When I first came to America from China at the age of 6, I entered first grade. I didn’t understand why the kids were getting their lunch food and not finishing it. I saw children bring their left over food to the large trash cans and scraping it off their trays - from half-eaten pizzas to untouched burgers. I watched them pour their milk into a white bucket. In China, this was a huge no-no in school. We had to finish everything. The first kid who finished his lunch got the privilege of helping the teacher clean up the classroom and set up the nap time area.

One day, my first grade American teacher announced that we would be having a pot luck and everyone was encouraged to bring something from their country. I got super excited and told my parents. They were debating whether to make pot stickers (Chinese dumplings) or Lo mein noodles. I loved dumplings!!! My mom stayed up after her long day of work and kneaded the dough, chopped up the bok choy and minced ginger and pork and folded them into dumplings. She put them in the fridge and woke up early in the morning to steam them and fry them so they would taste extra fresh when I brought them to school. They smelled great and looked golden brown after they were cooked.

(They looked exactly like these, photo from genius kitchen.)

I was so excited to share these with my class and teachers. It was placed in the corner of the table next to all the other delicious food. Many kids grabbed the cookies and juices and were hesitant to try the dumplings. One or two kids bravely took a piece and knew what they were because they had it with their parents at a Chinese restaurant. At the end of the party, it was cleanup. My teacher walked up to me and asked and pointed to the tray of dumplings, “would you like to take these home?” I meekly replied, “No…” it was very impolite to take your gift home. I thought she was going to share it with other teachers, but immediately after I said that, she poured the whole tray of dumplings into the trash and continued cleaning. I was baffled; what just happened???

This was the biggest culture shock I have experienced and still continue to see frequently in my American friends. Please eat all your food or take it to go or share it or just get enough so you don’t have to throw it away. Thank you.