I have found an amazing community at the church I have been attending the past eight months. With the exception of about five to ten of us teachers from the school that attend, everyone else are Koreans, most of whom only speak Korean. In the past month the church purchased headsets so we can listen to the sermon while sitting with the rest of the congregation instead of huddled in the back, listening to Jen's translation (she's the pastor's daughter and speaks English, as well as her brother, Jae).
Anyway, every Sunday at noon, after the service, we all go upstairs and enjoy a Korean lunch together. Well, one of my fellow teachers suggested loudly that we prepare an American lunch for everyone sometime. She said this with the pastor's wife in earshot, and she LOVED the idea!
ME? Well, I loved the idea of paying back the community somehow for their kindness. However, preparing a meal for fifty people for the first time was not at the top of my list. I first wanted to help them prepare a few meals, to see how much food they needed and just get some experience cooking for a mass of people. The next Sunday, however, Pastor's wife approached me and asked if November 18 would be alright for us to prepare this meal (she approached me about it because I am the oldest of us foreigners that attend the church - that's how it goes here, I was responsible).
How did it go? We all worked as a team, half of us in charge of desserts and my half in charge of the main course - 6 shepherd's pies, 5 baked spaghetti, and garlic bread. It turned out pretty well! They liked it, although I think the shepherd's pie with its rosemary flavor was a bit bland for the Korean taste buds. We cooked all of the pies and spaghettis in mine and my neighbors' ovens in my building, which is all staff apartments (the church kitchen does not have ovens, since most Korean food is prepared on the stove). In the end, it was fun! When will we cook next??... don't ask, please!
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