Korea continues to amaze and amuse me. They just had their presidential election last week, and I LOVE how South Korea handles elections! Candidates can campaign for the 30 days before the election, and during that time you'll see polititians' names everywhere. Billboards, posters, buses, and I even got TONS of texts from all of the candidates. They were all in hangul, but I have a handy little translation app so I could figure out what they were saying. Oh, and trucks with dancers on the roads! The week of the election there were trucks driving around with people dancing on them and music blaring with their candidate's name on a sign. Anyway, Park Geun-Hye won this election, and she can stay in office for 6 years and that's it. There is no chance for a second term. I think that is brilliant.
Remember how I've mentioned that Koreans seem to like my kids? I've had friends on Facebook say the same thing happened to them when they were living here, and it doesn't seem to be limited to just fair-skinned light-haired kids. I have to assume it's just foreign kids? Anyway, things haven't changed in that area. We always get people talking to the kids, and wanting to sit near them on the subway, and whenever they use their few words of Korean (they have around 5 I think) people just freak the heck out. I didn't get to witness the latest episode of Korean Talbot-Kid Madness because I was home with a sick Lillie, but David called to tell me about it. He and the kids were on the subway with our friends Nick and Lauren, and there was an ajeossi (older man) who was clearly enthralled with Reagan. He was smiling and waving and talking to her, but she wasn't really responding, which is weird for her. Normally she's practically in performance mode. Anyway, this guy sat down across from Reagan and Nick, started talking to another man, and eventually leaned across the aisle and tried to give Ray some money! We have no idea why. David's theory is that since she was only wearing one mitten, he was offering cash so she could buy another one. :)
That leads me to another thought - adjimas (older women) have no problem yelling at me. I've been yelled at for Reagan not wearing long enough pants, for her not wearing her mittens, and an adjima actually physically took Reagan's thumb out of her mouth once. I don't let it upset me because I know this is their culture, but man it's weird! It occurs to me that Reagan gets a lot of notice - it's just because she's the one that is with me most of the time. The other two are in school so Ray will go wandering around town with me, which means she is the one that gets all the love/reprimands from the adjimas and ajeossis.
On to picture time! First off, here's one for you Sheyann. This is a typical table at a Korean restaurant. This is in front of a shop down the road from us. You sit around it, the waiters bring you food and barbecue it for you on your table, and there's usually a little button on your table so you can call them back if you need them. Otherwise the staff pretty much leaves you alone. It's nice.
Lillie and Reagan have both been coughing a lot lately, so we have done the Korean thing and bought them masks. These are disposable, and have pictures of "Dibo, the gift-giving dragon" on them.
It snowed a TON this weekend, and we noticed dozens of snowmen around town. They weren't made by only kids, either! David and I saw this one being built by a guy in his early 20s outside the subway station near our apartment. I love the face!
And finally, here is a picture of our Christmas tree. We didn't pack our fake tree, and we didn't want to spend a lot of money on something we wouldn't be bringing back to the states in a couple of years, so we found a pretty inexpensive vinyl stick-on tree. :) All the ornaments and candy canes are removable, and so is the star (perched all gravity-defyingly atop the tree by David), and the kids loved "putting up the tree" this year.
Hope you all had a great Christmas, and were able to give everything you wanted to!
Love it! Just love it! I completely love the "only campaign for 30 days before elections" the absolute most. Oh, how would THAT be? So nice! And who's the genius that put a button on the table for service? Nobel Peace Prize, especially if they serve meat! :) I would have a really hard time with people yelling at me about my kids though, I'd be crying non-stop. I do get why they make a big deal over Reagan, have you SEEN her? Regulation cutie ten times over! :) Give them hugs for me. :)
ReplyDeleteWow! What an education. I would love seeing all of those new things. But I'm kind of like Sheyann about my kids. In LA, the old Jewish grandmothers in the park would shake their fingers and scold me if Sid & Scott weren't bundled in multiple layers year round because that cold air (ya know, 60 degrees) was going to give them colds! I would usually just smile & walk away, but I think if someone had pulled a thumb out of one of their mouths, I would have lost it. You're a good woman!
ReplyDeleteI'd probably get arrested the first week for yelling at some adjima.
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