"itadakimasu*," my father and i said in unison

accustomed to repeating it before every meal.

Midori hastily said it too

and i wanted to laugh at her awkwardness

then i realised i would be just as uncomfortable if i ate dinner with her dutch family

and then i wondered if she would ever end up inviting me over for dinner.

we ate our ramen with small talk in between.

i tried to limit conversation that excluded papa

but it was difficult when none of us actually spoke the same first language

only english as the bridge between us

and i felt a pang of sadness as i realised papa hadn't had the opportunity to build that bridge.

maybe i should appreciate being able to speak english

after all

it actually does benefit me.

i can talk to Midori.

"kore ha oishiidesu*," Midori said in the middle of our meal, "arigatou."

and i looked at her in surprise.

she merely smiled

and i watched as papa did too.

[  *itadakimasu: japanese for thank you for the meal, let's eat, etc.
*kore ha oishiidesu: this is delicious
arigatou: thank you  ]