Happy Tol!

The day after Christmas, I tracked back down to Anyang for Baby J's Tol. Rick and Joo's beautiful baby girl just celebrated her first birthday.

The adorable family

The super sweet spread

Such a proud Papa!

Lighting the birthday cake candle

A baby's first birthday in Korea is very significant. If a baby reached one, it survived possibly the hardest year.

Here's a clip of Baby J's Toljabee. (Click on the link to get Wiki-schooled on what a Toljabee is)

The reason why I'm cheering is because the guests take part in a pool to predict what Baby J will grab and I chose the money!

Baby J

This weekend is Lunar New Year. This means I get a 4 day vacation (yay!!!) and most Koreans flock to the country to be with their ancestors so it's less crowded (yay!!) but banks -including atms- and other establishments are closed (boo!)

After a good night in Hongdae, we woke up on Saturday to go visit the newest family, Rick, Joo, and Baby J.

Baby J aka Julianna was born last month, the day after all the crazy snow. She's precious, y'all. I couldn't believe that Rick is a daddy! You could tell that he loves every second of it and I couldn't be happier for him and Joo! I was a little scared when they asked me if I wanted to feed Baby J, and I still did it wrong, I literally had the bottle perpendicular to her... but I guess practice makes perfect.I look really gross in the picture but the baby makes up for it.

It's Turkey Lurkey Time!

On Friday, my parents sent me an email displaying the tablespread of a Thanksgiving for 2. I salivated over the juicy turkey (prepared the Grandma Lucy way in a brown paper grocery bag), the scrumptious cranberry salad, the buttery rolls, and the delectable green bean casserole. More importantly, I couldn't help but feel a little sad that I couldn't be there to enjoy it with them.


I've always loved Thanksgiving Day. The slowness of it. Thanksgiving has always been a small affair with just my parents and I. It was never a hectic day with 20 people coming over, the kitchen exploding with activity or family politics. Instead, it was just a day to truly relish. The three of us would come in and out of the kitchen helping with whatever dish was on the stove or assisting Mom with the turkey in the oven. I know Thanksgiving means something different to everyone but to me it meant preparation for the holiday season and reflection on the past year.

When you're abroad over the holidays, it's a little weird. Your body is wired to be ready to celebrate an occasion but you look around and your mind isn't able to compute the disconnect. Even looking around my classroom, with handprint turkeys, cornucopias, little pilgrim and Native American coloring sheets. Something was lacking.

That something was still lacking when our supervisor bought a pumpkin pie and fried chicken for the teachers on Thursday. While it was a nice gesture it still didn't feel like Thanksgiving. I just told myself that Saturday would be the day of feasting... and boy was it ever!

The Seoul kids trekked down to Anyang to Rick and Joo's apartment. Despite the fact that Baby J is going to pop out any day, they were gracious enough to host a bevy of hungry teachers and even decorated their already gorgeous apartment in a festive fashion.

We had a traditional Thanksgiving meal (brought to you by Costco). All the trimmings were there: mashed potatos and gravy, stuffing, delicious turkey with cranberry sauce, pie, and family.

I never had an "I forgot I'm in Korea" moment, but that's ok. While my parents are on the other side of the world, I still felt the love you feel for people you care for around the Thanksgiving table. We've become our own family and this is something for which I am truly thankful.

The Big Chill, Seoul Style

After a lovely afternoon in Yongsan, Liz and I went back to our old stomping grounds, aka Daerim, to meet with the SLP Teachers of '06-'07. Is it amazing that after 3 years we all are in Seoul at the same time once more? Well, it actually is.

The St. Opistel and the Funky Bunch was my first family away from home. The first night in Korea, Rick, Daniel, and Adam took me out until the sun came up. Then Andrew and Liz came into my life and I really felt that everyone had their place... even good ol Jun! There were fights, there were dramas, but the great thing was that at the end of the day, everyone would be in your corner if necessary.

3 years later, some have married, some have kids (or are expecting kids), and we've all received some wisdom lines and maybe a gray hair or two. But the fact of the matter is that we loved each other enough to get together at our old green galbi restaurant we frequented back in the day. *My gawd I just said "back in the day."

I truly hope this isn't the last reunion for the SLP Family but as I looked around the three tables that we took up I couldn't help but think of the wise words of Ms. Carrie Bradshaw:

"The most important thing in life is your family. There are days you love them, and others you don't. But, in the end, they're the people you always come home to. Sometimes it's the family you're born into and sometimes it's the one you make for yourself."

And while I'm here in Seoul, this is definitely the family that comes to mind.