What the Korean Told Me

"Your work is so lovely," I told a very shy girl who was washing her dishes at the sink. "You have such great detail. Do you paint or draw, perhaps?"

"Yes, sculpture," she nodded, not looking me in the eye. Then she said no about five times when I referred to the quality of her work. She was so modest. Imagine, she had the most beautifully intricate cookie designs in the whole class and totally denied it.

Eventually, though, she began talking to me and inquired as to where I was from. We were smiling so much at that point, sharing pleasantries, that my cheeks hurt.

"May I ask, perhaps, what it is you do back home?" she said.

When I told her I was a writer she said, "Oh! How very different."

And when I told her I write about food, so the connection isn't that far fetched, she said, so sweetly, "If I ever have question about something, can I ask you?"

How adorable. My new little Korean friend. Maybe she can help me learn how to make better tuiles.