Our Nepalese friends always expose us to their foods. It is considered the right thing to do when having guests in your home. One day, I hope to be considered family and they do not feel a need to bring me chia tea or their most recent rice or noodle dish. Very delicious food. They have told us they tone down the spices for us (we are whimpy) and they accept if I ask for "panni" (water) because I am following medical orders--but they feel sorry for me and want to make sure that is all I desire.
They also accept that we use utensils when eating but they also feel we miss out of truly enjoying our food because we do not touch it. This mystifies them and maybe we need to consider that we are missing out on something with all of our training in manners! Can you imagine a family meal where you did not have to remind children NOT to eat with their fingers? The peace alone might be worth it and maybe we would be more satisfied if we opted to touch our foods more?
Our new church family has many people with a Filipino heritage. Each week they have a potluck and we are experiencing more distinctly different tastes: Rice is a staple along with tripe soup and "I am not sure what" dishes (often of a fishy nature). When I can, I will experiment. It is very fun to see the excitement when someone brings in a favorite ethnic dish. We have several "nanas" (grandmas) who love to please others with their culinary talents. I will say it is the most unique potluck variety I have experienced within a church family. It has changed my vision of what the heavenly feast Jesus is preparing for us might look like, though I have a hard time placing delicately fried fish heads on that banquet table.
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