I really love baking. Really, I do. Unfortunately, I don't really get much time over here to do it often. Also, not all the ingredients I may want to use are readily available. I mean, when I made Russian tea cakes at Christmas time, I had to have one of our secretaries order powder sugar from Gmarket, an online store which has almost everything and then some.
Now, my friend Ray makes a legit banana bread. It's divine! So banana bread became our thing for the first few months I was here.
"Ash, you got any overripe bananas? Save them if you do."
"Why? Are you going to make . . . BANANA BREAD??"
"Heeheehee . . . maybe."
And so would go our conversations before my mouth was full of soft, scrumptious banana bread instead words.
This term, I have been teaching an intensive Level 2 adult class. When you spend two hours a night four times a week with people, you start to build a close relationship. I felt like a friend/mother/guardian of these students and would do almost anything for them. One night, we had joined with another class to have an hour of free conversation. Two of my old students from October were there and for some reason brought up the fact that I had made them delectable brownies one night. Well, one of my favorite students (due in large to the fact that he's sarcastic and jokes with me all the time), Isaac, turned to me and said, "And why haven't you made US anything??" So, thus came the promise of bread on Tuesday night, which was our final party. Last week, Isaac even reminded me about my vow to make bread for them.
So Monday morning came, and with it the mingled smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and banana, the aroma changing my apartment from house to home. Side note - my roommate really loved me because of this. Even more so after she got to 'taste test' the perfectly browned product . . . multiple times.
Finally, the night came. Into the classroom I strolled, plate of bread in tow. To make a long story short, four of my six students came to class that night. The entire loaf was devoured within the first five or ten minutes of breaking out the snacks. I done good. ^_^
Banana bread - it's nothing special. In the scheme of life, it's really one of the simpler things one will ever encounter. Yet it can bring so much pleasure. I was pleased while making this loaf of goodness. My students and co-workers were pleased while savoring every last bite (as was I, I will admit). Pleasure filled me as I watched smiles spread across faces, saw eyes close slightly in pleasure or open wide in joyous surprise, and heard the sounds of people whose taste buds have been delighted.
Graduation, a new car, a big promotion, marriage - all these are big things that can bring us big pleasure. Don't forget to appreciate the simpler things along the way however. A baby's giggle, ice cold lemonade on a hot summer day, the flower that greets you every morning before you walk into work, and even . . . banana bread - all these can bring you joy if you take the time to let them. When you skim through a book, picking up only the main ideas, you will most likely understand the point being made. Without reading the whole book however, all the details from beginning to end, you will never be able to fully appreciate the work for what it truly is. Don't skim through life - details can make things so much better.
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