Liberation
Well, it's Aug. 15. And besides my parents anniversary (happy 25th!), that also means Korea's celebration of independence from Japanese colonial rule from 1910-1945. On my way to work yesterday, I passed a big parade. Somebody held a large paper-mache tiger, which carried a string wrapped around a tiny American soldier's neck. Strangely, Liberation Day is tinged with anti-American feelings. Strange, because, as I recall, the Americans had something to do with the war ending and the Japanese surrender in 1945. However, this country has a foreign population of less than 1 percent, so many people haven't been around people from other countries much. At home, I never feel too patriotic. But here, sometimes I feel like waving an American flag. Although the U.S. has its problems, it has always welcomed foreigners from other lands. And that makes it great. Cue Neil Diamond's "Coming to America" here. (Which I played last night on my i-pod. Twice)

A blessing from God
Yes, we love our little skeleton. She's about 5 inches long right now, and scheduled to be born on Dec. 22. And yes, this one's a girl.

We're back.
To all of my loyal readers (or is it reader at this point?), many apologies for not posting lately. I guess eating dog got to my brain and slowed it even more. While we're on the subject ... Koreans love to do things in groups. And there are three days of the year where the tradition is to eat samkyetang (a chicken soup) or boshintang (yes, dog soup). The idea is, you eat either of the two dishes to help you get through the hot days of summer -- which last about 3 weeks, right after the rainy season. Each time, the samkeytang and boshintang restaurants are packed. Well, Sunday was the last of the three (though I'm not sure the hot days are over, it's been in the high 80s for a while). We went to the same restaurant across the street from our apartment. And this time, I had the samkyetang! The photos are of the restaurant. The first word, in Korean, means boshingtang. The second means samkyetang. I'm not sure the third one, but it's a type of "tang" or soup. (Patty just told me it's a fish stew, or soup). The poster is the liquor ad for eating dog with a type of soju, or Korean liquor. The red word means "STRONG" in Korean. You can see the guy with the cowering dog. Finally, the third photo is Patty's uncle downing some boshingtang. Tasty! I don't think I'll have it again (too much Western guilt), but I can say that most Koreans that I've talked to eat it -- and it doesn't seem strange to them.