Food has many definitions. According to my Mac dictionary, food is any substance that animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb in order to survive. The Free Dictionary.com defines food as a specified kind of nourishment. However, for me, food is a source of nourishment that can give you happiness and brings forth a great socializing opportunity.
I was sitting in a room anxiously waiting with my family for a counselor from Edupro, a company that offers study abroad programs, on the top floor of the POSCO building in the heart of Seoul in December 2005. We were discussing pros and cons of studying in Canada.
Pros
- - I can learn English by living with Canadian families, being in classes taught 100% in English, and speaking English when I communicate.
- - Learning how to socialize with people, being independent from my family, and being responsible for my own actions.
- --nCoping with multiculturalism: Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world.
Cons
- - Missing my family.
- - Missing Korean food (the only kind of food I ate).
- - There’s no guarantee that I can adapt to a new culture.
After the meeting with the counselor, my parents and I decided that I would be establishing a new life in Chilliwack, a pastoral town near Vancouver in Canada.
January 4th, 2006 was the date when my life permanently changed. I left Seoul for Vancouver with tears and cries. I could not sleep on the plane at all. I had too many thoughts imagining what my life would be like and how this decision would affect my life. After 10 hours of flying, I finally arrived in Vancouver with my eyes barely open. My whole homestay family: Don, Shirley, Andrew, Kevin, and Daniel were waiting for me at the gate with big smiles on their faces, and we drove to my new home.
We arrived at our house on Darwin St. around dinnertime. It was a three-story house with 6 bedrooms. We were sitting around the dinner table waiting for my first meal in Canada and that’s when I began to have troubles with them. Regular, fine-looking spaghetti looked up at me from the table. However, that day I learned that whether or not something looks and tastes good is a matter of your own opinion. The spaghetti had bitter and salty tomato sauce and Capelli d’angelo noodles, which I do not like. I thought to myself, “How can they possibly consume this kind of food? Can I really live with them?” Later that night, I spent a lot of time on the toilet.
I did like the family. They were very approachable and helpful especially when I had difficulty speaking English. I even went to A.D. Rundle Middle School with Daniel. They were comfortable to deal with just like my real family. But when it came to eating, it was horrible. I had to ask if I could have some leftovers from the fridge. I could choose my breakfast meal from only two options: Raisin Bran or Corn Flakes with milk.
I remember one day when it was raining a lot in the winter. I was missing my mother’s food, so I was having a pleasant time eating my instant Korean noodles with Kimchi that I brought along from Korea. I do admit that Kimchi has a very strong rotten egg odor since it is a fermented vegetable side dish. Do you know what happened next? My homestay mom, Shirley, walked into the kitchen, and kicked me out into the rain with my bowl of noodles and Kimchi. It was one of the most frustrating and embarrassing moments in my life. I was fourteen! After two months of food issues with Shirley and Don, I moved out.
Since I was an international student and under the age of nineteen, I had to live with a homestay family. That’s the law in British Columbia. I met my new homestay family: Jim, Gwen, and two lovely little girls, Chantell and Nicole. After 15 minutes of driving, we arrived at my new house. The house had red worn-out painted walls with a dirty white roof. I was a bit disappointed thinking why I was paying $800 a month. When I opened the door between the garage and kitchen, I smelled something that made my mouth water; it was something that all my senses were paying attention to. However, my heart sank deep in my chest when I saw there was spaghetti on the dark wooden table. I put a forkful of spaghetti into my mouth and it was simply perfect. It had a rich, juicy tomato meat sauce with regular thinness of noodles. It was just my palate.
Myself, Nicole, Gwen, and Jim
Jim asked, “How do you like my spaghetti?” “It’s the best spaghetti I have ever had in my life.” I said without any hesitation. “How did you make it so goooood?!” Gwen replied, “When Jim makes spaghetti for supper, he starts cooking at 11 in the morning.” I was very impressed by Jim’s respect to his guests, family, and himself.
I was staggered by the delectable food that they offered. Their casserole dishes, fish and chips, and steak were their specialty. Occasionally, I skipped my lunch at school to eat fabulous suppers. Whenever we had meals together, I could sit on the table talking to my homestay family for hours and hours making a close relationship. Sometimes we had some difficult times, but we always tried to understand and forgive each other whenever someone made a mistake. Jim and Gwen’s irresistible food gave me energy and self-confidence, and helped me forget all the sadness that I had by being away from my family in a foreign country.
Being at the first homestay with repulsive food gave me a hard time. I was stressed about what I was eating. Being at a new homestay with delicious and remarkable food made my experience in Canada more pleasant and built a strong relationship between my homestay family and myself.
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