Festival of Nations is going on in Tower Grove Park this weekend, which not only had
just filled my stomach with AMAZING Bosnian Chicken and veggies, Mexican Empanadas, and a Thai Iced Tea but it also gave me a lot of food for thought. I need to experience St. Louis like I experience every other city I have traveled to by exploring and appreciating everything it has to offer.
Walking though the never ending Tower Grove Park from what I thought would have been a great parking spot on Arsenal near Morganford actually ended up being a twenty minute hike to the actual festival. On the way there however, I did get to experience the wonders that are Tower Grove kickball Tournaments. I actually heard one of the outfielders keep apologizing to his team members about how drunk he was. They all looked like they were having an amazing time though. Who doesn't love kickball??
Festival of Nations was filled a diverse pallet of people from every nationality. That is truly what the United States is supposed to be, isn't it?? A melting pot right? This amazing woman
from Greece who was if I'm not mistaken the dance teacher for the Greek Orthodox Dancers proclaimed "That country gave me life, but this country has given me the best life." It is amazing to hear that this country is the end all for
happiness for a lot of people. I am definitely guilty of taking our country for granted sometimes. I just don't want to miss out on what
the rest of the world has to offer. I completely appreciate however, the fact that we can have all of these cultures peacefully together in one place and showcasing their culture is not only a basic freedom but encouraged!
There were booths of food from every nationality you could ever think of and then some more. My tastebuds were on high alert and my stomach was grumbling from all of the amazing food. A friend and I had to try what seemed to be the most popular drink at the festival, coconut milk, probably because it was served in an actual coconut and had a little umbrella sticking out of it. Bosnian Chicken.. Awesome. Definitely going to check out the restaurant on Keokuk
St. sometime. I missed out on my papa rellenas from the Peruvian tent though :( because they had sold out by the time we got around to eating dinner. That's only part of the reason that I am probably going back tomorrow.
The other reason is more ethnic dancing. Allie and I participated in everything from the Greek OPA's to Belly Dancing from the
side of the stage. The women belly dancing might have been big mamma's but they were incredible belly dancers! The isolations and control those dancers in belly dancing just amazes me, which is probably how Allie got me to sign up for class a couple weeks ago. We were trying to practice our moves on the
sidelines... Maybe one day I have the confidence and skills to get up there and perform.
Till then I'll just
stick to being paparazzi on the sidelines.
