When I think about what I want exchange students to experience during their time in the United States, grocery shopping has never made the list. Visit Washington D.C. and view the Declaration of Independence? Check. Attend a baseball game? Sure. Debate the merits of fruits and vegetables found at the local grocery store? Not really one I'd considered. Certainly, I assume that students will visit a supermarket out of necessity—but several exchange students recently discovered that a supermarket can be a fantastic microcosm of America—a place of diversity and abundance but not, for all that it offers, perfect.
Twenty three university students from Azerbaijan are spending six weeks at the University of Alabama-Huntsville through a program that IREX implements for the US Department of State called the Study of the United States Institutes for Student Leaders (SUSI). Program participants learn about volunteering, leadership, and the realities of American life. This is not a glossed-over or tourist-focused American experience; this is getting their hands dirty, literally, as they work on a house for Habitat for Humanity. This is experiencing a buffet restaurant for the first time with a local friendship family. This is learning how differences in food production policy and governance mean one can find an abundance of fruits and vegetables at the supermarket, but they may not taste the same as those in Azerbaijan.
A student named Jafar visited a large grocery store where he observed that people can buy fresh vegetables and fruits any day of the week. However, they didn’t taste as good to him as those back home. Jafar was curious about this so he talked to a cashier to find out more. She explained that the supermarket chain buys fruits and vegetables wholesale. Affordable, yes, but wholesale production from start to finish results in a different kind of produce.
A student of agricultural economics, Jafar quickly realized two things: one, that the governance of food production is different in the US than it is in Azerbaijan. And two, it is marketed differently. “I would say that most farmers [in Azerbaijan] grow their crops in organic farming," he noted. This is true, but it's not a selling point in Azerbaijan-- it's the norm. He also wanted to l earn more about the regulations governing grocery stores in the US. “Supermarkets should meet the requirements of people,” Jafar said.
Jafar and the other SUSI students have attended baseball games, visited Washington D.C., and undoubtedly, they’ve been back to the supermarket. They recently returned to Azerbaijan and I can’t wait to hear what else they have discovered.
Sarah is currently enjoying the organic fruits and vegetables of Azerbaijan.