I found a universal truth

Written 4/22/10

There are some things that the students here like which I do not understand. For example, they like to dip their fingers into the salt packets from ramen noodles and eat them straight. They go insane over candy and other forms of refined sugar. Yet when I made Rose’s boyfriend (he’s Marshallese) some chocolate chip pancakes, he didn’t care for them. They like lentil soup but not chili.

Their strange likes and dislikes carries over to music as well, and it’s difficult to tell what sort of music they will enjoy. Their two favorite artists are probably Sean Kingston and Abba. They like Akon but not T.I. When it comes to dance music, it’s easier because there is a direct correlation between the beats per minute and how much they will like it, but that excludes such seminal works as Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.”

Identifying their likes and dislikes is made more difficult by the fact that they will never actually tell you if they don’t like something. They’ll just sort of smile and nod and say, “it’s good.” It’s immensely frustrating to share music or food you really love with someone, only to have them show complete indifference towards it.

One evening a couple weeks ago, John (a student who is better than most at communicating) stopped by my apartment just as I was pulling two loaves of bread out of the oven. He was amazed that I knew how to make bread and accepted my offer of a slice. I cut one for each of us, and without asking him, just went ahead and slathered them both with butter and then spooned a little marmalade on top. I wasn’t sure he’d like the marmalade, since it’s a fairly distinctive and strong flavor, but I figured there are some things he should just try for the sake of broadening his horizons. I handed him the slice of warm bread and we sat down in the dim evening light to eat it, both settling into a comfortable silence. As soon as he could clear his mouth from the first bite, John broke the silence with an almost whispered, “Peter, this is *really* good.”

Oh I know, John. I know. And I smiled, knowing that here is at least one thing that both Americans and Marshallese can agree is nothing short of sublime.