Yogurtland or Redmango? Freedom or Limit?

On Monday, after studying for my criminal justice final in the library, my friend and I decided to drop by Yogurtland that was next to our school. Surprisingly, even at 9:30 PM, there were people, mostly CSULB students, lined up to fill their cups with these “fat free” frozen dairies. As lines became shorter and I was near the yogurt machines, I realized there were too many flavors to choose from. Inside my mind, I was struggling on which yogurt flavor I wanted in my cup. In the end, after moments of frustration, I chose the French Vanilla flavor, not because I wanted to, but because there were people behind me and I didn’t blockade their way. Even as I pulled the machine lever, I had hard time deciding on the amount of yogurt on my cup. To my dismay, I put too much yogurt on my cup, having barely any space for toppings, except for about three slices of banana and mochis. As we left the building, I left the place in frustration, wishing for Red Mango instead.
Yogurtland offers too much freedom to their customers, causing the them to overload their cups to satisfy their greedy desire. Since it is our greedy human nature to desire more than enough it is necessary, it is hard for us to put adequate amount of yogurt or toppings in our cups. Even in the beginning, because my desire was to try different types of yogurts, I chose French Vanilla in the end because I took too long to decide and people were anxiously waiting behind me. Just like my experience in Yogurtland, I was carried away by my desire to eat yogurt. Because of this, I only had space to put three slices of banana and only handful of mochis. In the end, I was unhappy with the choices that I committed and regretted on coming here. Because I had too much freedom over my yogurt cup, I made bad decisions in the process. Red Mango, on the other hand, puts limits on our freedoms. First of all, there are only two flavors to choose from: Green Tea and Plain Tart. Since there are only two choices to pick from, it helps people like me to choose swiftly. Secondly, since the Red Mango workers are well trained staff, they put adequate amount of yogurt and toppings on our cups. Though they give us the freedom to choose which yogurt and toppings that we want on our cups, they limit our greedy desires by putting just enough of it to satisfy our stomach. By putting limits to our freedom, Red Mango satisfies the customers by guiding them with their discretion.
Many people will disagree with my voicing towards Yogurtland. I am sure there are many people out there that prefer the infinite freedom that Yogurtland provides for their customers. However, I prefer Red Mango’s guidance.

McDonalds: The True American Restaurant

Last week, I had the urge to eat at McDonalds before I headed to Starbucks to study for my dreadful finals. Stingy that I am, I decided to enter McDonalds in high hopes that I will spend less than 4 dollars for my meal. When I first entered the restaurant, it was pretty crowded with bunch of different types of crowds. There were the “I’m too cool for you” Mexican high school students in the right corner, eating their Big Mac while putting up a stern look as I looked at them. On the left corner was a Caucasian couple, drinking their coffees and having a delicate conversation at the same time. In the middle of the restaurant, three identical siblings were busy dipping their fries with barbeque sauce and trying to outrun each other on finishing the remaining fries. I chuckled to myself as I got in line to order my meal. In front of me was an African American man, who was on the phone with his family members, asking them whether they wanted apple pies or ice creams for the dessert. When it was my turn to order, my eyes immediately gazed toward the dollar menu section, and unsurprisingly, I ordered a chicken burger and double cheeseburger as usual . As I stood to the side, waiting for my order to be ready, I glanced around the restaurant again. Suddenly I realized that McDonald was not some shabby, cheap fast food restaurant. It was actually a decent restaurant with true American values. Different races were eating in the same room, eating with their loved ones. High school Mexican students, regardless of their impressions, ate contently together like a close family. The siblings in the middle of the room were bonding amongst each other as they raced to finish their fries together. The Caucasian couple was having a pleasant date as they were drinking their coffees. The African-American man was calling his family members so that he can buy something for his loved ones. Though the customers may not know each other, they, in a sense, created a community in this small fast food restaurant. To think that in the 1950’s, when the colored folks were banned from eating at the same restaurant as Caucasian folks, I found this scene fascinating as all the races were seated next to one another in one room. Plus, they were creating family values by eating their meals with their loved ones, which shows one of the American values. As I picked up my order from the counter, I smiled happily as I left McDonalds. As I entered my car, I whispered, “This is America.”

Rice Cakes, a Tradition

Every first week of the month, our Sunday school children at my church eats rice cakes to celebrate their birthdays. It has become a tradition that, many children wait anxiously as the days go by and the first week of the next month to arrive. They even memorized all the types of cakes that we bought for them: rainbow rice cake, cocoa rice cake, and sweet rice cake. Since the cakes are not too sweet and very soft to eat, the children at our church love to indulge on these sweets. Some kids even skip breakfast so that they can take more than one slice of rice cake. At times, they make bets on which cake will be for their monthly birthdays. Even the Sunday school teachers, including me, smile when our students gleefully eat their rice cakes as they run around our church parking lot to play with their fellow church members. Quite often, our adult members of our church come into our room to take some of our cakes. As an apology, they usually compliment us on our looks as they step out of the room. Because of their excitements for the cakes, I even started to eat those “100% carb” food even though it degrades my diet plan. However, since it is our church culture, I become accustomed to this new tradition. To be honest, it’s not the taste of the rice cake that we are craving for. It’s the fellowship and the bonding time we have with others is that drives us to look forward to the next month. Even though the rice cakes are presented to our children so that they can celebrate their fellow church member’s birthdays, the children treat each other as though it is everyone’s birthday. It has become our church tradition for nearly a decade, something that our teachers are proud of as we continue to dedicate our lives for our religion. With something as little as rice cakes, we created happiness to our church community.
Culture doesn’t always have to be divided into countries. As long as a certain group practices certain events for the benefit of their own community, I believe that it is culture.