I met up with a former student yesterday for lunch, and the fierce cold forced us to go to a familiar restaurant just a few steps away. It's a place that I visit frequently. The staff know me and are always kind.
To thank them for their hospitality, I took them some Christmas cookies about two weeks ago. They were genuinely surprised and pleased when I dropped in and handed them a wrapped plate stacked full of homemade sweets.
As we were having lunch yesterday, one of the servers came up and put a steaming pizza on the table, compliments of the house. I guess it was my turn to be surprised.
Later that evening, I received a call from the head of my department, a woman who is friendly enough in person but who has a very unpredictable disposition. Even after 2.5 years of working with her, I still can't figure her out. She often calls only when a foreign teacher is needed to judge a contest.
I answered the phone and was startled to hear her instant gratitude and praises for the cookies that I dropped off a few days ago to the department. She wasn't in the office at the time of my visit, so I left the goodies with an assistant. Several hours later - almost at 9 pm - she rang me up and was over the moon. I admit that I was a little perplexed why simple cookies would prompt such attention. I honestly didn't think it was that big of a deal. It seems I was mistaken, and I realized that when she said, "You are the first foreign teacher to ever do such a thing for our department!"
She then began asking me how I made the cookies, and when I confirmed that I baked them in an oven, she exclaimed, "You have an oven for cooking?"
"Yes," I responded.
"Oh," she said excitedly, "I'm getting an oven for my new apartment but I don't know how to use it that well." (Chinese rely on mostly stir-frying and steaming; ovens are entirely western and "exotic.")
Then she asked, "But how do you get some of those ingredients? We can't find them here in China."
I chuckled and said, "They're more available than I thought. Between the import stores and the internet, I usually get what I need. And my mom sends me some items that I request."
"Your mom sends you things from America?" she asked, her voice rising in compounded disbelief.
Oh yeah, if I ask for certain things that I can't get here.
I decided to make use of the opportunity to build a relationship with her, so I invited her over for some baking lessons. I expected her normal nebulous response. Instead, she gasped, "REALLY? I'd love to! When do you leave for Thailand? I can come over before you go!"
So...as soon as I finish grading finals and submitting reports, I will have my department boss over for cookie tutoring. I sincerely hope it opens a door that has, until this point, remain closed.
