bucknaway
November 28th, 2008, 02:18
One thing I loved about making friends from different cultures was them sharing a part of their culture with me, be it through an event, food, music, dance or a form of gift giving. I LOVED it. I could not get enough of it! It was years later that I realized that I didn't return the favor. Sure I would give Birthday/Christmas gifts but that was no big deal.
When I was in Thailand, most of the Thai who had a special like for people of the West tended to want to eat/drink and experience all things Western but I wanted to experience all things Thai. and I remembered this when I was in a relationship with a guy from Bali who moved here. He still shared his tradition with me and I shared my Tradition with him. 4th of July Family BBQ's always seem to make him laugh and smile. I also think that he looked at our spread of food much like I would look at a Thai spread of food hoping to select the right things to sample and wishing someone would help me put together a plate combo. I was only to happy to prepare his BBQ Hamburger & Hot Dog, potato salad, baked beans and steamed corn on the cob.
I warned him not to eat it all as there was more food coming that I wanted him to try. I can still vividly remember the smile and joy on his face as he ate. It did not hurt that he was the most popular person at the BBQ.
new Years eve was 1 of two things. Either you spend it with family or you went out to YELL in the new year! I choose to have him spend time with my family so that he could experience other foods and tradition. black eyed peas were a bit perplexing to him... But we have one tradition where we remember humorous events with a friend or family at the party and share it with those there, all in good cheer. He seem to truly enjoy humorous events about me and even contributed his own!
I loved sharing breakfast items with him. When I first shared "Scrapple" with him and refused to tell him what it was made of, he looked it over as if there was a bug hidden in it! LOL But he ate it and enjoyed it, even after I told him what it was made of! He enjoyed liverwurst and had a real taste for Hominy Grits with melted butter. I loved tending to him much the way he did for me. I would get his bowl of grits, add butter, salt and pepper and then present it to him. One spoonful and he smiled and said "Good". On Labor Day we bought a bushel of Crabs and steamed them in Old Bay spice. He looked perplexed until I showed him how to open a Blue Crab and get at all the sweet spicy meat. He loved that so much and spoke about it so often I showed him a grocery store near his home that sold all forms of crab and would steam them free for him and for a while when I talked to him on the phone and asked what he ate for dinner, he would laugh and say "Crab". LOL
If I lived in Thailand and it was Thanksgiving, I would want to bake my own turkey & Ham, cook my own sides and encourage others to bring a dish of their best offering (Thai & Farang alike), and hope to enjoy a cozy sharing of friendships and cultures. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about? Here in the USA you would be hard pressed to find an open restaurant on this day.
So for now on, when it comes to cultures, I am not just a taker, I share.
When I was in Thailand, most of the Thai who had a special like for people of the West tended to want to eat/drink and experience all things Western but I wanted to experience all things Thai. and I remembered this when I was in a relationship with a guy from Bali who moved here. He still shared his tradition with me and I shared my Tradition with him. 4th of July Family BBQ's always seem to make him laugh and smile. I also think that he looked at our spread of food much like I would look at a Thai spread of food hoping to select the right things to sample and wishing someone would help me put together a plate combo. I was only to happy to prepare his BBQ Hamburger & Hot Dog, potato salad, baked beans and steamed corn on the cob.
I warned him not to eat it all as there was more food coming that I wanted him to try. I can still vividly remember the smile and joy on his face as he ate. It did not hurt that he was the most popular person at the BBQ.
new Years eve was 1 of two things. Either you spend it with family or you went out to YELL in the new year! I choose to have him spend time with my family so that he could experience other foods and tradition. black eyed peas were a bit perplexing to him... But we have one tradition where we remember humorous events with a friend or family at the party and share it with those there, all in good cheer. He seem to truly enjoy humorous events about me and even contributed his own!
I loved sharing breakfast items with him. When I first shared "Scrapple" with him and refused to tell him what it was made of, he looked it over as if there was a bug hidden in it! LOL But he ate it and enjoyed it, even after I told him what it was made of! He enjoyed liverwurst and had a real taste for Hominy Grits with melted butter. I loved tending to him much the way he did for me. I would get his bowl of grits, add butter, salt and pepper and then present it to him. One spoonful and he smiled and said "Good". On Labor Day we bought a bushel of Crabs and steamed them in Old Bay spice. He looked perplexed until I showed him how to open a Blue Crab and get at all the sweet spicy meat. He loved that so much and spoke about it so often I showed him a grocery store near his home that sold all forms of crab and would steam them free for him and for a while when I talked to him on the phone and asked what he ate for dinner, he would laugh and say "Crab". LOL
If I lived in Thailand and it was Thanksgiving, I would want to bake my own turkey & Ham, cook my own sides and encourage others to bring a dish of their best offering (Thai & Farang alike), and hope to enjoy a cozy sharing of friendships and cultures. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about? Here in the USA you would be hard pressed to find an open restaurant on this day.
So for now on, when it comes to cultures, I am not just a taker, I share.