If the world is constructed of memories, its building blocks are the senses — taste, smell, sight and feelings. For many individuals, there is a certain comfort embedded in their taste buds that is irreplaceable. Every semester, NYU Abu Dhabi students pack tastes of home into their luggages, whether they travel for 30 minutes or 30 hours. From their favorite snacks to holiday staples and homemade spices, students turn their Saadiyat Island kitchen cabinets into sacred chambers that lead them back home.

Njomza Selmani, Class of 2022 from North Macedonia, shares that her food cabinet is constantly filled with Plazma Biscuits, a popular snack in the Balkans. The goldenish brown, rectangular biscuits are a snack everyone loves and are especially delicious when dipped in warm milk. To her, it’s a comfort food and a must-have for stressful nights.

“It’s been a thing that me and my mom and my sister always have together, [and it] reminds me of the two most important women in my life,” Selmani explained. “I get that comfort whenever I eat it.”

Lulu Qonita, Class of 2021 from Indonesia, shares a similar feeling with her Indomie instant noodles.

“It’s the 2 a.m. sort of food I would eat with my siblings or friends,” responded Qonita. “Having it on campus reminds me of when I miss home and my siblings.”

Inside the flamboyant red and green Indomie packages, the dried noodles lie awaiting the multitude of ways in which they can be consumed and the memories they’ll provide — whether fried, eaten directly as a snack or cooked with soup, either alone or with friends.

The noodles also have a more pragmatic purpose for young students abroad. “As a broke college student, I’d eat it for that reason too while I’m abroad,” explained Qonita.

To others, their cabinet delicacies are not only reminders of family, but also keys to unlock childhood memories. For Megan Binnis Davalos, Class of 2023 from Mexico and England, her bottle of Tajin, a condiment of powdered chili peppers, lime and salt commonly used in Mexico, carries significant childhood memories. “It reminds me of a year four camp where we all had oranges with tajin and for some reason it tasted extra good and the memory stayed. Tajin is a definite must-have for me,” recalled Binnis Davalos.

The condiment, normally added on top of fruits and vegetables such as jicama, mangoes and cucumbers also remind her of the hot summer days in Mexico and the refreshing feelings it brings. It also came in handy during quarantine on campus. “It helped me actually want to eat all the apples we got with our meals,” she added. Fortunately, these sacredly stored foods don’t just stay in the dark corners of the cabinets. They are also commonly shared among friends, sometimes drawing in new fans to the food and pushing people to new concepts of how food can be consumed. In Binnis Davalos’ case, introducing Tajin to her friends has been something she loved doing.

“To my friends, the idea shocks them so much — ’fruits with chili powder?’,” she quoted. “Some don’t like it, but I’ve managed to turn many foreign friends into Tajin addicts.” It has now become a tradition to bring Tajin each time she returns to campus.

For others, the significance of their cabinet delicacies lies within the celebratory meaning created when eaten with friends. Such is the case for Caroline Sullivan, Class of 2021 from the United States, who brings one boxed stuffing from home each year.

“It’s a staple that you need for Thanksgiving,” she commented. “The significance is being able to share one of my favorite foods from a holiday that I celebrate at home with all of my friends here … Having Thanksgiving here … at NYUAD has been one the best things each November.”

Resonating with this spirit of sharing, Shaza Elsharief, Class of 2023 from Sudan, brings hibiscus flowers to campus from her home in Abu Dhabi. The petals are boiled or soaked in water, sometimes added with Vimto, to make hibiscus tea, or Karkade in Arabic. “Every time I drink it, it reminds me of being there,” she described, although the flavor is not exclusive to Sudan. “It’s a go-to drink to offer guests, and it reminds of Ramadan nights.”

Seoyoung Kim, Class of 2023 from South Korea, normally only shares homemade Bae-chu kimchi with her Korean friends, as the smell of kimchi may be intimidating to others. “It may sound a little extreme but I just can’t live without kimchi just like we can’t live without water,” proclaimed Kim. “Every homemade kimchi has its distinct flavor … and I love the kimchi my mom or grandma make [as] it reminds me of home.”

Kim also brings gochugaru, or spicy powder, made by her grandma and uses it to make Korean dishes on campus. “[It’s] mostly because there are not many spicy foods available on and off campus,” she stated.

Echoing Selmani on the comforting nature of food, Kim argues that eating spicy food is the best way for her to destress. Together, intertwined with memories of the past and new ones in her college journey, the kimchi and spicy powder carry on new meanings as they become more than just preserved vegetables, rather everlasting emotions.

Whether it is the sound of dipping Plazma biscuits in milk, the scent that rushes in one’s nose when twisting open a tajin bottle, or the excitement of finally opening the box of stuffing to share with friends, these cabinet specials build communion into the NYUAD student body.

As Qonita stated about her noodles, a sentiment that can be shared by all: “It’s the kind of food that helps you bond. I’d eat not for the food but for the experience.”