Easter Sunday pics and post

We had a "brunch" of pizza and chicken at my birthfamily's home first. There, my birthfather tried to convince me no less than five times to drink some Soju with him. He even tried pouring some into a glass and telling me it was "just water." After a green and pink manicure from Unsun and a quick Soju-induced nap for my birthparents, we were off to Children's Grand Park's Cherry Blossom Festival. Above are pictures of their house. Notice their "shower" in their bathroom. Also note than Unkyung's room is messy, just like mine.








The cherry blossoms were pretty and the park layout was interesting to see. We sat under the trees and conversed for about an hour and a half before taking a walk around the park. The stone carving is of a half moon with the lyrics to a Korean song (called Half Moon I think). I also took pictures of the dried octopus (octopus jerky?) they sold as festival food and the huge hot water dispenser for the bowls of ramen noodles (they call it Rameyan) so many bought and ate. It seemed an onconvenient outdoor snack to me, but the festival goers lined up by the dozens to get some.

When we got ready to leave for the festival, my birthfather insisted that he take me on the moped (while the rest walked) so my legs wouldn’t get tired. I tried to politely decline because, honestly, the thought of weaving in and out of traffic (which was fun with Unkyung) on a moped with a driver who was buzzed on Soju didn’t thrill me. But he insisted and that's all he need do apparently. It took everyone else about 30 minutes to get to the park. I tried to hide my annoyance with the way things were going. Birthfather held my hand, his fingers interlocking with mine which is always uncomfortable as his fingers are wide, forcing my fingers to stretch to their limits. As he walked through the crowd, he pulled me by my hand, unaware of things like trees, people, or walls which were in my path but not in his. I was being dragged and whipped around and not like we were two people strolling TOGETHER and holding hands.

When we all sat down to enjoy the day, Birthfather mentioned that I needto get married quickly. I launched into a speech about not wanting to be married any sooner than four years from now. I included my plans to have a career and to buy my own home, both without a man. I’m not sure how much Unkyung was able to translate, but I didn't care. My words were coming from a place of frustration. I felt that the entire day was filled with various attempts to control me. Unsun later asked if Unkyung spoke English well. I said that she did and she giggled and whispered to her mother. She explained that she thinks Unkyung doesn’t know as much English as she pretends. This made us all laugh and from then on the day was pleasant.

I arm wrestled Unkyung and Unsun. When I defeated Unsun everyone was shocked, including me since the family always claims that Unsun is freakishly strong, saying, “ she like man.” Then I remembered that before I came here, I did go to the gym and work with a personal trainer who had me weight train, do push ups, etc. etc. Of course Unsun seemed freakishly strong in a country where weight training isn’t something young Korean girls do.

Last note: I have confirmed that I definitely get my short legs from my birthfather. I always tell people that I have short legs, even for a person my height. My torso is just as long as most, but my legs are what are unusually short. Looking at my birthfather sitting cross legged on the picnic blanket, I realized where this feature “stems” from. His legs and feet looked so miniature. Also, my hands are shaped like his (unfortunately) while my birthmother and Unsun have long, slender, elegant looking fingers. The only difference is his hands' obvious masculinity, rough texture, and yellow tint which I’m not sure is from smoking cigarettes or from something else.