Dinner with Friends

At first my suggestion of a cooking day at my apartment did not seem wise. The suggestion was posed to several of my male students, none of whom claimed any talent in the kitchen. One of them, Tom, an excellent soccer player, admitted that he had worked a total of one week in a restaurant. Still, we went ahead with the plan, though I was relieved when two girls decided to accompany the guys. Reinforcements, I thought. Then the cooking began, and while the girls helped, Tom was clearly the lead chef. He ended up creating an incredible eight course meal, which included dishes of chicken, fish, pork, and eggs (the four in combination are said to encapsulate happiness). While I remain dubious of those four foods as a recipe for lifelong happiness, I was feeling pretty good. It was the best meal that I have had since I arrived. I am just wondering how long I should wait before asking Tom over to cook again.

The pictures are of Amy and I, the group as a whole, the beautiful meal, and Tom at work in the kitchen.

We have also included a video of a pretty mean game of chopsticks (called spoons in the States) for your viewing pleasure. Several chopsticks did not survive, and Amy suffered a scratch or two from the experience.