"Culinary anthropology" sounds like a cool thing to study. Not a degree's worth, but to round out my humanities credits? hell yeah!

I'm not that experimental food-wise. I like what I like and what I like is predicated on what smells good. My best friend loves all things Korean but I just can't get behind the food. Ethiopian? Not a fan. Anything from the middle east? All over it. Thing is, if someone wants me to try it, I'll try it. They're usually happy just to see me try it - I don't have to like it. Which is good, because lutefisk is disgusting, yo. You can eat that shit four times and it doesn't get any better.

I don't need to be a part of every culture. I just need to be able to interact with it. Gamely trying something you know to be vile and then making a show of trying to enjoy it is pretty much the culinary handshake. If cultural foods weren't reviled by other cultures, they'd be staples, not delicacies. Pretty much every culture subsists off of proteins, vegetables and starches that are universal. It's only when you get into the "delicacies" that the barriers come up.

I don't have to like durian and they don't have to like roquefort. Lychees are delicious and almost anybody can get behind mozarella.