WARMTH COMES IN A VARIETY OF FORMS . . . 

There's the physical heat that comes from hot temperatures. And then there is the warmth that you feel when you're in the presence of those who make you feel alive, who make you feel connected - a part of something. This can be a relative, or a friend, or even a stranger. 

Such is the case with Gina and the many folks she encounters on her adventures across the country. These past few weeks we've been sharing her stories (you can look forward to reading more of them up until the New Year) and we're continually awed by the fundamental power of food to bring strangers together, quickly and easily. 

This week, Gina recounts her experience with Ed, an Iraqi native who found his way to the Phoenix area and operates a little shop called Gyros Express. She writes:

“I’m from Iraq and speak Jesus’s language: Aramaic,” Ed proclaims while tugging at his t-shirt sleeve to reveal a tattoo of Jesus’s face. We’re sitting on the patio outside of Gyros Express, one of his Phoenix-area eateries. I had just enjoyed a bright and fresh falafel salad.

Ed grew up cooking and eating Mediterranean food, especially steak shawarma. As a young man, he became a sniper in the Iraqi army during the Iraq-Iran War that claimed 1 million lives. Ed lifts my hand to his temple, and I feel a bump beneath my finger—shrapnel from a bomb. The experience is still with him.

After the war and 6 years of living in Greece, Ed moved to the U.S. and worked in parking. He realized this country was different when he made eye contact with a man, and the man’s response was, “What the $@&# you lookin’ at?” Ed recalls thinking, “I’m new here, but I don’t know what culture this is. Where I come from, you say ‘good morning.’” ... (continued)

What other food traditions have immigrants shared with the U.S.? Ed puts ketchup on his shawarma - how have other countries’ foods influenced your own?

Cheers,

Taylor + Dorothy + GINA*
Co-Founders, Good Food Jobs
Creator of American Heirloom Project + Maker of Heirloom Mail
 

*Gina Lorubbio, creator of American Heirloom Project and maker of Heirloom Mail, spent the past two months savoring and observing and sinking deeply into US food traditions on a cross-country road trip. This series highlights the traditions she had the privilege of experiencing on this trip and prompts you with tangible ways to revive, reflect, and start food traditions of your own.