"Chicken Party"

Kim Boon A and I when I got my hair cut.
It took her quite a while to explain to me never
to towel dry my hair again... Little does she know
I'll only follow her advice maybe half the time! 

 A week ago I went to get my haircut… which is always an adventure in a country where you don’t really know salon vocabulary (layers, colour, trim, 2 inches etc.). I told Kim Boon A – the hairdresser – that I wanted two inches off and a few layers. At that point, I even had a Korean Canadian teacher friend translate for me. Once my Korean friend left, Kim Boon A informed me with many gestures that I would NOT be beautiful with short hair – long hair is much better. I argued with her, but once again, as the linguistic minority, you tend to lose in arguments. She proceeded to wash, cut, dry, style and put fragrance in my hair during the time period of an hour. My Korean phrase book and dictionary came in quite handy during this time. After cutting Monica’s (another Canadian teacher) and my hair, she became quite dramatic with many gestures and even used other Koreans in line to communicate… well… something about chicken and a party. Janet, Monica and I finally understood that she wanted to order chicken and beer for us that very night! Once again, I mustered up the Korean words I knew, plus some extravagant charades, and told her it was too late (9 pm ish) and that we had to go back… the next morning we were to leave for Jeju Island. We did however, set a date to return for the chicken party on August 17^th – which was tonight.

"Chicken Party" at the "Hello Kitty" table.
It's very common to eat sitting on the floor.

Needless to say, the chicken party was a success! The chicken itself was great and combined with the Pepsi and the beer, it was just like being at home… only we were sitting on the floor around a little “Hello Kitty” table in the back room of the salon. Kim Boon A only sat with us for a little bit because she had to work, instead her friend who could speak pretty good English came and sat with us. The evening was full of laughter, food and energy. It was the best, and the only, chicken party I’ve ever been to!

Do most Canadians even know the word hospitality, much less practice it!? Seriously, when was the last time you invited a client/customer into your space for a “Chicken Party?” When was the last time you served a foreigner and thought… “gee, I wonder if they want to learn more English?” or “I wonder if they’ve made any friends yet?” (Not rhetorical). It’s amazing how wrapped up we can get in our own business/tv shows/kids/soccer games/school/work/church that we forget that there are people walking past us every day who are longing for a “Chicken Party.” And really, what would it take? Some food, some beverages, some time, and… oh yah… the effort to step out of the little box called “comfort.” Spiritually speaking, God is not a god of comfort; he is a god of risk and of obedience with a hospitable character. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus teaches about the importance of hospitality by way of using the parable about the sheep and the goats, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in…” (v. 35) “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (v. 40). Christian or not, every person has been uniquely created by God; as a result, all hospitality and hostility is vicariously received by Jesus himself and will therefore have eternal consequences. Hmm, that’s something uncomfortable to think about. What are ways in which westerners can start to practice some Korean hospitality? Hmm, perhaps one could start with Three Cups of Tea, (author: Greg Mortenson) or perhaps one could even start within the immediate family. I've often heard it said of foreigners to Canada that "Canadians are really nice people... but it takes at least two years to make real friends." There is a big world out there, both in and out of your city, longing to be invited to your “Chicken Party.”