Graduation

Maple Bear graduation. It was everything a proper graduation should be.
A magician, fire, an opera singer, Mickey and Minnie Mouse even put in an appearance.
All of this for 7 year olds? Korean age 7 year olds. Which means they are really western age 6.
For real?
All this for that?
Oh yes.
Each class in the school except my 3 year olds were required to perform for the graduating class of 20 kids.
B-rian and I nabbed a seat in the very back to get a great view of the spectacle and to be well out of earshot and eyesight of anyone who might need our assistance.


We proceeded to support our spouses but also to laugh our heads off and discuss what we were witnessing.
Can you believe the next week some parents came in upset that the performance and graduation were not grand enough? That blew all of our foreign minds.
In Korea, children begin normal schooling when they are 8 years old. Before that it is normal to begin at a kindergarten at age 3.  The graduation is a bigger deal when the graduate to the public schools like we are more familiar with.
After the 3 hour graduation we went to a staff dinner to say goodbye to foreigners leaving and to welcome 2 of our new foreign teachers.

The Brave Little Toaster [3/13]

So one Saturday evening a sister calls her sister and says, "Hey!  You wanna come with me to get my ears pierced?"

Any other time the answer would probably be "eh...it's Saturday and I can think of a million other things I might like doing better."


However, this is Korea.














The usual method of ear piercing in the western world is usually not common place everywhere else.

Needles, clamps and no numbing are on the menu.  This is just piercing ears.  A second hole.  Nothing traumatic or weird like a nose or other places.
So Kate and I made the journey to old downtown and to the tattoo parlor we know about.  Tattoo parlors is the place you want to have any piercings done in Korea.  There is no Claire's or mall kiosk to patronize.

This tattoo shop seems to have more piercings done than tattoos because the walls and area in the front of the shop are not filled with flash, but rather earrings, bracelets and necklaces to purchase.

Kate has a conversation with the guy and decides to do it.  I agree to hold her hand and be a good sister and not laugh if she screams.

Then the guy pulls out the clamps and needles and I'm wondering if I'll be able to watch this and at the same time wondering if Kate will actually go through with this.  She does, and I'm left feeling she is braver than I.

The guy says there will be no pain and each of us look at each other and are thinking the same thing, "like hell there isn't."  In good faith Kate takes the stool offered and sits down.  She's looking at me and holding my hand and I'm looking at what the guy is doing and thinking Kate is glad she can't see this 3 inch long needle coming her way.   He uses a pen and marks her ears and she checks to make sure it's fine then he clamps her earlobe and Kate turns her head.  He puts the needle through her earlobe and then the needle is just kinda hanging there.  He takes the earring she has selected and kind slides it in behind the needle and pulls out the needle at the same time (I didn't fully watch that part) and then does the same with the other ear.

We were both thinking the same thing:  a story about either Aunt Mary giving grandma pierced ears or the other way around, and we just remember laughing about things and wishing we had been there to see it.  

I'm thinking Kate is hugely brave and I'm just a wimp when he finishes the first ear and Kate didn't even know it.  I had to tell her.  She felt no pain at all.  For realz?  Yup!  Cool.  Sign me up.

Absolutely no pain and I'm considering having the middle triangle part of my ear pierced (it is hugely popular here). 

Oh, street food is fabulous and most of the time really fun to eat.  During the winter Joseph and I enjoy 2 things: egg bread and the pancakes with yummy nuts and honey inside them.  You can only get them during winter but that's fine with me.  It makes winter that much more enjoyable when your hands are freezing and you are able to hold a piping hot cornbread like muffin with a boiled egg (shell-less) backed inside of it.  So darn delicious.

I keep saying to Joseph we need to do a post on street food.  It is well worth it and all that, but honestly it would be so long and need lots of posts to give it justice.  We will begin compiling some of our favorites and then posting them with pictures and a description as well as some of our favorite things to eat here.

To leave you with a tidbit of yummyness, we went to a friends birthday party about 2 weeks ago and were surprised with frog legs, lamb skewers and a few other yummy dishes.