 Reading

Have you ever been to the barbecue? What did you cook there? What did you bring to the barbecue?

Read the text about American students having barbecue. Is it different from ours?

At the end of her first semester in an American college, Elsa, a student from Greece, was surprised to hear her chemistry professor invite the whole class to a party at his house.

"I hope y'all, come to the barbecue," he announced in a southern accent. "I'll throw some hamburgers and dogs on the grill, but the rest is potluck. I hope we have some good cooks in the class!"

Elsa was happy to have the chance to try some American home cooking, after eating in the college cafeteria all semester. She did not want to generalize about American food based on just what was served in the cafeteria — it was pretty bad. She wanted to see what real American food was like.

After Elsa found out that "potluck" meant that the guests would each bring some food themselves, she decided to prepare a traditional Greek dish called spanakopitta, a spinach pie. The problem was she did not have a kitchen.

The next day in class, she said to Jeanette, an American classmate who often sat next to her, "Since I live in the dorm, it will be hard for me to cook anything for the bar­becue. Where are you cooking?" "Oh, I have an apartment off-campus with my boyfriend. Why don't you cook in my kitchen?"

The morning of the barbecue, Elsa went over to Jeanette's and found her preparing a salad out of grains, parsley, and tomatoes. Jeanette explained it was called tabbouleh. "But I used to eat a salad just like that in Greece!" laughed Elsa when she saw Jeanette pouring the olive oil. "Is that a typical American dish?" "No, it's Middle Eastern. But my grandmother is from Lebanon, and it's always been my favourite salad. And now it's quite popular. I even saw it one day in the caf at school, " said Jeanette.

Just then Rick, Jeanette's boyfriend, walked into the kitchen with three bags of pota­to chips. "I wanted to make sure that there would be something at the party for me to eat," he said. "My junk food junkie, " smiled Jeanette. "Yeah, and Jeanette's a healthy food nut!" answered Rick.

Jeanette smiled, but she was still confused. She was not sure that she had become any clearer about American eating habits or what real American food was really like. She hoped she would find out at the party.