The Displaced New Mexican

�Bienvenidos a Dortmund!

Last Thursday (Oct 16) I finally got my chance to make my contribution to the international meal club. After scouring this town for some good ingredients, Mikko and I set to work in his new and modernly equipped kitchen (get this, it has a microwave AND and oven!). Mikko produced an exquisite three-part fruit centerpiece. Really, it was impressive, pineapple and everything. The kid has talent. I whipped together some guacamole from all fresh ingredients, which I think was the biggest hit, doctored up some beans and set in on the quesadillas. Kris boiled some water for the rice, which we later made Spanish. I accidentally burned the bottom of the beans, but I managed to salvage the bulk of them. This stove had numbers 1-9 but I think that actually meant 9.1-9.9. Everything was too hot. We had the meal in a communal dining room which was already decorated with plants. I brought in my computer and we hooked up Mikko's speakers for some authentic mariachi music I downloaded. Each person recieved a Mexican beer complete with lime wedge. In attendance were citizens of the USA, Finland, Sweden, Germany, France, Korea and Romania. We had a wonderful time. I wish I could do things like this often, but it would be quite an expensive habit.