What was dinner with the Wakatsuki family like before they went to the camp at Manzanar?

Dinner was always a joyous occasion at Jeanne's house. Her family's huge round wooden dining table was the biggest piece of furniture they owned, big enough to seat twelve or thirteen people. And at each mealtime, the family would sit down together, laughing, joking, sometimes arguing, as they helped themselves to generous portions of rice, fish, and home-grown vegetables.
The dining table is a symbol of happier times, before Jeanne and her family were taken away and imprisoned in an internment camp. In captivity, mealtimes are completely different. People are forced to eat standing up and in shifts. The quality of food is bad, often causing the inmates to get sick. The basic elements of family life, such as eating dinner together around a table, were always such an immense source of joy to Jeanne but are impossible in such a harsh environment.