She's my friend Joy's daughter. Joy told me, "She's still a baby, so she doesn't have a pretty face." I begged to differ.
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"I heard," said Joy, "that in the U.S. women drink and eat cold things after they have a baby." "Uh, I guess so, I don't know why they wouldn't." "Oh, in Korea women only eat and drink warm things after they give birth, to keep their bodies warm." She thought for a minute. "I think American women must be stronger than Asian women." At that, a mental picture from the Pearl S. Buck book The Good Earth popped into my head--when the Chinese farm-woman gives birth in the morning and is back at work in the fields by lunchtime. "No, I don't think so." I said. I thought of another example. "It takes a certain kind of fierce to walk around in sub-freezing temperatures in a miniskirt and four-inch high heels, like so many women do here." "That's true," agreed Joy.
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I know Mike wrote about the KATUSAs--the Korean soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army. I work with KATUSAs as well, and I never cease to be amazed at how smart these guys are. Today I was walking through the office next door when I noticed one of the guys was reading something in English; I poked my head over his desk and asked what he was reading. "Oh, it's just a textbook on financial derivatives." Oh.
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I was in the KATUSA Snack Bar--our little Korean food restaurant on base--the other day in uniform. As I was waiting for my take-out order, an older Korean guy walked past me, then turned and looked at my name tape. "Wow--she's a Kim!" I told him that my husband is Korean. "Wow--good job!" he told me, flashing a thumbs-up.
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And one more picture, from the ah-pah-tu:
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