Community Spotlight: Jessica (& Henry)

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

I'm very happy to say we have a new Community Spotlight (where we ask an active community member a few questions, to get to know them better). This month, we have a host I am sure many of your know well, here in the Community Center. Introducing...

@Jessica-and-Henry0

South Korea

How long have you been hosting for and why did you first start?

We made the switch from guest users to hosts in Feb 2017 and we started hosting simply because..... we had a spare room. We enjoyed being guest users so we thought "why not?" - our logic at the time was that a guest room that is occupied at least a couple nights a month is better than a room that's always empty. Henry and I both have full time jobs and I happen to travel a lot, so we didn't want hosting responsibilities to take up too much of our personal time, which is one of the reasons why we decided to specifically target single/solo travelers - we assumed people who travel alone and chose a shared home private room listing would be independent people. We thought we could consider ourselves a great success if we manage to break even on the cost of furniture and extra bedding for the guest room in about 6 months! After a few really weird inquiries (which was making us think "OMG~ what were we thinking?!?!?!") our first guest contacted us just barely a week after our listing went live - an exchange student looking for a place to stay for 4 months. This was not what we had imagined at all...... but our first impression of the guest was good although 4 months seemed really long. Henry and I talked about it and decided to give it a try. Honestly, it was the BEST decision we made~! We've been hosting a lot of long term guests and many exchange students ever since and we love it!

Tell us a little about your listing

Our listing is a single occupancy private room in our home and our home is a typical modern, newly built apartment in Seoul. Our apartment complex is popular with young working couples (and is considered a "starter home" type apartment) because of location and apartment size. The neighborhood has gone through a lot of re-development over the past 10 years, so we have a unique mix of new high-rise apartment complexes and shopping centers right along side traditional homes, buildings and markets.

How long have your been part of the Community Center and why did you join?

I've been a member of the CC - as soon as I decided to become a host. I was certain we would miss something critical due to lack of experience and thought learning from other more experience hosts would be the best way to make sure we didn't make a mess of things. As a new host, I think the CC was especially helpful in allowing me to come up with my listing description and house rules - which were my responsibility (Henry was responsible for getting our guest room ready). Reading about the good and bad experiences helped us to really "prepare for the worst, but hope for the best".

What is your favourite thing about the CC and if you could make it better what one thing would you improve?

I really like how so many people are willing to spend time and contribute purely because they want to help others. I know that there are levels reflecting participation but sort of like super host maybe some sort of way to better recognize the fellow hosts who are top contributors? - something more than the "Top Contributors" list. Maybe a CC version of the super host badge? Making it easier to find old posts or comments written by myself and by others would also be great.

Are you more of a film or book person? What have you last read/watched?

It's really hard to say......Henry and I both read a lot and watch a lot. I think Henry is more of a "music" person. Although he's rusty and out of practice, he plays piano and always has some sort of music on at home, depending on his mood or the weather. We both really enjoyed watching Bohemian Rhapsody recently. In my case, I think I'm a book person even though I probably spend more time binge-watching TV series than reading. I recently borrowed a copy of Please Look After Mom from a co-worker and started reading it at the office during breaks. For fun, I usually stick to mystery/crime/detective novels. I've also started watching season 1 of The Crown and in the middle of watching season 2 of Anne with an E.

What is the one thing you cannot live without?

I really don't think I can name one thing - Henry and my parents and my sisters, a sense of humor, chocolate, sea salt & vinegar chips to name a few.

How do you like to relax at the end of a hard week?

Sleep and just be totally lazy. I can easily sleep for 12+ hrs straight and getting extra sleep on weekends has always been very important for me. Henry and I also enjoy good food and beer, so eating out is also an important part of our "weekend ritual" since neither of us likes to cook. I think I was born lazy, so I feel that one of the best ways for me to really relax is to be my naturally lazy self.

Where would your dream travel location be?

Henry's dream travel location is Fiji. Mine is to just roam the world for an entire year (or two) without any specific destinations or plans (which would drive Henry crazy because he always has to plan ahead and have back up plans).

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? (...astronaut perhaps!)

As a kid, I always wanted to be a doctor - I have no idea why, but from an early age I've always liked the "hospital smell" and loved going to see the doctor. Plus, doctors always seemed to have cold hands and I always had cold hands, so when I was little I thought my cold hands were proof I would make a great doctor.

What's your fun fact?

I read way faster in English than Korean, but type in Korean much faster than English. While it's pretty obvious I'm bilingual, many don't know that English is my 1st language and Korean is my 2nd. Another little-known fact about me is, although I work as an interpreter and often have to speak in front of an audience due to my job, I also have terrible stage fright and absolutely hate public speaking.

Anything to add?

A special thanks to all my fellow hosts on the CC. I know we've never met, but I have come to think of everyone as good friends. And thank you Lizzie for thinking of me and Henry for the Community Spotlight.

A huge thank you to Jessica and Henry for taking the time to share a few fun insights into their lives. 

Please do ask any questions about the above or share any nice comments, I am sure Jessica would love to hear from you.

Thank you and enjoy!

Lizzie

[Cathie19]

Nice @Jessica-and-Henry0  to see you Jessica in the warmth enjoying the pool! It’s my bedtime here, but that spectacular food is making me hungry for a midnight snack! No. Must.... Not.  Lol

[Kelly149]

@Jessica-and-Henry0 is a name I am always happy to see in a thread and this is no exception. 🙂

[Cathie19]

Ditto!

[Huma0]

Thanks for posting @Lizzie. What a great read!

I've always been a fan of @Jessica-and-Henry0, who have brought such a wealth of knowledge and helpful advice, as well as fun, to these forums. As a host who accepts both short and long-term guests, it's also been really useful to hear from someone who doesn't see long-term stays as a recipe for disaster. It CAN work very well, in the right circumstances.

@Jessica-and-Henry0  I also really enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody and recently interviewed one of the actors from the film. Actually, I'm quite keen to watch it again even though I only watched it a couple of weeks ago. Good to hear you are watching The Crown, which I also think is fantastic. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

Thanks @Kelly149 I've always enjoyed reading your posts as well~!

@Huma0 it's been nice to have someone other than myself talk about the pros of longer-term hosting. And totally cool about the interview~!!!! I usually spend my days talking with or interpreting for geeky engineer-types 🙂

[J-Renato0]

Hello @Jessica-and-Henry0

I highly regard your opinions on this community.

I have a question, if you do not mind ! If English is your native language - my question is - Where were you born?

[John1080]

@Jessica-and-Henry0 , congrats on your recognition and your trip looks fantastic! The food looks great, especially the gopchang and samgyeopsal! Kevin has taken to cooking pork belly in his Ninja air crisper, which cooks it perfectly with a nice crust! 

For the salt and vineagar chips, there is a nice foreign food mart one block south of Itaewon station, which I remember distinctly having them. I think it's called Foreign Food Mart. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

Hey @John1080 It's been a while~!!! So glad to see you~ and I hope you and Kevin are well. 

Air crispers are all the RAGE in Korea.... We (meaning Henry) have only managed to use the air crisper once since I bought it last October. 🙂 I'm going to try and get Henry to cook pork belly sooner or later. 

I've taken to spraying salted potato chips with vinegar the past couple years and ever since my dad retired my parents go visit my sisters more regularly and always remember to bring me plenty of salt&vinegar chips and twizzlers. If I get really desperate, I'll definitely check out the Foreign Food Market. Thanks for the info~~~ 

[John1080]

@Jessica-and-Henry0, yes it's been a while! I've been occupied with a few things and needed a break, but glad to be back and catch up on the news! 

We have been using our crisper almost every day-probably eating more than our share of pork belly, but we can't resist! 

Good seeing you again! 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@J-Renato0 

Short answer - I was born in Korea and I've always been a South Korean citizen 🙂 Same goes for both my parents and both my younger sisters. (My youngest sister was born in Korea after we moved back... she's 13yrs younger than me.)

To give you a bit of background....... my family moved to the U.S. when I was age 4 (my sister had just turned 1) and came back to Korea when I was halfway thru 5th grade. According to my parents, I did read and speak some Korean at 4 yrs old, but I quickly forgot it all and used English exclusively within a year. We always lived in areas with very few Asians (and even less Koreans). There were never more than 4 Asian students (of which 2 were me and my sister) at any given time in my entire elementary school.

My family moved back to Korea when I was halfway thru 5th grade. At the time we were the only 2 remaining Asian students and once we left there were none. Once in Korea, I was age 11 (in 6th grade) when I began learning Korean.......starting with the Korean alphabet 🙂 

I very much prefer to read, write, and watch TV/movies in English. Talking will depend a bit on the topic and situation. I've been told when I was training to become an interpreter that my English probably at about 90% of a completely native English speaker and my Korean about 80~85% of a completely native Korean. 

[Patricia55]

@Jessica-and-Henry0 

Congrats!  I've alway thought you gave good advice... and particularly admired your no-holds-barred advice when the need arose!!

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Patricia55 

Thanks for the compliment 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Jessica-and-Henry0  So nice to read. You know I always love your posts. I've always figured that English was your native language, but of course never knew for sure. You just use English the way a native speaker does. If it's a second language, even if one is fluent, there are usually subtle differences.

Glad you got away for a nice relaxing holiday together. 

Have you ever read the crime novels of the Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo? One of my absolute faves in that genre.

Your chips would be safe with me- I hate vinegar, all kinds, in anything. Can't even stand the smell 🙂

[Helen427]

@Lizzie @Sarah977 @Jessica-and-Henry0 @everyoneelse

Thanks for all your great contributions.

It's always a pleasure @Jessica-and-Henry0 to read your posts as they contain excellent suggestions we can all learn and benefit from

[Helen427]

@Lizzie @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Patricia55 @John1080 @Cathie and @everyoneelse

Hungry for Salt and Vinegar chips anyone???

A small sample of the ones we have available in New Zealand.

It's also very simple to make one's own homemade chips in the oven.

Wash and slice Potatoes/ or Kumara/ Sweet potato, either add a knob of New Zealand Butter, or oil to a roasting dish, and place in the oven and forget about them for 10-15 minutes, turn them over and when they are ready add a dash of vinegar and a sprinkling of salt.

Fabulous alternative to store purchased chips..

https://www.google.com/search?q=salt+and+vinegar+chips+nz&tbm=isch&source=hp&safe=strict&sa=X&ved=2a...