Last weekend my friends and I planned a little get together at one of our houses to celebrate the homecoming of one of our friends. She had been living in a small village in Indonesia for a year teaching English, and she was so excited to finally come home. We thought, “What better way to welcome her home than to give her all the foods she missed while abroad, amongst people she loves?”

We did a fun little Halloween/fall-themed gathering with all the food and drink she could ever dream of. We got a platter of Chick-fil-A nuggets (because, why not?), a dessert tray of mini Nothing Bundt cakes and cookies, as well as a fruit tray with caramel dip.

The star of the show, however, was the charcuterie board. My other friend had been doing some extensive research on TikTok and came up with a lovely design for a board. All the things you can imagine were there. From brie to cheddar to a honey clove cheese, we all were in cheese heaven. Different assortments of crackers complemented the cheese, as well as some fig jam, salami and prosciutto.

For drinks, we enjoyed some sangria from a cauldron with dry ice, giving a bubbling potion look, the perfect fall drink.

My friend from Indonesia was still super jet lagged, as she had only arrived a day and a half earlier. For reference, she was more than 12 hours ahead of us, so she was all turned around. That said, she ate and loved the food we got. She talked a bit about her time there and spoke of how much she missed certain foods. For instance, dairy is very expensive there … at least, reliable dairy. She also missed things like Publix subs (if you know, you know) and deli meats.

It was a great evening spent with friends. Many of us reminisced about funny memories of the past, and it was so great to have our friend home again.

— Aoife O’Riordan, associate editor