Boodle Fight
Boodle Fight…….say what? Recently, while away on an extended business trip, my colleagues and I became close friends with a group of our USA counterparts. They were some of the nicest people I’d ever met. They were hospitable and cared for our needs as if we were family.
During the last week of our stay they started commenting about how they were going to miss us, and couldn’t believe how fast the time had flown. It was true, the time seemed to speed up with each passing week. It’s a nice feeling to know that in some little way, what we did made an impact in their lives.
In an act of kindness and appreciation I couldn’t believe what they created and shared our last night in the office. They had planned, cooked and beautifully arranged a special traditional meal, called Boodle Fight for us to share as a team, one last time.
Somehow they were able to put everything together without us having a clue what was going on just down the hall. When it was time for the surprise they all managed to get to the room ahead of us. I was finishing up on a project and was lagging behind my colleagues by a minute or two and walked in to find a thoughtful, and beautiful display of their traditional foods, laid out in a way that touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes.
Each person had taken part in creating the masterpiece that was spread out before us. It was touching to think about the effort and expense it took. They were proud to share an important part of their lives and tradition. The food was prepared on banana leaves that ran down the length of the table. Rice was neatly lined up along the middle and piles of assorted roasted pork, chicken and fish cluttered the rice, while sweet and juicy mangos and other delicacies lay along the edge.
They asked us to wash our hands and explained we could use plastic food preparation gloves, but they would prefer us to use our just washed hands, as we shared the meal. Oh my gosh…..YES, we would love to. It was such a treat to use my hands as utensils to scoop up delicious bites of goodness and love.
Boodle Fight is an odd name for such a beautiful display of a wonderful tradition. It was not only thoughtful and delicious, it was heartfelt and memorable. Our hosts couldn’t have been prouder or happier to see the joy and surprise on our faces. The group did a pretty good job of polishing it off too….HA! How do you share your traditions with the ones you love?
xoxox…..Sheryl