There’s a moment, usually a small one, when you first notice you’ve changed. It might come while you’re stirring a pot of soup—your grandmother’s recipe,…
The Quiet Art of Becoming: Adaptation vs. Assimilation
There is a moment, often unremarkable, when you realize you are no longer the person you were. It might happen in the middle of a…
When You Bend Without Breaking: The Quiet Art of Adaptation vs. Assimilation
I used to think changing myself for a new place was a kind of strength. I’d pick up the local slang, shift my meal times,…
Finding Home in a Foreign Kitchen: How I Reclaimed My Lost Traditions
The first time I tried to make my grandmother’s sinigang in my tiny apartment kitchen, I cried. Not because I burned the garlic or because…
How to Reclaim Traditions That Feel Lost After Moving Away
For a long time, I thought tradition was a place. A particular kitchen with yellow curtains, the smell of garlic hitting hot oil, the sound…