A Giant Bowl of Ice Cold Soup

We were invited out for dinner the other night by some of our students from Korea. There are hundreds of Korean restaurants in Manila, but this couple loves us dearly and wanted to treat us to the best. So we went to an outstanding restaurant specializing in grilled beef. It was wonderful . . . although I found myself laughing inside at the whole issue of "cultural adjustment" which has followed us daily for the last 28 years. The beef was cooked at the table on a grill. Then you pick up a few slices with your chopsticks, dip them in sauce, wrap them in a big lettuce leaf and pop it all in your mouth. The first time around, I put half of the beef in my mouth. Our friends admonished me that the proper thing to do was not to bite it in half, but to put ALL of it in my mouth. So the next time around, I did it correctly, and as I struggled to find a way to chew it, they smiled approvingly. The thought went through my mind, "My mother would be horrified if she saw me eating like this!" I guess that is what culture shock is all about -- doing things your mother taught you that you should never do. After all, the real storehouse of culture is not found in museums . . . it's taught by moms and dads (mostly moms) who tell their kids, "This is the way to do it, this is how it should be, stop doing that, what were you thinking?!"

.
.

After we were totally stuffed with the beef, the waitress brought giant bowls of ice cold noodle soup. And the only way to really get those noodles into your mouth was to slurp them. Sorry, Mom. I had to.

And after that we went to Starbucks for coffee. Our unique lives at IGSL are a blend of many cultures, so it seemed perfectly normal to follow the ice cold noodles with a steaming hot cappucino. We sat and talked for a long time, and had a very precious time of fellowship. We felt so loved . . . and perfectly cared for.