food fun

In August, my family hosted an 18 year old from Saudi Arabia for 2 1/2 weeks in our home. His name is Hussein. We learned a great deal from Hussein about his culture, and I think it is safe to say that he learned even more about American culture from tagging along with our 17 year old son to school and social events, as well as interacting with our two daughters!

One new experience we gained came about when Hussein cooked us a traditional dish from his homeland of rice and Halal chicken. He served this yummy-smelling meal on a large platter and then asked us, in his broken English, if we would like to eat it they way it is eaten in his country. We had no idea what he meant by this question, but we were all game. Hussein proceeded to dig in to the food with his fingers, tearing chicken off the bone and gathering rice into the tips of his fingers, and then he neatly brought the mixture to his mouth and ate it. 

The rice was not the sticky Japanese variety, so no matter our attempt at scooping, shoveling, or compacting it, we couldn’t avoid making a mess of our faces, our laps or the floor! We have never laughed so much at the dinner table or had so much fun eating. We looked like a family of toddlers. No plates, no utensils, and surprisingly no dexterity in our fingers to master this seemingly basic and simple task. Although Hussein had total faith in us and illustrated time again the proper placement of our fingers, we still ended up with a rice trail to every seat but his!