Hours after it was over, I was able to process what had happened.

Earlier today, my school had its annual Tacos party for the younger students at our school.

There have been some changes over the years, as we’ve altered the menu items here and there and played around with the party activities. But by and large, the party is pretty similar to its beginnings.

We do some activities at the start of the party, then go into the kitchen, wash up and then get into making tacos. The tacos we make are flour tortillas due to the ingredients for corn tortillas being harder to source. We pre-make various toppings and sauces and let the students make the actual tortillas.

After the tortillas are made, we clean the table and floor, set the table with the food and enjoy the food. After eating, we do some more activities, have some dessert and then say good-bye for the day. Surprisingly the 90 minutes goes pretty quickly.

We only have 2 parties now, whereas years ago we actually had 4! Part of the reason may be that there seem to be less and less students studying, and another reason may be that the party is pretty much the same from year to year and therefore may be boring to some individuals.

Our parties are free, so there can be no complaints over costs. I was struck with the idea of how unique our parties are, and wondered whether others realize it. We give children the chance to cook food for themselves and then prepare the food to their liking. How many chances do children have to do that? I would guess that it would be quite low, due to families being busy and schools offering few chances for cooking. The children have a chance to make and eat a food that is not common in Japan, which is another unique opportunity. Finally, the children have a chance to cook and eat in someone else’s house, other than their own. How often do any of us do that?

Sadly, many students have never joined the parties and others lost interest in participating as they’ve gotten older.

I’m happy that other students continue to come back to the cooking party, and that new students continue to join each year. It’s important to learn from each other and to share in all of our cultures. What better way to do so than by breaking bread with friends and family?

We look forward to next year’s party and another chance to share with friends again.