Today as I was finding myself in a rather silly conversation over text message with my chef about our future staff; from some forgotten recess of my mind I remembered a little tidbit of trivia from my cultural past. Swift's nests make bird's nest soup. Here's a little backstory:
The key ingredient in bird's nest soup is truly a bird's nest but not one made of twigs and leaves, the sparrow-sized swiftlet's nest is primarily composed of saliva. A few species of swift, the cave swifts mainly, are renowned for building the saliva nests used to produce the unique texture of this soup. The complete structure is built within thirty-five days by the male swiftlet to accommodate one to two eggs and its shallow cup shape does not exceed the size of a human hand. The nests are harvested three times a year and the swiftlets are given time to breed and raise their young in the nest before removal. The original discovery of this as a culinary treat is unknown but it has been considered part of Chinese culture for over 1,500 years. The bird's nest is applauded for its medicinal properties including improved complexion, raising libido and benefiting the immune system. Both Hong Kong and the United States are the largest importers of birds' nests charging between $30 and $100 per bowl of soup while a single kilogram of nest can cost between $2,000 and $10,000.I mentioned in jest that we should serve birds nest soup at our grand opening ... or at least to our investors due to it's substantial cost. Then I noticed something ...
... the Chinese character for the name of the bird is: 燕
I thought to myself ...
"Why does that character look so familiar?"Keep in mind that although I speak Chinese fluently, I am, much to my family's dismay, illiterate... so it took a moment for it to register...
"...Wait, isn't that my sister's name?"A quick call to my to my mother confirmed it... my little sister was in fact named after this small, beautiful bird.
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| My mother wrote this for me ... I jazzed it up a bit. |
I was floored.
My baby sister ... born on my 5th birthday ... whom I love so much, I find out today has been a part of this project since the very beginning when I named it ...
Some people might call it coincidence ... I call it providence.
providenceNothing could make me more confident about Swift's Attic ... than having my family be a part of this.
noun
1. The foreseeing care and guidance of nature over the creatures of the earth.
2. God, especially when conceived as omnisciently directing the universe and the affairs of humankind with wise benevolence.
3. A manifestation of divine care or direction.
