Kimchi Mamas

Musings On Race: How Far We've Come

In light of yesterday’s beer-fest hosted by President Obama to quell racial tensions around the recent arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., I have found my thoughts turning, once again, to race, ethnicity, and identity. This morning I listened to a call-in show on my San Francisco NPR station wherein this topic was addressed. Specifically, listeners were invited to share their thoughts on the Gates arrest and its aftermath, which President Obama says is a "teachable moment" on race in America. One caller on the show observed that her young child seemed to have no concept of race – that she had school friends of all colors, and based her decision on whether or not to befriend someone on their behavior and character, and not on their skin color.

Open Thread Thursday

G! I! Joe! . . . Go! Joe!  GI Joe released in South Korea . . .

And to all our contributors and readers - there's "Nobody" like you!  (*I love that there's a little Korean poop humour in the video!)  =)

It's Open Thread Thursday . . . What's on YOUR mind?

--Kimchi Mamas

Greetings from Cheju-Do!

My family took a wonderful cruise vacation this month in Asia, starting out in Tianjin, China, with excursions to Cheju Island, Korea and Kagoshima, Japan.  The highlight of the cruise was viewing the total solar eclipse near Iwo Jima on July 22.  We ended our trip in Kobe, Japan and spend two days in Osaka before flying home.  It was a wonderful trip, and one of the highlights for me was our trip to Cheju-do.  I have been to Korea twice before to visit relatives in Seoul, Inchon, and Tongduchon, but had only heard about Cheju-do from my mom and family members.

We arrived in Cheju (or Jeju) at 8:00 am on July 19, to cloudy skies. We had booked an excursion with the ship we were on, trying to cram in as many sights as possible into an 8-hour stop.  At the pier, we were met by Korean drummers in colorful costumes, welcoming us to the island.  Aside from the eclipse, this excursion was the thing that I was most looking forward to on the trip.  My mother had told me many times about Cheju-do, and how Koreans go to this romantic island getaway as a "honeymoon paradise."  Of course, while we were there, I had to call her to rub it in that I was here and she was not.  I'm nice like that.

 

America needs Pororo!

As many of you already know, I'm currently halfway through a year of living in one of the most densely Korean populated areas in the United States.  Seriously.  There are condo complexes around here that are occupied entirely by Koreans.  That's 100%.  I know this for a fact because someone I know just moved into a complex and she says she kicked out the last non-korean family who lived there.  

The downside to this is that the McDonalds and Dennys in the area are filled with lots of loud Korean talk in the morning over coffee, I park my humble Camry in parking lots filled with luxury cars and since I'm usually dressed in non brand clothing and carrying a bag from Target, well let's just say that I get looks that say I need to do better.

BUT, it also means great Korean food everywhere (omg the soondubu and dongchimi kooksoo rocks) not to mention lots of choice in Korean products and entertainment.  Which we have been totally taking advantage of and is probably why suddenly the Little Einstein and Go Diego Go DVDs have slowly been pushed aside to make room for Pororo the Little Penguin.  And what a relief it is.  I actually like watching it.

Pororo is a cartoon about a cute little penguin who dreams of flying and lives in the arctic.  He has several cute and warm hearted friends to keep him company.  The creator, Choi Jong-Il, has actually been featured in Time Magazine for possibly changing the preschool cartoon world.  The episodes share simple stories, usually with some social lesson.  A big part of the success though, seems to be that unlike most Korean children shows, the lead character is not an adult.  Pororo is 4, and acts like a 4 year old would.  It's been translated into multiple languages and currently shown on cartoon networks in 80 different countries.  Not in America though, I have no idea why.

There are DVDs with multiple episodes in either Korean or English.  The English ones have much more simple dialogue because I think they're meant to teach Korean children English (judging by the occasional Konglish.)  But, they're still really enjoyable.

At first I was disappointed a bit by how although the characters spoke Korean, very little of anything else was Korean.  They ate with forks and knives, and none of the set looked Korean.  I guess the makers might have done this on purpose so it wouldn't look out of place anywhere else.  But as I kept watching, I realized I might have judged too quickly.  The lessons taught through story are certainly more Korean than not.  For instance, there's an episode all about keeping one's face and hands clean.  That's a top priority as something to teach for parents in Korea.  Even now my mom makes me and my kids wash our face and hands before going out anywhere, or coming home for anywhere.  But it's not something American parents may feel the need to take a whole episode of a show to teach.

I've look online, and currently you can find DVD sets of Pororo at different sites that sell entertainment products from Korea, BUT make sure to check the region code of the DVD player it needs to be played in.  We are region 1, but the DVDs on those sites state that they sell region 3.  I have found though, that I can change the region code on my computer so it will play region 3 DVDs.  They also sell them at Korean video and DVD stores here, which is where I've been getting ours.  I find that I can play these on our regular DVD player attached to our TV.

I know not everyone is so lucky to live by so many Korean choices, so I'm willing to buy them and ship them to you Kimchi Mamas out there in what I have been calling "true America."  Of course, because the cartoon is not yet on American TV, you can also find episodes of it on Youtube.  But if you need them for a car trip or something, I could get one of those flat rate boxes and fill it with your favorite ramen and some choco pies too.  ^^

-jooliyah 

Open Thread Thursday!

And we're back!  What's on your mind today?  Plans for a summer weekend?  Going to BlogHer?  Just reading about Blogher? 

-- The Kimchi Mamas

You can do it all...

... just not at the same time.

This is my new mantra.  I spent four days at a leadership development program specifically focused on Asian Americans.  It was awesome.  I met women, who like me, struggled with figuring out how to balance work and family.  And repeatedly, they said, "You can do it all... just not at the same time."

I wish someone had told me that earlier.  I have that instinct in me - to always do more.  I think the high (or low?) point for me was when I overrode my adviser's advice not to take any classes during the semester when I was due with my daughter.  Slow down for pregnancy?  Put my education on hold?  While I pop out babies?  No problem, I can do it all.

And the thing was, I thought I was doing it all.  Everyone commended me for my commitment to my education.  People called me super woman for managing a crazy work schedule and a crazy personal schedule.  And all that ever did was encourage me to take on more, to keep going.  Because hey, I am superwoman, right?

Now, I'm just overwhelmingly tired.  I still have these overachieving urges to go back to school, to take on additional responsibilities at work.  I have a hard time saying NO to what look like good opportunities.  I spend almost every moment that I'm not working with my daughter.  And when I'm not with my daughter, I'm with my finance.  And rarely am I just with myself.

I'm glad that someone finally told me to slow down.  Which isn't the same as compromising on my personal goals and desires.  Yes, I intend to go back to grad school.  But that doesn't mean that I need to  get married, back to school, work, and pop out more babies all at once.  It just means maybe I'll go back to school in 10 years, have babies in 5 years, and get married in one.

It takes a little bit of the pressure off.  Just a little.  That I don't need to tackle everything tomorrow.  What has helped you manage all the roles in your life?  What did you struggle with along the way?

-- eliaday, who is a recovering overachiever.

A Penny for Your Name?

My MIL called a couple of days ago and unfortunately, I was napping so the hubs answered the phone. When I woke up, he informed me that our second son's Korean name was Hyung Ooh. Interesting.

I didn't like it or dislike it all that much... but it didn't roll off the tongue as much as I wanted it to. And I also wanted our second son's name to have at least one same syllable (why does that spelling look so wrong?) as our first son. First son's name is Jung Ho.

Since MIL lives in Korea and doesn't have much "say" in our day to day lives, I thought it'd be nice to have her name our children... their Korean names I mean. Hubs and I decided on the English names together without input from any grandparents.

Actually, it wasn't exactly her who gave our boys their Korean names. She went to a "place." I don't even know what it's called in Korean. When I translate to the hubs, I call it a wise man or a fortune teller. Anyway, she goes there and tells them the date and time of the birth... and I'm not sure what other information, and pays a certain fee and voila, the wise man names the kid.

Open Thread Saturday

We forgot OTT... again.

Sorry readers!

=)  

What's on your mind, today?

Nagging moms

I swear, my mom says the SAME THING at least like 5 times during ONE phone conversation.  Is it me or do Korean mothers nag more than other mothers?

Of course, I have never had a White, Black, or non-Korean mother so I have no idea if they indeed do nag less than Korean mothers but...

Take the last phone conversation I had with my mother.  She told me like 10 times how important it was to take care of myself.  (I just had a baby.) I have to rest. I have to not touch cold water. I have to eat a lot. I have to do this and that and then she repeated the same things over and over again.  I almost snapped at her, "You already SAID that like 10 times!"

I think it was partially fueled by guilt... cuz she wasn't here with me to take care of me.  Which she should NOT feel guilty at all since we asked her not to come even though she offered to come.  Maybe she feels guilty that we would rather her not come?  I mean, what does that say about her?

All In a Name...

The summer after I finished fifth grade, my family moved from Flushing, Queens to the suburbs of Houston. For the past three years, I had attended P.S. 20 just two blocks from our high-rise apartment building. We played in the asphalt-covered playground at P.S. 20 and sometimes hit tennis balls against the handball court wall. By this age, I had done enough research to know that this was not the childhood I was meant to have.    

One or two Judy Blume books would have been enough to teach anyone about the proper American childhood. I had read them all. For starters, we were supposed to live in a house. Our own house. Not in some apartment building where the downstairs neighbor banged on his ceiling the minute you ran from the bedroom to the kitchen. And this house, our house, was supposed to be in the suburbs. And everyone was supposed to have a lawn. With sprinklers. And the house was supposed to come with at least one pet, preferably a quadruped.