Learning about people

I enjoy hanging out with my friend, Eugene.  He's one of the best listeners that I know - I aspire to listen as well as him.  For now, I tag along in conversations he starts with others.  It's nice to see people's eyes light up as they talk about things near to their heart. 

I learned many interesting things this weekend from these conversations.   (My dad also shares this uncanny ability to start these heart-felt and honest conversations).

A cookie seller explained that his cookies are drier and biscotti-style, so that he need not use nitrates to keep them fresh.  He said that moisture is the baker's enemy.

A bee's wax candle maker told us that he finds good deals on bee's wax on Craigslist and eBay.  He uses molds to make this candles.  He told us that bee's wax candles are healthier to burn than petroleum-based candles, because they don't produce soot.

A sushi chef told us that tuna farms are up and coming in Japan.  Reproducing the tuna's natural environment is more challenging than it is for the fresh-water fish that are traditionally farmed.  The tuna is an ocean-water fish, and travels from the tropics to arctic waters through the course of the year.

The chef's Malay co-worker told us that he missed Malay food, including flat bread with sugar and chili sauce. 

It is nice and rare to find people who embrace multiple cultures so sincerely.  Eugene lived in Asia, Europe, and North America, and studied African mbira and marimba music in North and South America.  My in-laws also embrace others and try to understand them with sincerity.  They've traveled a lot, and tried to make sincere and lasting connections with the people they have met there. 

I hope that I am never the traveler or citizen who dismisses others.  I hope that I can learn more about people's cultures, whether they are based on geography or ideology.