As I looked over all the exotic menu choices--sauces with coconut milk and pineapple, peanuts and bean sprouts, etc.--I wondered which of all these oh-so-Thai dishes would best represent its native country. I asked our Thai waiter which of the dishes was most traditionally Thai, and he said.....drumroll...."None of them. They're all Americanized." Sigh. Well, so much for experiencing a new culture. After prodding him a bit on which would be the closest thing to real Thai food, he recommended Pad Thai. I went with his suggestion. Pad Thai is a noodle dish with (in this case) shrimp and chicken and a sauce that had hints of peanut and spice. It was topped with bean sprouts. It was.....OK. I liked it, but it is not a flavor that would cause me to rush out for Thai food every weekend. However, I did enjoy the experience of trying a new food, psuedo-Thai or not.
But, the bigger story here (at least for me) is that Craig and I had a great time visitng with good friends. It again reminded me that without my "mission" of accomplishing 40 new things, we very likely would not have made the time to reconnect with such dear people. We would have simply succombed to our busy schedules and settled on the cliche "We have to get together some time."
I'm 1/8 (or 12.5% - hey, I'm a math teacher) finished with my 40 new experiences already, and my year is only 1/12 (8.3%) over. I'm confident that I will meet my goal of 40 new adventures, and I am very much looking forward to what still awaits me!
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