carp, as is the practice in the best "Schwyzer Koikarperei" establishments.
If your local fishmonger doesn't stock koi carp, admonish him, because it really is very tasty. Can you get koi carp from gas stations in the US? Our local Avia gas stations here in Basel usually have a bucket or two of live koi carp out the front. You have to be quick in summer, because sometimes when it's hot the carp are practically half-cooked when you buy them, which I find impacts the flavour somewhat and also detracts from the sport of cooking them. You shouldn't have any problems at this time of year, though.
Your host daughter will be very excited. Please let us know how it goes!
Try again. It's not that difficult of a concept. I quickly ran a brief overview through Babel Fish to get the following:
"Ein Bündel wacko fromme Fundamentalisten von der England-Übersiedlung nach Amerika. Ein Bündel von ihnen sterben der erste Winter. Einige naive Eingeborene helfen ihnen heraus. Sie haben eine große Partei, zum zu sagen danken Ihnen. Die Eingeborenen werden langsam weg in den nächsten Jahrhunderten getötet. Die Eingeborenen sagen nicht danken Ihnen als Ausgleich. Sie werden auf Reservierungen verschoben."
Hi, and Happy Thanksgiving! The Swiss eat both pumpkin soup and squash soup in the fall. You should also be able to find Gruyeres cheese at any good supermarket and you could incorporate that into a dish with cauliflower or brussel sprouts.
She would be very familiar with boiled new potatoes, (skins off!), with butter and parsley. You should also be able to find Lindt chocolates for dessert. She will also feel at home with any sweet potato, rutabaga or turnip dish, except probably not with mini-marshmallows on top!
She will have never seen a whole, roasted turkey before, but will be quite familiar with a roasted duck, goose or partridge. She will not be familiar with cranberries, but a lingonberry jam or chutney will look normal to her. Roasted chestnuts are sold here in kiosks on every corner by the bagful as snacks. Maybe a dessert incorporating chestnuts?
As for explaining the concept, she will not know what either an Indian or a Pilgrim is but she will understand a Fall Harvest Festival. Good luck!
With this and your previous thread, it seems that there is a real breakdown in communication. If the girl is unwilling to tell you what she normally eats then let her have the food that you normally serve and stop pandering to her manipulations. Is this a language issue or one borne from stubbornness?
Many of the food types are similar in both countries and think about northern European root vegetables. Swiss food is relatively bland (void of spices) but think that she is on exchange and should experience a thanksgiving dinner 'the American way' not a pseudo Swiss way.
Personally, I find Swiss food is nothing special, and supposing you don't want to make cheese fondue for Thanksgiving (you should not), just go with the American tradition and have her help you cook the American meal -- I bet you she has never, ever seen a turkey as big as what you plan to put into the oven!
She still sounds a bit complicated, so just do your best to have her integrate in the holiday as you experience it without bending over backwards to make her happy -- that's all part of the learning of an exchange program, right? To experience the local culture? Each of the foreign visitors we had over for the holiday back in the states were utterly amazed at the sheer quantity of food we used to put out for Thanksgiving, so this should be special in itself!
I was a host for students studying english when I lived in LA. I had students from many different parts of the world. My first student was Swiss, and there were many other Swiss students that followed.
I never had a problem with students not wanting to eat the meals I prepared. In fact, they were eager to try something new. And, explaining the holidays was not that difficult for them to understand....
I think there is something else that's going on here that you are not aware of. Possibly, the reason the student is not engaging you is because he/she is not happy in your home for some reason.
There was a case, not that this is the situation, where a Swiss student was staying with a host family and they had him sleeping on the floor with the dog. The school did not know what was happening because the Swiss student did not say anything. So, one day in class during a discussion, the student mentioned that he wasn't getting enough sleep because of sleeping on the floor with the dog. The teacher reported this to the administrator of the school, and I received a call asking if I could host him. When he came to stay with me I asked why did he not tell the school he was sleeping on the floor. He told me that he didn't know... I was surprised considering he was 17 at the time and came from a very wealthy family. I would have thought he would have been cocky and demanding, and would have not settled for those conditions.
If I were you, I would ask the student if they are happy living with you.....
"Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind..."
Like others said, don't pander to her. It sounds like she is trying to be a pain. She will eat when she gets hungry enough. Just keep plenty of salad and fresh fruit on hand.
An easy and typical dish to take to your brother's house? I would suggest Potato Gratin. Easy, known to Swiss and Americans and eveybody likes it (well, at least I do!).
about 2 lbs potatoes
2 med chopped onions
salt
pepper
butter for baking dish
3 1/2 oz grated Gruyere Cheese
3/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup cream
Cut potatoes into thin slices and place in bowl with onions and sprinkle of salt/pepper. Mix it up well. Grease a casserole dish and add the potato mixture and cheese. Mix wine with 1/3 cup water and pour in dish. Cover with foil and bake for 75 min in 350 degree oven. When potatoes are tender, pour in the cream. Bake uncovered for another 15 minutes.
Oh, and my Swiss hubby and kids love it when I add cubed ham and serve it with salad.
Good luck! I can remember what I was like as a teenage girl and I know I wasn't fun! At least not to adults!
Nah, tell her to build a bridge and get over herself. It sounds like you're bending over backwards to accommodate her, now it's her turn to start acting like an adult, and representing her Land, and giving what she owes. It's not an excuse that she finds the language hard, 80% of what we communicate we do without speaking anyway, and it's not hard for her to pick up a dictionary/phrasebook and give it a go. By taking her on, you deserve the two way arbeit.
She has come to America to learn about America and learn English etc... why the hell would you want to give her Swiss food? she can have that all the time when she is back here. Dish her up a plate of what you are having and if she doesn't eat it tough.
FFS why all this nonsense?
If i went to India on an exchange and they gave me Chicken Tikika Masala i'd be a bit disappointed - I'd want to eat THEIR authentic food
And to be honest Swiss food v American food? - there's not a great deal of difference really - if she is veggie then i am sure a plate of thanksgiving veggies ala American style will be no different to a plate of veggies ala Swiss style
It's an American tradition- my mother typically does this; pasterized Brie was a real cringer for us and her favorite repeated crime is serving big Italian dinners to jet-lagged Italians. It doesn't make much sense!