Yesterday, I had lunch with my classmates. Aya, one of my classmates from Japan, invited us to her house. As soon as I entered her cozy kitchen, I saw fried mashed potato balls and sweet potato fries with sesame placed on the kitchen counter. Soon after, she showed us how to make sushi, and it was a wonderful way to immerse ourselves in Japanese culture.
Aya was very warm and patient. She taught us how to prepare and cook the rice to achieve the perfect, sticky consistency. When it came time to roll the sushi, Aya carefully laid out a sheet of nori on the bamboo sushi mat and spread a layer of rice over it. She placed the fillings in the center—slices of crab sticks, creamy avocado, and crisp cucumber—before beginning to roll. She explained to us as she expertly kept the roll tight and even, her fingers moving with practiced ease. Then, she invited us to squeeze and feel the rolled bamboo mat with our hands.
I held the bamboo sushi mat with care and squeezed it tightly, feeling the rice and fillings come together as I pressured. Glaudia, my classmate from Mexico, loved Asian cuisine. Her eyes lit up and her voice was full of enthusiasm as she pressed the bamboo mat. She was thrilled to learn how to make sushi from scratch.
Brown rice tea fragrance
wafts gently around the room—
soft words accompany
Spending time with my friends has enriched my life in ways I didn’t expect. Before this, I never thought that in my middle age, I would make friends with people from different countries while living in the USA. It’s amazing to think that we all came together in America, speaking English and sharing our different cultures and stories. The taste of sushi, the scent of tea, and the sound of shared laughter linger in my memory.
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