Julie continues as our host for November... And this week's challenge is... the one I wrote last week! Scroll down to read what I think we'll be eating on Thanksgiving Day.
For this week though, I wondered about our Thanksgiving logistics. See, I never know exactly WHAT'S going to happen. Will we be at my parents' place? My brother-in-law's? Or will people converge on my house? This question seems to go unanswered until the last minute every year. It's kind of frustrating because there's not much time for me to prepare.
November is the busiest time of year for me. We're getting ready for a pledge drive at work. The Nielsen Reports are due. And I'm usually falling way behind on my NaNoWriMo novel by then...
Heck... I've already fallen way behind.
If you want some ideas for what to make for Thanksgiving, go visit Julie and see what other participants are cooking up!
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Wedding Day - October 30, 2010
The day finally arrived. Wedding day!!! Dawon and Matt had to go do makeup and hair, so James and I were on our own until around noon. We got up and did the sequence of events that had now become our routine: Down to the restaurant for buffet breakfast (omelets are pretty amazing, but then it all is), then back behind the hotel to the Caffe Bene for cup of coffee and a little online time. While we were online, Matt messaged us that Uncle would pick us up at noon, so we didn't have to worry bout taxi or subway carrying my hanbok.
After returning to our room to shower and groom, we went downstairs to wait for Uncle. We weren't sure what we were looking for - would he drive right up or park and come in? What car was he driving? Questions were answered when a black sedan pulled up on the sidewalk and Aunt got out wearing her beautiful blue and yellow hanbok. Kind of hard to miss, actually. James and I got in and we whipped down the road.
I have to say something about Seoul traffic here. It's crazy. People are switching lanes and running up behind each other - gas, brake, gas, brake with nothing in between. If the light is with you, pedestrians supposedly have the right of way, but more than once I've seen drivers just blow right through. Motorcycles are especially bad about this. But the reason I wanted to say something about traffic here is that Uncle used the U-Turn lane. I've never seen such a thing. If you are in this lane and the light turns, you're able to do a u-turn from wherever you are in the lane. To see the light change and all these cars just suddenly turn around like they'd forgotten something was a truly strange sight, but because of the way the traffic flows, if you need to go the other way, this is how it is done. And it makes a strange kind of sense.
Anyway, Uncle took us right up to the gate of Hanok, dropped us off and left to park the car. James, Aunt and I climbed the hill into the village and went to the house Dawon had taken us to the day before. Shoes are not worn on wood floors, so off they came and into the house we went. James went one way to join the groom; I joined the bride and the aunts to get dressed. It was a small room, but somehow it worked. Eventually, we all emerged dressed in our Korean finery.
There was an empty seat next to mine, which I suspect was supposed to be James', but no one ever told him how to get there. Hangsoon sat next to Uncle, who had assumed the Father role in this family long time ago.
I'm not sure exactly what I can tell you about the wedding other than it was beautiful. It was all in Korean and the explanations of the preacher were way above my head. But I can tell you what I saw. The altar, in addition to the candles, held four plates of food on each side. Three that appeared to be fruit and one of rice cakes. Below the table were two bound chickens (not real, stuffed).
There was some kind of homily, during which the preacher commented to Matt being a BIG megook (white man) and Dawon being a very small person, but that they could overcome their differences for love. Or something like that. I remember "megoook" brought a wave of laughter from the audience (including the tourists who were walking through and around the ceremony the whole time).
There was some confusion in my mind as to what to do next. Dawon had said I was to wear my hanbok to the lunch, but the Aunts said no, I was to wear my regular clothes. The Aunts won out but by the time they did, the next wedding party was preparing for their ceremony and had strangers in their dressing room disrobing. It was a little surreal.
The view was spectacular!!! My vertigo kicked in a little everytime I got near the glass and icy and hot streaks would race up and down my legs (the typical symptom for me), but I did it anyway. We walked all the way around, finding our hotel and speculating on where the palace might be. After looking our fill, we got back in line for the elevator down.
After returning to our room to shower and groom, we went downstairs to wait for Uncle. We weren't sure what we were looking for - would he drive right up or park and come in? What car was he driving? Questions were answered when a black sedan pulled up on the sidewalk and Aunt got out wearing her beautiful blue and yellow hanbok. Kind of hard to miss, actually. James and I got in and we whipped down the road.
I have to say something about Seoul traffic here. It's crazy. People are switching lanes and running up behind each other - gas, brake, gas, brake with nothing in between. If the light is with you, pedestrians supposedly have the right of way, but more than once I've seen drivers just blow right through. Motorcycles are especially bad about this. But the reason I wanted to say something about traffic here is that Uncle used the U-Turn lane. I've never seen such a thing. If you are in this lane and the light turns, you're able to do a u-turn from wherever you are in the lane. To see the light change and all these cars just suddenly turn around like they'd forgotten something was a truly strange sight, but because of the way the traffic flows, if you need to go the other way, this is how it is done. And it makes a strange kind of sense.
Anyway, Uncle took us right up to the gate of Hanok, dropped us off and left to park the car. James, Aunt and I climbed the hill into the village and went to the house Dawon had taken us to the day before. Shoes are not worn on wood floors, so off they came and into the house we went. James went one way to join the groom; I joined the bride and the aunts to get dressed. It was a small room, but somehow it worked. Eventually, we all emerged dressed in our Korean finery.
There was an empty seat next to mine, which I suspect was supposed to be James', but no one ever told him how to get there. Hangsoon sat next to Uncle, who had assumed the Father role in this family long time ago.
I'm not sure exactly what I can tell you about the wedding other than it was beautiful. It was all in Korean and the explanations of the preacher were way above my head. But I can tell you what I saw. The altar, in addition to the candles, held four plates of food on each side. Three that appeared to be fruit and one of rice cakes. Below the table were two bound chickens (not real, stuffed).
Dawon and Matt had attendants on either side of the altar who stayed with them as they went through an elaborate bowing ritual and food eating.
There was some kind of homily, during which the preacher commented to Matt being a BIG megook (white man) and Dawon being a very small person, but that they could overcome their differences for love. Or something like that. I remember "megoook" brought a wave of laughter from the audience (including the tourists who were walking through and around the ceremony the whole time).
Finally, Matt and Dawon walked towards each other and stood together looking out at the audience with their atttendants. And it ended. I'm not sure exactly how it did, but it was just suddenly over, and people were swarming them and the family with congratulations. It was hard to take a picture of Hangsoon because she is very tiny and was surrounded by people much of the time.
And then, just like in America - it was picture time. This seemed to go on forever and you could see Dawon getting tired. Her outfit was cumbersome, heavy and hot. I don't think Matt's had as many layers and neither did mine nor James'. But Dawon's had many layers! The photographers and videographers directed people in and out and couldn't seem to make up their minds what to do with James, who was obviously part of the wedding party but his role was not clear to them (or us, actually). I'm sure he made it into some of the pictures, but which ones, we dont' know.
And then, just like in America - it was picture time. This seemed to go on forever and you could see Dawon getting tired. Her outfit was cumbersome, heavy and hot. I don't think Matt's had as many layers and neither did mine nor James'. But Dawon's had many layers! The photographers and videographers directed people in and out and couldn't seem to make up their minds what to do with James, who was obviously part of the wedding party but his role was not clear to them (or us, actually). I'm sure he made it into some of the pictures, but which ones, we dont' know.
There was some confusion in my mind as to what to do next. Dawon had said I was to wear my hanbok to the lunch, but the Aunts said no, I was to wear my regular clothes. The Aunts won out but by the time they did, the next wedding party was preparing for their ceremony and had strangers in their dressing room disrobing. It was a little surreal.
Back in our civilian clothes, we joined Matt and Dawon and some other family members and walked to the restaurant across the street where there was a huge room laid out in low tables with cushions on the floor. Now I'm very glad I was in my regular clothes because I could not bend in hanbok and this definitely required bending! The meal was amazing and Uncle introduced James to Soju - deceptively benign-tasting but very potent alcoholic drink. I did not partake because I really don't care for alcohol and because I wasn't sure what would happen to my glucose levels if I did. James, being a very big and tall guy, handled it very well, while the smaller people got very happy very quickly. The meal was delicious and huge. And after while, people just started drifting away.
James and I rode to the wedding-night hotel with Dawon's cousin and his family (I think they're cousins, but am not sure). Matt and Dawon rode in front, James and I squished into the middle seat, and the wife and two little children rode in the third seat.
After Matt and Dawon checked in, we all rode up to the room - beautiful one with a gorgeous view! We hung out there for a while, waiting for Dawon's shoes to arrive, then set out to find dinner. It was just me and James and the happy couple. After a little debate, we caught taxi and went to N Seoul Tower, a very popular place on a Saturday night!
When Matt and Dawon decided they were committed to each other, they went up to the tower and affixed two locks to the fence. This is a ritual among the lovebirds in Korea and the long, somewhat windy fence was absolutely covered in them. Apparently when it gets too full, someone comes along and cuts off the locks and it starts all over again. Because of the periodic removal, they weren't sure they'd be able to find their locks again, but after a brief search, they did find them! What we didn't find was dinner. However, after the rather arduous climb (45 degree angle for the last 1/4 mile to the tower - no taxi), we decided to go up into the tower and see Seoul from above at night. Tickets were bought and a rather long wait ensued. We had numbers, so we could wander around looking at various things while we waited, checking back periodically to see where we were in the line. Finally, it was our turn to join yet another line to ride the elevator. I'm not good at lines, but this one was worth the wait.
The view was spectacular!!! My vertigo kicked in a little everytime I got near the glass and icy and hot streaks would race up and down my legs (the typical symptom for me), but I did it anyway. We walked all the way around, finding our hotel and speculating on where the palace might be. After looking our fill, we got back in line for the elevator down.
And still the question: Where to have dinner? We wound up at a place across from their hotel called "The Grill", which served grilled steaks. I'm not a steak eater, but I did get lamb chops, which were nearly divine they were so good. Everyone else got some version of steak and potato and we shared sides of creamed spinach and salad.
Too full to move (again), we emerged from the restaurant, hailed a taxi and said goodbye to the newlyweds. They wandered off towards their hotel, and after a wild ride on Saturday night, James and I finally arrived back at our hotel, where we collapsed into bed and were rendered unconscious for the next 6-8 hours.
Too full to move (again), we emerged from the restaurant, hailed a taxi and said goodbye to the newlyweds. They wandered off towards their hotel, and after a wild ride on Saturday night, James and I finally arrived back at our hotel, where we collapsed into bed and were rendered unconscious for the next 6-8 hours.
Thursday, November 04, 2010
NaNoWriMo 2010
See that little widget I've added to my sidebar? It identifies me as a participant in this year's National Novel Writing Month exercise. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a crazy exercise designed to make all wanna-be writers think they're nuts. The goal is to write a novel 50,000 words in length during the month of November. 30 days. To write a novel.
Sounds crazy, doesn't it?
Well... I've actually pulled it off once. And have two other partial novels still to be completed. And I'm doing it again this year. Only this year, i was in Korea when it started and have been suffering jet lag ever since I got back. So if you look closely, that widget also says I have 0 words. Yeah. Nil. Nada. Not a one.
Which means that if I'm going to win this year (and by win, I mean feel the satisfaction of actually having accomplished this) I need to get crackin'. Soon. I'm way behind.
Sounds crazy, doesn't it?
Well... I've actually pulled it off once. And have two other partial novels still to be completed. And I'm doing it again this year. Only this year, i was in Korea when it started and have been suffering jet lag ever since I got back. So if you look closely, that widget also says I have 0 words. Yeah. Nil. Nada. Not a one.
Which means that if I'm going to win this year (and by win, I mean feel the satisfaction of actually having accomplished this) I need to get crackin'. Soon. I'm way behind.
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Routine
While in Korea, our days began to take on a certain rhythm. James and I shared a hotel room that contained a full size and a twin sized bed. I took the twin, which was closer to the open window. Several times a night, I would get up and go look out that window, looking at a city that was always awake to one degree or another. Traffic silence is rare but it made good white noise for sleeping.
Each morning, we would get up, dress, and head down for breakfast. Uncle provided the room and also provided coupons for breakfast every morning we are here. The breakfast buffet spread is amazing. In addition to the omelet station where a chef makes them individually and in a way I've never seen and probably can't describe, there are tables of cereal, fruit, tofu, fish, green beans, soup, french toast, rice with vegetables, ham and bacon, bread and french fries. Bacon is a premium food here. If it's up on the buffet, people swarm to scarf it up and the kitchen probably spends half its time making more! James and I usually eat a very large breakfast, which fuels us for much of the day. Lunch doesn't seem to happen much before 2-3 pm, and dinner is late, somewhere between 8 and 9. So we eat well in the morning because we know the day will be full of walking and stairs.
Afterwards, we go to the Caffe Bene, a coffee shop behind the hotel that offers free wi-fi so we can commune with our family and friends back home. After about an hour of that, Matt and Dawon show up and our daily adventure begins!
While there are a lot of cars whizzing around Seoul, the vast majority of the inhabitants here ride the subway, walk, or for trips outside of town to nearby villages, the bus. We took a bus from the airport, which isn't in Seoul, but rather in Incheon. We will take a bus back as well. But while in Seoul, it's the subway and/or your feet. You would not believe the subway. It's so clean. So quiet. Very little talking. The seats are fairly comfortable for sometimes-long rides. The transfers are easy. The only thing NOT easy about the subway is all the stairs. My legs have ached constantly since we arrived from going up and down the stairs. At the end of the day, when I have to climb the front stairs of the hotel, I have to keep myself from dropping down on all fours and crawling up them.
The subway's not the only place with stairs... Rarely is there a shop or restaurant that you don't have to climb two or three sets of stairs to get into. Even the grocery stores are three or four stories with narrow stairs to get from floor to floor! If I wasn't being fed seemingly at every turn, I probably could have lost 20 pounds this week just from walking and riding the subway!
Fed at every turn... not really. It's just that the three meals we do eat are so impressive and there's always a lot of it! And it takes a long time to eat them, using chopsticks as we do (which isn't terribly well and slows the meal down even more). Just when you think you are done, another bowl of something comes out. The food is delicious! I have avoided the octopus and squid, but everything else I've been offered, I've tried and it's yummy!
Then after a day of sightseeing and dinner, we head back to our hotel room and collapse. Well, I do. James went out a few times on his own to explore (being much more subway savvy than me, he knew he'd find his way back) while I put my feet up, drank a cup of tea and read or watched TV. Armed Forces Television has American shows - most of which I've never seen. I am now hooked on Dexter and some show about lying (another crime-type show) but I can't seem to remember the name of it. We've also enjoyed some of the talent shows and the Korean soap operas which need no translation... Soaps are pretty much the same everywhere. You don't need to understand the dialogue to know what's going on!
And that's pretty much our days here. It's a good pattern for visiting I think!
Each morning, we would get up, dress, and head down for breakfast. Uncle provided the room and also provided coupons for breakfast every morning we are here. The breakfast buffet spread is amazing. In addition to the omelet station where a chef makes them individually and in a way I've never seen and probably can't describe, there are tables of cereal, fruit, tofu, fish, green beans, soup, french toast, rice with vegetables, ham and bacon, bread and french fries. Bacon is a premium food here. If it's up on the buffet, people swarm to scarf it up and the kitchen probably spends half its time making more! James and I usually eat a very large breakfast, which fuels us for much of the day. Lunch doesn't seem to happen much before 2-3 pm, and dinner is late, somewhere between 8 and 9. So we eat well in the morning because we know the day will be full of walking and stairs.
Afterwards, we go to the Caffe Bene, a coffee shop behind the hotel that offers free wi-fi so we can commune with our family and friends back home. After about an hour of that, Matt and Dawon show up and our daily adventure begins!
While there are a lot of cars whizzing around Seoul, the vast majority of the inhabitants here ride the subway, walk, or for trips outside of town to nearby villages, the bus. We took a bus from the airport, which isn't in Seoul, but rather in Incheon. We will take a bus back as well. But while in Seoul, it's the subway and/or your feet. You would not believe the subway. It's so clean. So quiet. Very little talking. The seats are fairly comfortable for sometimes-long rides. The transfers are easy. The only thing NOT easy about the subway is all the stairs. My legs have ached constantly since we arrived from going up and down the stairs. At the end of the day, when I have to climb the front stairs of the hotel, I have to keep myself from dropping down on all fours and crawling up them.
The subway's not the only place with stairs... Rarely is there a shop or restaurant that you don't have to climb two or three sets of stairs to get into. Even the grocery stores are three or four stories with narrow stairs to get from floor to floor! If I wasn't being fed seemingly at every turn, I probably could have lost 20 pounds this week just from walking and riding the subway!
Fed at every turn... not really. It's just that the three meals we do eat are so impressive and there's always a lot of it! And it takes a long time to eat them, using chopsticks as we do (which isn't terribly well and slows the meal down even more). Just when you think you are done, another bowl of something comes out. The food is delicious! I have avoided the octopus and squid, but everything else I've been offered, I've tried and it's yummy!
Then after a day of sightseeing and dinner, we head back to our hotel room and collapse. Well, I do. James went out a few times on his own to explore (being much more subway savvy than me, he knew he'd find his way back) while I put my feet up, drank a cup of tea and read or watched TV. Armed Forces Television has American shows - most of which I've never seen. I am now hooked on Dexter and some show about lying (another crime-type show) but I can't seem to remember the name of it. We've also enjoyed some of the talent shows and the Korean soap operas which need no translation... Soaps are pretty much the same everywhere. You don't need to understand the dialogue to know what's going on!
And that's pretty much our days here. It's a good pattern for visiting I think!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)