Kimchi Mamas

Forget American Idol - Diapered Korean baby sings the Beatles

Okay, technically the kid is a toddler, but still! A friend of mine sent me the link to this video a few days ago, but I didn't watch it. Last night after watching American Idol, my kids and I spent almost an hour on YouTube watching this kid singing the Beatles play list. 

-- Jae Ran

What's on your (Korean market) shopping list?

If you're anything like my family, there's no way that you can buy all your groceries at the traditional American supermarket. Our fridge is filled mainly by Trader Joe's, followed by bi-monthly-ish trips to the Korean market (or my Korean mommy's generosity), and then finally filled out by odd trips to the Albertson's down the street.

Yesterday we made the short trip down the freeway to LA's Koreatown, where there seems to be a Korean market on every other major cross street. We stopped to eat jajangmyun for lunch, but mainly we are on a mission to buy rice. Real Korean-style rice, not the crap that we've been surviving on from the Asian foods section of Albertson's.

"Ivy League Skills?"

There's a piece that popped up on the home page of the NY Times entitled, "Elite Korean Schools, Forging Ivy League Skills."  The article profiles two elite schools in South Korea, and the phenomenal rates at which they send students to "top" American colleges and universities.

It talks about how grueling these schools are, how the schools "suppress teenage romance as a waste of time," and how students outscore students from Phillips Exeter on the SAT.  One American teacher even said, "Even my worst students are great," and went on to talk about how he would get questions via email from his students at all hours of the night.

I'm often slightly cynical about things like this, but this just seems like one big promotion of the model minority stereotype, of how Asian and Asian American students are machines about studying and doing well on standardized tests.  Did they ever talk about how class issues might affect this process?  (The Korean schools profiled are both private.)  What if they compared rates of admission for these students compared to legacy students (COUGH G. W. Bush)?

~ eliaday

Open Thread Thursday

What's on your minds this week kimchi mamas?  The US Election?  Price of rice these days?  Pre-school applications?  The latest episode of "Lost"?  Let us know!

Planet B-Boy

I just have to rave about a documentary I saw last weekend with my family. Planet B-Boy takes you into the world of modern day breakdancing battles. From the film's official web site:

With compelling characters and vibrant dance sequences, PLANET B-BOY is set in the international world of b-boying - the urban dance more commonly known as "breakdancing." Weaving between the vivid backdrops of Osaka, Paris, Seoul and Las Vegas, unforgettable images frame the intimate stories of dancer who struggle for their dreams despite being misunderstood by larger society and even their own families. An American dancer in Vegas looks for his big break; a Korean son seeks his father's approval; a twelve-year old boy in France confronts his family's racism - all the b-boy's lives collide in Germany when their skills are put to the ultimate test: the "Battle of the Year" finals, with crews from 18 countries vying for the title of world champion.

There's one scene where one of the Korean crews runs back to their room after eating at the school cafeteria and they're making rice in their rice cookers and talking about how they hope the kimchee doesn't run out and I just laughed and laughed. I know the feeling!!

Like the documentary RIZE!, I just really appreciated getting to know the people behind the phenomenon of the dance and it was interesting to see how dancers around the world interpret b-boying as both an athletic and artistic expression.

When I was in Korea last summer for the IKAA Gathering, we were treated to a performance by the amazing group Last For One which was one of the featured teams in this documentary.

-- Jae Ran

Are you my neighbor?

Our family has been at our current home for more than a year now but we have yet to form any "close" or "real" relationships with any of our neighbors.  When we first moved here, we had a house-warming party and invited ALL of our neighbors.  We had these invitational fliers made and we put them in their mailbox or slid them under their door because all of them actually weren't home when we were hand delivering them. 

Anyway, one out of the seven or so invited households showed up.  Since then, I've run into the "one" on the street several times and we say hi.  I barely say "hi" to the rest of my neighbors.

Introductions

Hi. My name is Mary and I am a Kimchi Mamas addict. =)

I thought I'd take this moment while the baby (and hubby!) are napping to write an intro/first post!

I am "um-ma" (mom) to an almost 1.5 year old son and live in Northern California.  Yes, I do say hecka.  My son has his first ear infection and tested negative on his PPD skin test for Tuberculosis (apparently, there is an outbreak in the community right now).  My husband is obsessed with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is always asking if he can practice the rear-necked chock or arm bar on me.  (I always say no.)  He even practices the moves on our son who doesn't even know how to tap out. 

My kim-chi connection?  My husband and I are both Korean American.  I'm the more "fobby" version, having immigrated to the US when I was in the 5th grade.  I consider myself very lucky to have come at that age because I was able to retain most of my Korean.  Although my Korean isn't good enough to defend myself in a verbal ping pong match (aka, a verbal fight) with my mom... much to my frustration.

Right now, we have two huge containers of kim-chi in our garage refrigerator and they are both very very fermented.  I think there may even be tiny islands of mold on top.  I will probably make it into kim-chi chi-gae (soup) sometime but my kim-chi related cooking has declined recently since the baby can't handle spicy food very well yet.  We (Ok... I) actually tried to feed him some kim-chi man-doo (dumplings) yesterday but he kept wanting water and grabbed his tongue with his fingers so I'm guessing that it was too spicy for him.  Come on son!  You were exposed to a lot of spicy food in the uterus. Get with it!

I pay for my son's diapers by working full time at a big company.  They pay for his health insurance and for that, I am very grateful.  Actually, they pay for the husband's and mine too!  In my spare time, I read books for free at the local-nationwide-chain bookstore, try to do yoga, or think about things to do for my jewelry making hobby.

I am so excited to be a part of this on-line community!

Local Mamas, Kimchi and otherwise: Please read! Bone Marrow Drive in Palo Alto

Repost from my friend, Jill Asher, founder of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.  Please help if you can. Multi-culti donors especially needed. Spread the word!

My fellow Silicon Valley Friends! I am asking every viewer, every person living in Silicon Valley, everyone in the blogosphere....to help me spread the word about a Marrow Drive that we are co-hosting on April 19, 2008. We have pulled together corporate sponsors (THANK YOU 23ANDME), community sponsors (THANK YOU PAMP and the PAUSD) and have been mentioned in the newspapers (THANK YOU Palo Alto Weekly), as well as some highly visible sites and blogs:  THANK YOU Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Citymama, ModMom, Finding Bongamom, Filipina Moms , Pinoy Moms Network, Plain Jane Mom ... (and if I am missing anyone, just leave a comment below and I will add your site/blog name to this post!)

• Why have I organized this event?  Click Here. Yes, this is personal. 
• Why are thousands of people in need of a marrow transplant?  Click Here. 
• What happens if you are contacted as a possible match?  Click Here  Seriously, it is not as scary as it sounds....
• Can you make a difference and possibly save a life?  You bet.....

We are making an extra plea to get minority and/or multicultural communities and ethnicities out to this drive. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is in dire need of Asian, Hispanic, African American, Indian, South Asian/Pacific and American Indian donors.  With that said, ALL RACES and ethnicities are encouraged to come out to our drive! Please.... please help us spread the word.  Please show up on April 19th.  Please become a potential donor. 

There is no fee to become a donor (Thank you again 23andME.  This Silicon Valley Company is covering all expenses to get your matching into the database).  On April 19th, the National Marrow Donor Program will take a swab of saliva.  That is it.... (of course, if you were ever called as a potential match, more would be asked of you...)

Please.... support our drive.  Become a donor.  You can possibly save a life.

Respectfully,

Jill Asher, Co-Founder of Silicon Valley Moms Blog

• Date:  Saturday, April 19, 2008
• Location:  95 Crescent Drive, Palo Alto, California 94301
• Time:  9:00am to 3:30pm
• To be eligible to donate, you must be between the ages of 10 to 60

......More information about our generous, corporate sponsor: 
23andMe is a web-based service that helps you read and understand your DNA. After providing a saliva sample using an at-home kit, you can use our interactive tools to shed new light on your distant ancestors, your close family and most of all, yourself.

Yi So-yeon: First South Korean Astronaut in Space is a Woman!

Today, Yi So-yeon became the first South Korean astronaut in space. She blasted off in a Russian rocket from Kazahkstan towards the International Space Station where she will work for 10 days.

She will conduct science experiments and take photos. And in case you were wondering, yes, she carries kimchi with her.

Go So-yeon!

—Stefania

Bullseye on my race: one Korean Mama's Scarlet Dot

Despite the several inches of snow that fell this Monday, it got warm enough on Friday to take Little Nabi for a quick tricycle ride to our neighborhood's playground.

I hesitated as we approached the playground that actually belongs to a very small school.  I saw some older kids just hanging out.  Our neighborhood isn't exactly a rough neighborhood - from the few kids I've met on and around the playground last summer, I'd guess the range is between welfare families to young white-collar couples with very young children.  Sometimes, I'd find offensive graffiti on the playground equipment... and even used condoms.  However, LN and I only had a slim slice of playtime left, not enough to drive to a nicer neighborhood with a bigger and nicer playground.

And I saw that kid again.