I have never ordered at a Halal cart, I don’t even know what Halal carts serve, but I guess I’m about to find out. Because of my Kosher dietary restrictions, I have only ever smelled Halal carts, and been jealous at how conveniently placed they are around the city. I never realized how many different things went into the Halal cart business. I always just assumed that the one or two guys in the cart did everything. On my strolls by Halal carts I have noticed that primarily immigrants are working inside, but it is never really something I thought about.
To be honest, before this semester, immigration was never really something I thought about. After talking about Korean owned groceries today, I realized that I have never really considered what ethnic groups did what jobs or anything of the like. I did not know what the class People of New York City was going to be about when I first walked in, but I find that I’m learning new things and encountering new things that I never knew and have never encountered before. This class has been a great opportunity for me to be able to step outside of my comfort zone and learn about different types of cultures.
While I unfortunately will never be able to eat at a Halal cart, I think it’s important to learn about the immigration aspect of Halal carts and the dietary restrictions of Islam. I have always gotten a little annoyed when someone had no idea what Kosher is and I had to explain it to them, but now I realize that I know nothing about Halal and I probably should never have gotten annoyed. I think this class is really helping me get over some ethnocentrism that I might have felt being raised in a mostly Orthodox Jewish community. While it is great to be part of a community, I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the outside world, and become more acclimated with other cultures.
Recent Comments