Lost Dog

Yesterday morning at 9 am, one of our neighbors got the surprise of their life when they opened their door and a golden retriever came walking into their apartment as if he belonged there. The family is not used to dogs--four daughters who all think big dogs are scary (imagine the scene)--so, while the kids freaked out, the dad tried to get the dog out of their home. The dog would not budge. So, the management ajeossi was called and the only way he could get the dog out was to carry him. We discovered the dog as we were leaving for school in the morning--the ajeossi and an ajuma were herding the dog away from kids. The dog--obviously friendly and used to children--was wagging his tail and trying to follow people around.

When I returned from a forum in the afternoon, the dog was still there with a crowd of kids (including our kids) around him. The ajeossi had fed him some lunch that day and kept him tied up by his watchout post so that he would not be loose running around the area. I spoke with one of my neighbors who said that first people would try and find the owner. If the owner can't be found, then we would see if we could find a home for the dog. At around 8 pm the ajeossi made an announcement over the speaker system that a golden retriever was found and if anyone was the owner to come and get him. I really don't think the owner is someone who lives here. I was tempted for a moment, but remember what a handful golden retrievers are; and, honestly, we cannot take on a pet right now. My neighbor and I both agreed that we think he was abandoned. Because he was so friendly--he shakes hands, sits, and retrieves--we know he's been taken care of. My neighbor said that, it seems, when the dog grew from a cute puppy to a big dog (he is, actually, still a puppy) and got to be a handful, the owner decided to dump him. I think he was purposefully dumped here, a place with a lot of families and also relatively far from a street.

I made some scrambled eggs and mixed it with rice and fed it to "Buddy" (the name the kids gave to him). He gobbled it all up within seconds. The ajeossi kept a bowl of water for the dog and I made sure that it was ok to give him something--don't want to overfeed him. I told the kids surrounding Buddy not to bring him any food--some kids had already given him crackers and nuts.

Well, I'll keep you updated on the Buddy saga. It was so good to see so many people concerned about his welfare and taking action to take care of him. Particularly since I had taken a picture--just a week ago--of a couple of dogs caged on the back of a truck headed toward certain fate as 'dog stew.' (Jack confirmed this when I said to the boys--"Oh look, puppies" and Jack said, "Those aren't 'puppies'---those are dogs for eating." Here--there is a big divide between expensive pets and 'ddong gae'--literally, 'shit dogs'). Luckily, Buddy fits into the brand name category since he is a golden retriever. I was especially grateful to the management ajeossi who took on the task of watching him throughout the day. I am thinking he took Buddy inside the management office so he could sleep since I didn't see Buddy outside when I was wandering around early this morning.

Family Photos

These were the golden gems emerging from the hundreds of photos the photog took of our family. It took that many to get so few good ones. I thought they were just going to take some random shots during the interview and had no idea that the picture-taking session would 1) not only happen in public with people staring at us but 2) also take over an hour. The photographer kept telling us to laugh, so Jack was laughing like a maniac, which made me laugh and the kids thought he was nuts. The photographer thought he was a little nuts, as well, but I think she had fun with it. Anyway, Mama and Daddy, if you want large, high-quality files for prints, let me know. I can send them via email--the files are huge.

Our magazine debut

For the June issue of Jubu Saenghwal--a monthly magazine here in Korea--we were one of the real life stories featured. The reporter and photographer came to our place at the end of April and, finally, we got to see the fruits of everyone's labor. To get these shots, it took hundreds of photos and several large butterfly nets to keep the kids in place (just kidding). The title goes something like "While falling in love with the sound of the haegeum, she fell for a Korean man;" or, something cheesy like that. The article is actually pretty good. It's just that this magazine, and newspapers, keep getting my graduate school wrong. They keep listing Middle Tennessee as the place where I got my Ph.D., instead of Indiana (big difference--especially considering the fact that MTSU doesn't even have an ethno program). Don't know what's blocking the brain about that one. I was pretty PO'd when I saw that, especially when I emphasized, more than once, that the newspapers were wrong and that the Ph.D. is from Indiana...well, gotta let that one go, I guess. Anyway, here's the spread. I'll post the photos next--turned out really wonderfully. We're planning on blowing a couple of them up poster size and hanging them on our wall.

Last Day MCing

This last day of MCing was my favorite because it meant that I got to wear my favorite hanbok. I love this dress. The weather, as well, was perfect (for once). Dahin had been wanting to wear her hanbok at Deoksu Palace and I finally let her on this day. It was fun posing for photos together. Above, half of Sunday's performance crew gets together; from l-r: the drum accompanist for p'ansori Kim Bong-yeong, the dresser, producer Bak Geun-heui, Dahin, me, p'ansori diva (in a good way--zza!!) Lee Joo-eun. Below, Dahin and I strike some silly poses as she pretends to be princess and I pretend to be THE Queen : ) of Deoksu Palace.

The dresser did wonders with my hair. I also liked this hairstyle more than the others. It was way more natural and less gelled-up (although still tons of wax, gel, hairspray). I think it helped to tell the dresser how I wanted my hair and makeup. She was very accommodating.

With one of the stage directors after the concert. He always looked like he was about 3 seconds short of a heart attack during the concerts. After it was all done, he looked way more relaxed and happy.

Heather and her friend, p'ansori singer Lee Joo-eun--both fabulous people.

Three ethnomusicologists in a row. Katherine Lee (Harvard) and Heather (Ewha Women's University) came for the last day of the concert series. It was really fun having them there.

MCing, Day Three

My request, "Ummm, could you make me look less like Tammy Faye-Baker" could not be easily translated in my very, very small brain for practical use, so I just asked them to do less, more natural make-up and hair the last weekend. I think it's way less scary close up.

Liked the hair--the back especially was super nice and perfect for a hot day.

Kim Jeong-seung is such a professional. I've seen him perform concertos at the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts and play with the new music group CMEK, but have new respect for him. Not only is he a dad of 5 year-old twin boys (6, Korean age; so same as our boys) but is really dedicated to playing the taegeum. He practiced, pretty much non-stop, all the way up to his performance and stayed to the end of the concert to shake the hands of the other performers.

Saturday was Memorial Day so the colors and music were a little more subdued than other days. This contemporary hanbok was so beautiful. I love the sheer black fabric with the flowers over the yellow skirt. It goes nicely with the gold detailing of the belt and sheer black jacket.

Our friend Sue-Je, here for a research trip from Ithaca, New York, came to the concert. She wasn't a big fan of the music, but the kids had fun playing together.

Me and the very fun group Anaya.

The headliners, Puri, put on an incredibly energetic performance. Below, Won Il (composer/musician) took time to pose with me after the concert.

One of the best things about this concert series is the kids got to run around an open, relatively grassy space. Above, Oliver runs to Sue-Je and, below, the 'kids in the hall' do their best cool-kid poses.

Jack was visibly tired after the long day that included schlepping belongings and four kids around Seoul and then waiting around for me to finish the concert.

Great Shots

My friend Peter took these fabulous shots of Jack and Oliver, and of his son with our boys. I've probably already mentioned my insane jealousy over his camera skills. Some people just have a great eye, you know? Anyway, these are beautiful photos, so I wanted to post them here.

Korea's Best Frozen Yogurt

In Myeongdong shopping district exists the best frozen yogurt in Korea and, I would argue, possibly the best frozen yogurt in the world if you include the generous portions, the service, the price (only 1,500 won--about $1.25--for a cone) and the cool surroundings. Inside the parlor, above, notes from patrons cover the walls and ceiling. Dahin wrote a note, "맛있다! 성다인" (it's yummy! Sung Dahin), I wrote a note saying something similar, and Oliver write his name in Korean (성현모) with a picture of an icecream cone. While he was writing his name, he kept saying, "I'm really good at it." So cute.

This place is a little inconspicuous--you have to really know where it is or just stumble upon it. It's been our regular stop after dinner's out in Myeongdong, which is near City Hall and Namdaemun open-air market in Seoul's downtown area. The guys serving the yogurt make people line up and shout out, "Who's next?" and "What would you like?" If you don't answer fast enough, you lose your turn. It's usually a manic speed session to get the order in, but we do it fine. The flavors include yogurt, green tea, mango, and a mango and yogurt mix called 'plus.' As you can see below, the cones are massive and the guys warn you, "Keep it upright or you'll lose it." We stopped by here for cones several times before discovering the inside seating area--so glad we did as trying to eat frozen yogurt and walk through Myeongdong (extremely crowded) with 3 kids is more than just a little challenge.

Dahin Gets Connected

Don't you love technology? Dahin has been able to SKYPE with her best friend Liv on Sunday mornings. It's so sweet to hear them talk to each other and do 'show and tell.' The girls will run off camera to grab something--a video, picture, piece of school work--and show it to each other. It makes me a little sad and I feel really guilty when I think about them having to connect so far away. But, at the same time, at least they can talk via the computer and, hopefully, visit each other sometime soon. The biggest downside to SKYPE-ing with her friend is Dahin always feels so down after the session. Today, she cried a little while talking to Liv; saying she missed her and wanted to go back 'home.'

Everland

Jack's sister's husband (the kids' uncle, Komo-bu) took us all to Everland, an amusement park outside of Seoul. It was IBM Day (his company, IBM Korea) so families went on the company's ticket. They provided the kids with toys, families with tickets with which they could buy food, etc., and a barbecue party for all the families (the beer wasn't free, but you can't have it all!). There are a lot of similarities between Everland and Disneyland, although Everland is more a mix of Disneyland and Six Flags (way better than Six Flags, though). And, the Disney characters are not there. Instead, there was Spiderman and SpongeBob and characters I don't know.

Jeongeun and Haenee ride on the shuttle bus from the parking lot to the park.

There was face painting right by the entrance, so Dahin got a heart with a big, sparkly 'IBM' in the middle.

It would not be a trip to an amusement park without posing with a giant animal. Dahin, thank goodness, has gotten over her fear of people walking around in character costumes. It's taken her years. As a baby and preschooler, she would totally freak out and go into hysterics. I remember on a trip to Vancouver, she started screaming and running the other way, all of a sudden. I had no idea why, but then I saw it: a giant racoon heading toward us across the suspended bridge. Yes, good times, good times. It took us a while to calm her down and, for the rest of the day, we would veer into other directions if we saw people dressed in costume anywhere near us.

There were many, many rides. Because it was a Saturday, we had to wait and wait and wait in line to ride them. It was worth it. The kids had a great time.

There was also a section in which there were animals--monkeys, otters, owls, etc. Oh, and the "Jackass Penguin." Ok, I didn't even know this existed. Or, maybe, the name is altered in English-language zoos. Just had to take a picture.

Dahin finds a model of an animal skeleton.

What's that expression...'like hearding cats' ? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Ronan sends a message to the world.

Oliver does his cute pose by a fountain. A lot of water here--the kids were in heaven.

I could have edited this photo to include just Dahin, Jack, and me, but what fun would that be if I have a nice shot of, once again, Ronan going where he should not be. Yes, he is 'picking flowers' from the garden, the one with the sign that says 'do not enter.' Lovely.

A nice shot of Komo, Komo-bu. Jeongeun, Dahin, and Haenee.

We ate lots, and lots of icecream. Here, we are deciding, once again, which flavor would be best. Unlike amusement parks in the US, people are actually nice here. If you want people to be nice to you at a park in the US, you have to go to Disneyland. But, here, it's pretty consistent. Everland is not cheap, but the service ethics here are consistent even outside the park. Service with a smile! Below, the 'eonni' explains all the different flavors.

The day of eating, riding, and eating again ended with a parade called 'Moonlight Magic." It was really well done. Reminded me of the parade at Disneyland. Below, one of the characters on a ride aims his deathray at the audience. "Ha, ha, look mommy, he's going to taze us!" Both Dahin and I noticed that when they had a princess and her prince on one of the floats, the people were not Korean but were Caucasian (probably Russian). Dahin said, "Why are they all white?" It was a little strange and sad that the prince or princess imagery could not be done with a young Korean woman and a young Korean man. The rest of the people in costume--like the lit-up one below--appeared to be Korean. Of course it was a little difficult to see them clearly since we were above the crowd and it could have been a Korean donning a blond wig, but we zoomed in with my camera and noticed that the royalty really appeared to be caucasian. None of the shots turned out well, so did not post them here. I say it's sad because, while there are, of course, Korean models and actors, many of the images of models in store ads are of white people wearing the clothes. If you go to a dept store, it's ads of white people hanging up in the stores. Jack actually told Dahin that she could not be a model because she was not white (I mean, I don't necessarily want her to be a model, but...Bad Jack!!!). Young people here (I believe) need to think of fairy tales, princesses, and princes as being a Korean thing here too and of the ideal beauty as being Korean (for Koreans) not blonde-haired and blue-eyed. Ok; now I will step off my soap box....