My first research sources

Andrew F. Smith, John U. Rees, Rachelle E. Friedman, Alison Tozzi, Kara Newman, Anne Mendelson, Amy Bentley, Sylvia Lovegren "Historical Overview" The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Ed. Gordon Campbell. Oxford University Press, 2003. California State University Fullerton. 27 March 2010

My research topic is How the American eating in mid-nineteenth century influences the American diet nowadays. This short entry covers what American soldiers and civilians ate during the Civil War. It also mentions an important invention in food industry at that time - canned goods and meat packing - which still has a great impact nowadays. This short entry gives me an overview of the American diet at that time, and helps me limit my research information range. However, more detailed information is needed as this entry just provides some basic ideas.

I read Bomy's and Vivian's post.

Advice

Talking about advice, whenever I do something important, I always seek advice from my parents and my friends. In Vietnamese, we have a saying: " An outsider has a clearer mind". The truth is that most of the time, the advice I got prove to be useful. At the beginning, they make me think like I cannot rely on myself, for some of my decisions are based on what other people suggest. As time goes by, I realize that it is good to seek advice from everybody, at least for me. I'm the type of person who never thinks deeply before doing something. It's like I'm not patient enough to spend time thinking, thinking and thinking about the problem, like what is the best solution. Every time I struggle something, I always find the first solution coming to my mind, without considering its pros and cons, and end up getting stuck. Now that I got the lesson, whenever I do something important, I ask for my parent's and friend's advice before considering them with my own ideas.

On the contrary, I'm not good at giving advice. What I'm afraid the most is that when people tell me their problems and ask for advice. That's their biggest mistake. I'm a good listener, but I'm not a good adviser, especially romantic problems. I can share and console their emotional pain, but please don't ask me for advice, if you don't want to end up breaking up. Other than that, I can give some fairly so-so advice on other problems.

I read Wendy's and Sherry's posts.

Research Questions

Back in Vietnam, my major was Hospitality Management and I have a great interest in food industry; therefore, most of my writing topics are related to food and diets. American cuisine, with traditional dishes such as meat loaf, mashed potatoes, cheese cakes, apple pie, etc. is my all time favorite, regarding its development history and the influence from British and French cooking. After reading a book about American eating habits in post Civil War and the Wild West time, the impressive advance in food industry and the dining etiquette at that time attracted me. I was curious on how they influence not only the American diets but also the global food industry nowadays. For this research paper, I would like to write about the American eating habits in mid nineteenth century. Three research questions that may help me develop my research paper are:

1. How the American eating habits in mid nineteenth century influence the American diet nowadays.

2. The similarities and differences between the American eating habits in mid nineteenth century and the American diet nowadays.

3. Although with advance technology, is the American eating habit nowadays a back step of the way it used to be during Post Civil War?

I read Meka and Tara's posts.

Yummy traditional American food

Before coming to America, I had no idea what traditional American food was, besides the short lesson about American cuisine I studied in university a long long time ago. At that time, American food to me was plainly fastfood like hamburger, hot dog, fried chicken. I didn't have the chance to taste traditional American food in my home country because it is not popular as Japanese or Chinese cuisine, until I study in America. My first impression is the unbelievable popularity of fast food here. Well, fast food is tasty, at least in my opinion, it's cheap and well, I can find it anywhere at any time. "No wonder Americans like it", I once thought. However, I changed my mind completely when I tasted my very first American dishes during Thanks Giving. I love pumpkin, I love the way Americans make their pumpkin pies. Not to mention other yummy pies: Blueberry pie, peach pie, apple pie, lemon pie, etc. I admit I love sweets but there are other delicious dishes too. Meat loaf is super especially when it is garnished with marshed potatoes and steamed asparagus. Blueberry muffin and pancakes are my all time favorites for breakfast. Creamy clam chowder and salad with Thousand Island Dressing are good starters. Beef stew and fillet mignon, chicken pot pie and club chicken sandwiches, these dishes make me wonder why some Americans prefer to eat fast food rather than enjoying these tasty food. Before coming to America, my friend in California once warned me, "Believe me, you won't be able to eat American food. It's completely different from Vietnamese food." Well, I admit these two cuisines are different,but I do enjoy this country's cooking, as long as I study in America.

I read Tara's and Abdullah's post.