A Story of a Dinner Party

Tonight they come, and they are coming to dine. My space will host a window to the world, and everyone attending is involved, even if they are far away.

I have 8 friends coming, all bringing a seat of personal choice to dine in, and a plate from their own dinning room collections. I want these pieces to speak to them personally and feel that these two pieces reflect some part of themselves.

Three of my guests, I have never even met. They will be involved with their own lives, at their own homes, but will be connected with my group all the same through computer-connected screens via satellites. My home will be open to them, just as if they were standing in my living room. They can speak, to us, and can hear our conversations.

The idea of my dinner is in the style of true potluck. I have asked my guest to bring dishes commonly given by the U.N, to starving nations. Rice, beans, water, flour tortillas, lentils, and chickpeas, fish, chicken.

The guests arrive and we begin talking, and drinking cocktails in the sitting area that no sitting furniture, everyone uses the chairs they brought for themselves. The screens have been turned on and our remote company has logged into the party. They are from all over the globe.

We all enter the kitchen to help prepare the meal. We all combine our brought foods, and help one another prep the food and help cook. The computer screens in the kitchen help us see ho our global friends cook their meals.

After the meal has been cooked we line up the food on the sideboard in the dinning room. Everyone puts their plate on the table and pull up their dinning chairs from the living room.

The centerpiece of the table has flowers and bright red colored vase, the lighting is warm, and an accent wall of Zebrawood can be seen across from the sideboard. Three chairs already sit at the circular table. The can be turned on, and now we can see our three remote guests, just as if they were at the table with us, and they have prepared their meal as well, and are ready to dine.

We sit and chat, though two of our remote members have limited English-speaking skills, they are included all the same. The meal, all though simple, was filling, and we all feel we have a better understanding of the meals given to the people of the world who need humanitarian help.

The night ends, we say goodbye to our global pals, and my guest slowly start to pack up their plates and chairs.

I feel a sense that I truly connected with the planet tonight in a personal, global, and understanding way.  I silently head off to bed, knowing that the world in some way, just got a little closer and connected, by both technology and social interactions paired with the age old tool of dinning and connecting over a meal.

Table design by Diane Von Furstenberg