World Dinner: Friends from The Cradle of Civilization, Iraq

The Iraqi guests were a proud bunch - proud of their history, proud of their resiliency, and proud of their heritage.

From left: Mr. Isam, Brad, Mr. Tareq, me, Mr. Basem, and another interpreter.

Iraq, dangerous, chaotic, uncivilized, that was what I thought before I met these folks.

The evening was joined by the honorary Ms. Zainab (Ministry of Electricity), Mr. Tareq (South Electricity Distribution), Mr. Basem (Ministry of Electricity), and interpreter Mr. Isam.

Halal food? No problem. I whipped up some Malaysian Chicken Rendang - my go-to to impress people.

The start of the evening was a little awkward - some went to the wrong address and I had to pick them up. Luckily I had my co-host Brad to entertain the guests while I was doing that.

We talked about the economy, electricity, history, Sadam Hussein, US invasion/liberation (depending on how you look at it), and family. My takeaway of the night was that the people of Iraq were a proud bunch, and they were ready to strive and succeed. My favorite question was, "are you optimistic about your country", and all of them were. There were still many challenges - corruption, inadequate infrastructure, politics - but there were green shoots everywhere.

They welcomed me to visit. Ms. Zainab said that she would make a nice meal for me, and Mr. Tareq would show me all the ancient civilizations in Iraq.

What a pleasant and fascinating evening. How often we could sit across the table from someone totally unexpected, let alone break bread at my own home together?