a thousand words: Dinner With Farzaneh

A gorgeous Persian feast. Delicious!

Last Sunday evening we were honored to be the guests of Farzaneh, a warm wonderful friend from Iran. We got to know her through her tailoring business, where we take our clothes to get altered (I told her, it’s good I can’t sew, or we would have never become friends!). We’ve spent a lot of time talking and getting to know each other over the years and thus have become special friends. So last week she invited us to come for a fabulous Persian feast, much of it cooked by her mother who is visiting.

             Have you ever joined an international table? It’s one of my favorite experiences. Lots of beautiful, new foods laid out before us, different languages flying through the air, and lots of cross-cultural bridge-building. Laughter comes easily as we are assured that our commonalities outweigh our differences by far. And the colorful diversity adds extra spice.
            This was a most eclectic crowd. Farzaneh, a native Muslim, attends the Unity Church here in Wichita, which is part of an international religious movement. Their pastor was present and told me that their church “considers the Bible their text and Christianity their foundation, but adheres to the universal truths of all religions.” So there are members that are Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu as well. His wife is Colombian, and she was a most interesting woman. She got her master’s in chemistry in Russia, so considers English her third language. Of course, my husband got a kick out of visiting with her, being that he has studied Russian and enjoys meeting people who speak it.
             Again, I find it a rich experience to meet all kinds of people, and the past two days have been full of such experiences. Saturday night we skyped some friends from China, last night we enjoyed a Persian feast, and tonight we will deliver a meal to a new Mexican-American family in town. I’m grateful for these times.

For life is what you make it. So make it good!