Kimchi Mamas

Do you sign?

How many of you are multi-lingual? Do any of you know a sign language? What about Korean Sign Language (KSL)? I actually just discovered that there was a KSL about 3 days ago. This semester, I… lucked into taking American Sign Language (ASL). I am a little ashamed to admit that the idea that a KSL existed didn’t even dawn on me until after my Monday night class. For me, ASL has been a life changing experience. I had no idea. Really, I just had NO idea.

Domestic Violence

This month is Domestic Violence Awareness Month so I thought I'd re-share a post I wrote last year.

*Originally posted on 9/30/2011*

Today I attended a conference about intimate partner violence (IPV), or domestic violence (DV). It was the 10th anniversary celebration of some sorts. I don't work directly in the field but my work partners with the folks who do the work.

Why am I writing this post on the Kimchi Mamas blog? First because it's near and dear to my heart and second because Korean women (and their children, wives of Korean men, women of all color, and even some men) continue to be victims of intimate partner violence. I want to do my part to help it stop.

Be Brave

 

This is a video of a 4th grader (9 years old) going down a 40 meter ski jump for the first time. She has done the 20 meter before. The camera is mounted on her helmet and her coach or dad or some other trusted adult is next to her.

Mental Health Awareness Week

Its amost the tail end of Mental Health Awareness Week and I feel compelled to post about something that happened a few days ago.  I'm not sure this is exactly a Kimchi post or even a Mama post except in the general way that mental health impacts everyone including Kimchi Mamas.  

Anyhow, if you've read my bio here on KimchiMamas you know that I'm a full time doctoral student who focuses on mental heatlh policy.  What you probably don't know is that my choice to enter a doctoral program was purely survival.  After finishing up my masters I was left with an advanced degree in a job market that was flooded with people with their own advanced degrees; I got second interviews but never any real job leads.  We had bills to pay so while loans is not my prefered way to get by, its better than not getting by at all. While I may have been pushed into a PhD program out of necessity; I want to make it clear that I fully embraced the more specific field of mental health. 

Here is my Dash and his "Neighborhood Watchmen!"

 

 

-Nancy

How do you nurture success?

What creates a successful human being?  What kind of parenting does a human being need to become truly successful in his or her life?  We all want wealth, health,happiness, a loving family life, and self-fulfillment for our children.  Some may focus on one aspect more than others, but deep inside, they all want their children to have truly authentic happiness.

I met a Korean-American business man on the flight home from El Paso.  He was soft spoken, highly intelligent, and seemed acutely self-aware. Michael, like me, had come to America in his early teens, and was thoroughly Americanized. He straddles the fence of the two cultures that he has grown up in, understanding and seeing things in both ways.