Kerry Pickard

What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten? Here they have a dish made from unflavored gelatin. Oftentimes they put meat and raw cucumbers in it. I once had it made with fish and so, of course, the gelatin was fish flavored!

What is a cultural custom you had to learn? When you are at someone's house and they offer you seconds, even if you want it, it is polite to say no the first time. Then you can say yes the second time they offer. However, if you don’t want it, you have to say no three times. After the third offer and refusal, they will stop. They can be very insistent and if you don’t know this “three times” rule, you end up eating a lot more than you want! Of course, I also had to learn to offer my guests seconds more than once because even if they said no the first time, they might actually want more.

What do you love about where you live? I love that people here take friendship very seriously. They won’t have that many people they call “friends” and aren’t quick to use that word but to the ones they do call friends, they go very deep and are very loyal. I have been blessed to be able to build several of those types of friendships here.

What do you miss about "home"? One thing I always miss about “home” is that no matter how long I live here or how well I know the language or culture, I am always aware that I am a foreigner. And while that isn’t necessarily a bad thing or dangerous thing, the feeling is always here. When I arrive in the States, I no longer am a foreigner but a native. That is a nice feeling.

What do you do for fun? I love to hunt mushrooms in the forest, a big activity here in the late summer/early fall. I wait all year for mushroom season! So for the rest of the year, I like to ride bike, take pictures, watch American Football, read, and cook/bake.