It's Been Awhile....

Since we last linked up. A lot has happened in my life as well as yours. Too much to chronicle but after keeping up with this blog you shouldn't expect much from me. Ha. Well, I've joined a Korean language class at a University (so that takes up a good portion of my time) and my family visited last week (for 10 days) and if I had to choose one word to sum up that experience: spliffsplandifferous (to quote the big homie Flanders).

It was truly beautiful to be in the presence of such great people, my mother, grandmother, Aunt Gwynne, and my cousin Atiya. Them coming helped me realize what great people I have in my life, in America and Korea. My Korean friends, teachers, and homestay family did everything they could to make my family feel welcomed and my family not only paid for the trip to come see me but they were willing to try and assimilate into the culture by eating bugs, welcoming cultural nuances, and practicing cultural relativism. Not to mention, seeing my grandmother do the Moonwalk (3 times!!!) in the karaoke room was the equivlaent to being Filipino and seeing that Filipino dude win the fight (I forget his name. Word to Pat, oh wait Paquio). I love you guys and sincerley appreciate you coming to see me. It let me know how special I am to some people and every now and then I need that reminder.

Lastly, the motivation to write this post came from the fact that my next door neighbor (literally) has died. My homestay grandmother passed away at age 83 and leaves behing her 88 year old husband and 2 children. She was a sweet lady and, even though the language barrier between us was enormous, I always felt comfortable in her presence. I remember when I came back from my trip to Southeast Asia and she welcomed me with biggest grin and grabbed my hand... This past month has been hard for my homestay mother and hearing her sing songs to her mother while she lay immobile was quite arduous for me also. Tonight, however, was bitter sweet for I got to sit with the grandfather and talk (with the mother as a makeshift translator). He repeatedly reminded me how to say different salutations in Japanese and Korean and kept telling me to eat. But it was the first time we had a substantive sit-down. The mother told me how his partner for over 50 years was gone and how alone he feels. I'm his new buddy. But threw all this he uttered two words I never expected to hear: Chop Chop (he was advising me to eat more...). It was quite funny and for a brief 30 minutes we sat, laughed, and reminisced (and ate many grapes). I'm going to miss her seeing me off in the morning and greeting me as I walk in, but not as much as he will miss his love or as she will miss her mother. So, if you have time, say a short prayer for them. Thanks.