Meeting Cousins

Index
This afternoon my cousin Suk-Hyun and her husband took us out to lunch. Suk-Hyun was one year old when I left Korea (I was eleven). It is said that I used to adore my little cousin. She tells me I look so young. Her husband says I look younger than her.

I experienced Korean food I had not tasted before—lettuce wrap with roasted duck and vegetables.

I am one of the older relatives of my generation. They have different names for me depending on where they are in relation to me. My third cousin (daughter of my cousin) calls me Imo (Aunt). My cousins call me Unni (older sister). They tell me that I need to drop the formal language that is used for elders. Trying to remember that makes me a bit uncomfortable and I tend to forget.

In the evening, my cousin, In-Hong, treated us to dinner—again a new taste. I walked up to the room only to be turned away by the waiter. OOPS! ...I had to go back and take off my shoes. We then sat on the floor with our legs crossed. The dinner was somewhat like bibimbop but very different.

The clothes I brought for this trip are too formal. Women here dress very casually, like jeans and a shirt, but men wear suits. I don’t understand that.