✨ Cultural Conversation💬: Food culture🥘🥪🍽️ (3rd round)

[📨 Cultural Conversation: Welcome]
Hello everyone, and thank you for joining our Cultural Conversation gathering!

I created this meeting with a goal to provide a space where we can make friends and get inspired over meaningful, thoughtful conversations rather than beer and small talk. I’ve always loved learning about new cultures and meeting people from around the world, but I’ve often found that quick, surface-level chats don’t create the lasting bonds or insights I’m looking for.

This meetup isn’t about comparing travel stories or naming national dishes—though don’t worry, we’ll still share those too! It’s about something deeper. It’s about exploring the personal and philosophical layers of ourselves shaped by the cultures we come from—or the cultures we’ve encountered. In this meetup, we invite one another to share experiences, reflections, and stories that have challenged or transformed us.

Living internationally can be exciting and eye-opening, but also alienating at times. Sometimes we focus so much on differences that we forget the wonder of a multicultural environment. The truth is, you don’t have to come from the same culture to share similar values or questions about life. This city gives us the rare gift of discovering surprising similarities among strangers—and that’s what I hope we’ll experience together.

Before we meet, I’d love to give you a quick overview of what to expect. In this letter, you’ll find a few notes to help make the experience smooth and enjoyable, along with the session schedule and a list of guiding questions. Please take a moment to read through everything, and if you have any questions, feel free to message me directly on Meetup :) Thank you for being part of this first step. I hope you’ll leave the meeting with inspiration, insight, and maybe even new friends.

Whether you're new in town or a Berlin local, this is your chance to:
✔️ Make new friends
✔️ Learn about cultures beyond your own (not just German culture!)
✔️ Enjoy thoughtful conversation in a cozy setting
🎯 This week’s topic (June 21): Food and Dining Culture

[A Few Important Notes]
1. Please Be On Time
Let’s make the most of our two hours together! Your punctuality helps us stay on track.
If you know in advance that you can’t attend, please update your RSVP by July 18th so someone else can take your spot. Thank you for your consideration!

2. Real Conversations: Be Present & Curious
This meetup is not a debate or a competition—it’s a space for sharing and listening. You don’t have to agree, but please stay open. If something confuses or surprises you, ask gently.
Please come ready to listen deeply, speak honestly, and respond kindly. Curiosity is welcome; judgment is not. If you leave with more questions than answers, you’re on the right track.

3. Respect the Personal & the Diverse
We’ll be discussing personal stories. Please don’t feel pressured and share only what you feel comfortable.
Cultural diversity goes beyond nationality—it includes personality, upbringing, identity, and life experience. Let’s be respectful of each other’s boundaries and values throughout.

[How the Session Will Flow (2 Hours)]
Here’s the structure of our time together:
First 15 minutes – Welcome & Introduction, Icebreaking Session
90 minutes – Guided Group Conversation
15 minutes – Reflection & Closing

⭐✨🌟[This Week’s Topic (June 21st): Food and Food Culture]⭐✨🌟
‼️Important Note‼️: This is not homework. Please don’t feel pressured to prepare answers for every question listed below. However, I encourage you to read through the list and come up with a couple of answers in mind. You can come with your own questions as well, as this list serves merely as a guide. Since our time is limited, we’ll focus the discussion on the questions that spark responses from the group.
And don’t worry if you don’t have “perfect” or fully formed answers. The conversation itself will give you room to think, discover, and share.

[Level 1 – Personal Food Stories & Choices]
- What’s your favorite dish from your country, and can you make it here? What changes in the process? How do you manage food as an international resident—budgeting, health, and routines? What’s changed for you?
- What holidays or family traditions are centered around food in your culture? Who prepares the food, and what happens around the table?
- What’s your “grandmother-made” dish, or a food that reminds you of home?
- Are there unspoken rules or rituals around eating in your culture?
- Have you adapted to German or international food, or do you try to recreate your own food culture here?
- If someone fully understood how you eat, what would they learn about you?
- Do you enjoy any food-related activities—baking, potlucks, documenting meals, or exploring new cuisines?

[Level 2 – Meaning & Identity Through Food]
- If your country’s iconic dish were a person, how would you describe them?
- What’s missing or misrepresented about your country’s cuisine (food, space around food, culture around food) abroad or in Berlin?
- Is food a source of comfort, connection, creativity, or something else in your life?
- Does food help you feel “closer to home”? In what way?
- What does a “home-cooked meal” mean to you? Is it about taste, ritual, or the people involved?
- Are there sayings or values in your culture that involve food? What social role does eating together play where you're from?

Thank you for reading this letter—and more importantly, for helping make this gathering possible. I’m looking forward to meeting you all, sharing stories, and learning together. See you on Saturday! 🎉

🗓️ July 19, 2025
🕒 15:00
📍 Pressecafé am Alexanderplatz
👥 Max. 5-6 people
💸 No Fee

Over coffee, we will discuss a list of fun, thought-provoking questions to guide the chat. RSVP now to grab your spot & let’s make this first edition a memorable one! ✨🎊

#BerlinMeetup #CulturalExchange #MeaningfulConnections #TalkBeyondSmallTalk #BerlinEvents #NewInBerlin #DeepChats