Sunday brunch with Halmoni

We met Halmoni after she wrapped up church and headed to a chicken place for lunch. True to form, she ended up feeding one of the kids before lunch was over. If you eat with Halmoni, you really, really need to E-A-T. She helps Ronan finish up his kuksu, above. The kids got a milder version of the buckwheat noodles--just some soysauce added. The grownups got the full-on, fire-breathing version. Very good and very, very spicey.

One thing Oliver will always eat well: pasta of any kind. He ate lots of the chicken and finished his meal with a healthy bowl of noodles.

Dahin demonstrates how to eat a cornbread pancake (Buchimgae). If you're having trouble using one chopstick-wielding hand to separate the pieces, just take a chopstick in each hand and slice it up into pieces as you see fit. I can't get enough of buchimgae or jeon; love the stuff.

Movie night has been restored!

Movie night was a once-a-week event that was held on either Friday or Saturday night at our home in Oakland. The kids would choose a movie (usually from the library), we'd go home, have dinner, kids would get ready for bed, I'd pop popcorn and then we'd watch the movie. We finally got a dvd player from Costco and found a couple of dvd rental places in the neighborhood. Hey, it only took us 6 months to do this. DVD rentals cost about $1.50, so it's affordable. I rented the kids "Bedtime Stories," which they enjoyed thoroughly, and I got myself "The Changeling" to watch later that night on my computer. I have to remember to stock up on popcorn kernals when I see them at a store; difficult to find. Next tradition to restore: pancake Sundays. I'm terrible at making pancakes from scratch (soliciting pancake recipes people!) and the kids hate the pancake mixes here. Like most Korean ready-made foods (pasta sauces, bread-stuff, etc), the mixes are overly sweet and the kids just don't go for that. [Anyone who says Koreans don't eat a lot of sugary sweet stuff, I really, really beg to differ. My blood sugar has peaked since moving here so have to be careful when eating out or eating food other people prepare since sugar is added to most everything. Cereals from the US are "Koreanized"--can't handle the Special K here since it is so, so sweet. So, moving on....] I used to use Bisquick in the States, with lemon juice and vanilla. I found some Bisquick in Costco, but am thinking of trying a homemade recipe provided my sister sends me her recipe she claims is the greatest pancake recipe ever (not-so-subtle hint-hint).

Solar Eclipse

Who saw it? Technically, you're not supposed to look at it, but I did (hee, hee). I arrived at HUFS this morning to return tests and to participate in a noon-time Korean Studies panel and found out about the eclipse (reason #1 I should never attempt going into broadcasting: I don't read the news). It was quite sunny this morning, but at around 10:30, it became overcast. When I went downstairs to the first floor I found people looking at the eclipse through old pieces of film (who knew there was a use for it; everyone's digital these days). When you looked through the film at the sun, you could see the shadow of the moon creeping over the sun. We only had a 70% partial eclipse, but it was enough to darken the skies and freak me out since it looked like it was going to rain AGAIN. But, luckily, around 11:30 am, the skies cleared and we had a beautiful, sunny day.

On a completely unrelated note, we lost power at our apartment village tonight. Power was out for about an hour and we had fun trying to 1) locate some candles ( a neighbor bought some for us), 2) actually go into the dark apt that we are convinced is haunted (or at least just freaky when pitch black) and 3) daring young children to enter our apt with us so we could light candles b/c we were too chicken to enter alone ('we' meaning Jack and I). Once power was restored, the voice of the ajeossi reverberated through the apartments via speaker phone, reassuring us it was a city-wide problem and not a problem with our own power source. Yet, just then, a friend of Dahin's rushed into our place to let us know that people saw someone sneaking around the apts when the lights were out--they didn't respond to calls from people, etc and fled. Ajeossi was pretty sure it was a burglar, which means the power may have been cut intentionally. Hey...what they don't tell you....

Buddy Newsflash

As I noted in an earlier post, Buddy has been adopted by an American family. At our monthly community meeting last night, we were told that the family is a military family living on a base in the Seoul vicinity. The family sent photos and the print-outs were posted on the wall of the community room. The women here who handled getting Buddy taken care of were concerned about what would happen to Buddy if they were stationed elsewhere or if they went back to the States. The family emphatically told them that Buddy was now family and would go wherever they go. I think, as well, the US military covers such expenses as the transport of family pets. The kids were all saying how much they missed Buddy, but everyone was delighted to see the photos of Buddy with his family. I'm just so glad that people here took responsibility for him and did the right thing by personally seeing to it that he got adopted. He's a great dog; very sweet, playful one. There are so many animals here in need of good homes--Buddy won the lottery!

Folk Village

As part of my 'duties' at Hanguk Univ of Foreign Studies Korean Studies summer program (my time there thankfully short--hey, a girl's gotta publish--due to the fact I am splitting the teaching duties with a colleague) I was asked to think of a fieldtrip idea. I did and, guess who became the one in charge? Yes--I become the 'leader' of the folk village field trip. I was told that threat of rain did not mean a cancelled trip, so we forged ahead. We made it through a traditional wedding and some houses/complexes used as sets for tv dramas and movies before it poured. Ah well; one cannot change the weather. I became a little star struck when I realized that one of my favorite movies, "The King and the Clown," was filmed here (as indicated by the sign). I made Dahin pose in front of it, but I was facing a semi-solo mutiny.

The wedding party (you can see the wedding in the top pic above) paraded out of the central plaza of the home to the accompaniment of the taepyeongso and drums. I was glad my students caught this little bit of musical performance. I had hoped they could see the pungmul ensemble, acrobats, and the tightrope walking. They were supposed to write a paper about a performance and many were counting on the trip to the village to do their observing. But, alas, it was not meant to be. This was the only performance we caught that day (well, if you don't count the people dressed up in hanbok and 'living' in the village).
I dared Dahin to go into the haunted house, but she flat refused. The timing was so perfect on this one: As she was asking me, "Is it scary?" we heard a loud hissing sound and people scream. Answered that question. It was a good thing she was too chicken to do it; they charged a fee to go into the Toggaebijip (goblin house), which I thought was unreasonable considering the price of admission to the village itself (10,000 won--about $10--not that bad, but seriously, why are they charging for something like that?).

We entered this yangban (aristocrat) house for a look around. There was a lot to see and I got my fill of textiles (my current obsession).
I crammed myself into this wedding box (oh, I don't remember what you call it--something you sit in and people carry you around; you know) just to see if I could. Yup, it was tiny and, yup, I look like a giant; reminding me that I need to make some effort in the running arena and drop those 10 pounds or so I've put on since coming to Korea. The photo doesn't lie...Anyway, Dahin (below) wonders how the heck I crammed myself into it. Worst part was, I wore a skirt and had to figure out how to get out of the box without exposing myself as a crowd had gathered to take blackmail shots (my students included in that bunch).
Yes, the yangban house was a blast. The rustic feel of the place was fantastic. And, just in case you didn't see all the signs and indications that a well-known drama was filmed in this very spot, including a 'costume corner' where you could try on the costumes and look like your favorite melodrama star, they had a tv set up so that you could see bits of the drama. Get it? Yeah, it was filmed here. No, really. REAL-LY! Anyway, how's that for authenticity. Ok, now let's move on....We went to the market place where Dahin decided on a painting of her name. The artist did a wonderful job with her name--telling her that he made the first syllable resemble bamboo so that she would grow tall and strong and the second syllable was bright and sunny. She likes it. Then Grace, one of the fellow profs we wondered around with decided, since it was raining, she wanted to drink a little. What the heck, we joined her and headed toward the empty eating area (below). There, we found grumpy French tourists who were not satisfied with their orders, frustrated ajumas who were tired of waiting on grumpy French tourists, and several feral cats.

I ordered a potato pancake to go with the alcohol. Dongdongju is related to makgeolli, a sweet alcoholic beverage, with a slightly fermented flavor, that is made from rice. Makgeolli is usually milky in appearance, but the Gyeonggi region variant, dongdongju, looks more like tea. It tasted slightly medicinal, with a hint of ginseng. Accompanying the mid-afternoon drink under a tent was conversation on the state of Korean studies and current hiring practices. Dahin, you can tell, was thrilled. We stayed there out of the rain for a while, until the student leaders came looking for us (seen behind my colleague Grace) and we headed for the bus early.

The kitty below, obviously in need of some medical attention, was hanging out at the tables, ready to catch bits of food that fell through the slats in the platform.

On the way out of the park, we ran into women spinning silk. We learned that the woman on the right is the woman on the left's mother-in-law, and she is teaching her to spin silk. I've never seen real live silk worms in action before. They're the little white ball-looking thingies in the picture on the bottom. I'd like to take Dahin back there when it is not raining. When I asked her if she'd like to go back she said, "No." But, maybe I'll try again a little later to see if she'd like to see the performances that take place when the weather is better. Dang rainy season.

Indoor Flowers

All this rain and dreary, muggy weather is getting me down. I met friends for lunch at a restaurant in Insa-dong and, while there, saw a woman selling flowers inside the establishment. I don't think the management was too happy with her being there, so, to help her out, I bought the rest of her flowers after my friend bought a whole bunch. My friend bargained her down to 5,000 won (about $5) and she agreed but kept saying, "Well, usually I would sell that bunch for 8,000 won, so selling them for 5 is unusual..." Ok, ok, I get it. Still, like the bargain. And, love the flowers. Ronan, in the photo above, is enjoying the colors and scent. The indoor flowers are quite cheery!

Birthday festivities begin...

The boys turn 5 this month. I can't believe it, really. While Oliver acts and talks like a pre-teen, Ronan still has that little baby face and voice. And, despite his older-kid pretenses, I love that Oliver talks without pronouncing 'r' and 'l' clearly--kind of a little New Jersey mixed with Elmer Fudd. And, Ronan's confusing of consonants ('drink' becomes 'pwink' and 'puppy' becomes 'tubbie') is just too cute. Pretty soon, they're going to grow out of their baby ways and hate me just like Dahin does (only half kidding). The second Wednesday of every month, the teachers at their school celebrate the birthdays of the kids who have birthdays that month (does that make sense?). Oliver and Ronan had their turn this month. The parents provide a cake and snacks for the class, the teachers prepare cards for the kids to sign and decorate, and the kids bring gifts. In Korea, standard birthday gifts appear to be stationary sets, pencils, erasers, paints, etc. You can get these kinds of things at stationary stores for around $2-$3--we've bought a few things like this for other kids' birthdays. It's sweet because,while you need these things, the kids love them and use them. Plus, it makes birthdays affordable, even when you have two presents to buy in one class! Jack bought this cake at E-Mart the night before; did a good job, didn't he?The teachers made heart-shaped cards and laminated the front and back pages. On the cover was a picture of the birthday boy and it said, "My favorite person in the whole world is Junmo(Ronan)/Hyunmo (Oliver). I love you!" Then, their classmates each had a page to write something to each of the boys (the boys each had their own heart card set). The boys also got to write on one page (the back of the card) and they each drew pictures of their family. Oliver's is the one below--it says "I love Mommy and Apa."

Ronan's is the one below and it says "Mommy (hearts) Apa." Ronan included everyone in his picture, while, in Oliver's Apa is absent--unless that is the little person version of Apa (yes, Eumma--the Korean version of mom he's been calling me without prompting; the other two still call me 'mommy'--is the giant of his world) instead of Dahin (I believe that's Dahin standing next to me--always the one with yellow hair). I'm like the freaky 'village of the damned' one with beaming blue eyes and a yellow halo---ooh, freaky. Ronan usually draws his hair spikey (see below), so you can find him in any family portrait.

The drawing below is from Ronan's 'girlfriend' Yeju. She wrote, " I hope you have fun today. I love you. Let's play together." And, I can't make out the rest. Most kids told the boys to mind their parents, brush their teeth, eat a lot and grow big, and to have a happy birthday. One of the boys, Oliver's "best friend" Geunu wrote, "After lunch, let's play together" and drew a picture of a rocket ship with the two boys inside. So sweet. The boys came home with a bag each full of presents from friends. It was so sweet to see all the little notes from the kids in their class. Many kids wrote little cards and attached them to the presents.