Chuseok

This past week Koreans celebrated the holiday Chuseok, known as “Korean thanksgiving.” Since my knowledge of Korean culture prior to coming to Seoul was limited to idol groups, dramas, and cuisine, I had never heard of the holiday before. So this week I did a little research of Chuseok (Read: went to the wikipedia page) Some people think that Chuseok originated out of a month-long weaving competition called Gabae Gabae, where the winning team (the team with the most cloth) would be treated to a feast by the losing team. What I was told by my Korean friends (and wikipedia confirmed for me) is that Chuseok originated as celebration of the harvest celebrated on the 15^th day of the 8^th month of the lunar calendar. Anyway, during Chuseok people go to their home towns and provinces and celebrate a big, three-day meal with their families.

Being in Korea during Chuseok made me think about some of the things that I am thankful for, especially things I am thankful for in Korea. Of course, if I made a list of everything that I was thankful for, the list would be pages and pages long. Here are a few things that have been particularly present in my mind lately:

1. My new friends. Even though I have been in Korea only two weeks, I already have made a lot of deep friendships. During my first week here, a met a team of students from Korea University that have volunteered to spend time with the American students, taking them out on cultural expeditions, teaching them about the subways and bus systems, taking them to school, and helping them with any other problems that newly arrived students may face. Their presence in my life has been such a joy already. When I came to Korea, one of the things that I told people I wanted most out of coming here was to build relationships with people. Within two short weeks, I've already gotten together with my buddies four times, and made plans to see them even more times. It may sound silly, but yesterday, I looked ahead to December, almost two months away, and thought, “How can I leave these good friends behind?”
   I've made other friendships too. My relationship with my roommate was an unexpected one, because we are different in so many regards in terms of our enjoyments and habits (My idea of a fun day is hiking alone on a desolate mountain and reading heady books by decaying novelists; her idea of a good day is going shopping and buying dazzling purses and shoes, and then writing a song about her day that she sings with her family). Over the two weeks that we've been together, we've gotten really close and learned to delight in each others' differences. Other important friendships have included my friendships with my fellow classmates, my friendships at the International church I'm attending, my friendship with my beautiful Chinese suitemate, Nancy, and my Korean law student friend, Erica. I also have casual friendships with a bunch of old men and women who clean the school, work as security guards, or work in restaurants in the area. Without all these friendships, deep and casual, I don't know how I would make it here in Seoul.

Wow! That ended up being a lot longer than I thought it was going to be. Other things on the list included the library, my family, technology, and my students, but I think I'll save some of those for my later blogs. Ahn nyang hee gah seh yo!

-Renee

Also: My friendships with my buddies has encouraged me to do more when I get back to the U.S. To build relationships with foreigners arriving in the city for the first time who are looking for an American friend.