Taste of India and Good Sam

"...it is effort that matters, not result" (The Geography of Bliss, page 122).
Well said.
One of my best friends never checks his grades. Honestly he has no idea what grade he has received in any class or what his GPA is. He says as long as he has put forth his best work and given the class his best effort, the grade doesn't matter. There isn't anything he can do about his grade at that point anyway, and the lessons he learned came from his work, not his grade.
That is a thought I really appreciate, and it is a lesson Eric Weiner was told while in Qatar.
Looking back to my years of 4-H and showing horses, when all was said and done, it wasn't the ribbon I remembered most; what I remembered most were the memories of hard work, struggles, successes, and the 'at least I know for next time' experiences.
There was one time I was cooling my horse down after we were done showing and a mother of a girl I rode against came up to me and basically chewed me out for getting in her daughter's way. I was naiive and didn't realize I had done anything wrong. Now, this lady made me feel humiliated and ignorant. I considered her reprimand and thought back to my performance. Ya know what I remember most from that particular show? The fun time I had with my horse. We didn't place or even receive a Thanks for Participating ribbon, but I remember that show as a valuable learning tool. Ribbon or not, my horse and I were successful that day.
This evening, my bestie (who is also my boyfriend and water treading partner) and I dined in the cozy Taste of India restaurant. Upon entering, we were greeted by Indian-type music playing softly and bright yellow walls adorned with fabric wall hangings. The first thing I noticed was how quiet everyone was. Usually people are talkative at restaurants, but the patrons seemed more reserved at Taste of India.
After being seated by an American hostess, a charismatic Indian woman handed us menus, and soon had us convinced to try some white bread as an appetizer.
While we waited for our bread, we munched on some cracker type food that I would describe as a mixture of a Matzo, tortilla chips, and Wheat Thins that are about the size of a typical hard taco shell. We were also given a tray of dips for these chip-type snacks (the Indian version of chips and salsa). One sauce was green, and its appearance reminded me of guacamole, but it tastes real good :) Kinda hot, and I'm assuming it is made with some kind of peppers, but very tasty. Another dip looks a lot like salsa and is also hot. The third choice looks like dark maple syrup and it is kind of sweet tasting. Once again, being the picky eater I am, I was hesitant but I braved it up to try all 3. It was interesting to try them. The green is my favorite.
We realized we had better look through the menu and try to find something to order. It was tough to decide. There was one item we agreed sounded really good, tandoori, but the menu said that you should only order it if you're not in a rush. We had to get back to school for my comrade's comedy performance for class (which was HILARIOUS!), so we instead chose Chicken Ragon Josh for me and he ordered Chicken ...hmmmm...I cannot recall the name :( Oh well, we couldn't pronounce them anyway ;-)
Our happy Indian waitress delivered our bread and it was AWESOME! It is basically a large sheet of thin bread, soft and warm and obviously fresh. We ate it in minutes!
Then our meal came, and our eyes grew to the size of tennis balls when we saw a plate of rice heaped 5" tall! That was my boyfriend's, and it was accompanied by a bowl of white sauce that he said seemed kind of like ranch dressing. My meal came in 2 dishes also, but thankfully, much smaller dishes. Chicken Ragon Josh is a bowl of white rice with another bowl of another salsa-appearing saucy-style dip with pieces of chicken mixed in. I poured the saucy stuff over the rice and it was very good. We each tried a bite of each other's, but I think we were both satisfied with our own selection.
The spices are definitely exotic, and unlike flavors native to the West. They're good and hot, and I think exotic is about the best word to describe them.
It was really fun to experience Taste of India. It certainly seems authentic, we had a pleasant dining experience, and the food was really tasty. A fun evening!
Since Interim is wrapping up rapidly (tomorrow) and I haven't been able to find enough information about my 3rd restaurant to know when it's open, I have decided to discuss a restaurant I ate at over Christmas Break.
Garden City, KS is a town that is about 60% Hispanic. In their grocery stores, I see peppers I didn't even know existed. Just right there in the produce section. G.C. is the real deal when it comes to Spanish culture. While there, we ate at an authentic Spanish restaurant.
Now, I love salsa and tacos, and Taco Tuesday is my favorite day at the "Calf" (kids at school refer to the cafeteria as the "Caf," so I think it's funny to add an "l"....that's just me...).
I always suspected that store-bought salsa, preferrably Mild for my Midwest tastebuds, wasn't exactly authentic; however, I also didn't view this as a problem. When I tasted the salsa at the real Mexican restaurant in G.C., I went "Wowwwww" and inhaled deeply and my eyes got watery and I could feel my face burning up and the little hairs around my face got damp with sweat and I couldn't wash away the burn...yet it was good...so I reached for some more!
In a nutshell, that describes most of my eating experiences in G.C. Since the city offers more peppers and flavors than up here, food is way more Mexican than Midwest food...and it helps that the preparers of the food are Hispanic.
That evening at the Mexican restaurant was also a fun dining experience. There was a large Spanish family in the restaurant and also a German Mennonite couple. The walls are painted bright colors and the Hispanic waitresses wear their beautiful black hair long down their backs. Mariachi music plays, and the little Mexican girl at the table next to us is loud and cute and obviously adores all the women in her family.
Another experience I had over break with a Spanish family:
A VERY kind family. 4 generations. One house. Food is a BIG deal. The kids speak 2 languages: English and Spanish. They translate for their Spanish-speaking elders. They have the phenomenal ability to listen to their Spanish mother, turn to me, instantly translate, and just as quickly translate my response back into Spanish. Never messing up or confusing words. Perfect. Did I mention generous? They made tamales and shared with us. This was my first experience eating tamales, and I'm so in love with them I think they're worth trying to make here in SD. Tamales are made in a corn husk. A floury, doughy, paste is spread onto the corn husk, and then the shell can be filled with anything: chicken, beef, pork, raisins and cream cheese, dream big. Then they're boiled and then they're amazing to eat :) (Don't eat the husk part though).
My horizons were definitely broadened with my Hispanic experience over Christmas break. I worked with German Mennonites who speak Spanish and talked to genuine Mexican families that are closely tied to their heritage. My appreciation for Hispanice culture has defintitely increased, and I truly enjoyed the experiences :)
This Interim has gone very quickly, and can hardly believe I only have one more day to blog. I'm really trying to finish The Geography of Bliss in time, but it will definitely be a pinch.
With the experiences of this class, I have learned to learn. This class has definitely shown me the importance of keeping an open mind and having a willingness to learn. Every culture and race has its strengths and lessons to teach, and unless I respect and receive those lessons, I'll miss out on some really great life experiences. Unless I had been told to go, I don't know if I would have ever chosen to eat at a Mediterranean grill or Indian restaurant. Now that I've done it I'm really glad I have had those experiences.
I'm glad I read the books and plays I have. They've shown me that there's a big old world outside of Minnehaha County. When I run through a field and can see the sky in 180 degrees, it's amazing. And it feels like heaven and it feels huge and it seems like forever. When I was really little, I thought if I climbed high enough in a tree I could see the whole world. I soon realized that privilege is for God. Even when the sky looks wildly huge, I realize that I'm looking at maybe 10 miles. The world is ginormous. Every person has a story to tell and a history. Sometimes I think about all the people I'll see only once in my lifetime...at airports, Hy-Vee, driving down the Interstate...there are soooo many people.
Last night 2 of my good friends showed me a video they made for their Interim class. It's called "Worth the Price?" and it starts out by showing pictures of dogs and cats that are primped up and dressed up and fat and eating human food. Then, it sharply segues into pictures of starving children. They're horrible and gruesome. And the video is awesome. I've been thinking about it ever since. It made me stop and go, "Whoa. This isn't right." I realized that their video is definitely in scope of this class.
Wow, this is getting long. I'll try to be brief (haha, starting now, I mean). Today I met with Kathy at the Good Samaritan elderly community on Minnesota Ave. She spoke with me about activities for the residents. Getting old scares me. I'll be honest...even like, oh, 25, scares me. Walking past rooms today and stealing peeks at decrepidly ancient invalids just made me very concerned about age. ANYway, visiting with Kathy greatly reduced my apprehension. Would ya ever guess that the nursing homes have volleyball teams that compete against each other?! And that they make arts and crafts and then sell them? Or that once a week a lady comes with a bunch of clothing that they can purchase and maintain their independence? (well, to a small degree). All this, and so much more at Good Sam. In the summer they go to parks and farms and have picnics and pet puppies.
Of the 110 residents, only 25 are men (I suppose because men tend to die off sooner than women...?), and a whopping 7 can walk. Fun and Fitness, Devotions, Catholic Rosary and Mass, Manicures, Baking, and Bingo are offered on a weekly basis.
I find it very comforting that there are people committed to caring for the elderly. After all, they're pretty much the reason we're here, and they are still kids (in God's eyes). I think it's just great that Good Sam offers so much recreation for them.
Kathy is a very special lady, I can tell. She sincerely cares about each of the residents and hopefully when she gets to be that age, someone will put forth as much effort to her well-being as she does for the geriatrics at Good Sam now. I did enjoy visiting with her about senior activities.
Salvation Army tomorrow!