Costco, God-talk, and enchiladas

When Patrick invited me along to Costco, I think I outwardly cringed at the idea. I remembered the last time I went to Costco with my host mom and three other Korean women from the church. My whole Saturday night disappeared because Costco is pretty far away and takes a long time to shop through four floors of everything, especially when they are four different interest groups to consider. The night had seemed even longer because none of the women spoke English, thus none of them really spoke to me, but talked amongst themselves in Korean. I didn't know where we were going, how long we would be gone, or when we would be going home. I think we left at about 6 p.m. and returned by 10:30, but it seemed much more frustratingly long at the time. It was after that trip that I established a new personal rule: Don't get in a car with your host family on a Saturday night unless you know exactly where you're going and how long the trip will last. Anyway, most of the sandwich ingredients wound up being subpar anyway, so I lost interest with wholesale shopping altogether. I decided it was better to eat delicious Korean food than average American experiments.

I didn't want to spend my night at Costco, however, when I finished work on Saturday, I decided to go along for the Costco trip anyway. The end of the academic year in Korea is soon approaching, so Mrs. Joe wanted to buy gifts for the students who would graduate elementary school and corn dogs as treats for all the students. She needed Patrick for his Costco card, and SuJung just went along for the ride, too. The four of us shopped around for school supplies and settled on a jumbo-case of colored pens and notebooks with various designs--materials which we would package into wholesome, studious gifts for the kids. We also browsed some English reading materials for three-year-old Sung-Ah's class, which now has...can you believe it?...four students. The other three are about five, though. It was kind of weird at first to be hanging out with work people on the weekend, but I kind of liked it, too.

My impulsive decision to attend the work trip to Costco came from a desire to somehow make use of all the cream of mushroom soup Hyunsuk bought for me a month ago. Nicole shot me a Facebook message a while back with a simple recipe for chicken enchiladas, including the mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, tortillas, shredded chicken, sour cream and cheese. Having expired my gym membership and needing a new hobby, I thought I would cease the opportunity to shop for groceries and give them a try. I was delighted to find all of the ingredients I needed at Costco, except the cream of chicken soup. A 5 lb. bag of shredded Land O' Lakes mild cheddar cheese excited me so much in the frozen food aisle that I didn't notice it cost 25,000 won until I checked out. (A little less than $25. Yikes!)

After Costco, we went out for Indian food as a successful team of shoppers. We walked in to find the place had clearly become a foreigner hangout. English conversation came from a large group of various ethnic representatives at the table in front of us as well as a small group of people behind us who were clearly from the UK. We ordered curry and nan (I love nan!) and chatted about what would become of the hogwan when my replacement arrived.

As the big group got up to leave, Patrick's ex-girlfriend from Canada turned around and greeted him. It might have been a bit of an awkward encounter for them, but I was so pleased to meet the woman from whom Patrick gained a window into Western culture. He always talks about her as well as his days as a student in Canada. She was really cute! But when she left, he seemed relieved.

We ordered a yogurt-like, dessert-drink called lassi to cool our pallets from the spicy curry. Then out of the blue, Mrs. Joe asked me if I go to church anymore. Next, she launched into something lengthy directed at Patrick. I don' t know if it's because my Korean has actually improved or it was just my Spirit or perhaps context clues, but somehow I knew she was having a God-talk with him. And he, like a respectful Korean man, listened and nodded politely. I dismissed myself to go to the bathroom and when I returned, she was still talking... and he listening.

Later, Patrick told me that she said something like this: "I'm not going to tell you that you have to go to church, but I am going to say that sometime you should consider whether or not someone created this world."

Her gentle nudge was a perfect set-up for our first real conversation about Jesus. I told him that I wouldn't be in Korea if I didn't believe in God, who had shown me just how beautiful the world was and given me a desire to see it. I also said that even though many people think of Christianity as a Western phenomenon, some of Jesus teachings were much more Korean-like in nature. Jesus' emphasis in the interests of others over one's self, for example, is much more exemplified through Korean culture than American culture. Though I may be partial to the American way, the servant attitude that Koreans have about hospitality is very Christ-like. These ideas impressed him, Patrick told me, and surprised him.

We talked for quite a while. At one point, I said, "You know. It probably took Mrs. Joe a lot of courage to say what she said. Christians are fully aware that talking about Jesus is an awkward thing in modern culture." He responded by understanding that it was a duty to tell others and suggesting half-jokingly, "Why don't you talk to me about it more often?"

Meanwhile, my friends were out for another night on the town. After much debate but feeling a fresh buzz from the God-talk, I decided to join my weekend buddies, again. We had a blast, again, but to be honest, I think I need to stop going out so much. It's so expensive! A taxi ride here, a dinner there, a cocktail or two...it adds up fast. I need to save my money for Japan. A train ride from Tokyo to Osaka costs $120! But next weekend is a holiday, and a ski trip to a mountain near Seoul is being planned...ugh! The New York Times headlines that show up in my email about the U.S. economy don't ease my guilt either. I'm torn between wanting to save and wanting to just cease the opportunity for celebration!

One thing definitely worth celebrating was that chicken enchilada I ate tonight. Great idea, Nicole! Little pieces of chicken, cream of mushroom, a small handful of rice (thought of that addition myself,) and cheese wrapped in a tortilla with a dollop of sour cream and salsa on the side! Yummy! My belly is satisfied with full-Western-fat of creamy, cheesy, Tex-Mex. I'll sleep well tonight!