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| and I've kept you out of the "know."
Two major updates...
1) I'm not single anymore
2) I got LASIK done, so I now have 20/20 vision
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| The last time I was in Korea was in 1998 for my grandmother's funeral. Before this year, I only went to Korea for funerals or family visits. This year was different, I spent a week touring Korea with my mom and the rest of the time, I reconnected with family I haven't seen in 10 years and some family members I had never met before.
The first week was spent touring Jeju Island, Pusan, Kyungju, and Seoraksan Mountain. Korea is just... beautiful.
I spent the rest of the time reconnecting with family. Ten years is a long time to be apart and not see people, so it was exciting seeing everyone again and it was truly a blessing. I spent a ton of time eating, haha. I ate everything I wanted to eat... even things most Americans would consider "weird."
One of the most meaningful parts of the trip was participating in an ancestor ceremony that is only held once a year. I happened to be there at the right time and since my father passed away and I'm the only son to the eldest son in my family of this generation, I stood in my father's place. I was at the tomb of a grandfather going back 11 generations. I visited other tombs of my family, also going back however many generations and I got to see my great grandfather's house where my dad and his brothers and sisters used to play during vacations.
The other meaningful part was reconnecting with family. I spent a lot of time with uncles, aunts, and one of my cousins. I'm taking steps to bridge the gap in my family...
photos are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lazyjerkface/Korea2008MyCamera#
http://picasaweb.google.com/lazyjerkface/Korea2008MomSCamera#
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| Close to 90% of my extended family resides in Korea. The rest are mainly concentrated in the Bay Area. I haven't been to Korea since my Grandmother's funeral, which was ten years ago and I haven't seen my family since then.
I guess with distance, it's understandable. But I haven't seen the other 10% in a long time as well... sometimes only seeing them every year or two. A lot has changed with cousins growing up and new family members arriving.
I remember one of the last conversations I ever had with my father. He was trying to teach his one and only young teenage son the importance of family. The very notion that 'blood is thicker than water.' In retrospect, I should have taken his words seriously. Over the years, that very notion has brought much truth to my life. After my father passed away... it was my family that carried me through the hard times. They helped my mother to support me. It was my family that stepped in to fill my father's shoes. Though they all knew they could never fill them, they were the only ones who knew how the shoes would fit.
As the younger generation grows, the older generation ages. I have one remaining grandparent and he lays in a hospital bed at this moment. It brings forth the reality that this may be the very last time I see him. The last ten years has exemplified what my father tried to teach me that summer day.
It is my family that has always been there for me. It was my father who always did his very best to keep the family together, to keep us connected. He did this with everybody he ever met, going as far back as friends from his high school days. This was the essence of my father's being. This very spirit lives within my family as we all remain connected. As the youthful generation in my family grows, I hope to keep this very spirit alive in my family.
It has taken me over ten years to learn this.
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| I don't feel older or any different... yet. I am out of the "mid-twenties" bracket... so I can't fill that bubble in anymore. Maybe that's because change is an evolution and a reason why I don't feel a dramatic difference. If I look back in the past year, I can definitely say I feel like a different person. There's a level of growth I find in myself that allows me to feel a little bit stronger and a little bit wiser.
I'm another step closer to being a decent human-being. haha =)
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| it was a gorgeous weekend. one of my closest friends got married and aside from the great weather... that's what made the weekend so beautiful.
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