Culture Kids International

Elissa and I (Kari) had the opportunity to interview our friend Raafe Khan who shared his expertise and knowledge of India. We met at a bubble tea shop, shared a mango ice cream dessert, and enjoyed our lively conversation with one another. The interview centers around food, traditions, and etiquette. Raafe even shared his cooking secrets with us, and his recipes were featured in our July Culture Kids Cafe. We hope you enjoy this first hand look into Indian culture from Raafe's perspective. Kari: In general, tell us your story about coming to the US and who you are. Raafe: My name is Raafe. I was born and brought up in India. Born in the northern belt in a small village which is in the foothills of the Himalayas. I was born there, and then my family moved to Mumbai, which is a pretty well known city on the western coast of India. I grew up there, spent my formative years in Mumbai. Went to high school there. I got my undergrad degree in India from Manipal Academy of Higher...

Last fall, Elissa had the opportunity to interview some Karen youth in St. Paul, MN. They met at a Karen grocery store, shared a meal together, and talked about various aspects of the Karen culture. We have divided this interview into a four part series: Culture, Immigration, Family and Faith, and Food and Holidays. For authenticity, we have transcribed the interview material as accurate as possible. The Karen People We encourage our readers to visit the Karen Organization of Minnesota  website  in order to learn more about the history and culture of the Karen people. Part 4: Food and Holidays Karen food Elissa: What is the most important meal of the day for Karen people Re: I would say that it is lunch, because when people would go out to the farm they would only eat lunch. Kyeh: Yeah, usually we don’t really even have breakfast. Like usually we would eat a meal around 10 or 11. Re: Basically, I would say for my own family when we lived back in the refugee cam...

Last fall, Elissa had the opportunity to interview some Karen youth in St. Paul, MN. They met at a Karen grocery store, shared a meal together, and talked about various aspects of the Karen culture. We have divided this interview into a four part series: Culture, Immigration, Family and Faith, and Food and Holidays. For authenticity, we have transcribed the interview material as accurate as possible. The Karen People We encourage our readers to visit the Karen Organization of Minnesota  website  in order to learn more about the history and culture of the Karen people. Part 3: Family and Faith Elissa: Are the roles of men and women in Karen culture clearly defined? Such as women do this, and men do this? Re: Yes, oh my gosh, yes. Kyeh: It was more common back in the day, because I know some older people where they believed that the girls weren't supposed to go to school because they were just girls. They would think that men were smarter and all of that. In my family ...