Food and Friends

My next two meetings with Jacob were eventful and low stress. The week before, I had promised him that I would take his friend Sohee and him to Dutch's. When I asked if they had ever had a hamburger before, they replied that they had only had McDonalds burgers and that they were not good at all. I vowed that Dutch's would be better, and they happily agreed to let me take them there.
When we first arrived at Dutch's they had no idea what to order, so I just got them a regular burger, hoping that they would enjoy it. As Jacob bit into his burger I could see that he liked it. He said that it was easily the best burger he had ever eaten. Relaxed and optimistic with my success, we spent the rest of the meeting time talking about just about everything. One thing I noticed was the effect eating food had on our conversation. It really helped the flow and quality of the topics we talked about. I think that just eating in general is a good way to break down cultural barriers. Enjoying food is universal, and it forms a bond between people when you eat together. I was thinking about this connection while I was at Dutch's and we were finishing up our burgers. When Sohee said that we definitely need to come back to the "good burger place" as they called it, I knew my goal in connecting with them that week had been a success.
The very next week, we went to a new Korean restaurant. It was called "Korea BBQ House" and it was located off I-20 in a little strip mall. I didn't really know what to expect, but Jacob told me it was delicious. When we first got in, I realized that I stuck out like a sore thumb- I was the only white person in there. Amidst curious stares from the other customers, we made our way to a table and sat down. I asked Jacob and Sohee what they recommended for me. They told me that the spicy chicken was good, so I decided to order that. While we were waiting for our food, Jacob noticed some Korean paintings on the wall and explained to me that they were wearing traditional Korean clothes. It was interesting sort of see some of the culture through art. When the food came, Sohee urged me to try a dish called Kimchi. I was feeling a bit adventurous, so I said sure. It was actually really tasty! As it turns out, Kimchi is really pickled cabbage. This shocked me because I've had cabbage before and it did not taste nearly as good as this did. The spicy chicken was also really good. I came out of that restaurant grateful for my conversation partners for taking me there and pleased with myself for trying new things. It was cool to not just hear about Korean culture and see it, but also to be in it, eating what they eat.