Acculturation

Interview Topic

Questions Asked

Interviewees’ Answer

Comparison to textbook and other resources

Description of Interviewee

Q1. What is your name and where were you born?

Sharon Lulu Hassan from UAE in the middle east.

Q2. How old are you and for how long have you been here in the USA?

28 years and for four years and I like it here.

Q3. Which languages are you conversant with and what culture are you born to?

French, Germany, English and Arabic. I am a Muslim.

Worldview

Q1. What is your view on Religion and nutrition worldwide?

There are two different aspects which interlock each other. Globally, some strictly adhere to what their religion wants them to have or not have and some don’t care at all.

Religion is a free aspect. According to the text, Judaism for instance dictates what is to be eaten or not. In Islam religion, nutrition is somehow influenced by religion.

Q2. Where do you stand?

I’m not perfect I believe I tend to behave how I like, but I still have my religion and beliefs in mind.

Today people practice the freedom of religion by eating what they want to. The text clearly states that punishment was subjected to those who broke the law by eating what the law forbids them.

Q3. How far is religion respected or rather disrespected concerning food consumed?

Celebrations are done and, in some cultures, they eat anything they want. Muslim do try to adhere but sometimes it feels like a prison.

Where there is a celebration there’s food. Nowadays the food that’s peoples’ favorite is the one that is offered

Religion

Q1. Should religion influence nutrition decisions?

Yes and no. It’s good to follow the pattern found but again, I believe we should be given the freedom to choose what we want.

Judaism for instance, this was a law. In Islam, it’s also a law. What if what the religion wants doesn’t fit with my body. This is a free world.

Q2. Religion or the world?

Both. I would choose both but have the freedom to sometimes choose what I want.

Currently, regardless of which religion you belong to, you can travel anywhere as long as you respect each other's belief. Religion should be treated as a personal issue

Q3. How has religion and nutrition influenced cultures worldwide?

Nowadays, to be honest, everything has been overruled. A lot of people don’t care anymore. However, there are still those follow and practice as taught.

The world right now maybe stands at a balance of good and bad. Judaism is no longer practice literary but some cultures tend to follow this culture. As people travel, they are more enriched in knowledge which makes their faith drift and starts believing more in freedom.

Health Beliefs

Q1. SLH, the fact that you are a Muslim, does it make you follow all the beliefs in Islam religion?

Where you were born, you get to do what everyone else is doing When I am at home, the UAE I do what they do. But like out here in the USA, I personally have to adapt. So, yes.

Saying yes doesn’t mean that one will do as asked. Sometimes it’s just done for formalities and the sake of peace maintenance. Back then, not following religious practices was regarded as a highly offensive.

Q2. Between Islam and Christianity, which religion has strict health beliefs?

I’ll say Islam because I know it all but for Christianity, I can’t say much. To an extent, people choose to eat what they feel is good for them.

You can only know what you have been taught better than what you just started learning on self. Learning by doing and having an advantageous environment is one of the things that make a person to develop deeper roots to their religion.

Q3. Is there punishment subjected to those who eat against Islam religious beliefs?

There’s no punishment, everyone has free will. It’s considered a sin if you do though. To each their own.

Peace is the greatest pleasure that one should find in a certain religion. It all starts with a person. For Jewish people, they maybe were unlucky to have rules imposed on religious matters especially food-related issues.

Food/Meal Patterns

Q1. About meal patterns and what to eat, how you practice that?

I eat what I want when am away from the UAE. On meal patterns, I eat when I’m hungry not because of time of day.

It’s more of an option or a need today. People used to eat in phases. The body should be fed only when need be not because the food is available.

Q2. Do meal patterns and what to consume matter in other cultures outside your domain?

I don’t think so. I believe we eat when we are hungry. Or otherwise, that’s what it should be.

It’s no longer a matter of a pattern but whenever the body is hungry.

Q3. Is religion somehow a copy concerning celebrations and the type of food consume thereafter?

No. I don’t think so. The fact that we have a calendar that shows different dates for different occasions means we should be celebrating together as one. It’s not a copy, it’s just one.

There is a lot to believe in. the freedom of religion is practiced all over but despite these differences, we all are human beings with the same origin despite our nutrition differences. Eating different doesn’t make one superior or inferior in comparison to each other.

Food Commonly Consumed

Q1. Do you believe and do you follow the practice of cultural food consumed regularly?

I believe we should eat what we want whenever we want.

Craving nowadays dictates what someone wants to eat. Sometimes religion and culture take over and forbids certain foods.

Q2. Which is your common meal as a Muslim?

As an Arab, a common meal is just rice with meat.

Religion doesn’t tell what’s the favorite meal for a person. Not eating pork meat doesn’t mean that I don't belong or I do belong to a certain culture.

Q3. Do you love that meal?

I’ve had the meal so many times it gets tiresome. But it reminds me of my family.

The connection between meals is often created by the memories made when we eat.