Please, Invite Them All.

One day two weeks ago on a whim I invited Eunyeong over to my house for dinner; I said that I would cook a traditional western meal (insert anything with a tortilla and refried beans) so that she could get a little taste of western cooking. Yesterday she came to me and asked if I was still interested in hosting dinner, I said yes of course and she informed me that the english teachers were all very excited to be coming over for dinner! The smile froze on my face and my eyebrows arched up in surprise, "the english teachers?" I repeated. She smiled and nodded happily. "How many english teachers are there total?" I asked, "8" she replied happily. My eyebrows disappeared into my hairline. So on Thursday I will now be hosting 8 Korean English teachers in my home, my two room flat where the only food to be found at this point is seaweed, rice, and soju.

Last night in a state of near panic I went to my Korean class with Helen, Helen is a Korean Ajumma which means she is married and over 30 and extremely Korean. She teaches Korean to those expats that make the effort and has proved to be an invaluable source of knowledge and advice for me as I struggle to acclimate in my new land. I arrived at her door at 8pm promptly, she let me in, and I let it out. I explained my dilemma to her and then further explained that I only own 3 plates, 2 dishes, 1 fork, and assorted mismatched pots, pans, and chopsticks. Which is perfect for a 22 year old on her first venture into the world of jobs and homes. It is less than ideal for hosting a 9 person dinner party. Helen smiled and immediately led me to the golden cupboard, inside was stacks and stacks of dishes, and cutlery, "I like plates" said Helen. "I like Helen" said Molly. Thankfully I am now proudly in possession of a sufficient number of plates and cutlery to feed my guests, I went shopping yesterday and purchased some of the easier items for Chicken Fajitas and am going on a shopping endeavour later tonight for the remainder of the ingredients.

If nothing else, this will be a multi-pronged life lesson. 1. always be careful how you phrase your invites to Koreans. 2. How to plan a dinner party for 9. Here's to hoping I don't learn anymore lessons as the dinner draws near.

Anyeong!