I was born and raised in the small, all white town of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador. With minimal exposure to other cultures, I was heavily impacted by western media and the negative stereotypes implemented by my peers. Fast forward to 2021, I had packed my things and moved to the multicultural city of Kamloops, British Columbia. Everywhere I looked there was a different person doing a different thing, but those stereotypes still lived in my head.

As a proud Irish daughter, food is the gateway to my heart and culture. The way we act at the dinner table is crucial to connection and respect, however I had no idea that there were different customs outside of my own. As my time in BC progressed, my degree had led me to meeting many people of Indian culture. It was and still is so fascinating to see hundreds of different cultures within the one country. With my love for cuisine in mind, I wanted to learn and understand their ways of dining and cooking. I was taken aback, even a little disturbed when I came to learn that they eat with their hands, however if it’s their culture, who am I to judge? 

This semester has been eye opening for me. I have begun my role as an intercultural ambassador while progressing in my biology degree. I am able to learn about microbes and bacteria in my classes and how they influence the way we are raised. With different locations and actions impacting our own microbioms (bodies), every action we have experienced since birth will lead to consequences as adults. Along with this, my job as an intercultural ambassador has really made me understand and appreciate the different cultures present at TRU and made me really rethink some of my old ideologies about different cultures. I have had the opportunity to talk to many different leaders and have conversations that have opened my eyes to many global issues and the people who I surround myself with. 

The beginning of November I had lunch with a friend from India. I noticed she was eating with a fork and I asked her why, knowing that it is her culture to eat with her hands. She mentioned that it often makes people uncomfortable here in Canada and she avoided it when out in public. I then decided to ask if she could teach me the proper way to eat and we really shared a moment of connection. It was at that moment I realized that it is different, not gross. I began applying my knowledge of biology to this moment and understood that it is actually helping her body as she is introducing different microbes to her body. I finally understood the meaning of “knowledge is power”. Without education and the ability to learn new things, we may often see different things as “gross” or “weird” simply because we don’t want to learn why people do what they do.

After a great meal of Indian food and eating with our hands, I reflected on how much I’ve grown and the realization had hit of how racist some of our thoughts really are. As Canadians, we aim to welcome everybody to this land, yet fail to fully see the reasoning behind the ways of other cultures. We often let the media and our peers influence us and it’s our jobs to begin respecting and understanding other people’s cultures. I will forever appreciate the moments that lead to this realization and I hope to share my learnings with others going forward. I want to make sure I completely understand the impact of my words and thoughts and how they may hurt those around me. The beauty of education is the ability to learn and unlearn which is something I will never take for granted.