My original plan for Chuseok, which was rather last minute, was to go to Vietnam to see my aunt and uncle and meet my newly adopted cousin. But due to multiple issues with both my Korean visa and getting a visa to go to Vietnam, I wasn't able to go (although I had already purchased a plane ticket). My partner teacher, Gina, was helping me get the ticket since quite a bit of the process involved Korean websites, so she knew I was disappointed that I wasn't going to see my family for the holiday. She invited me instead to spend the holiday with her family in Pyeongtaek(평특), which is about 2 hours south of Seoul, which I readily accepted.
I met Gina at a subway station on Sunday after she got out of church, where she and her 5 cousins picked me up in their car. The traffic was crazy, rather similar to Thanksgiving traffic in the States. Her cousins ranged in age from 20 to 32, and spoke varying degrees of English. I think they were more nervous to meet me than I was about meeting them. They tried to speak English around me, though it was more difficult for some of them. All of her cousins are boys - Gina's the only girl in her generation. We had a pleasant trip, where they asked me questions about America, the first Korean word I learned, etc. One of the odd questions including asking me what my blood type was - apparently it's similar to asking what your astrological sign is.
We had to drive through a rather large rice field, which Pyeongtaek is famous for. When we got to her grandmother's house I met her family, which included her 4 aunts and uncles, grandmother, mother and father, and a few other cousins. I wasn't shown around the house, but the main room was a living room/kitchen, and there were three other rooms and a bathroom. The three other rooms were bare floors with wardrobes against the walls and piles of yo (요, pads or blankets to sleep on), and one room had two desks and a twin size bed. Gina walked be out behind the house down a pleasant path where you could hear (and smell) the cows and other animals that were on some of the nearby farms. She explained some of the different vegetation and lifestyle of the people that live in the country. When we got back to the house, everyone had started eating on the tables outside. It was a traditional Korean meal, with three different kinds of kimchi (including water kimchi, which is kind of like soup), song-pyeon (a kind of dumpling), galbi (beef), eel (which was cooked and tasted nothing like the eel I've had on sushi, but it was very good), sesame seed leaves covered in a vinagrette type sauce, some sort of fish, bean sprouts, small vegetable pancakes, and quite a few more that I can't remember. The family seemed very happy that I was trying all of the different foods, and even commented that I used the chopsticks very well. There were a few casual toasts during the meal, two of which were to "We are the world, we are the children". I'm not really sure why...
After the meal, they brought out a game that was similar to jacks, but with a different kind of playing piece. There are five total pieces in kongi. You throw them on the floor, and then pick up one piece. You then have to throw this piece in the air, and before it hits the ground, pick up one of the pieces on the floor - and then catch the one in the air. You do this until all the pieces are picked up. Then you throw them on the ground again, and pick up one piece. This time when you throw it up in the air, you have to pick up two pieces each time. This repeats with having to pick up three, then all four pieces at once. The last part is taking all five pieces and throwing them up, catching them on the back of your hand, and then catching them in the palm of your hand. It's very difficult, at least for me, and they found it very amusing to watch me try to play.
Gina's dad wanted me to have more fun, so afterward we went to a bowling alley, where we played to games of bowling with the cousins, Gina, and Gina's dad. After bowling, we went to a norae-bang (노래벙, literally translated as song room) where we sang karaoke for an hour. I was asked to sing one song, which I grudgingly did since they wanted to hear my voice and no one would sing with me. Gina sang one Mariah Cary song and did really well. They were mostly Korean songs, but a few of them were American pop songs. By this time it was nearly midnight, so we headed home.
I thought I would be sleeping in one of the larger rooms with the yo on the floor, but Gina's dad was very concerned about my comfort, so I was asked to sleep on the only bed in the house. Gina slept on a yo on the floor in the room with me, and we had the room to ourselves. We talked for an hour or so before falling asleep.
I woke up Monday morning having slept well the night before, and in desperate need of coffee. A traditional Korean breakfast was served (it was the same food as dinner from the night before), and although I would have been fine with just coffee and bread, they insisted on me trying everything all over again. After breakfast and getting washed and dressed (Gina's mom made everyone a small gift of a travel toothbrush and toothpaste set - mine said "foreign teacher" in Korean), we walked down the path I had been on the evening before to gather chestnuts and visit Gina's grandfather's grave. They raked away the leaves from around the grave, but it was not very ceremonial, more like just everyone was spending time outside together. We headed back to the house, where Gina's mom and grandmother started to make more kimchi. Gina and I walked out to the rice fields, where I finally saw what rice looks like before it gets into my bowl. She explained how they harvest the rice when the leaves turn yellow, and how it was a family tradition to come to your grandparents house for Chuseok to help with the harvest for the year. We wandered back to the house, where I tried some of the freshly made kimchi, and had to make a bolt for the door to get some water because it was so spicy (freshly ground chili paste will do that to you). We had grapes and pears, and visited for a while until around noon, when Gina's cousin drove us to the bus stop in town to go back home.
We had to drive through a rather large rice field, which Pyeongtaek is famous for. When we got to her grandmother's house I met her family, which included her 4 aunts and uncles, grandmother, mother and father, and a few other cousins. I wasn't shown around the house, but the main room was a living room/kitchen, and there were three other rooms and a bathroom. The three other rooms were bare floors with wardrobes against the walls and piles of yo (요, pads or blankets to sleep on), and one room had two desks and a twin size bed. Gina walked be out behind the house down a pleasant path where you could hear (and smell) the cows and other animals that were on some of the nearby farms. She explained some of the different vegetation and lifestyle of the people that live in the country. When we got back to the house, everyone had started eating on the tables outside. It was a traditional Korean meal, with three different kinds of kimchi (including water kimchi, which is kind of like soup), song-pyeon (a kind of dumpling), galbi (beef), eel (which was cooked and tasted nothing like the eel I've had on sushi, but it was very good), sesame seed leaves covered in a vinagrette type sauce, some sort of fish, bean sprouts, small vegetable pancakes, and quite a few more that I can't remember. The family seemed very happy that I was trying all of the different foods, and even commented that I used the chopsticks very well. There were a few casual toasts during the meal, two of which were to "We are the world, we are the children". I'm not really sure why...
After the meal, they brought out a game that was similar to jacks, but with a different kind of playing piece. There are five total pieces in kongi. You throw them on the floor, and then pick up one piece. You then have to throw this piece in the air, and before it hits the ground, pick up one of the pieces on the floor - and then catch the one in the air. You do this until all the pieces are picked up. Then you throw them on the ground again, and pick up one piece. This time when you throw it up in the air, you have to pick up two pieces each time. This repeats with having to pick up three, then all four pieces at once. The last part is taking all five pieces and throwing them up, catching them on the back of your hand, and then catching them in the palm of your hand. It's very difficult, at least for me, and they found it very amusing to watch me try to play.
Gina's dad wanted me to have more fun, so afterward we went to a bowling alley, where we played to games of bowling with the cousins, Gina, and Gina's dad. After bowling, we went to a norae-bang (노래벙, literally translated as song room) where we sang karaoke for an hour. I was asked to sing one song, which I grudgingly did since they wanted to hear my voice and no one would sing with me. Gina sang one Mariah Cary song and did really well. They were mostly Korean songs, but a few of them were American pop songs. By this time it was nearly midnight, so we headed home.
I thought I would be sleeping in one of the larger rooms with the yo on the floor, but Gina's dad was very concerned about my comfort, so I was asked to sleep on the only bed in the house. Gina slept on a yo on the floor in the room with me, and we had the room to ourselves. We talked for an hour or so before falling asleep.
I woke up Monday morning having slept well the night before, and in desperate need of coffee. A traditional Korean breakfast was served (it was the same food as dinner from the night before), and although I would have been fine with just coffee and bread, they insisted on me trying everything all over again. After breakfast and getting washed and dressed (Gina's mom made everyone a small gift of a travel toothbrush and toothpaste set - mine said "foreign teacher" in Korean), we walked down the path I had been on the evening before to gather chestnuts and visit Gina's grandfather's grave. They raked away the leaves from around the grave, but it was not very ceremonial, more like just everyone was spending time outside together. We headed back to the house, where Gina's mom and grandmother started to make more kimchi. Gina and I walked out to the rice fields, where I finally saw what rice looks like before it gets into my bowl. She explained how they harvest the rice when the leaves turn yellow, and how it was a family tradition to come to your grandparents house for Chuseok to help with the harvest for the year. We wandered back to the house, where I tried some of the freshly made kimchi, and had to make a bolt for the door to get some water because it was so spicy (freshly ground chili paste will do that to you). We had grapes and pears, and visited for a while until around noon, when Gina's cousin drove us to the bus stop in town to go back home.
1 comment:
"was to go to Vietnam to see my aunt and uncle and meet my newly adopted cousin"
HOLY COW. It is such a small world.
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