Gathering of Pearls by Sook Nyul Choi Read Free Book Online Page B

diplomat, you know. That's what my mother says each time I tell her why you can't come visit. I feel like marching up to Miss Mullen and telling her that you simply don't have time to do all these things."
    With a sigh, I said, "As a foreign scholarship student, it is my obligation to help out with these international activities. But I wish I didn't have to do so many of them."
    "It's all those extra things that are keeping you from enjoying the real college experience," Ellen said. "It's important for you to check out the social scene. You should come to a mixer, and spend an evening playing bridge at the snack bar. Everyone is always asking for you. I'm
serious;
these are important parts of college life."
    "I know. But it will have to be this way for now. Next year, you'll see, I will take everyone up on all these rain checks I have been accumulating."
    "Well, you promised to spend Thanksgiving with me, remember?" Ellen said. "You said yes your first day here."
    "I remember. I'm looking forward to it," I said, thinking back to the day I met Ellen.
    "I guess you and Kyle will have to wait till Thanksgiving dinner to meet each other. My parents said I could invite him since he won't be going home to Madison," Ellen said, looking pleased at the thought of getting everyone together.
    "You know, Ellen, I did see Kyle once." I reddened as I thought of the day I had watched the two of them together.
    "When?" Ellen asked.
    "Last weekend. I was looking out the library window when I saw you sitting under a tree with Kyle. He was lying down, resting his head on your lap."
    "Well, what did you think?" she asked.
    "Oh, he is very handsome, and he is so tall! I could tell when you walked down the hill together. I thought it was sweet the way he bent down and kissed you. It was like a scene out of the movies."
    "You mean you saw us and never said a word to me?" Ellen said, wide-eyed.
    "Well, whenever I saw you, you always had something exciting to report. Besides, I needed some time to think about it all."
    "To think about what?"
    "Everything is so different here," I said slowly. "In Korea, such a thing would not be possible. Even married couples do not show such affection in public. There is no hand holding, no kissing, and no resting under trees together. But what is shameful in Korea seems accepted and natural here. Sometimes the differences are so mind-boggling that I need to give myself time to get used to the new ways of thinking. But it's funny," I mused. "In many ways I feel so comfortable here—sometimes even more comfortable than I felt at home."
    "What do you mean, Sookan?" asked Ellen.
    "Well, for one thing, I feel the same warmth and closeness toward you and Marci that I do toward some friends I have known for years at home. I come from so far away and look so different from you that I am sometimes surprised at how at ease I feel with you and Marci—and it has only been a few months. Isn't it strange? I think it is because your culture encourages people to speak openly and frankly." I looked at Ellen helplessly. I was not sure if I had made any sense to her, because I myself was not completely sure of why I felt so much at home in such a new and different environment.
    "Friendships are special," Ellen said. "Friendships can cut through a lot. Are you sure you can't make some excuse and come home with me for the weekend?"
    "I'm sorry, Ellen. I can't. But you'll have a great time with Kyle." Then I asked, "Don't your parents mind that you spend so much time with him when you go home for the weekend?"
    "Of course, they wish I would spend more time with them, but they actually don't know much about Kyle yet. I tell them that I go to Princeton to visit my cousin and go out with his friends, one of whom is Kyle. I'm an only child, and I know it will be hard for them to accept that Kyle and I are so serious. But soon I'll tell them, and they will just have to get used to the idea. Kyle and I are in love; we are meant for each