Lee's wedding

I had never been to a Korean wedding and was very curious how things might be similar and how they might be different. So, this past Saturday my friend Lee got married and I finally got to attend a wedding here and see what it was all about. Funny story...I knew that Lee was dating his (now wife) girlfriend all the way back in August, when we first met. For whatever reason they kept it a secret from all of their church friends (Dana, my director and friend goes to church with him and introduced me to him last summer) but he told me they had been dating. He asked me not to tell, and so of course I didn't. The rest of their friends didn't even know they were dating until maybe February or March. So Dana told me that Lee had a girlfriend, and I told her "I know, I knew back in August" HAHA! Anyway, Lee's a cool guy, speaks English very well and lived in LA for about 6 months.

So, Saturday was the big day for him. I met with Dana at their church and rode the church van down with about 12 other people. I had met one or two of them just going out to eat before with Dana, and just hanging out and what not. It was funny, Dana and I talked almost the whole way there (it was about a 45 minute ride) and most of the other people were just quiet. At one point I said to Dana "Man, we must really like to talk!" HA! It was like I finally noticed how much we had been talking and how quiet it was. So...we got to the wedding hall at around 12:15 and the wedding was at 1 PM. One thing I'll give Koreans and weddings...they are very efficient. At the wedding hall (it was about 4 or 5 stories tall) there is a wedding chapel, a beauty salon, a coffee shop, and a restaurant all together...makes pretty good sense, right? I also found out that a lot of Korean girls just use a wedding dress from the wedding hall...Lee told me that his wife Sami took about 15 minutes to pick out her dress! Amazing! And so much smarter than spending $1000-2000 on something you'll wear once and then store away in a closet for 70 years. So...we met Sami first and took some pictures with her. She looked really pretty...she usually doesn't wear makeup so she looked a little different than I had seen her before. Lee looked very excited when I met him and we chatted for a few minutes. Dana told me that usually they are only allowed 30 minutes (yes, 30 minutes) for their wedding ceremony, and then there is another couple that comes in right behind them. Saturday however, Lee and Sami were the only two getting married so they had as much time as they wanted. Dana likened it unto a factory...which I'd have to say I agree. 30 minutes...I mean, I can just imagine if one's preacher is telling you all the do's and don'ts of being married and then the coordinator comes in and says "ummmm, we need to wrap this up! We have another couple coming in!" HAHA! So, anyway, the place looked really pretty. The ceremony itself was actually about the same as western weddings, and after their preacher talked to them Lee played Sami a song on his saxaphone. I thought that was really cool and they both looked really happy. So after their wedding, it's custom for the bride and groom to go off, and dress in 한복 "hanbok" (traditional Korean clothing) and have a short meeting with the groom's parents, where they talk and make promises I guess, and then the parents throw food into a cloth and wish them well. Lee asked me if I wanted to see that and of course I said yes. They got all dressed and I thought it was so funny...Lee said that was the first time that he had ever worn hanbok, so he needed help getting dressed! I just assumed all Koreans wore it on special occasions, but he and Sami both said it was the first time they had ever worn it. I thought that was pretty cool and more interesting to me than the actual wedding since it was about the same as in the States.

So after all of that, the guests can go upstairs and they have a big restuarant and people can line up and eat. The food was really good...most of it traditional Korean food, and then some other types of food as well. There was one very intersting dish I did try. My friend Kevin (well, that's his English name) told me I should try some 소꼬리 (so kko ri) or cow's tail. I thought he was joking, but he was totally serious. I tried it...it was very intersting tasting. It tasted kind of fatty...sort of like the fat around a steak or something. The texture was kind of like dumplings. Anyway...he said it was popular at weddings and special events, although most of my Korean friends said they either A) had never tried it or B) don't like it. HA! It was decent though...

Ok, in answer to Greta's post...I will try and answer briefly on my plans (and then add more details when I really do know more)

Yes, crazy as it seems, I've been here almost a year already...my plans for now are to end my contract with Kids College at the end of June (well, actually July 3rd...there are some teacher issues and my boss asked me to stay a few more days) and then I'll probably be headed back to the States around July 8th. I'll probably be there for a few weeks, and then hopefully if everything goes well, I'll be back here in Korea around the 1st part of August. So...as I said, when I know 100% I promise I'll let you know more. I just hate to tell people something and then be wrong. So...that's the skinny! :)