What were your initial thoughts/preconceived notions about your Indian Sub-Continent nation and your aspect of culture?

HUMN 250: Semester Project—TRAVEL UPDATE ONE: INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT
Section A: Point of Departure
1 – What were your initial thoughts/preconceived notions about your Indian
Sub-Continent nation and your aspect of culture?
India is a wonderful country with attractive world wonders like Taj Mahal, Amer Fort, and other destinations. They also make variety of dishes with lots of different flavor added to them. At first I always thought that I couldn’t eat their food because of how much spice that they add to their food. Throughout time, I grew a like for their food even if it’s with spice.
2 – Why were you interested in researching this nation and this aspect of culture?
India is called the “Land of Spices” because Indian country is one of the largest nations to produce variety of spices. When I moved to America, I got the chance to meet lots of Indian students and people. They also have invited me to dinners and I loved their dishes when I tried it. Since then, I start to look up recipes and start to make them my own. I enjoy eating Indian food now because of the different taste and combination that they add to get the flavor in their dishes.
3 – What initial questions did you have regarding your aspect of culture as it is
expressed by the culture in your nation?
Why Indians add lots of spices on their food? And how come they eat lots of rice? I have heard from my friends that they eat rice between meals. Why is that?
Section B: Initial Findings (first source(s))
1 – What were your “first findings”—your initial research—on your aspect of
culture in your country?
I found that Indian foods are very different from the other foods that I have tried. I learned that cooking method is also different with the process of slow cooking. They add large combination of spices giving it a unique flavor.
2 – Where did your find your source(s)?
I have many Indian friends now that I came to the US. From time to time, I also go to Indian restaurants with my friends and have gotten to know the foods very well. And I also looked up some information on Indian foods online.
3 – What questions did your source(s) answer and what further questions did your
research raise (how did your initial research influence your subsequent
research)?
Foods of India are known for their spices. Throughout North and South India, it is a guarantee that they would use some sort of spices in their food. But it is also known that every single spices used in their food is nutritious and can be helpful in your medical health. Indians eat lots of rise because every part of Asia is mostly hot and humid climate most of the years, and rise was the easiest to grow in those conditions.
4 – What surprised you about the initial findings of your research?
What really stuck to me when I was doing my research is that Indians eat 5 meals a day. Here, in America, we only eat 3 meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. One article points that they start the day with prayer at dawn and followed by light meal. Then, several hours later come the breakfast, mid-breakfast snack, afternoon snack, and lastly is dinner.
Section C: Secondary Findings (second source(s))
1 – What were your second findings—your secondary research (your second &
third, and subsequent sources)—on your aspect of culture in your country?
The most famous and commonly used spice in India is “Cumin” or also called “Jeera”, which has been used for more that 4,000 years ago to make curry and other dishes. Also came to find that they even use spices such as cardamom, saffron and cinnamon in the Indian ice cream or “Kulfi”.
2 – How have your initial thoughts/preconceived notions about your nation evolved
now that you have done some research?
I got an better understanding about their foods and how adding different recipe of seasonings can bring out unique taste in food. I grew very fond of the smell and the taste off the food.
3 – What connections can you make between your aspect of culture in your nation and our culture here in modern day America?
While doing my research on similarities between American and Indian food that I have found no connections to each other. Indian food consists of vegetables, fruits, and dishes with variety of spices. It fits the diets of many vegetarians in India. But there are some connections of vegetarian and vegan citizens between both of the countries. For instance, many American restaurants serve Indian foods from both North and South. However, the styles of preparation are very different and have been changed to fit the modern American food.
Section D: Conclusions
1 – What conclusions can you make about your aspect of culture in your Indian
Sub-Continent nation?
In conclusion, Indian food is very different and unique in taste that combines salty, sweet, spicy and hot. Indian foods dates back five thousand years and some of the foods are still popular today. They saw food as an art form and have used different combination of spices, as many as twenty-five spices, to create unique flavor.
2 – How do you evaluate your performance on this first report: how did you conduct
your research, what do you wish you had done, how will your experience on
this report influence how you go about researching and completing the report for your second (African) nation and your third (Middle Eastern)
nation?
I think that my report on India food have been very successful that I have learned new information that I didn’t even knew about it until this project. I would say this assignment was very informative that you find knowledge that you didn’t even know about. I can successfully say that I have learned facts about Indian food and the different types of flavors that existed.