Personal Narrative: The Soup Kitchen

The Soup Kitchen

I glanced around the room in front of me in shock. First, I looked out at the sea of people in front of the table I stood behind. I identified most of the people as Korean men dressed in business suits, heavy winter coats, and several other layers of clothing. Next, my eyes skimmed the long serving table that held various types of Korean food, such as rice, beef, and kimchi. Then, I stared at serving spoon I held in my hands as I prepped myself to serve the crowd of homeless people. Although, I was apprehensive at first, my experience working at the soup kitchen introduced me to my love for community service.

In 2012, I was a member of Students Helping and Reaching Everybody (S.H.A.R.E), a volunteering club, at Seoul American High School. S.H.A.R.E provided students the opportunity to volunteer both inside the military base and outside in the city Seoul, South Korea. Initially I joined the club as an extra-curricular activity and community service for future college applications. However

Initially, when I signed up I didn't know what to expect. The only visions I had of homeless people and soup kitchens were from movies and television.Which depicted them as dangerous and criminal. As I set up the food I began to mentally prepare myself to serve drunk and rude men . However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the people were exactly the opposite. Despite our differences in race, social class, and language they were all extremely kind and amiable. I received countless smiles and "thank you" from everybody. One man even spoke to me in broken English expressing his thanks and telling me how he served in the Korean War. The feeling of gratitude overwhelmed me when I saw the smile the man gave me as he told his story. When I left the building that day I was in a state of euphoria. I truly had enjoyed helping those people and I knew I had to do it