感恩節 Thanksgiving #2

Last night we had a Thanksgiving dinner with church friends. We had a pot luck dinner, with hot pot as the center of the meal outside. Hot pot 火 鍋 originated in northern China and spread to other places. In Japan it is known as Shabu Shabu. I have eaten Korean and Thai versions but I don't know what they are called, but I like the Chinese version best.



Hot pot is one of those foods that is very culturally grounded because it is a communal meal. Yes, I know we in the west have fondue, but it's not the same. People eat using the same pot in the center of the table to cook the food. I don't think it's really that popular in Western cultures for that reason. For us, it was a good time of togetherness and food. It was a good time to touch bases, pray for each other and watch DVD productions our church had made.

It's amazing the concerns in any small group. There are businesses people run, new jobs, concerns about children, concerns about parents and even concerns about loved ones in not so safe countries in the world. We also have some happy news about those newly married who will be rejoining us soon! I'll get some photos up of the happy couples up soon.
(The part of our group that fit in this room)

The only thing I missed, which happens less because this is a Christian group, is wives engaging in a traditional bragging contest about their husbands. "My husband is really dumb." "Oh yeah, well my husband is dumb and he's messy." "Well, my husband is dumb, messy and forgetful! (that's usually me)" It's just in fun and usually all the husbands are sitting around enjoying it or chatting.

I imagine myself sitting across the table politey listening to the conversation, when all female heads turn to me. "Well Mr. Thoughtfire, what do you think?" "Uhhhh, my job is to listen to and obey my wife 很聽話."