Hanbok Day at School!

One of my favorite students... Flower! She kind of reminds me of a little Korean me. :)

Yesterday we had a special Chuseok day at school. Chuseok is the Korean harvest holiday and it's a time for visiting family, eating yummy traditional food and paying homage to one's ancestors. I got a hanbok specially made for me for the occasion (yes, even though it's a tent, it required measurements!)

All the students wore their hanboks and we made traditional Korean rice cakes and played traditional Korean games. It was so fun to see all the kids in their festive garb! I even went to school early so I could take the bus to pick the kids up (usually the Korean teachers pick them up and the foreign teachers stay at school.) I greeted the mothers "ohmonim annyeong hasseyo" and the fathers "ahbonim annyeong hasseyo". The kids were delighted to hear my Korean... as were their shocked parents!

Teachers: Monica, Sue, Sheila and Me

Standing Students: Andrew, Anny, Hoya, Jeff, Ryan, Jenny, Nana, Kim, David and Flower

Sitting Students: John, Daniel, Justin, Sam, Emily, Stella and Alvin.

After we picked the kids up, we had a few "regular" classes (teaching in a hanbok was anything but regular!) Then it was off to make rice cakes. Rice cakes are made out of dok which is basically rice powder and water thats steamed to make a very sticky, chewy dough. We rolled and flattened little dough balls to make little crescents and filled them with edamame seasoned with sesame oil.

I'm pretty sure this was the only rice cake that came out the right size and shape!

After rice cakes, we played traditional games; tug-of-war, yut (a game played with four sticks) and archery. Even though the arrows had suction cup tips... it's still a risky game with a bunch of kids, if you ask me. Luckily, everyone left with eyes and limbs in tact.

I had a great time learning about Chuseok and I felt honored to be given a hanbok and showed the traditions of a culture so different from my own. I'm excited about the next holiday when I get to wear my hanbok: New Years!