Day 446 - Chuseok

Last year, after anticipating a full Chuseok experience, I ended up spending it alone, eating some macaroni and cheese from my American-food-stash and watching Indiana Jones on TV. Not exactly what I expected when I signed up for a homestay experience.

This year, I had the full experience and then some. I don't have my camera cord here but when I do there will be lots of pictures. The summary:

--Day Before Chuseok--
I headed up to Daejeon to meet Mrs Soh, my coteacher. She invited me to spend Chuseok with her family when she heard that I had no plans for the holiday. I met her mother in law and sisters in law and we had a girls-having-to-cook-for-chuseok-while-dudes-do-nothing lunch before heading off to the hanbok (Korean traditional dress) store. We looked around there, they tried a few on, and placed orders. At night, Mrs Soh and I went to her side of the family, with whom we made sunpyeon, traditional Chuseok rice cake shaped like half-moons.

--Chuseok--
We woke up insanely early to go back to Mrs Soh's mother-in-law's, where the entire family gathered to perform the ancestor rites. I ended up in my usual role of Entertainment, answering a lot of questions about America, my impressions of Korea, etc. We ate the food initially offered to the ancestors, then I was off with one of the uncle's family to the countryside. We stopped in with his wife's mother (so Mrs Soh's brother's wife's mother) and the family clan gathered there. We roasted some black pig and ate it outside in the little courtyard of the old-time house. After, I met up with Mrs Soh again, said goodbye to her side of the family (with whom I made the sunpyeon) and went back home.



It was a long, exhausting day, but I got to experience so many things I've only studied in books. Pictures to come.