Kimchi Mamas

Google-

I am a 42 year old Korean-American woman. I go by my given name, Shinyung Oh. A few days ago, I attempted to set up a profile on Google+, not because I necessarily need yet another social networking site. Linkedin and Facebook are more than enough to max out my limited capacity for online small talk and ogling. But I applied, mainly because I have my personal blog on blogger and wanted to add some tools offered by Google+ to expand my readership.

When I tried to set up the profile, Google refused to allow me to complete it. The following sentence appeared at the top of the profile I was not allowed to access: "Your profile has been suspended because it violates our name policy." When I clicked on the "name policy" to find out how I could have violated Google+'s policy, it stated:

Google+ makes connecting with people on the web more like connecting with people in the real world. It's recommended that you go by your first and last name because it will help you connect with people you know and help them find you. 

This policy applies only to Google+ profiles. Google+ profiles are for individuals.

Let's Fund This: "Twinsters," a story of two women who may be twins who discovered each other online

Meet Samantha Futerman, a Korean adoptee living in Los Angeles.  She is an actor and budding YouTube star:

 

One day, Sam got a Facebook message from a French girl named Anais:

It turns out Anais and Sam were born on the same day in the same city, and they look exactly alike!  Oh my gosh!  It's like a Korean drama in real life!

Anyway, they are currently documenting their discovery process, including their first in-person reunion and a DNA test, and are accepting funds through Kickstarter.

I really want to help make this movie happen, it's such an amazing story!  Who's with me?

--Julie

Shout out to Angry Asian Man for the tip!  Amazing!

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Update 3/22/2013: Kimchi Mamas is proud to announce we have pledged $1000 towards the funding of this fascinating documentary!

They have a lot more to go, so please go make a pledge if you want to see this story come to fruition!

Open Thread Thursday

The sinking of the South Korean ship Choenan, the ever-flowing oil spill, Facebook's newest privacy settings, (edited to add) the upcoming World Cup games...

What's on your mind today?

- Kimchi Mamas

Join our Group on Savvy Source!

If you can please direct your attention to the birdie on the right side of the page, we now have an online community where we can truly have two-way conversations!

I look forward to setting up meet-ups, securely sharing info on our Kimchi babies' development, and just talking and swapping tips with each other.

Just click on the birdie, set up an account with Savvy Source or use your Facebook login (that's what I did), and join Kimchi Mamas!  See you there!

Extra bonus: Inspired by Mary's post last week, we will donate $1 for every person who signs up to a charity that helps North Korean families.

Nomadic Boat-Hopping Kimchi Mama

In the spirit of re-introducing myself and adding my two cents to Twizzle's recent post, I thought I would do a three-part quasi-intro post.  Hi, I am Mama Nabi and I guess I am the resident FOB Kimchi Mama.

PART 1.
I am lying when I say FOB.  There is neither Fresh nor Boat.

BIO FACTS:

• Born in 1970 in Jinhae, SOUTH Korea.
• Moved to Chittagong, Bangladesh, in 1979.
• Shipped off (again, I lie - there was NO SHIP) to an American International Christian Boarding School in the mountains of the Himalayas in India in 1982.
• Came to the States to attend college in 1989.  NO ONE had the decency to tell me that Minnesota is... well... fucking cold so here I am. 
• Got a job in the dry cleaning industry as a Korean writer/translator in 1994.  Discovered that many Korean immigrants elsewhere in the States were in the business.  I didn't know since all my drycleaners were white, mostly Scandinavian.
• Found out that the company was underpaying their foreign employee - instead of suing them for backpay of $50,000, I opted to go to graduate school in 1998.  NOTE:  Apparently I was too dense to take this opportunity to migrate to a warmer climate; I applied to a program in a local university.  Yes, even birds know better. 
• Graduated and found current job in 2002.
• Got married in 2003.
• Gave birth to Little Nabi in 2005.

And because you are patiently reading this long rambling post, I will give you FRESH.  I am freshly divorced, as of two days ago.  I think.

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.

Help Bill Kapoun: US Teacher in Korea Severly Burned

Edited 3/10/08: Bill Kapoun had already passed away by the time I wrote this post.  You can still donate, however, as his bills still need to be paid (thanks to Carole from Korea for letting us know).

Bill, may you have some peace, away from the pain. My thoughts and prayers are with you, and all your family and friends.

I received this e-mail from a co-worker, and would like to share it with you:

One of my friends from [college] was teaching in Korea when two weeks ago he was caught in a fire in his apartment, which ended up burning about 70% of his body.  He is in really bad condition and doesn’t have insurance.  His family and friends are trying to raise money for him to come home.  Read more about his story here ... (note, the pictures are not for the weak stomach).

If you would like to donate directly to his fund, you can do so at BillKapoun.com.

I also encourage you all to Digg this story.

Thanks everyone, for your time and attention.  If you can, please help this young man get home to his family and get the medical attention he needs.  I know if it were my son, I'd do whatever it takes.

A familiar face - cultural bonding

Trepidatious.  Now that's an understatement to describe how I felt this morning as I dropped off Little Nabi, 2 and 1/2 months shy of 3 years of age, at her preschool. 

For the first time.

Due to her dad's night work schedule and my day work schedule, we have been (un)fortunate enough to not need daycare.  We also never used a babysitter.  For two occasions, my sister took care of LN for 2 and 1/2 hours each time - long enough for a movie.  Both times, she missed her mommy and cried.

Inviting me to the party

This past Friday was our school’s annual Fall Picnic. As you may recall, last spring I wrote about being snubbed from a Mom’s Night Out event in which several moms from my kid’s school organized an evening of socializing.

As I’ve alluded to before, out school is fairly diverse and considered an “inner-city” school. It is also a magnet school, which means that it has a specialized curriculum (in this case Montessori). Families who live in the school’s neighborhood zone can automatically get into the school while those outside the zone need to hope that they get picked from the lottery. We have a large mix of African immigrant families and a decent representation of Native American Indian, African American and SE Asian families in the neighborhood and school. We also have a much-larger-than-average representation of gay and lesbian and transracial adoptive families (and several are both).

Over the summer, I’d tried several times to talk to my co-worker, who first informed me of the Mom’s Night Out event. I felt this co-worker was an ally and someone I could trust. However, we don’t work in the same building, so I didn’t get the chance to talk to her in person about what transpired until July.

My colleague was saddened and as upset as me about how “Mary” passed over the moms of color when handing out invitations. She admitted she hadn’t looked around to see how many moms of color were at the party, but she related that she often thought about why more parents of color didn’t participate in the PTO or on other school committees. We had a nice discussion about inclusiveness and how organizations can recruit and retain families of color.

Making room for more mamas

I just want to share the love. Fellow sister Chicago blogger MJ (but not the Kimchi Mamas commenter of the same name), aka SugarMama, and a talented group of Filipina and Filipino-connected moms, has launched Filipina Moms ... and a dash of patis! In their own words:

We are a group of Filipino Moms around the world who collaboratively write flavorful tales and thoughts on current events, parenting, culture, tradition and what it means to be a Filipino (or married to one).

Yes, we can relate! I'm so thrilled that this voice, and some very beautiful writing, is now out there. Happy blog launch and a long life to you, Filipina Moms!

--Carol