i have a friend who i like to call my culture guru. i'm sure that there is not one ethnic restaurant in the portland metro area that she has not tried. well, maybe one. but, thai, morrocan, ethiopian, middle eastern, she knows them all. i like spending time with her because she gently nudges me to be more adventurous, while allowing me to stay in the safety of my comfort zone. meaning that she doesn't push me to try the craziest most outlandish thing on the menu. if i want to play it safe and have the kabobs, i can have the kabobs. she also takes the time to explain the menu to me, which makes my decision easier.
because of our friendship, i have gone to some very cool restaurants, places i would not normally have tried in some neighborhoods that i normally wouldn't go to. last week she took me to a very popular part of portland where we visited an eclectic bookstore, perused an italian meat market, and ate crepes at a french bistro (served by a waitress with more tattoos than i could count and the largest gages in her ears i have ever seen). this week we ate hummus, baba ganouj, and falafel at "Ya Hala" a lebanese restaurant. this cultural education has reminded me just how culturally diverse the northwest is. you can walk down the street and feel like you are in a completely different country. it has also reminded me that it's important to have people in your life that stretch you and encourage you to grow. i think it's so easy to get caught up in your own little world and lose sight of what is going on around you. you don't always have to cross an ocean to impact other cultures or for them to impact you, sometimes you just have to cross the street.
