We left Sunday morning to head to Jinju, the hometown of my boss that is about 30 minutes from here. When we arrived to his mother's house, the women started cooking immediately. The actually New Year day was Monday, but they like to prepare the food the day before. Kami and I helped as we could, battering some fish and beef and putting together some other things I don't know the name of. After the cooking was finished, we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch that was equivalent to pot roast and potatoes. It was soooo yummy! Later, Kami and I went to see Madagascar 2 with the kiddos. It was dubbed in Korean, but we still thought it was quite funny...what we could understand anyways. That night, we had a great time playing a Korean game with the family...so much fun. Everyone's competitive sides came out and that was funny to see!
Now Monday morning was quite interesting. The day started early...about 6:30...and by the time we got up, the older women were already in the kitchen, preparing all the food. For the Lunar New Year, Koreans have what we would call a memorial service. It's where they remember their relatives that have passed away. All the men got together to do some talking and bowing. It was neat to watch. After that, we went to the grave sites of the relatives and they did a bow to them and sprinkled Soju (Korean liquor) on their graves. Then, we went to another relatives house and had some lunch. It was quite a cultural day. There is definitely nothing that compares to this in the US. I mean, the only tradition I have for New Years is eating some black-eyed peas! Before we left, Kami and I got to put on a hangok, the traditional Korean dress. I really liked it...makes me want to get one! Ha. We'll see about that!
Overall, the weekend was quite amazing and such a good cultural experience. Kami and I are quite blessed to have bosses that invite us to partake in these sort of things. It's all about taking in the culture and gaining an appreciation for things. I definitely enjoyed the weekend. I didn't take many pictures, but here are the few I did take. I'll post more when Kami shares with me!
This is a huge wardrobe that our boss's mom had. It's really amazing. It's a traditional Korean thing...the decorations are all made from seashells. You can't even imagine how pretty it was.
Here is Sara (the director's wife) and her daughter Ruby...they are so precious! They are both wearing tradition Hanboks and look so cute!
Here is Sara working in the kitchen preparing the food for the day.
Our bosses' children, Tony and Ruby. They're such good kids.
That's all I have for now. Back to work tomorrow!
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