like fruit) are served on the side.Rays family also has special foods that they prepare on special days. For example, on New Years Eve his aunt prepares a meal call Cow Cod Soup. The soup is actually made from the penis of a cow. It sounds disgusting but it is actually supposed to bring you luck for the year as well as increase virility in men. On Good Friday they eat only fish and for the Easter season bun and cheese is prepared. One fact that Ray filled me in on was that there is even a special dish served at times of a death. In most African American households, it is customary that after a funeral, there is always a big dinner at the home of the deceased. I found this to be true in the households of Jamericans as well. For funeral dinners they prepare a soup called Manish Soup. It is made from the head of a goat. Now when Ray told me this I began to wonder, Where does one get a goat head in the states? Believe it or not, he told me, there are Caribbean markets and stores that sell them. Ray then began to discuss the foods that his culture eats that are similar to that of many African Americans. Calaloo is a leafy green vegetable, which is very much like collard greens. Another Jamaican dish is oxtails, which is a Caribbean rendition of ham hocks. It amazed me to see these similarities from a country that is distant from the US. Now my last interviewee was born and raised in Bronx, NY but his religion came from elsewhere. Khalid is a 21-year-old African American male whose religion is Islam. Khalid is what I call a modern day Muslim. He told me that his beliefs contain many different rules and practices that one must follow. This includes praying 5 times a day and going to the Masjid (Islamic sanctuary) on Fridays. Unlike most religions, the Islamic Sabbath is on Fridays. His religion has a lot to do with what he is and is not permitted to eat. Like JJ Alexs scenario, he also not permitted to eat pork or anythi...
