Thailand and Greece Reps at International Festival

Our church had an international festival a couple of weeks ago, and Jason and I represented Greece and Thailand. Most of our members represented the countries where they are from, but Jason and I decided to just choose to countries. We choose Thailand, because I have been especially interested in mission work that is being done in Thailand lately. There is a group from the church were I work who goes there 1-2 times a year for mission work, and the stories they tell of their experiences are AMAZING! My roommate, Margie, from college was a missionary in Thailand also, so I always enjoyed hearing about her experiences there. We also enjoy eating at Thai restaurants, and in the past I have experiemented with cooking one of their specialties - Coconut Green Curry. Greece was an easy choice for both of us, because we LOVE Greek food! We eat out at Greek restaurants in the area, and I cook Greek cuisine at home sometimes, too. The Greek foods we like the most are hummus, falafel, olives (any and every different variety), feta cheese (Jason yes, me not so much), pita bread, giros (pronounced gyeer ohs), Tzatzik sauce, Tabouli salad, and all the fresh veggies served with it all. We're vegetarian, so the Greek have many fresh and delicious options for us! Plus, we've been to the Greek festival here in Houston, and we'd like to visit Greece for a vacation someday!

With our countries in mind, we started to plan how we would decorate our table and what foods we would serve. When I told the I-Fest coordinator that I wanted to represent Thailand, I was surprised to find out that he had been to Thailand and had artifacts and artwork that we could use to decorated our table --that was a plus, since we had "0"...

We found some blue, red, and white fabric in the "$1" section at Walmart to create a table cloth in the pattern and colors of the Thailand flag. We also researched for information about Thailand and Greece and printed out some "fact sheets" with graphics to lay on the corner of our two tables (side by side). We also printed out some beautiful photos of scenery from the countries and put them in frames on the tables.

The Greek decorations were almost non-existent, because there was so much food on the table (conveniently making little-to-no room for decorations), and we didn't have anything to put on there. We found some bright blue fabric also on the "$1" table at Walmart, and draped that over the table. The Greek flag is bright blue and white, so we wanted to emphasize the blue. We also borrowed Thailand and Greece flags and a stand from the church were I work.

Overall, I think the main attraction at our tables was the food. . . I'll be happy to share with you the recipes that I used for the food, and then you can have your own international festival! Just ask for it by commenting below, and I'll send them to you.