Wrapping Up

   When I started “Sweet Exchange” three months ago, I had no idea of what I was getting myself into. I couldn’t even imagine how much I was going to learn through food or how many sweet experiences I would have in eating and tasting so many different things. My writing skills and my vocabulary have also improved so much, and I truly felt a little more British just by getting to know all these stories and memories behind sweets and puddings.

   I have to admit that I never really thought about how food is important to us and how they can impact us and represent us in so many ways. After this blog, sweets and desserts are not only fun things to me anymore; they are a source of information, a way of getting to know people and their backgrounds. And, of course, they are also a way of showing to others who I am, what I like, what I choose, what I remember.

   My initial idea for this last post was to have a short video with testimonials from various people I met this semester, but didn’t actually have the chance to get to know. I wanted to learn what their favourite sweets are, why they like to eat them, which memories they have with them. Unfortunately, a few people didn’t want to be recorded and I had to give up on the idea eventually.

   But it’s okay. I still managed to hear their stories and come near who they really are. I managed to know, for example, that the receptionist from my building who greets me everyday comes from South Africa and used to have peppermint tarts with her family. She misses her mom and dad. And she also eats more sweets now than when she was a child.

   I managed to know that one of my classmates is really close to her brother and that he used to play with her when she wanted to keep her Galaxys safe. Another classmate’s boyfriend hates her favourite chocolate bar. And there’s another classmate who used to play with those sweet necklaces, but doesn’t really like how they taste now.

   And then there’s me. I discovered that I will probably always love to eat chocolate and that I will always miss the desserts my family makes. I found out eating sweets with my sister is probably one of the nicest things to do when I’m sad. I have learned that eating a place’s typical dish is a great way to understand its culture, and that I should make more effort on eating fruits, because they can be completely delicious :)

   I hope you have enjoyed the blog and everything that has been talked about here. It was a pleasure to discuss history, childhood, tastes and so many other aspects of life and food through it. Hopefully, I will be able to add loads of other sweets and puddings to my memories' list in the future... Who knows what other countries, cultures and people have to share yet? Cheers!

A collage of many fun moments I had related to food while travelling. Hopefully, it'll get bigger soon! :D