Cultural relativity vs. ethnocentrism

After being in the US for a couple of weeks, I have started noticing that a lot of people over here, have no clue how it is, and what is going on outside of their borders. One girl, said she was from the Phillipines, but when I asked her where it was on the map, she pointed at the Western coast of the US.  I have commonly had questions like "Is English the main language in Norway?" and "Whaaat, you don't have Taco Bell in Norway?", that clearly shows that some Americans think that the American culture, is the "right" culture. I believe this has to do with both the school system over here, and that a lot of people have not traveled much outside of the US. What really helps for getting your eyes open for new cultures is going abroad for a semester or two. So while I work here at the International Office, I will try to encourage as many students as possible to study abroad, especially to Norway.

"Healthy Food, Healthy Heart"

..is a commonly used saying in the US. A little thing I find a littlebit sad about the school and culture here, is the food. Here at school we get fed three times a day.

7.00AM-9.00AM: Is breakfast, which usually consist of cereals, french toast, bagels, egg, omelettes, bacon, sausages and pancakes to mention some. There is an own cook, at the cafeteria who you can order hot dishes from for free. I cannot think of anyhthing that is missing, exept for dark bread. For me who is used to dark bread with cheese, this is a problem, as I always go for the fattiest dished I can find, with pop/soda or chocolate milk to drink.

11.30AM - 13.00PM: Is lunchtime. The lunch over here, is like a dinner in Norway, and is usually a selection of hot meat, with rice, tater tots, hashbrowns or french fries as suppplement.If you miss out on the lunch, the studentcard is charged with 5$ that you can use at the Student Union, which is a place where they sell food here at school. Sometimes I just skip lunch, because I am pretty used to eating twice a day. Instead, I just go to the Student Union to buy some pop and snacks that I can eat at night or whenever I feel like it.

17.00PM - 19.00PM: Dinner is another hot meal, which is about the same as lunch. For dinner they usually serve more "exotic" food, like fish or lasagne. They usually also have burgers wrapped in paper, for the ones that want their dinner to go, og just an evening snack later in the evening. After every meal, you can help yourself out with fruits, cakes, coffee and icecream, which they have standing there the whole day.

I guess i cannot blame the food if I my health is going bad, as there are so much to choose from. It is my mind that I have to work with. But right now I feel like eating the most cheesy, fatty and sweet stuff I find, but I guess it will not last for long.