Steamed Rice, Kimchi, and Dried Squid - Oh, My!

Well, the semester is almost over and Gahee is finishing up her second semester at MU's Intensive English Program. This Tuesday she will take the TOEFL. It's a big deal and we've been practicing some strategies for the writing portion of the test.

When I think back over the past few months of living with Gahee, I smile. She is 19 (20 in the way Koreans figure age - which I like), and from my perspective we have developed a close relationship. She is helpful, open to new adventures, very polite, and has a great sense of humor. She even laughs when George and I bicker. "He's like a child," she wisely observes. Bingo. My kind of gal friend.

We've had fun adventures in cooking. There was the garlic bread upon which she added copious amounts of garlic salt. Not very edible, but we tried and we laughed together. She has also made a dish with a tomato base, some type of large fat noodles made of rice I think, to which she added squares of processed fish. To tone down the hot flavor, she added ketchup and cheese. It's an interesting mixture, and true to her giving nature, every time she has made this dish, she has made A LOT of it. "I always make too much," she laughs. And she means whenever she makes anything...so we've agreed that there should be a new strategy: take the amount you think you're going to make, and cut it in half.

I remember an evening when she made a type of Korean potato pancake. She was having a few friends over and had the kitchen going full steam ahead with a couple different dishes. There seemed to be some problem with the fry pan she was using for the potato pancakes, and I mistakenly thought there may be some problem with the mixture. It was almost black--not the potato pancake batter I'm familiar with. I kept asking if she needed help, but her reply was repeatedly, "I'm okay." Eventually, it changed to "I need help," so we worked together to finish the meal...and the potato pancakes were quite good once we got them to be crispy.

Ghaee always seems to be willingto try new things. I admire that in her. When she first came in January, we had an opportunity to go sledding. It had been a half century for me, but she had had some experience and joined in on the fun.
She has tried making some American recipes like pumpkin cream cheese pie and it was great. I told her some day I'd show her how to make pie crust from scratch. We haven't done that yet, but maybe in the future.

Being the good sport she is, she tried a piece of black licorice recently--you know, the kind people either love or hate. One look at her expression and it was clear she was not a lover of black licorice. "Tastes like soap," she said as she scurried to the garbage to spit it out.

Gahee's parents have been very sweet. They sent her a care package and included some items for us: a book for me on Buddhism, a handcrafted tea set, and a beautiful doll dressed in traditional Korean clothing. The care package also included all kinds of goodies: things Gahee uses regularly, some clothing, tea, and bags of dried I-don't-know-what.
Speaking of I-don't-know-what, she brought home a container of something that looked all shredded. I thought it might be some kind of vegetable. It was squid and she cheerfully offered me some. "Squid??....oh, no thank you. I don't think I can eat squid," I said. Fortunately, she is very tolerant of my limited seafood preferences. I know squid is enjoyed by many around the world. It's a prejudice on my part. Squid look disgustingly ugly to me; therefore, I can't eat them. Same with octopus. Can't even lift a piece in a spoon. Ugh. Yet how wonderful that she can eat such delicacies with joy. "Delicous!" she will proclaim.

What I do enjoy is the steamed rice we sometimes have and a little bit of kimchi, as long as it's not fiery hot. I've rediscovered that I love leftover steamed rice for breakfast - warmed up in the microwave with a bit of milk, sugar, and cinnamon. Yum. Gahee sprinkles her rice with dried seaweed. She'll probably live to be 110.

Although we come from different cultures and generations, Gahee and I can easily enjoy "girl talk." She laughs when she tells me about the guys in her English classes who are amazed to see American college girls sunbathing...and walking around campus dressed as they are these days. Ain't gonna see those sights in Saudi Arabia. Then there is news about friends who traveled during spring break, one friend's visit with a "sugar daddy," (my eyebrows raise and I think, "hmmmm, interesting expression for a young lady from Korea to use"....and she knew what it meant!), problem students in the Intensive English Program and how the teachers deal with them, stories about her family, and yearnings to be finished with the English classes once and for all.

Speakigng of spring break, neither Gahee nor Meshari's potential travel plans for spring break turned out, so we drove to Kansas City one weekend just to get out of town. Meshari stayed with an acquaintance from his home town in Saudi Arabia, and Gahee and I shared a hotel room. It was nice and we all agreed that even though we were there only two nights, it felt like we had been gone a week. We enjoyed a nice dinner at a middle eastern restaurant Friday evening. Gahee and I then went to see a movie while Meshari and his friend, Adwan, left to spend time together. Gahee and I were on foot that evening. We managed to walk back to the hotel, although we did get a bit lost and had to ask directions. We got back to our room around midnight.

On Saturday, we visited the Art Museum where we met up with Meshari and Adwan. The guys left to do their own thing, and Gahee and I decided to take a nap before going out to dinner. This time we took the car. We didn't want to do another late night walk. What we ended up doing was going in circles because I kept getting lost. We weren't far from the hotel, but I just couldn't find the right street to get us back. Being the optimist, she suggested we use the GPS system in the car - something I had not learned to do. So I stopped the car and she helped me figure it out. Bingo, we were back at the hotel in no time.

On our way back to Columbia Sunday, we stopped at Union Station and saw a 3-D IMAX movie abou the Colorado River. It was good - one of the highlights of the weekend becase the 3D effects were outstanding, not like what I've seen lately in theatres. It was a first IMAX experience for Meshari.

So the semester is coming to an end and Gahee takes the TOEFL test tomorrow - May 11. She's hoping to do much better than she did at the end of last semester, and I believe she will.
She will return to Korea next weekend to spend some time with her family and friends, and she plans to return later in the summer. The house will feel a bit empty without her, and I'll miss my walking partner, but I know her visit home will be wonderful. She'll be busy in the weeks ahead finalizing where she will attend classes in the fall.

With our first semester as homestay hosts almost behind us, George and I agree that we have been very fortunate to host such wonderful people like Gahee and Meshari.