Birthday Cake and Kimchi

Birthday Cake and Kimchi

Characters from KakaoTalk (a Korean texting app) 

It`s been far too long since my last update! I guess I could use the excuse that it`s been crazy-busy, but that feels like copping out. Let me instead fill you in with all the juicy details:

My BIG EVENT that`s happened: I went to South Korea for one week for work. The first three days I stayed in Seoul with a host family. As I`m often reminded, host families are the bomb! Mine consisted of my Oma (mom), Apa (dad), nam-dong-saeng (little brother), and yuh-dong-saeng (little sister). My little sister`s name is Yu-Bin, and both she and her brother will be traveling to Wisconsin this summer for one-month homestays with 4-H! Yu-Bin and I were able to spend a lot of time together. Her brother is currently living at his high school dorm, so I was only able to see him briefly. But connecting with Yu-Bin was one of the most special parts of my time there. She is 16 years old, but I could still talk with her quite easily. Her English is excellent, but more than that, she comes off as a very thoughtful, genuine, and enthusiastic person. I think she`s going to have a great time in Wisconsin this summer!

My host family in Seoul, pre-norebang (karaoke)

Seoul is a fascinating city. Traveling from one giant metropolis to another, you`d think the similarities would be overwhelming. However, the differences were striking. Seoul is situated around the Han River. Space is utilized differently than Tokyo, where almost every area feels carefully planned, like a sort of urban Tetris. In some ways, it also feels like that in Seoul--evidenced by the abundance of towering apartment complexes (allowable by the fact that there are no earthquakes in South Korea). And yet, roads feel more "American," (as in wide, not to mention, on the right side). Houses can appear more spacious, and the division between city and country seemed clearer.

The Korea 4-H Office is near my host
family`s home. Of course I had to visit!

After Seoul, I headed two hours south on the KTX (Korea`s bullet train) to the city of Daegu. Daegu is a big hub of the southern part of the country. There I stayed at the home of the adult chaperone who is headed to Wisconsin this summer. She was very kind and welcoming, and I enjoyed spending time with her and other Hippo fellows in the city. Daegu uses a slightly different dialect than Seoul, and I was pleased to be able to pick up on some different intonations and mannerisms, even with my untrained ears. I suppose since I`m used to listening carefully to Japanese, I have become attuned to the rhythms and cadence of languages other than my own. Multilingual environments, gotta love `em!

My last two days in South Korea were spent at a Hippo Camp held near Daegu. There, members prepared for upcoming homestays. Some will head to Taiwan, others to the yearlong program in Japan. Ten are headed to Wisconsin, through WI 4-H! I loved getting to share tips and advice from my past experience working as a WI 4-H International Programs Assistant. I was also lucky to reunite with members who had come to Wisconsin last summer! It`s a small Hippo/4-H world.

SO MANY SIDE DISHES

Now, my impressions of South Korea. It was only a week, the time flew by, but I was able to observe and gather a few thoughts. First, Korean food is even more delicious than I had ever believed. Like...so good (feel free to read that in a valley girl voice). Lots of veggies, pickled side dishes, rice, and of course, kimchi. I had seafood, but it seemed less prevalent than in Japan. All parts of the animal are used, organs, bones (beef bone soup is delicious). I saw a stall selling pig head soup. Coffee shops are EVERYWHERE (I drank so many yummy lattes). Spice is definitely a trait of lots of dishes, but everything I ate had a perfectly tolerable heat. My favorite dishes were samgyetang (a chicken, ginseng rice porridge), jeonbokjuk (abalone rice porridge we ate for breakfast...I obviously have a thing for savory rice porridge), jjimdak (steamed chicken in a spicy sauce), and samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly wrapped in fresh lettuce and served with a spicy, miso-like sauce). Korea...I`ll be back for seconds.

Seoul: apartment complexes loom over vegetable gardens

Peoples` mannerisms are certainly different from Japanese and Americans. Of course, personalities differ on a person-to-person basis, but overall straightforwardness seemed to be more acceptable than it is in Japan. I spent a lot of time with middle-aged women, and they appeared comfortable with having less personal space. I was on the receiving end of lots of friendly touches. When I converse with Japanese people they usually give a pretty wide berth of personal space, the same with Americans. My interactions in Korea weren`t uncomfortable for me, just notably different.

The group headed to WI this summer

Of course, Hippo activities held a lot of constants. We still played games, mimicked the language CDs, and members were open-minded and excited to learn about different cultures. Seeing the same activities play out in a different environment was a mind-bending bit of fun.

Hippo fellows in Seoul

I`m really grateful that Hippo has allowed me this special opportunity! I know I`ll head back sometime soon, there`s just too many things to do, and so many more friends to make!

So, you may have been wondering why today`s title is "Birthday Cake and Kimchi?" Well...last week, I had my birthday! And, as my current host dad says, kimchi goes with everything...even cake (we agree to disagree). Before you ask...I turned 23 (darn! All my milestone birthdays have already passed). This year was an especially wonderful birthday celebration, for a multitude of reasons.

Hippo members arranged for my friends and
I to try on kimonos and traditional wear.

First, two of my best friends from the United States were visiting. It was a much-anticipated reunion, and it felt incredibly special to share my daily life in Tokyo with them. I was amazed with the outpouring of love I received this year for my birthday. So many Hippo friends sent me well wishes and congratulations. Not to mention I received FOUR birthday cakes! Cake is truly the way to my heart...I was so happily surprised. Getting to share that day with friends and family from here and back home...now that is something I will always cherish!

As always, thanks for reading, and tune in next time!