Every week for the past thirty years, I have hosted a Sunday dinner in my home. People, including total strangers, call or e-mail to book a spot. I hold the salon in my studio. The first fifty people who call may come-twice that many when the weather is nice and we can overflow into the garden.
Last week it was a philosophy student from Lisbon, and next week a dear friend from London will cook.
People from all corners of the world come to break bread together，to meet to talk， and often to become friends. All ages, nationalities, races, and professions gather here, and since there is no organized seating, the opportunity for connecting couldn't be better. I love the randomness (随意).
I have a good memory so each week I make a point to remember everyone's name on the guest list and where they're from so I can introduce them to one another. If I had my way, I would introduce everyone in the whole world to one another.
Many travelers go to see things like the Tower of London, the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and so on. I travel to see friends， even-or especially-those I've never met.
In the late 1980s, I edited a series of guidebooks to different countries.Instead, each book contained about a thousand biographies of people who would be willing to welcome travelers in their cities. Hundreds of friendships evolved from these encounters, including including marriages and babies.
The same can be said for my salon. At a recent dinner a six-year-old girl from Bosnia spent the entire evening glued to an eight-year-old boy from Estonia. Their parents were surprised, and pleased, by this immediate friendship.
Most of them speak English, at least as a second language. Recently a dinner featured a typical mix: a beautiful painter from Norway, a truck driver from Arizona, a newspaper editor from Sydney and students from all over.
It is unnecessary to understand others; one must, at the very least, simply tolerate others.
No one can ever really understand anyone else, but you can love them or at least accept them.
I am a world citizen. All human history is mine. My roots cover the earth. We should know each other. Okay, now come and dine.
A. I believe in introducing people to people.
B. People are the most important thing in my life.
C. There were no sights to see, no shops or museums to visit.
D. Tolerance can lead to respect and, finally, to love.
E. After all, our lives are all connected.
F. Every Sunday a different friend prepares a feast.
G. There is always a collection of people throughout the world.
