Happy Chuseok!

Korea's Thanksgiving/Harvest Holiday is today. The weather is beautiful and the city is quiet. Most Koreans return to their hometown for the weekend to eat a Korean feast, celebrate the full moon, and worship their ancestors. Songpyeong, 송편, a special rice cake is popular for the holiday. The sticky rice dough is filled with sweet bean paste or honey, and then (?) steamed over pine needles.

We celebrated Chuseok at school on Wednesday. The students wore Hanbok, traditional Korean dress, to school. We ate songpyeong, made Jegi-chagi, 제기차기, a tassel like hacky sack, and played some Korean games. Jegi-chagi competitions took place to see who could kick the tassel the most times without dropping it. Chicken fighting was the other highlight. Holding one leg at your hip and balancing on the other, you use a jumping technique to knock down your opponents. The students competed, then the teachers had a go. Yours truly was the winner for the female foreign teachers. Mom, aren't you proud?

The students look so proper and refined in their traditional dress, but don't let it fool you...