Food is our common ground, our universal experience.

So today is the Holiday Potluck at work which basically means that the entire floor has smelled like food all day long so I'm starving. Needless to say, this is one of the best days of the year.

But before you get all excited and starting picturing tables full of casseroles and cookies, let me just say that you have never been to a potluck quite like the ones we have at work. Our potlucks tend to resemble nothing so much as an explosion of the food court at the mall. You are equally as likely to have egg rolls and fried rices as macaroni and cheese and cookies. Chicken vindaloo might be next to a dish of green bean casserole. And the desserts sometimes run the gambit from familiar (sugar cookies and brownies) to just plain odd (a sour cream/chickpea combination that was tasty, but strange).

This, my friends is what happens when you introduce the concept of a potluck to a multicultural group of people from all over the world. You never know what you are going to get, but you can bet that most of it (not all, but most) will be delicious.

So, here in about 30 min, I'll be off to see what wonderful concoctions the potluck will bring me this year.