3.14 White Day/Pie Day

To all my mathematically inclined friends (I actually think I really only know one haha), Happy Pie Day π (3.1415926535897...). For all those who are located in Japan, Taiwan, or Korea, Happy White Day. White Day is the Asian version of a Hallmark Holiday. Valentine's Day is celebrated differently here.

Here's a snippet from wikipedia:

In Japan, Taiwan, and Korea, Valentine's Day is observed by females who present chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to a male, as an expression of love, courtesy or social obligation. The handmade chocolate is usually preferred by the receiver, because it is a sign that the receiving male is the girl's "only one". On White Day, the converse happens: males who received a honmei-choco (本命チョコ?, "chocolate of love") or giri-choco (義理チョコ?, "courtesy chocolate") on Valentine's Day are expected to return the favor by giving gifts, usually more expensive. Traditionally, popular White Day gifts are cookies, jewelery, white chocolate, white lingerie and marshmallows.[1] Sometimes the term sanbai gaeshi (三倍返し?, literally, "thrice the return") is used to describe the generally recited rule that the return gift should be two to three times the cost of the Valentine's gift.[2]

I think it is interesting that the women are the ones doing the giving, instead of the men. The good news is at least in White Day they are supposed to return the favor with a more expensive gift. :) This actually was all started by a confectionery who started marketing marshmallows as gifts to those who presented Valentines Day traditional chocolate. Eventually marshmallows increased to white chocolate, then dark, then jewelry, and before long it was a full blown lovers holiday. Occasionally gifts can be exchanged for social obligations, but mostly it is a sign of affection.

I think the best part is that the love based holidays do not stop at two in Korea. There is also a singles day later in the year. On this day single people are all supposed to go out and eat jajangmyeon (noodles with black bean sauce). They say it is to celebrate their singleness. My instinct says it is so they can easily spot each other and possibly hook up. :) haha

Happy New Year - 새해 복 많이 받으세요!

Happy New Year! Tonight we ate Korean food for the first time without someone who could translate for us. We decided to venture out on our own. It was an adventure. We looked around for a while and finally found a place about three blocks away. That was only after we had randomly walked around for about 2 miles. We just wanted to explore and get out of our apartment for a while. We haven't set up the internet yet and haven;t really purchased a lot for our place yet. It is kind of boring right now. I know it will be better once we get a few more things for our place. We also have a lot of planning for our classes on Monday. The only other thing that remains to be seen is whether or not there will be a foreign teacher meeting this weekend downtown. I haven't been by their facebook page in a while. We need to check it out soon.

For now, Happy New Year.
새해 복 많이 받으세요!

I know it is going to be exciting!