12/23/2008 - From our home to yours - the story of an intercultural friendship and a cucumber dip!
In sharing this recipe I would also like to relay the story behind it… it is about a 20-year friendship that started in choir class when I was an AFS exchange student in Cumberland, Maryland. I had just arrived from Brazil and everything looked so different to me… 20 years ago a telephone call was so expensive, Internet was not around with cheap and free calls, so snail mail was the only way to tell our parents all about our new world.
I needed friends! Then I met Karla and we became good friends, her parents treated me as a member of their family. We used to hang out a lot, going to Pep Rally’s, football games, the mall and trying new foods (for me) like Chick-Fil-A ice cream, Orange Julius’ potato with vinegar and nachos from the gas station nearby. I occasionally attended church with Karla and her family. She also taught me a lot of slang words, so I could better understand what people were actually saying when they were not using correct English. Karla also became pen pals with my mom and younger sister. She would write to them and they would write to her and I translated for them.
When winter finally came, we were in the middle of English class and I was so excited! I saw snow for the first time – I wanted to run outside. Karla took me sled riding for the first time in my life; we had such a wonderful fun-filled day sled riding for hours. I was torn when it came time to go home, I missed my family and couldn’t get back to Brazil fast enough, but at the same time I had met so many friends and I was leaving my new friends. All of them, Friends who had became my family and welcomed me with open arms and made me feel at home away from home.
Anyway, Karla and I did keep in touch for a while after I returned home, writing long letters, then she moved, I also moved and we lost contact. One day, 10 years later I found her address on the Internet! So I picked up the phone and called… Karla was speechless. Now we chat on line almost everyday. Last time I saw her, 4 years ago, she had just had a baby, her youngest, and it was great to be together on such special occasion.
Karla learned many recipes from her mother. One day we were on instant messenger and we wanted to know what each other was having for dinner and that’s how I found out about her mother’s creamy cucumber dip and so many other recipes. That’s just one the stories I have to share and one of the lives that touched mine through AFS.
Happy holidays!
Cristina and Karla
Karla’s Creamy Cucumber Dip
1 cucumber, unpeeled, coarsely grated or diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt to taste
Black pepper
Soak cucumber in salt water for one hour, then rinse and pat dry. Add remaining ingredients. Serve with your favorite toasted bread, crackers, chips or toasted pita triangles.
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