I love America, and cringe when people don’t realize the gift they open every morning just after they open their eyes. That gift involves every step they take and every convenience they take for granted. But with that said, I realize more and more that other cultures have a lot right too. For example: Dinner.

I went to my friend Sanjeev’s house for dinner on Friday – this is more than a meal, it is a cultural institution. I arrived at 5:30pm, and left at 1am. After 5 beers, 2 pounds of vegetables in various forms, and configurations; I was full and sweating curry. We watched an Indian film, ate these things called chapatis – they are basically wheat pita’s that you stuff with all manner of indian cusine and eat like a burrito.

Then there were the round table discussions between the Germans (me and Shannon), the Dutch (Paul), the Indians (Sanjeev, Deepti, Amit, and his friends) and the sole Albanian, Lirjon. We discussed arranged marriages, my premature balding, and did an in depth study of the tensile strength of silicon trivets (they are a tactile treat – trust me on this one!). There is no cheesy moral to this story, except that America and Detroit in particular would be a better place if we ate together more often….and that beauty is on the inside…and that if you don’t sweat its not hot enough… :)