Yesterday, my teammate gleefully suggested that we hold a Christmas potluck on the 23rd. When everyone in our team was onboard, they decided to let the other team in on the plan. I wondered how they would react, since 2 of the 3 members in the other team are Muslims. I need not have worried. The moment we made our announcement, they erupted in cheers, excitedly asking what the theme for the food was, and even suggesting that we have a theme for our clothes as well (it’s red and white, by the way). Then we started thinking about what food to bring. We could not bring pork or beef, and it had to be cooked halal. It struck me as quite funny that here we were, planning a Christian holiday party with food fit for Muslims and Buddhists. But I suppose Christmas is the most popular holiday in the world, and its celebrations can’t help but rub off on others, even those who don’t believe in the reason why the holiday is being celebrated in the first place. I need not have worried so much that I would not enjoy the season, even though Buddhism is the dominant religion here.
In the end, everyone insisted that I bring Filipino food because they so rarely have a chance to have those. Yikes. Back in the Philippines, any food assigned for me to bring to parties was fine with me, since I could always order or buy them from the stores. But I could not do that here. There are few Filipino restaurants here and besides, their goods are pricey. If I have to bring Pinoy food, I would have to make it myself. Gulp. A confident cook I am not. People once raved over my kilawin, chicken macaroni salad, and estopao, but those were each one-off instances that seems like a long time ago. Good luck to me. Or should I say, good luck to them. ;P