Eat Some Baba Ganoush

We become so accustomed to what we know. Especially when it comes to the food we eat.

In the wintertime, one of my favorite lunches is a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup. I think it’s my most favorite comfort food meal.

However, why not try something new? Open your life to foods that you have never heard of. Chances are, you’ll find something you never realized was so tasty!

Opening yourself to new cultures can be very fun. If you know someone at work or your local place of worship that is from another country, pull them aside and tell them you’d love to experiment with some non-traditional and non-American (or Americanized) food, and was wondering if they would like to come to your home and you could make their traditional dinner together!

Just cuz…

Learn About Other Cultures

The world is full of people – different people – so many different shades.

At times, we become trapped in our own bubble, distracted by our everyday tasks and we tend to forget there’s a whole world outside of our house bubble, work bubble, and social networking bubble.

Why not take an hour a month (or week?) and learn about everyone else?

I just did a quick Google search with the phrase “examples of cultural differences” and came up with a bunch of interesting factoids:

• In the Latin American culture, arriving thirty minutes late for an appointment is considered “on time.”
• In Eastern Asian culture, arriving thirty minutes early is considered “on time.”
• Continental Europeans like to have their supper around 10:00 p.m. (I’m in bed by that time!)
• While in Baghdad, I learned that the American hand signal of “OK” or giving someone a “thumbs up” is an offensive hand gesture in the Middle East.

Learning tidbits like these can give your world an expanded view. Like one of my favorite quotes, some may think is rather cynical, but I think it hits it right on the head: Remember that YOU are UNIQUE! Just like everyone else!

So learn something about someone you may not understand… just cuz…

For more information, check out this Wiki!