It all goes back to my grandmother’s immigration into the United States. She took what was a very important part of her culture and put it into mine. So whenever I have rice and eggs or rice and tomatoes my mom says I should thank my grandmother. We have never had another rice cooker for all 19 years of my life. The brand is Sanyo I’m sure they went out of business a long time ago, because I’ve never heard of them but this rice cooker is better than any other. You can really see how old it is by just looking at it, the paint is chipping, the electrical wires and all dried out and a little frayed, the button barely lights up anymore, but it still cooks rice the same way every time. I feel like it goes back to my mother’s upbringing, she had rice all the time. So rice is just a constant thing in her life. Which goes back to my grandmother’s native Filipino upbringing, she had rice all the time, sometimes it was all she would ever eat. Everyday growing up I would see the same raggedy old rice cooker and never think about what it represented to me and my family. It represents how important food is to a culture. The mixture of two vastly different cultures is what makes me who I am. And this old rice cooker helps me stay connected to my heritage.

– Rob Brundage

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant