The Rocco Chronicles: Teacher’s Day

May 15th was a day to celebrate all the teachers in Korea. Between all of the public schools, and private academies for extra study in English, Math, Science, Art, Music, Dance, and Taekwondo, there are many teachers to honor.
Vicky, Mark’s boss, made a HUGE feast on Thursday night in honor of her staff. She brought in a well-known chef, who cooked (Vicky assisted) for at least 7 hours. There was so much yummy Korean food … a feast to be sure!
Vicky invited me over to help, which I was super-excited to do. I was able to watch this Korean cook in action, she was great. She was in her 60s and just exuded beauty and knowledge and life. I love to watch people cook. Styles of cooking and the type of food reveals history and culture. I was able to offer a hand, mostly cleaning up, but I LOVED IT! There was something so sacred that I was a part of in that kitchen.

I also made a balloon chandelier to go over the dinner table.

Left: Jinny, Janet, Vicky, Bus Driver #1, Bus Driver #2, Mark, Amy, Jenny, Lydia

Pork Short Ribs with chestnuts (top middle) cooked to perfection!!

Cooked and Chilled Seafood: (top left) scallops, octopus, mussel

Salad (don’t know the name of the greens), with a red spicy, tangy, garlic-y, ginger-y, FABULOUS dressing!

This has onions, green, red, and yellow peppers, mushrooms, carrots, beef, noodles, and a sauce.

Plate in the middle, wraps of sorts (?) that you dip in that wonderful red, spicy dressing.

Those little discs in the right top corner are zucchini battered and fried, and also, bell pepper rings filled with a meat mixture and battered and fried.

The bottom right is a bowl of soup: clams, onions, red chili peppers, greens … very good!

Fried mushrooms (to die for) with a sweet and sour sauce!!

This is Vicky and her husband – it was also their 20th wedding anniversary that day. We celebrated with an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins.

We played a game next. You throw 4 sticks (bottom middle) and they allow you to move around a game board. It is similar to “Chutes and Ladders”, though everyone plays with various rules (depending on what your family does), so it was funny to watch the differing rules clash. As one of Mark’s co-workers put it, the game ended up being a business meeting of negotiating to establish who’s rules are ‘right’.

Mark just made a toss for his team.

Vicky and Bus Driver #1 were ‘loving’ the game and pretty much spearheaded the whole project. They were both intensely certain that their rules were ‘right’ and the other’s ‘wrong’. Though remember, that is all depending on who’s rules you are adhering to. :o)