Any ETA of color knows it is often a challenge to explain how their culture fits in the fabric of America. Most representations of America that Indonesians are familiar with tend to ignore ethnic diversity. ETA Anisha Tyagi has been working these first few weeks to try and explain what it means to be Indian-American. For example, it means she eats Indian food at home. On a weekend visit to a teacher’s house to cook ikan bakar (grilled fish) – in this case it was deep fried before the “grilling” –  with her family, Anisha found the perfect opportunity for cultural exchange! After she learned the right way to pound the ingredients in sambal (hot sauce), she taught the kids of the family how to make aloo parantha, a common Indian dish. Though the ingredients weren’t exactly what she would eat at home, it still tasted decent. Most importantly, her teacher’s family has a more flexible idea of what it means to be American.

Anisha Tyagi is currently teaching at SMKN 6 Semarang, Central Java