Fried Food and Fine Jewelery

I love cultures. That’s basically why I became a Humanities major — I get to study different cultures and since dance is one of the arts, I can use that as part of my focus. I mean, I’m going to write a hundred-page thesis about dance studies, so that’s got to be a pretty clear indication of my interest. Anyways…. I love culture. And today I went with one of my favoritist people up to Salt Lake City to take in the international festival being hosted there. It was wonderful! There’s nothing better than spending a few hours appreciating the music and dance and food of other cultures. Being there reminded me so much of tour last year, and I think I’ve convinced Ananda of the virtues of dancing in festivals… so I’m going to train her in the ways of Clog America so we can go together next year! 


If there’s one thing I’ve learned about international events, its that you must sample the food. Going to a foreign country without trying the local grub ought to be outlawed. Of course, sometimes when you’re with the festivals it’s hard to say how authentic the food is, but I feel confident that I’ve sampled a taste of all the countries I’ve been in. Back to the point though, there were, of course, food vendors at the festival. I had a falafel sandwich from a Lebanese food stand, while Ananda sampled some Thai Bhuddist Temple cuisine. We went back for baklava (I’m going to be SO in heaven in Greece). I tried mine from the Lebanese stand and Ananda got hers from the Bosnian stand. It’s hard to say which one was better… although hers looked more decadent as it swam in its sticky topping. Mine was not drenched or messy, but it was good, flaky, and had the perfect taste. And later we went back for more food….. hey, it was cold outside. I had some Indian fry bread, and Ananda had some Palestinian samosas. They’re definitely different from Indian samosas I’ve had, but they were very tasty. What it comes down to is that I love food! And I had a nice share of fried food today. 


After which, I had a most enjoyable encounter with fine jewelery. (For some reason, I’m trying very hard to make this post follow the title I gave it. Sorry if it seems forced, because it probably is.) So after returning from Salt Lake, I went to the mall to exchange a shirt I got. I went to put it on one day and realized that there was a substantial hole in it where the seam hadn’t caught both sides of the fabric. It only took me a week or two after that realization to actually go make the exchange. And then, being at the mall and not quite ready to go spend the evening alone at home, I wandered. I worked my way over to Macy’s as I chatted on the mobile with my mom, and passed by a gorgeous black pearl ring. After unsuccessfully wandering the upstairs, I returned back to the jewelery counter to see how much out of my price range the ring was. It was originally $1300, but half off… I think it worked down to $400 something? No way could I justify that much. BUT, the wise man had another ring to show me. And that one was more to my style (less ostentatious, more simple) and much more on sale. He crunched me some numbers and the ring, which was originally around $400, came out to be less than $100!! What a steal! I’ve been planning to buy a black pearl ring since I graudated (yeah, that was two years ago) so I felt justified in the arguable impulse/splurge. 


I don’t think I should write this late at night. It makes me long-winded, I think. To close: here’s the nice quote that came up on my ticker for today. Oh, and I caught a touchdown pass in our ultimate frisbee game Thursday night. And my right knee now hurts for inexplicable reasons. Chiropractor? Time to make a phone call, I think. (On Monday, not actually today.) Ok, time to stop. My editorializing of myself is getting old to me, so I can’t imagine what it’s doing to actual readers. I’ll try and just post pictures next time. I took some good ones today (imagine me rambling on about those pics now…..)

I like not only to be loved, but also to be told that I am loved. I am not sure that you are of the same kind. But the realm of silence is large enough beyond the grave. This is the world of light and speech, and I shall take leave to tell you that you are very dear.