i realized that i have written too many grumbling posts, which, as i read through them now, are boring, unhealthy and somewhat discouraging. sometimes it is better to keep the matter to myself, spend more time praying and seeking God. so, yesterday, as i sat working in front of my computer screen, i just thought i wanted to do something exciting to this blog. i don’t know what i am going to do with it yet. perhaps i can create a theme and stick with it. or maybe i can post more of my photos from the everyday life. or i could write about my dreams and plans for next year. but there will be some changes…hopefully for the better.
today, i want to talk about something cheerful and humorous. it is about *food* and *friends*, the 2 f-words i am not embarrassed or reluctant to say it out loud.
currently, at compassion thailand office, there are about 70 staff members who come from different parts of thailand and, of course, diverse backgrounds. some come from big cities like bangkok or chiangmai while some are from rural or tribal villages. in spite of our original home locations, we are now melted into this one big multi-racial pot. and in some strange and wonderful ways, we partake in each other’s life. we create memories and journey through happy and misery together.
this place started off as a big professional office with gigantic computer server, systematic ranks between positions and incredibly deep and dynamic information. but now it has become a community of God-lovers, serious workers and food fans. every month, someone sends out an email about a get-together over dinner. within seconds, there will come a long email thread from almost everyone invited. within seconds, people reply to the email with their enthusiastic answers and suggestions. it is quite humorous, to be honest…sitting in front of the computer trying to concentrate on my story plot…then an email notification pops up with subjects like “som tum party” or “grill night”. what’s more the notification doesn’t come only once but keeps appearing every 5 seconds. you would have to drop what you were doing at the moment to see what was going on, if you were me. in addition to being passionate about serving the Lord, we are passionate eaters.
2 days ago, a group of us had “som tum” party at our cafeteria. the beginning of it all came from too many green papayas behind a staff’s backyard. so a correspondence staff suggested that we should make som tum, the ear-ringing spicy papaya salad. jang, our CIV administrator, who comes from i-saan, the northeastern part of thailand where this dish is the most renown, volunteered herself to be the cook. she made lots of lots of scrumptious papaya salad for all of us to enjoy. meet jang.
then yesterday, we ordered thin-crust pepperoni, meat deluxe, seafood and barbecue pizza for lunch. there were also fried chickens, mashed potato, vegetable salad and more papaya salad. there were 10 of us, girls. we cleaned the table. it was incredible and a bit scary, may i add, in a good way.
the food was marvelous. but the company was even more.
even though i felt like my stomach was bursting at its seams and all i could do was to lean back against my chair and sigh (of contentment, of course), the food and friends definitely brought comfort, joy and belly laugh to me. so if you find yourselves feeling grumpy or anxious about something, get together with friends you are comfortable to be with, open your fridge, explore your backyards, and fix something simple but delightful. you will be surprised you have lots to be thankful for.
More Than Eyes Can See 