Hapag KainanI chose the words “Hapag Kainan” for the title of this blog for a simple reason, it reminds me of my fondest memories with food. Funny how as I was choosing a video to watch for this blog, I clicked the third link. Never have I ever decided so fast for something. The moment I saw the title,
this Ted talk is meant for me to watch. The video was entitled “Cooking Communities. The Cultural Importance of Food”. And speaker’s first sentences were about thanksgiving. It is about how family and friends gather and eat together during this day. Isn’t it the same with us Filipinos? How our
relatives travel far to celebrate Christmas Eve together, how we invite friends too, and how we bond during this day. How we gather around the “Hapag Kainan” to pray before to start the feast. Thus, I decided to use “Hapag Kainan” to describe what glues us Filipino families, during Noche Buena’s, birthdays, fiestas, and most importantly on normal days. Generally, most of the families are only complete either during breakfast or dinner. This is where we are supposed to eat and talk how life has been, what were you or will you do today, or even asking on how the food tastes. But, in today's world, I think these moments are now rare. Today’s dinners or breakfast are mostly you are scrolling through your phone while chewing, doing work while chewing, watching something while chewing, and just chewing and swallowing the food. There is a big difference between how we eat food before and how we eat food now. The “Hapag Kainan” is not what it used to be.Going back to the video, I think the speaker showed me her strong connection with food. How she emphasizes her points, how she discussed where do these foods originate and how they migrate from one place to another. The speaker, Ms. Rocio, conveyed that the way we eat now is not truly eating. Using your phone while eating? That can’t be considered truly eating a food. Because what eating a food really is taking time to appreciate it’s taste, it’s origins, ingredients, and recipes. It is how we enjoy it purely, genuinely, and above all, we eat it with the people we love, our families, and friends. Food can be a way to bond with others, meet new people, deepen relationships with others, and even a way to comfort someone. You see, food is not only what we consume to survive daily. It is much more than that. Funny how we never take advantage of mealtimes to ask how someone’s day is or talk about interesting things, but we find time to watch videos on our phones while eating.Ms. Rocio’s argument is something I agree with. She said that food is local, and at the same time it is global. It took me some time to ponder what does this really mean. But for now, I interpreted it in a way that explains how certain cuisines are made, how traditions relating food was created, and how do those ingredients come together to be a certain dish. It is local because it is something that we eat often, it is on our plates in front of us in our dinner table and it is global because the ingredients of the dish were originated in different lace, in a different country. So, you could say that I am relating togetherness of everyone during mealtime with how these food/ingredients come together, from different places, to be made as our traditional food.Aside from the food being cultural symbol during globalization, I thought of what more can food be viewed as in today’s time, but as I have said before, it is something that glues family, friends, or people together. We all know that in today's time, people barely appreciate food. It is as if food is just chewing and swallowing. But not everyone is lucky enough to have that effortless way
to eat food. Others even must work from dusk ‘til dawn just to provide their families a simple meal. I think, we must remind everyone the importance of eating properly. How we should appreciate everything served at “Hapag Kainan,” either it is a simple meal, or a feast. It is important to appreciate different cuisines, gourmets, but it is also important to remember that food is something that brings a relationship closer. Something that can mean a lot of things. It can be either an apology, appreciation, a comfort, or a just because. Everyone digest food, but not everyone is eating food.