My mother-in-law arrived today.
She charged in like a mama bear to her young, grabbing my wife and son in a frenzy of cuddles and tears while I timidly Goldilocksed in behind, carrying armloads of bags and not entirely sure this was still my house.
Within minutes she was sitting cross-legged on the floor, asking the toddler, in that suggestive way, “Do you want to help me open this suitcase?”
I, being the demure and distinguished gentleman I am, suppressed my urge to lurk around said valise in the hope of scooping up a gift. The wee fella scored a red Korean emergency services vehicle, all flashy lights, siren and pull-back action. He received several more pressies, but we did not extract a single other interaction from him this evening. Eventually, he passed out from car-related overjoy.
My wife gathered clothing and cosmetics, and spent considerable time discussing, in Korean, the merits of the assorted packets of dried foods, garnishes and condiments.
I had given up on my lurk-non-lurk. This was finally the visit where there would be no gifts for me. I had heard, through the Korean grapevine, that Korean 7-11 had stopped selling my favourite Korean lollies. What else could there be for me?
But then emerged something wonderous. It literally shined in its silver foil package. Korean green tea. A big ol’ bag of Jirisan, and a smaller cylinder of O’Sulloc which we will no doubt discuss another day.
This is not one of those forgiving green teas, but it is a rewarding one. If you get your hands on this stuff, you set your water to 80 Celsius and your timer for 120 seconds from when the first drop of water hits that first dry leaf. Go Baby Bear, you’ve got fragrant warm water; sad. Go Daddy Bear, you’ve got a bitter brew; angry.
But go Mother-in-Law Bear, at just the right temp for juuust the right time, you’re rewarded with something subtle and happy. Creamy, in that way typical of Korean teas. Sweetish. Refreshing. It may not envelop you, but like a hug from a small Korean matriarch, it hits the spot right round your tummy area.
