A Unique Saturday

Though a good weekend, it ended up being a busy one and went too quickly (even more than usual). Some of Ryan's students from his adult refugee ESL class (they are from Burma -- Karens) invited him/us to their annual Martyr's Day celebration at a local park. It was a lot of fun and there were a few hundred Karen people there in all (didn't realize Omaha had such a large population)...most of them didn't speak a lot of English, but we managed well for the most part.

They are a very sweet people to be around. The family (a cute older couple) which invited us made Ryan a traditional shirt to wear that day (don't worry, I have pictures) -- they were so excited that we were coming with them. And then when it got to be lunchtime (imagine the largest asian food buffet that you can...Justin, you should've been there!), Ryan and I each filled up our own plates with food and found a place to sit. The husband from the couple that we were with had also filled up a plate with similar foods, but we incorrectly assumed that this was his plate to eat from...no, he had filled up the plate for us and sat it down on the table next to our two fairly full plates (and then went to serve himself a plate of food).

And then the wife a few minutes later set down a plate full of fruit for us. And by the end of the meal, another plate full of rice and meat as well as a bowl full of canteloupe had been added...and throughout the afternoon, the wife kept bringing over drinks and plates of fruit. We definitely did not go hungry! Though tired by the end (we left our house at 6:40am and didn't return til a little after 5pm), it was a good day and so honored to be able to celebrate such a special day with them. Once I download the pictures, I will share a few on the blog (probably later tonight).