"Amy Teacher, do you need a knife for Christmas?" Shiloh asked.

   Shiloh is one of my more advanced students and she is preparing for immigration to the US very soon so she has many questions about America, the students there, and teenage culture. She is most excited about the American High school student workload which is only a fraction of what she would endure here. I had her to my house for a farewell dinner where we made chicken fajitas and she tried Mexican food for the first time. (Let me just say that in my experience Koreans are afraid of sour cream.) It is still interesting to me how this culture has no idea what a flour tortilla is, how to fold a burrito or pick at salsa like its something from outer space. 

 I gave Shiloh the opportunity to ask me anything about American culture. She asked me very candidly "Do American will find my face pleasing?" I showed her how to hold her knife and fork properly and put where to put your napkin. She seemed almost overwhelmed with the formalities which are quite involuntary to us. 

 Before Christmas I had Shiloh and a few students to my new apartment when I first moved in. As I was new to the place I was missing a few necessities, one of which was a cutting knife. As I pulled out the meat cleaver to chop my garlic, my students gasped in horror and Shiloh asked "Amy teacher, do you need a knife for Christmas?"  I giggled and said "sure.' A few weeks later Shiloh approached on our way to the mini mart for a few snacks. "Amy Teacher, my mother says that giving a knife to someone as a gift is very bad luck, so I cannot give you this gift." She was very nervous as she spoke and I found it quite endearing. "That's OK, Shiloh." I replied. She continued " But my Mother says that if you give me 1000 won than it is alright for me to give you the gift." (1000 won is equal to less than a dollar.) I stopped "Wait so if I give you 1000 won you can give me my present?" I asked "Yes." she replied with an awkward smile. "No problem." I said. 

   A few days before Christmas Shiloh arrived to class with a carefully wrapped box. I opened it to find, as expected, a shiny new knife. "Thank you." I said to Shiloh with a sly grin handing her 1 1000 won bill. It was the first time I had ever paid for a gift- but in the effort of avoiding what bad luck was awaiting me, it was well worth it.