afghani luncheon!

With actual Afghans!!!

Remember Hasiba, the woman who received Mama's sewing machine?

 

"Oh, yeah! I remember her. We met after "The Kiterunner" sermon."

 

That's right. Well, Claire - that's her on the left - had set up a luncheon at Asbury so folks could come and meet Hasiba in an informal gathering.

Here she is telling us about the six dishes she brought.

"Six?! Wow, that's a very nice sampling of their cuisine! How did it taste?"

Surprisingly, a lot like Indian food. The rice dish was very flavorful, so I had asked what spices were in it. When I named ginger, coriander, and garlic, she at once recognized the names! One of the dishes was like naan, but it had bits of potatoes, green bell peppers, and onion mixed in with the dough. Her husband said it was like pizza for them. And, hey, pizza is my favorite food, right? So I talked a bit about the different types of pizza, including Chicago's deep-dish style. Yum!

"Sounds like you got a lot of one-on-one time with them."

I did! Hasiba was sitting alone at a table, so I joined them, as did a woman from a table over. Then Preston - in the blue sweater - came and sat down with us after Hamid got settled.

"I thought this was just going to be a women's luncheon?"

Well, that's the way it was first presented, but I think the invitation was extended to all members when it became clear that so many ladies could not make it. That's fine, as I enjoyed getting to know her husband. He was the reason they had to leave, as his life was in danger.

"Why was that?"

He was an interpreter and worked for the US Army and covert operatives there. The Taliban had him on a list of people to eliminate. So, that's why they left their grand home over there, in August of last year, and went to a small village, but that wasn't enough. 

They've been in Savannah for five months now.

"Oh, wow. It must be hard on them to be so far from home."

True. But, as I pointed out to them during the post-luncheon discussion, their situation of living in a strange land is part of military life. I spoke of being in the Navy and and having to live in Panama for two years and then in Okinawa for two years. Those countries were a big change for this Georgia peach! But I made a choice to embrace that change. I made a choice to explore that different culture fully, to make my life there an adventure! And I encouraged her to do the same here.

"Wow! What prompted you to say all that!?"

Well, there were thirteen people there, not including the Abasy couple and Claire and her husband, who had brought them to the luncheon. And, after Hamid had told his story of their journey to America, Hasiba talked about adjusting to life here and how their four children are doing. Then she spoke of how hard it had been for her and how much she missed her friends and her mother-in-law. That's when the old ladies there started in with a bit of a pity party and I stepped all over that. Pretty much brought the discussion to an end, too. We were out of there ten minutes later.

"I see."

Listen, if you were there, you would have known I was in the right. Some people go to a new place and all they want is to go back to the old one. I knew folks in Okinawa and in Panama who never stepped a foot off the post except to go to a nearby military base.

Seriously.

They never once partook of the culture of the country they were in. They would rather be unhappy than try anything, anything at all, that was different.

The folks there at this luncheon have no experience with living in another country, much less one that doesn't have English as the preferred language.

I do, and I wanted Hasiba to know that perception is everything.

Perception is a choice.

And I wanted her to perceive of this change in her life as a positive experience, a chance to learn about others and their culture.

Plus, she's really not alone in America.

She has a sister that lives in Pooler, and her mom and brother are in Maryland.

"Well, it sounds like this was definitely something different for today!"

It certainly was! And I gave her my phone number, so maybe when she needs a friend to talk to about change in her life, she'll call me.

(smile!)