Bibimbap Party

Our apartment association organized a bibimbap party yesterday. Bibimbap is a rice dish with thinly sliced vegetables, meat, and egg on top of rice, mixed together with a sweet red pepper paste and sesame oil. 'Bibim' means to mix, so it literally means mixed rice dish. The bibimbap party is one of 5 yearly get togethers we have (others include the Children's Day games and barbecue and an early summer catered barbecue party). The President of SNU (below) came with his wife (his house is adjacent to the apartments) and ate dinner with some of the faculty who got a seat inside the community house/library.

I didn't do much to contribute beyond making some rice and helping a little with cleanup. The women below really worked hard serving the food. Along with the bibimbap there was also ddeok (rice cakes), baby tomatoes, bananas, grapes, and oranges.

The head of the resident's association, ssangdeunggi eomma (I only know her as the 'twins' mommy' since we never do first names here--she lives in my building, so there are two sets of twins here; because I have an older child plus the boys, people here call me 'Dahini eomma') worked really hard to make this a fun event for the kids. There was a treasure hunt and games. Dahin and friends, below, wait for the beginning of the cookie relay--kids raced in sets to cookies hung on a string; first to finish 'won.' Older kids, highschoolers, helped with the games.

A sibling of one of Dahin's friends, below. She's so cute--had to snap a picture.

Ssangddeunggi eomma takes a brief break--she wore herself ragged. We had a couple of tables set up near our building where the people in our 'line' (apts 101,102,201,202, etc) sat together. The gourmet chef among us (the woman wearing black and white) fried up some sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots for the group. Really fabulous and perfect with some beer.

Dahin and her friend from Nashville were creative with their balloons. The girls walked around with mouse ears pretty much the whole time.