Day 65: Too spicy

Tonight we hosted another dinner party for a mixed Kazakh-American crowd. In an attempt to be efficient with our time for a mid-week feast, we used some spaghetti sauce that we made over the weekend and just served up fresh noodles for the small group of friends.

Some cultural discoveries courtesy of our Kazakhstani guests:

• Don't get cold feet! Our lady guests arrived in stocking feet and her fiance immediately insisted that we find slippers for her so that she would not catch a cold. The hostess, yours truly, was wandering around the house in bare feet.
• Watch out for cold drinks! The same couple worried when we pulled juice out of the fridge. In a very manly way, the male guest snatched the cold glass away from the lady so that she would not suffer (and we pulled warm juice out of the pantry).
• Be wary of drafts! We seated our guests next to the window and as the evening wore on, the fresh air became worrisome.
• Stay away from spicy food! Our guests did not do well with the chili peppers in the sauce, becoming red in the face and resorting to many pieces of bread instead.
• Stick to "normal" tea! After a suite of other strange incidents in the evening, we served tea. Upon deciding which tea to serve (we suggested peppermint), our guest sighed and suggested just normal, black tea. No problem! 

Funny how many of these superstitions work across cultures -- and how some typical American behaviors become problematic. If our guests decide to return to our home (and we hope they do!), we'll know just how to make them more cozy.