European Hat Trick

So I hadn't been back to Europe since high school, yet in this one year, 16 years later, I managed to go to Europe three times! Spain in May, London in July, and now this vacation! On this adventure I'll be in Amsterdam, Belgium, and then meeting friends in Paris. All spanning two weeks on my mini-Sabbatical!

I woke up this morning and made it to my gym class. My nephew and I had H&H bagels with lox and he walked me to the subway. I didn't have to wait for the 6, E, or AirTrain trains. I was at my gate in record time - under 90 minutes door to door. 

I transfer in DC to go to Amsterdam. I originally needed about 200 miles to make Silver and it was cheaper to take this flight. Who knew I was going to squeeze in a last minute trip to Korea, which now makes the DC layover moot. 

Nonetheless, I have 2 weeks to explore and relax in Europe. I've never done such little research for a trip - the last 3 months have been hectic, emotional, and a whirlwind. But I think this is good for me to travel a bit unplanned, as the world is literally my oyster!

Here's a rough map of my European vacation!

Korea Pictures!

Here are a smattering of pictures, not captioned or organized. If you're not my parents, you probably don't want to peruse them all and if you followed the blog, the collages summarize the trip nicely.

But in case you're interested, here's the link of 233 photos!

24 Hour Layover in the UES

I woke up around 6 am to get ready to go the airport. With some maneuvering I was able to fit everything in my suitcase - I sat on my suitcase while Junghae (정혜) zipped it shut! My aunt insisted I eat breakfast before leaving and I got to have 1 more home cooked meal. Junghae (정혜) then took me to the airport bus stop which was about 2 minutes away. The airport buses are plentiful and depart every 15 minutes, so most people take the bus. 

After the 1 hour bus ride, the airport was pretty empty so I zipped through security and customs. I ended up buying some traditional Korean tea mugs with cranes for my new bosses. I figured they are waiting 6 weeks for me to start, they might enjoy the souvenir. I looked for jade turtles which I had bought for colleagues last time, but couldn't find any. 

I transferred in Detroit and my mom picked me up from Newark. We caught up and I gave her the various gifts I received. Although she follows the blog diligently, she asks me questions about things I don't put in the blog... 

I made it to hot yoga tonight and tried to Skype with my Sunday school student, so he can be prepared for his Confirmation which is the day after my arrival from Europe.  

My 24 hour layover was packed with errands and organizing, but it was nice to layover in my Upper East Side apt. I was also greeted by my nephew who came down from Boston to welcome me to the U.S.!

A Stroll Down Memory Lane (Literally)

At the suggestion of my aunt, I made my way back to her apartment today and we drove about an hour to Incheon to see my eldest cousin's family on my father's side. My cousins are Yeonho (연호) and Yeonkuk (연국). I also met with Yeonho's (연호) family, including his son Yuejae (의재) and Hari (하리) who are about 13 and 11, respectively. We enjoyed some fruit and caught up on old times. It was fun to chat with them, as in their memories, I'm still about 11. Here are a few pictures:

We drove back with little traffic luckily and I met Junghae's (정혜) family and Taeseung (태승) for dinner. We made our way to Samsung town which is underneath the Samsung corporate complex and has a bunch of restaurants. We ate at a delicious sushi restaurant before Taeseung (태승) had to run off to a 40 and over basketball league. It's unbelievable that we're all getting so much older, myself included! A few pictures of our fancy sushi experience: 

While Heeyoung (희영), Junghae's (정혜) husband dropped off their son back at the apartment, Junghae (정혜) and I headed over to our 2nd uncle's house. I had originally planned to eat dinner with my 3rd uncle on my dad's side tonight, and when that got cancelled, I decided I wanted to see my 2nd uncle one more time. 

This ended up being a great idea, because he was not only in good spirits, but it was a bit hectic on Sunday. It was enjoyable to chat with him more personally as he asked really sweet questions and was an attentive listener. He also enjoyed seeing pictures of us all out on the town last night. He was instrumental in bringing us all together as well as keeping us in line when we were growing up - this has led to our generation being so close and like friends. Junghae (정혜) managed to take a quick candid of our chat:

Afterwards, we met Heeyoung (희영) at a dive-y bar in Gangnam. These new parents of 2 little ones were excited to be out on a school night!

We then decided it would be fun to visit our grandmother's apartment which was only about a 10 minute bus ride away. There has been so much re-development that from the street, you cannot even recognize the old complex. At my grandmother's apartment, where she lived for over 10 years, the family used to gather, eat, and laugh. It's also really old considering the super modern high rises and Seoul real estate boom. The address is seared in my memory: building 23, apartment 901. We had fun taking pictures quietly (as it was around midnight) and taking in the same views. The open balcony looked out to the Han river and the parking lots were packed with double parked cars. We used to throw water balloons off the balcony and the window and doors would be wide open during the stifling summer, as the breeze was amazing. Here are a few night photos of our stroll:

This whole trip has literally been a stroll down memory lane - fun stories and anecdotes as I cherish my childhood and my annual trips to Korea. I have my family to thank for then and now, as each time I remember as well as make new memories. My parents were truly generous as they prioritized this for me and my brother. I plan to continue to pay it forward as my family comes to visit us in New York - it's clearly not the same, but it's the least I can do!

Priceless

After a busy day of family visits, I spent Tuesday in comfort. I slept in and spent the day with Junghae (정혜) who works part-time. My cousins, Dong-hee (동희) and Sangnim (상님) came over for lunch. The original plan was to go out, but my aunt wanted to make Naeng-myun (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naengmyeon). 

What was truly special was that she wanted to make it the way my grandmother's longtime caretaker use to make it who was an excellent cook. She used kimchi broth and included pork slices. So my aunt prepared the pork as well as mungbean pancakes, called bindaetteok (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bindaetteok). She made the pancakes for 3 hours on Sunday night as she thought I would want to eat comfort food. Truly priceless and special! A collage of the lunch below:

My 2nd aunt stopped by as well and we chatted for awhile. The plan was for us girls to enjoy the afternoon in the city, but we ended up hanging around the apartment and chatting. My cousin Taelim (태림) came and picked us up late afternoon and we started driving around the city. We went to the center of the city and just chatted the whole way. We finally decided to walk around Bukcheon (북촌), a charming area - we did the walking tour through the old-fashioned houses and passed by cute shops. Here are a few pictures of the sunset stroll:

Afterwards, we drove by the Blue House, the presidential residence and made our way to Skyway - a park famous for couple walks. We were trying to kill time for our cousin Taesu (태수) who was still at work. A few pictures below:

We met him in Ahnguk (안국) where we had dinner. We had stuffed squid which was made to look like sausage, oysters, and drank makgeolli (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makgeolli). 

Instead of returning home to their respective families, my cousins decided we should go to Gangnam to drink and eat some more. For some odd reason, there were 24 hour hair salons everywhere - so I said we should all get drunken haircuts! My cousin explained since so many women work in this neighborhood and party here, that's why there are so many hair salons. Here's a picture of us drinking soju and sake in the dark booth of an Izakaya restaurant:

We chatted the night away sharing memorable and funny stories. I forget how wonderfully witty and sharp sense of humor my family has - it can be tough keeping up when Korean is your 2nd language. Nonetheless, the whole day was leisurely, comfortable, and wonderfully priceless! 

All in One Day

After a few days with my maternal side, I made plans to see my father's side of the family who live in Seoul. 

I had breakfast with Junghae (정혜) and then she walked me to the subway. I had to reorient myself, but did okay. The subway system here is clear and very efficient. I took Line 3 to the apartment of my dad's youngest sister. 

From here, we had plans to visit with my other aunt the gravesite of my paternal grandparents, similar to my day yesterday. However, we did not perform the same ceremonies with the incense, candles, and rice wine. We did perform the 2.5 bows and left flowers for my great grandparents, grandparents, and my first uncle. My grandparents passed when I was in high school and my uncle when I was in college. Here's a collage with my aunts including a selfie:

We had a lot of laughs as my aunt still insists on using a film camera and had trouble working my iPhone. We snacked and rested at the gravesite as you have to walk up a steep hill. The other news of the day is that in the middle of it all, I got stung by a bee. Man, it kills! My aunt's thermos that she brought for tea, had flowers on it and the bee was resting on it when I tried to carry it for my aunt. 

After driving back to Seoul, we had a late lunch of donkatsu or Japanese pork cutlets. Then my aunt dropped me off at Junghae's (정혜). I took a nap and then headed out again via subway to my 4th uncle's house - my dad's youngest brother. 

We sat and talked for hours. My cousin lives in the building next door, but was working late. However, his cute kids came over to meet me and got to practice their English. Grace or 은서 is 8 and Leo or 은재 is 5 years old and here are a few pictures:

As I swung back through the city, I made a quick stop at my 3rd Uncle's. We had plans to have dinner on Wednesday, but since he had moved recently back to Korea from Vancouver, he learned that his furniture was arriving Wednesday from Canada and it would be too hectic. I stopped in for some fruit and a lot of walks down memory lane. 

Finally, my last stop of the day was to see my first aunt, the wife of my eldest uncle. I had wanted to see her a different day as well, but she had plans to be away the rest of the week. Here I had more fruit and caught up with my youngest cousin, Yoonhae (윤혜). She's a piano teacher and has grown so much. Here's our cousin selfie:

After a long day of visiting relatives, I took a cab back to Junghae's (정혜). I was exhausted, but I saw every single one of my dad's siblings all in one day. My mom is the 2nd youngest of 8, while my dad is the 2nd oldest of 6. Indeed it is important to remember the cardinal numbers. When I went to Singapore to visit my friend Olive's family, she was surprised I could keep track the age order of her many uncles. I told her I had a lot of practice growing up! 

So all 5 in one day with many trips down memory lane!

Paying Respect

This morning, the agenda for the day was to visit my maternal grandmother's gravesite and pay respect to the elders. This is done commonly at New Years, Korean Thanksgiving, or the anniversary of the death. I hadn't been here since my grandmother's funeral in 2000 and I thought it was important to pay my respects, especially as I was starting a new journey and career this year. My grandmother was incredibly kind and my memories of Korea are filled with her laughter and escorting her to 6 am masses (very easy when you're jet-lagged).

I had remembered visiting the gravesite during my childhood when we visited my grandfather who passed in 1981. Our family owns land where we can provide traditional burial sites for our family. I had remembered this being hours away, long car rides in traffic, and having to get out and push the minivans alongside my cousins when they got stuck in the mud and unpaved roads. But due to recent developments and highways, it only took about 30 minutes and was a much easier drive. 

We brought Taesoon's (태순) son, Yoon-sik (윤식) who was dressed with a little pizazz and had fun running around:

First, we visited the gravesite of my great grandparents:

We also visited my great uncle and his wife:

And most importantly, my grandfather and grandmother:

My cousin Tae-su (태수) joined us as well with his son Jae-sik (재식) who were pros on the ceremonial setup and processes (here's a link to explain more about Korean ancestral worship: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesa). This included for us taking turns at 2 full bows, then a half bow, lighting incense, and offerings of rice wine as pictured below. Since we're also Catholic, we prayed the Our Father as well as the Hail Mary. 

Also, here's a picture collage of my grandparents' tombstone - you can see that all the relatives' and descendants' Chinese names are included. Indeed, I said Chinese and not Korean as most names have Chinese roots or origins. I often explain Chinese as the "Latin of Asia" where the erudite and elite could read and write Chinese until the Korean alphabet was created (for more history: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanja) 

Side note: Of my generation, my name is the only one missing as I was not yet born when my grandfather had passed in 1981 - I was in utero and missed meeting him by about 5 months. 

Afterwards, we had lunched at my 4th uncle's house where my 4th aunt prepared Korean BBQ. It was indeed a treat as she is known for being one of the best cooks in the family. 

I had planned Sunday to not only visit the ancestral gravesites, but also to see my 2nd uncle. He has been suffering from MDS also known as Myelodysplastic syndrome (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myelodysplastic_syndrome) for the past several years. Considered by most as one of the most generous and kindest of our family members, it has created a lot of heartache in our family as he has been like a father to many, including my mother (they are about 10 years apart). It was refreshing and surprising to hear him say, "the American has arrived" when he saw me! That was his usual greeting every summer and it brought a huge smile to my face as it felt like he was his old self. 

Another surprise was my 3rd uncle and aunt who came to visit, along with several cousins. Considering there isn't a place big enough for all of us to gather, many of my relatives have been conferring my whereabouts through conversations and texts! Again, I'm touched by everyone's efforts during their busy schedules!

For dinner, we ordered and all ate Chinese food pictured below. It always amazes me that in Korea, takeout is delivered in plastic dishes where the delivery guy will return to pick them up after you've eaten - very environmentally conscious and economical. 

We all enjoyed each other's company by FaceTiming with my mom and playing with the little kids. My cousin, Taesoon (태순) who had been my weekend host returned home to Bundang (분당) and I now transferred to my Seoul hosts. I'll definitely miss his family's hospitality and this little guy who is quick and well trained by my cousin. If you can understand Korean, it's pretty impressive at the age of 2 his speaking abilities. 

Translation:

Me: Who am I? 

Response: Aunt

Me: Where am I from? 

Response: America

Me: How do you greet someone like me? 

Response: "Hi"

For the rest of the week, I'm being hosted in Seoul by my cousin Junghae's (정혜) family. She and I are only 6 months apart and are extremely close. Since we spent so much time together as kids, she always joked she could read my mind when I couldn't explain something in Korean. We stayed up for hours catching up and chatting about the family. I can't believe she now has 2 kids! To celebrate the fact we're old, here's a picture of me with her adorable and energetic 2 year old son, Ewan (이완):

Everybody Here Is Korean

A famous childhood story that my mother loved to tell: when we were kids, we went to Korea every summer. Growing up in Bronxville where we were the only Korean family, we were in culture shock when we visited. So once, my brother said in Korea, "everybody here is Korean!" Indeed, they are!

This morning, I had breakfast with these two cuties (while they watched an iPad)!

My cousin's twins are Yoon-ah (윤아) and Yoon-sik (윤식). A bit complicated as the girl is very shy, but would cry every time her brother hugged me. It seemed to create some sibling drama / rivalry over and over again!

We ate breakfast, grapes, and watched the Giants vs. Royals baseball game - Taesoon (태순) is a huge baseball fan. 

We relaxed through the morning and went to a local Italian restaurant for lunch as we had a craving after seeing spaghetti on tv. Here's a picture of the twins loving the spaghetti:

We return backed to the apartment for a quick nap, and then we were off to say hello to my first uncle, my mom's eldest brother and family's patriarch. He's older than my mom by about 14 years. We enjoyed tea and fruit with his wife and family.

We then headed to a generational dinner where my cousins gathered at Momo Cafe which was a buffet restaurant. There were about 33 people spread around 6 tables. My cousins applauded (as a joke) when we walked in and also said that I must have a lot of "power" to get the whole family to come together. Apparently, due to the enormity of our growing family, we don't get together as often as when my grandmother was alive. So Taesoon (태순) researched carefully where a large group with many kids could eat affordably. 

Here are a few pictures from the dinner where folks mingled between tables and the kids enjoyed the buffet offerings:

A collage of some of my nephews and nieces, some I met for the first time:

Finally, the obligatory group photo:

Several had to depart right after dinner as they had to return to their kids or drive up to 2 hours to get home! However, about half of us went to Dong-hee's (동희) house for some tea, coffee, and fruit. We also FaceTime'd with my mom and chatted for a few hours before we all headed home. 

I'm super grateful for my cousins who not only organized the dinner, but made efforts to come! One cousin even came from about 4 hours away and was spending the weekend here! It really makes the annual trips as a kid worth it as those early bonds are so important. I know so many 2nd generation Americans who don't feel half as comfortable or close with their relatives. I hope as they all take turns visiting the U.S., and as their children study abroad, that I continue to pay it forward!

Back in the Motherland

This past weekend, I got my haircut, my nails done, and worked out as much as possible. I'm ready to be poked and prodded by relatives back in the Motherland!

After one transfer in Seattle, I made it to Korea! I arrived in Incheon - Seoul airport which is about 1 hour outside the heart of Seoul. I planned on taking a bus to Bundang (분당) which is a Seoul suburb just south of the city by myself, but my cousin, Dong-Hee (동희) came and picked me up. I decided to go here first instead of Seoul, so I can see a cluster of relatives who live here as they escape the city / retire.

We hit some Friday afternoon traffic, but finally made it to her apartment. We waited for her son, husband, and then my 4th uncle and aunt. My mom has 5 brothers and 2 sisters. In Korean culture, we call our uncles and aunts by their age order as a sign of respect.

When we were all finally together, we carpooled to a delicious Korean restaurant where we ate and chatted. Here are some pictures of the dishes:

At dinner, I learned that my cousins had organized a dinner tomorrow for about 31 people and there was a very lengthy group text of about 10 people to try to figure out the plans. I'm blessed that they all cared so much as well as cousins who had to rearrange business travel or travel in from out of town. 

After dinner, I was dropped off by my 4th uncle and aunt at Taesoon's (태순) apartment. I have probably seen him the most over the past few years as he is often in the United States for business trips and spends a day or so in New York each time. He and his wife had twins two years ago. I was super happy to meet them as we don't have other twins in the family. We chatted with the kids, played with my new iPhone, and watched tv. 

It's been a long day of travel, but I'm so happy to be here. It feels surreal - like I can't believe I'm in Korea after 8 years! I look forward to soaking more of it in tomorrow!

Blackberry Free

As many of you know, I resigned from my job of 11 years. It was an incredibly difficult decision, and didn't sleep for a month. With mixed emotions and overwhelmed by the support of so many of my mentors, colleagues, and clients, I decided to take the risk and take the new opportunity.

But before starting my new career, I decided to take some time. I had already planned a two week European vacation, and instead of working for a week and then going on vacation, I am traveling for three!

My first stop will be to Korea where I haven't been since 2006. To be honest, it's really hard going to Korea since my grandparents are no longer living. During my childhood, I went every year, sometimes even twice a year! After college, working and life got in the way plus the desire to travel to new countries!

But alas, my cousins have planned get togethers so I can see everyone as much as possible which will be wonderful! I'm super excited to meet more nephews and nieces! My generation on my mom's side alone spans 21 years and 15 cousins (without spouses), with me being the youngest - so getting together is no easy feat! As such, I'm already super grateful for my cousins' planning efforts!

So, I'm blackberry free, which will make it tougher to tap away my blogging notes, but I plan to blog as much as possible as I traverse the globe on my vacation / mini-sabbatical!