korean-ness

in the last 6 yrs, i've learned to embrace my korean heritage. mostly, that's just means that i really, really enjoy the food in k-town and slipping in a korean word every now & then in my ramblings. =)

but this past Sunday, my parish school held a service celebrating the Korean members of its congregation and student body. so there were bilingual hymns and prayers, a re-enactment of a traditional wedding ceremony (pictured below), Korean drumming, games, and a bunch of yummy food.

the volunteer couple who acted the part of the bride & groom were Caucasian - they did a terrific job, esp. b/c the guy is an actor and played up his role. he was hilarious!

I don't think i've ever been mistaken for being Korean until yesterday...and that was only b/c i was tromping around in a han-bok... my students all did a double take before they realized it was me yelling at them to pick up their trash, etc.

i'm standing next to Mr. Z...the coworker who takes care of the lizards in my room. a mother of a 1st grade student (i don't even teach 1st grade!) generously bought both of us our garb. it's my first han-bok since i was 10. the green top and pink bottom (i did not pick the colors!) are traditional for a young, unmarried woman. so by wearing the dress all afternoon, i essentially declared my availability to the world. a walking billboard. oh dear...

of course, once back in my normal clothes, i promptly got accused of being Chinese (as always). even today while i was buying pineapples at the grocery store, the checkout lady assumed i was gonna make sweet & sour pork w/ them for the Chinese New Year!