Dining Around the World
By Michael Boyajian
I don’t have to travel to the United Nations to experience world peace. I do not have to go to an airport to travel to distant lands in search of understanding of different cultures. I merely have to dine at an ethnic restaurant to learn something about my fellow human beings.
Today I dined at a Middle Eastern restaurant run by a Jordanian family. We go here frequently and the owner knows us so well he knows what we will order and so there is no need to give us menus. Surrounding us on the walls are large photographs of far off places and people who look just like us but for their garb. There is even an area where you can sit on pillows at floor level amidst hookah pipes and other regional regalia.
Do they harm me? Indeed not, they nourish me. They share what is theirs with me and I return the favor with much praise. I also enjoy Indian food and I tell the owner of my local restaurant that his food is New York grade Indian food and this makes him happy. Sometimes I tell him it’s better than what can be found in London and this brings joy to him. A small price to pay for a little gastronomical peace, love and understanding.
Everyday millions of people dine on Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Spanish, Polish, Cuban, Korean, Russian, Jamaican, Afghan, Ethiopian, Italian, German, French, Greek and Thai food just to name a few choices available to us all.
And in each case all engaged learn something about one another adding to a virtual road to peace by merely indulging in a biological function. Why then are there still wars? Perhaps because people are not diversifying their eating habits for the sake of peace. So take a friend to dinner and dine for world peace.
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