World Dinner: Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Read it again but twice as fast.
- Zi Sen Chong
- Jun 25, 2022
- 1 min read
A social entrepreneur doubles up as DJ at night, a retired competitive belly dancer graduating from school, an English teacher, and a social developer walked into my home on a Saturday evening.
It was after a long day of activities. A Spartan Race in the morning, followed by Harper's baptism celebration, and then dinner party. I was the host. I did not get home until 5pm, and the party started at 6pm. There were two holes on each of my palms from doing the monkey bars during the Spartan Race. Both timing and my physical condition were not ideal. Luckily Sarah and her boyfriend were my co-hosts.
When I welcomed the guests at the building entrance, the interpreter thought that I was a high school student. I just smiled.
Despite the tight timing, I still ventured out and tried to make Nasi Briyani. It turned out ok and got some praise. Presentation matters.
The conversation of the evening flowed smoothly. We had to look at the world map on my wall many times to figure out where their countries were. Embarrassing.
Their personal background story was my favorite. Gaukhar was also a DJ. Maiya was a competitive belly dancer. The interpreter from SF was hosting two radio shows in Mandarin.
Not surprisingly, they were all proud of their own country. They all felt their countries were under-appreciated - their natural beauty and culture.
The conversation went so well that I felt like we were becoming friends. The night was still young, so I took them over to get some ice cream. And the conversation continued until all the uneaten ice cream melted away.
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