The object I’ll be talking about is my dad’s noodle kugel. Kugel is a traditional Jewish food specific to the Ashkenazi tradition usually eaten on special occasions. It’s eaten by non Jewish people too sometimes. It’s a cake made out of butter, noodles, raisins, eggs and oranges baked together in a square shape. My great grandparents on my dad’s side immigrated from Russia a long time ago so a lot of culture was lost. I don’t have much in the way of connections to them culturally besides my religious practices, which the kugel represents. I know that on holidays they ate this very food. My mom immigrated here from Romania when she was 13 with her mom. They had to do it in a hurry so she didn’t really have any symbolic or important objects when she came here. What’s unique about my family’s story is in the specific ways that my family succeeded because of where they came from, and because of knowing how to get out from under oppression. My Grandma learned in communist Romania how to get around obstacles and negotiate. This connects to other immigrant stories because a lot of immigrants don’t have many material objects from their homeland. Be it a skill or prayer, In many cases it’s what doesn’t take up space that's the most valuable thing.

– PB.G

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant