Food is such an ice breaker, isn’t it? Who doesn’t love chatting about their home town and sharing their favourite recipes with something tasty in their hand?
This is why the “International Food Party” social at our Manchester school is always a favourite with students and staff alike. Isn’t it a wonderful thing to be able to cook and share your favourite dish with friends and family? That’s the fun of having people round for food. We all just naturally relax as we enjoy the delicious flavours and that warm feeling you get when you’ve had a really nice dinner, at the end of a busy day. International food is such a talking point, too. What ingredients did you use? How did you cook it? Who taught you this recipe?
If it is international food we are serving, then that can trigger off fond memories from our guests of when they visited that part of the world on their travels. Or they might have lived or studied there in the past. Like music and aromas, tasting specific flavours can transport us back to a time in the past which we look back upon fondly. It’s also great, when you are away from home, to share a dish that is typical of your home country or city.
Sharing international food is also a great way of illustrating to those you meet, exactly who you are and where you are from. The food we make defines our identity. Recipes handed down by grandparents. Memories of the dish being served on special occasions, national holidays, birthdays or religious festivals. So much culture is tied up in food. And what a wonderful introduction to a country, religion or culture that is new to you!
In Manchester there are so many ways you can enjoy international food. Our city has always been culturally cosmopolitan. As different waves of international visitors have arrived in Manchester the city has welcomed and embraced them and so they in turn have found work and settled here to live. This has led to Manchester being a hub for international food. The city now boasts a multitude of Chinese restaurants and Dim Sum cafes in China town, with so many Indian, Bandgladeshi and Middle Eastern restaurants situated on the “Curry Mile” and West Indian and Caribbean restaurants, too. It must be one of the many reasons that international students feel so much at home when studying in Manchester.
At IH Manchester we build lots of social activities into your stay with us, so that you can practise using the English that you learn in class when you are talking to friends from all over the world and having fun. Your confidence with a language grows when you are using it to make new friends. That feeling is magical when at the end of the day you suddenly realise:“Wow! I spoke English the whole day today and I never had time to even think about it!”When you learn a language in the country where that language is spoken you have a unique opportunity to use the English you are learning. To discover the many wonderful sights, local history and attractions there. It is so motivating to be able to get under the surface of a location, to see places and to meet people that tourists wouldn’t ordinarily manage to reach.
To interact with local people and get to really understand what it is that makes Manchester people so warm and friendly. Choose to stay with one of our many homestay hosts and you’ll be able to develop a unique and wonderful friendship as you are living as a guest in their home. It is also yet another way to experience international cuisine as your host will cook for you and eat with you at the table each evening. You will genuinely feel “at home” at IH Manchester because you will be with people who love international food, who love to share and love to help.Contact us now to open up new opportunities. It’s time to start your adventure…
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