Food, Good Friends, and Fun
I’ve been to birthday parties where I went, had a slice of cake and two hours later I was back home with my feet on the couch.
And I’ve been to birthday parties where everyone had a great time well into the night.
Then the host family arranged for us to sleep there for few hours.
In the morning, we got up to the smell of freshly prepared food.
And we would start all over again.
Sometime in the afternoon I would finally make it home.
Different cultures. Different people. Different ways of celebrating.
Which one I like?
I’m fine with either one.
(Except the second one I prefer to be the guest. For obvious reasons : )
How people celebrate milestones in their lives (birthdays, weddings, anniversaries) it’s like a window in their lives.
By seeing the way they celebrate we can understand where they are coming from.
What kind of people they are.
We can understand and appreciate long-standing traditions that are important to them.
Many ethnic foods are now part of the American eating. No need to go far away to experience Chinese, Italian or Mexican food. And many others are just as familiar to our palates.
Migration to the States has brought food flavors from around the world in our backyard.
We all enjoy celebrations. The food, the people, the fun.
Imagine going to a party with an international menu. The colors, the aroma, the taste!
My ideal party menu (for today anyway : ) would have: pastries (Romanians or French); stuffed grape leaves (Greek); antipasti (Italian); tamales (Mexican); aged cheese, fresh salads and San Francisco or Seattle sourdough bread.
For desert I’ll have Tiramisu or German chocolate cake.
(Can’t make up my mind, so I’ll have both : )What would you have on your international party menu?
Food plays an important role in our celebrations. In our lives.
If you are part of a multicultural team then make the most of it.
With summer almost here, your company can have great potluck picnics.
We can look at food as an ambassador that helps us in strengthening our friendships across cultures.
Happy eating and celebrating!
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Mariana worked on both, the east and the west coast.
Big or small, each project she worked on helped define the importance of gaining and sustaining a competitive edge in an increasingly complex business environment.
Business know-how, love of teaching and writing – all combined in 2006 to form OBI.
Its mission: to make learning fun! And easy.
Through its training, consulting, and publications OBI builds bridges of knowledge to take you from where you are to
where you want to go. Using a mix of serious, informal, analytical, and optimistic approach, OBI truly makes learning fun.
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