Last Monday (11/11) was Pepero Day in Korea. Pepero are small cookie-like sticks that are covered with chocolate. On November 11th, people give Pepero to their friends or people they are in a relationship with because the ones in the date (11/11) have the same shape as the Pepero. It's actually pretty similar to Valentine's Day, just instead of Valentines, you get Pepero. My students weren't really that into Pepero Day, but as I was walking home from school last Tuesday there were a bunch of elementary school girls who said hello to me as I walked by. I said hello back, and before I knew it I had Pepero coming from every direction. The girls were giggly and pretty cute if I do say so myself. It was quite a nice ending to the day.
Then, a few days later as I was walking home a little boy ran up to me. He couldn't speak very much, but he asked if I would take a picture with a calendar about Dokdo. After he took my picture, he told me to keep the calendar and quickly ran away. Um ok? I guess I have a calendar for 2014 now. Score!
For those of you who are wondering, Dokdo is an island that both Korea and Japan claim as their own. It's a hot-topic for Koreans, as there are still many hostile feelings about how Japan treated Korea during its colonial rule and has subsequently failed to adequately acknowledge or apologize for past wrongdoings. When I first came to Korea, it wasn't uncommon for students to ask me "What do you think about Dokdo?" At the time I had no idea what it was all about, but I quickly learned this is an important issue for Koreans because although the island is actually pretty much just a bunch of rocks, it's symbolic of much more.
Oh, and I forgot, my Korean neighbor also gave me a huge container of Kimchi during the same week. Oh, and two sweet potatoes. I'm really reaping the benefits of this Korean hospitality lately.
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