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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Dinner with the Moms!

Tonight, I went out for anju (appetizers) and soju/cider with the 5 moms from my "English for parents class."  We had a blast together, and I learned a ton of cultural, funny, and interesting things about Koreans...  

1. They said that 3-4 people die a year from sleeping with a fan on and the windows closed!  

2. They swear that red onion juice can significantly lower cholesterol.

3. Crack an egg.  Use only the egg white, and spread it in a pan.  Use a hairdyer to dry it, and then take a ruler to scrape it off the pan.  Then pick up a little bit, crush it in your fingers and apply it on your eyelids and cheekbones for some natural looking shine! 

4. When women get married, they are pressured to have babies immediately after the wedding  With that said, 3 of the 5 moms had honeymoon babies, 1 got pregnant 2 months after the wedding, and the other one was smart (in my opinion at least) and waited 6 years!

5. They all cook dinner for their families EVERY SINGLE NIGHT... not because they want to, but because they will be considered a bad mother or wife if they don't.

6. One of the moms is 28 years old (my age!), has 3 sons (4, 10, and 11) and cooks dinner for 11 family member every night! (her, her husband, her 3 sons, her mom, her dad, her mother in law, her father in law, and her sister in laws.  

7. Koreans call pigeons "doves."  

8. It's common for moms to pick acacia tree branches, strip the leaves, and use the branches as curlers to curl their daughters hair.  They did it to my hair in the middle of the street to show me!  

9. When eating at a restaurant, the oldest person at the table ALWAYS PAYS!  (Note to self, always make sure at least 1 person is older than me when going out to dinner!)

10. If a guy and girl want to get married, they have to have their parents permission!  

11. If a family member of the bride or groom dies, they cannot get married within that year.... Even if the wedding is completely planned!

12. Siblings cannot marry in the same year.

13. Oder siblings have to marry before the younger sibling can get married.

14. Korean women do NOT SHAVE THEIR LEGS!  They barely have any hair, so it's not noticeable, but during class today, one of the moms noticed my legs were smooth and was shocked that I shave them!

15. When women have babies, one or two years apart, they call the babies "vienna sausages" because vienna sausages are linked together... (It's hard to explain... just think about it.)