Exposing yourself to different cultures
It’s hard to imagine, personally, how different day to day life is for people in other countries. Sure, we visit their tourist meccas and we get their stamps in our passport, but rarely do we take the time to immerse ourselves in and embrace the cultural differences of other countries.
Recently, the company I work for brought two of the contractors we work closely with over from India. They’ll be staying for two months, so we opted to get them a month to month apartment, rather than a hotel room. What that means is that they get to ‘have a little home’ in the home they are staying in while their here. What that means for me is that I get to learn new things, become exposed to new ideas and explore things that I find strange, yet intriguing. For example, foods and dietary differences. Religion and faith differences and most notably, familial differences.
I learned, just yesterday, that one of the guys here visiting just had a child just a few weeks before coming. I questioned the sanity of leaving his wife, who had just given birth, at home alone with a newborn baby - and he was quick to point out the custom in India of a pregnant wife moving home to live with her parents while still pregnant, then staying with her parents for at least two months post-delivery. He went on to explain that they wait several months to name the babe, which I also thought was interesting, but pretty logical.
Over all, this has been an interesting learning experience. From scaring the hell out of them while driving a (rather tame) 60 MPH on the freeway to ordering special meal items to accommodate their vegetarian lifestyle, which is an important discipline in their Hindu faith.
I have a lot of respect for the work these guys do for us and a lot of respect for them personally, simply because they seem to find so much joy in their lives, even in light of all the difficulties they face, living in a country where the pay is low, the employment turn over is high and the available space to live, laugh and love is sparse, to say the least.
I have also really enjoyed working with people who seem to have a very dedicated and strong work ethic and the attitude that the day doesn’t end until the job is done and if it isn’t done, the day isn’t over. It’s such an absent mentality in the U.S. these days.
PT Recipe of the Week: Avocado Salad
Write it down folks - this is good stuff! I was at work a few days ago and the president of our company brought in the ‘fixin’s’ for this salad and made it for everyone. I was in love…man was it good!
So, here we go with your list of ingredients:
- 3 Avocados, ripe and ready to eat
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 white sweet onion
- 1 can of black olives (sliced, or not, up to you!)
- 1 bottle of Italian dressing from Olive Garden (this is key, its fantastico)
The steps are important, because if done incorrectly, you might end up with Avocado dip, rather than Salad. So, when preparing the salad, you will need to do it in the following order:
- Slice your white onion in very thin slices then cut them into bite sized pieces
- Put your slices into a bowl of cold water and put it in the refrigerator
- Cut the tomatoes up into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl
- Open the can of black olives and drain, then place them in the bowl
- Drain the water from the onions and add them to the mix
- Add the Salad Dressing to the mix of tomatoes, olives and onions - just enough to cover them
- Stir
- Peel and pit your avocados taking care not to mash them
- Cut the peeled and pitted avocados into chunks
- Add the avocados to the mix and lightly stir, coating the avocados in the dressing
This recipe is best served cold, in fact, the colder the better. Once you’ve cooled the salad down, you can serve it as a ‘dip’ with tortilla chips or as a side with your favorite main course.
I can’t wait for you to try it and tell me what you think! Have a recipe you think we should feature? Leave a comment.
It’s a great summer salad or a salad enjoyed in warmer climates, since it’s served ice cold.
We have a winner!
The long standing battle between HD DVD and Blu-Ray has finally come to a close. The winner, Blu-Ray!
Microsoft has been one of the biggest supporters of HD-DVD Technology, so much so, that their newest gaming platform, the ever coveted XBox 360 (of which I am a proud owner) was built around it. However, over the last week, many of the Studios, electronics manufacturers and movie retailers have made their choice known. They back Blu-Ray and now, we’ll start to see loads of new movies available in that format. Large online movie rental outlets have started to exclusively stock the Blu-Ray format and mega-retailers like Wal Mart have recently vowed to only support the Blu-Ray technology, opting only to sell that format in their world-wide chain of stores.
Don’t run out and by that nifty new Blu-Ray player yet. The cheapest one for sale on CircuitCity.com is $399.00 - still a far cry away from reasonable, for those of you who are still playing the “Be Kind, Please Rewind” game 
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Meet Brandy
Adoptee, Mom, First Mother and Wife, living, loving and writing about life as I see it.
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