Free to be Mii

We live in a very hospitable culture. I learn so much from these dear ladies with their generosity with their food, the cleanliness of their homes, and the time that they spend with each unannounced guest. Being a westerner, I am accustomed to schedules and purposeful meetings. So hospitality here is a learned art for me. In the past when guests came, my children would greet them and then run to another floor to do computer games, etc. I would then be left with my guest for about 2-3 hours by myself in our "salon" (like a fancy living room). I didn't like this because it made me feel like my life was split--take off the mom hat and put on the entertaining hat.

So now we do something a bit different. We try to include the guests into our lives, I want to wear the two hats at once. I know that sounds basic, but here the children are usually running outside while the mother is receiving guests. So if my child isn't outside kicking a soccer ball, I try to include them in. For example, playing the wii together! My young friend (pictured above), who used to be my tutor, created a cute little mii figure and got to know my kids better in the process. She was a bad Mario racer, but hey, we had a lot of laughs.

(I love the beauty mark that she wanted!)

In having this attitude of inviting people into our lives during tea time, it has released me from the nagging culture questions, "Is this how they do it? Am I offending someone by serving the tea with no mint? Am I doing this 'right?'" It has given me freedom to be me (or mii) and love them with the wisdom that I've asked for from above. He will be faithful to show me how to best serve...I can therefore enjoy the process.