My Host-Family
I've been really lucky with my hostfamily. They are a wonderful group of people. Like all other families, not perfect. But very good people and a pretty good match for me, personality and stuff-wise.
imo has been a super supportive shoulder for me, if you've kept up with my blogs and/or met her in person, you can see how maternal she's been with me. she's also a pretty good reality check for calling me out on shopping and spending money. also, she's really open with her own semi-immigration experience and can totally parallel with me when i'm having horrible IHK (i hate korea) days w/bad ppl interactions.
some nice things they've done lately: (they're so thoughtful)
we got a few packages of ddukgalbi from chuncheon as one LNY's gift and the first night we had it for dinner, imo bought extra dduk to leave on the side (un-spicied) so that dinner was edible for me (not too spicy for me to handle).
after a few weeks of cereal imo decided i shouldn't eat a cold breakfast and has been making french toast or pancakes for me every morning. sometimes i get scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. but in any case, i don't have to eat 밥 for breakfast, which works out just dandy for me.
lately, i've also gotten really close with the two hostsibs who were shy and quiet at first. i can feel it when they talk to me and they engage/initiate a lot more conversations and interactions with me. they ask me random english questions they're curious about and dennis and i tell each other stupid jokes for fun all the time.
dennis is really sweet and the family has long established that us two have the same exact food tastes. and so often, we'll refer to each other to see if one likes a certain food, and if so, the other will try it. and also, dennis has started sharing his food with me and making me try his food bc he thinks i'll like it. maybe it sounds small, but from him it's a big gesture and i can feel he offers the food sincerely. he's a 13 year old growing boy, any sharing of food is a big gesture.
the other day, imo told dennis i'm leaving korea for good as a joke. and he started tearing up. and then she said i was leaving because he was always annoying me and being silly and making dumb jokes, and he cried and i had to jump in and tell him she was kidding and i'm only going for two weeks. that actually made me feel really warm inside that it made him that sad to think i was leaving (so suddenly).
haha, i think i might've forgotten the "banging the piano" story. well, i have the sister's original bedroom and so there is an upright piano in here. one night i had a dream that dennis came in early in the morning and started BANGING on it as a wake me up tactic. i mistakenly told this dream to the family. about a week later, it was a weekend and i was sleeping in. i guess the hostparents called and said be ready to go out for lunch in 20 minutes. i wake up to dennis yelling from the other side of my door "BANGING THE PIANO BANGING THE PIANO!!!!!" i responded with DENNIS I'M GOING TO KILL YOUUU!!!! and then proceeded to wake up and get ready.
anyway, after our family vacations i feel like that really helped me get closer to the kids. they invite me to come play games with them (last night it was jenga), come share their snacks, look at funny websites with them, and generally i feel like much less a stranger in this house than i used to several months ago. i can't really complain. i'm a social-group kindof person. i'm not made for isolation. i like the interaction and enjoy my time with the family.
haha, i'm actually pretty lucky. esp bc my age is really in between the kids and the parents. sometimes i get to side with the kids and we complain about the parents together. and sometimes i get to side with the parents and we secretly complain about the kids. hopefully they don't secretly get together and complain about ME! haha. they're always very considerate of me, in choosing which restaurants to go to, and go to eat foods i dislike on the nights i eat out and wait until i'm available for foods that i DO enjoy. it's all very considerate. imo told me she was going to treat me like a niece and i really feel like she's made that transition easy for me. it's a very comfortable relationship. not too much burden or goodness one way or the other.
sometimes they are crazy and sometimes they are annoying but usually, i'm happy i don't live alone in an apt with no one but a TV to keep me company. it will hurt to leave when the time comes. and as easy (relatively) a fit this has been for us, i'm sure we'll both leave indelible marks on the other as we move on with our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment