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mparker08-blog · 4 years

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Khyber Pass Cafe

I was extremely excited to try a new ethnic restaurant! I have always loved trying new foods, especially authentic cuisine. Of course, my first choice of “ethnic cuisine” has always been sushi, I decided to jump outside of my comfort zone and go to Khyber Pass Café in St. Paul, MN. Khyber Pass Café is advertised as authentic Afghan cuisine, which is something I had never tried before. What I learned when I went there is that Afghan cuisine is a diverse mixture of Indian, Persian, Turkish, Chinese, Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Greek cuisine. It was also mentioned that the food was not hot! Which is a huge worry for me when I try new foods because I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy foods.

My mom accompanied me and since she was paying (score!), we ordered a few appetizers to try along with our meals. We ordered the Bharta, which is a roasted eggplant spread, and Aushak, which are leek and ground beef dumplings. I have never tried eggplant before but to my surprise, although it looked like guacamole, it DID NOT taste like it! It was delicious though! For my main course, I ordered the Chopan Kebab, which was grilled lamb chops with basmati rice, spinach and lentils. It was to die for! I also ordered a tea because I learned that tea is a very important part of Afghan culture (Perhaps keeping some tea around the office instead of just coffee might be nice for clients).

The ambiance in Khyber Pass Café was very low-key. There were beautiful Afghan paintings, tapestries, and instruments decorating the small but intimate space. Although I didn’t ask, the music seemed to be traditional. The waiter, who I believe is one of the owners was very kind and helpful. He helped my mom and I with pronunciations. He said that on Thursday nights, they often have live music. Unfortunately I work every Thursday night, for the foreseeable future, but some day hopefully I will be able to attend! Honestly, it was strange to compare it to the free community meal at the church, as I really felt more comfortable being in this atmosphere than I did in the church. Perhaps because it was less people, or maybe just that I wasn’t in a church... or maybe I am just more in my element when I am trying out and learning about other countries and ethnic diversity! I do seem to have a passion for traveling to other countries and learning about the world!

After seeing all the different ethnic cultures that go into Afghani food, I did some research and found that Afghanistan is technically not “Middle Eastern” as I always thought. It is also not in the League of Arab States, like most of it’s surrounding and nearby countries. Afghanistan is in South Central Asia and is officially named “The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.” According to the Central Intelligence Agency, 99.7% of peoples in Afghanistan are Muslim, as to be expected with being titled The Islamic Republic.

For counseling someone from Afghanistan, or someone from it’s surrounding countries, paying attention to specific customs and traditions that they partake in is very important. Knowing what kind of greeting to make, how much or little eye contact to make and understanding their belief systems are extremely important with any client that comes through your door. Family and honor are often very important among Muslims, and understanding how this plays a role in their counseling and recovery process is extremely important. I remember hearing or reading a story about a young man, either from the Middle East or Asia, at a treatment center. The treatment center was having everyone try to make amends by reaching out to their family members about their addiction. The treatment center said it was a requirement of their program in order to graduate. In his culture, addiction was dishonorable and his family was ashamed of him and disowned him. Unfortunately the story has a tragic end with the young man taking his own life by the shame and guilt of dishonoring his family. This may be an extreme case, however it symbolizes the importance of being culturally competent while counseling clients.

On a lighter note, this experience has brought me a few steps closer to being a more culturally competent person, as well as opening myself up to a new extremely delicious and satisfying restaurant choice! I will definitely be going back for more lamb chops, as well as trying various other dishes on the menu!

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mparker08-blog · 4 years

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Free Meal Experience

On Wednesday, March 11th, I went to United Lutheran Church in Red Wing, Minnesota for “The Well” Wednesday Nights. The church hosts a free community meal from 5:15pm to 6:15pm with a fellowship afterwards. I was a little bit nervous going into the church because I haven’t set foot in a church in many years and I am not religious. I imagined people at the church asking me about my faith and God and it just gave me an uncomfortable feeling because I wouldn’t want to tell them that I’m atheist. To my surprise (and relief), not one person asked me about my personal religious affiliations! The meal was a black bean burrito with corn and pasta salad. The food was surprisingly very good! As I walked around looking for a place to sit, an older gentleman offered a seat at his table. We began talking and I found out that the woman who volunteers to cook the meals for the church dinners is a chef for Red Wing High School. The majority of the community members at this meal were older (over 55) white men and women, although there were some younger adults and children. While conversating with the man at my table, he told me the majority of the individuals were members of the church and surrounding churches, and it was usually the same “regulars” every week.

I could definitely feel my white privilege coming out, as every person at the meal was white. It reminded me of a free dinner I went to at Red Wing High School when I worked at Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center with some of my clients a year or so ago. One of my clients was black and she made a comment about how every single person in the room was white except for her. Something not noticed when you are a white person in a crowd of white people. It made me think of Peggy McIntosh’s Invisible Knapsack, “I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time“ (Kimmel & Ferber, 2017).

Overall, it was a rather awkward experience for me but I did have nice conversation and a delicious burrito!

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