Last week we took Claire in for her 4-month checkup. Our pediatrician declared the baby perfectly normal and healthy for her age...
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(image courtesy of Little Seouls Blog) I remember when I was little, the best part about New Year's Day was not the gathering of family or the delicious food. The best part of New Year's Day for me — and for millions of other Korean kids — was getting dressed in our hanbok (traditional Korean dress) and doing the traditional bow to relatives while wishing them a happy and prosperous new year, who would in turn give us money. Cha-ching! My sister and I would usually consider ourselves lucky if we received $20 from an elder. It wasn't until years later that we discovered some of our friends would receive upwards of $500 from a single relative! When Claire gets older, you can be...
Continue readingA few days ago, I sent out the following tweet which caused quite a stir: I immediately received dozens of replies, which were soon followed by emails and private messages from those who were worried that I was being held prisoner in my own house. And as much as it warmed my heart to know that so many people cared, all the concern made me laugh a bit because it simply was not true. Allow me to clarify. My husband comes from a very traditional Chinese family and he himself holds many of those traditional beliefs as well. The Chinese believe that the first month after giving birth is the most precarious for the mother and the baby; Chinese custom dictates that both...
Continue readingJ likes to tease me and call me a "twinkie" (yellow on the outside, white on the inside) because I'm not too familiar with the Asian culture. Sure, I like to pretend — and write about it on this blog — but the truth of the matter is that I routinely research and triple-check my facts before writing anything Asian/Korean-related on here. One of the many trends I still have trouble deciphering are Asian emoticons. After a bit of head-scratching, I was able to figure out simple ones like ^_^ (happy face) and ^_~ (wink), but more often than not I can't make sense of what the heck my friends are trying to convey when they use Asian emoticons in their...
Continue reading(In addition to the possible suffocation and tailbone issues, that is...
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