Food, Food & More Food!

Not that I'm complaining mind you, but it seems all we do is eat. And what a culinary adventure it is! There's food everywhere you turn here. We have learned from our friends that the Malaysians only eat one meal a day - and it last all day long. This is my kind of place!

Because Malaysia is such a melting pot of cultures, the food has amazing variety! There is Malaysian, which would remind you a little of Thai food. Noodles and rices, often hot and spicy, topped with seafood, meats or veggies. There is Chinese, and we're not talking Americanized take out. This is Chinese - Chinese. The flavors are from a slightly different taste pallet and yet rich, bold and wonderful. Then there is Indian. Wow! Burst of flavor, in your face taste. We have also had Japanese, American, British and Italian.

In the flat we have a small, what Robyn calls, a pygmy, refrigerator. So we can only keep a few things. Of course the kitchen is not stocked with staples or spices, so when I try to throw a meal together here it, too, is always an adventure. Yesterday was what can you make with Sesame oil, eggplant, left over Malaysian corn on the cob, a red pepper and some soy sauce. Believe it or not it was eatable.

Just as the culinary tastes are different, so are the people. With three major people groups, Malaysian, Indian and Chinese, life in Malaysia is vastly diverse. Here, though there is some blending of the cultures, they still have strong and unique differences. I have learned a lesson from the church here in Malaysia, there unity in Christ seems to over ride there cultural differences. They do not have an unspoken yet understood mantra that says we except cultural diversity as long as it is not different from ours.

In America we have many different ethnicities, yet most of them have become "American". We are at easy to except a people group that is different from us, as long as they become like us. In the U.S., the people groups that bother us are the ones that are and stay different from us. We talk often of our diversity, but is it diversity when the underlying criteria for acceptance is that we all become alike? I hope I am learning some lessons from my Malaysian brothers and sisters.