Running head: CULTURAL IMMERSION #4

Cultural Immersion: Part C Leonard T. Thomas II Georgia State University Professor Maria Azuri (SW 3000)

CULTURAL IMMERSION #4

For my final immersion, I decided to do some exploring in my own local community. There is an independently owned grocery store just within proximity of one of my friends homes called Gardens Best European Grocery. I hardly ever see customers in the store and there is always a gathering of individuals on the benches outside of the shop. To me, it always seemed somewhat intimidating. In the past, I felt as though they would know that I wasnt one of them. Only when I analyzed this train of thought did I realized how completely ridiculous it was. As a business entity, they would appreciate any customer at all. My fear was I wasnt one of them because I dont look remotely similar to them. As an African American, I sometimes like to stick to my neck of the woods for a feeling of safety and protection. I have had very little exposure to European foods or many European countries for that matter. I have friends from Ireland and Germany, but there are dozens of other countries in continental Europe that I have had little to no experience with at all. My current neighbors recently emigrated from Bosnia and are very lovely, kind people. They often roast lamb in their back yard and have even offered to share it with me on occasion. This is the limit to the scope of my experience with truly European foods, though. The first thing I noticed about the store was the congregation of individuals sitting in the front that were speaking a different language. They gave me a nod as I entered the store. The groceries in the store were very minimal. There were only three aisles of goods, most of which were desserts, biscuits and candies. There were also imported fruit juices, soups, canned fish and kaffe. In the back was a single display case that held various portions and trimmings of meat, including lamb and pork. I bought a few items in the store to share with my friends. I did not know what these items were when I bought them, and ended up doing some follow up research when I returned home. One item was called Lokum, and it was of Bosnian origin. It is a type of light tea biscuit that is vanilla in flavor. I also bought a Kolumbo bar, which is hazelnuts and honey wrapped in milk chocolate and is a product of Croatia. An item I found especially interesting was a banana flavored foam covered in chocolate. This is product is very popular in Eastern Europe and is made in a country called Macedonia, which is located directly beside Albania. The other two items I purchased were Kinder Shoko Bons, which are a chocolate eggs with hazelnut filling (German), and Negro eucalyptus candies, made by a company in Serbia called Pionir. The foods sold in the grocery seemed to reflect mainly cultures in Eastern Europe and the Adriatic countries. I spoke briefly with the employee who rang up all my items, who was from Bosnia herself. She said that the Eastern European culture does not receive much representation in this part of the country and also that there was not a very solid customer base. For that reason, they are being forced to sell their business. This immersion, though not nearly as insightful as the others, made me realize how difficult it is for immigrants to move to America and earn an honest living. It is important to be aware of such difficulties and obstacles when serving potential clients.