Global culture - and rice and curry

Rice and curry - Yum!

Takes me back to my childhood when a family from India visited our little town. The wife offered to cook an Indian meal for us so my mom took her to the store to TRY to find the necessary ingredients. And so I had my first taste of rice and curry. 

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Fast forward a few years to when I was introduced to my husband’s aunt and her version of African rice and curry. She had lived in Africa for 40 years and her recipe quickly became a favorite of mine. She often made rice and curry for big family dinners - much to my delight!

Fast forward again to the present time...  




Rice and curry - Indian style again.

Diwali Night in the Grand Ballroom at UM-Flint

We were treated to a cultural extravaganza of song and dance and beautiful Indian fashion - AND rice and curry. 

What a fun evening!  How cool to hang out with such beautiful people.

Pretty much all my life I’ve been drawn to people from other cultures and particularly International students. I have such fond memories from my childhood of students from Africa that my aunt and uncle used to bring to family gatherings. Oh, the exciting stories.

Through the years my wish to hang out with people from other countries has intensified. I am convinced that exposure to other cultures is one of the coolest things that can happen to a person - of any age. 

The memories of those guys from Africa who came to our family gatherings with my cousins have stuck with me to this day. Because of those encounters we chose to be intentional about finding ways to welcome Internationals into our family as well. Oh, how fun it is to have friends on six continents!

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And NOW…

One of the things that attracted us to our current location was the proximity to the universities in Flint where lots of Internationals study. Getting to know some of them has been one of our top goals. And that is how we ended up at Diwali Night.  What a privilege to enjoy this celebration of one of their biggest cultural events, the Festival of Light.

I am thrilled to have made this connection with International students - first when they gave us henna tattoos at the Flint Farmers’ Market and now at Diwali Night. 

This event also provided connections with students from other countries as well - so I'm hopeful that this is just the beginning.  In fact, I just learned that there might be a chance to include some new friends in our Thanksgiving plans again.  Wouldn't that be fun?  Sorta' like old times! 

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I guess I had some pretty good insight when I was a kid.  I thought it was just about the coolest thing ever to know somebody from another country.

Sure enough. 

Now I know it is.

I also know what a privilege it is. And I am grateful.