family reunions are sweet

This weekend peter & I were able to meet with some of my family members from my dad's side who I haven't seen in almost 10 years.  It was really great.  We left each meeting with full hearts.  As some of you may know, I had some anxiety about being around my family with my broken Korean (or Konglish : )  However, both gatherings we had were so full of sweetness and kindness.  

We first met with my dad's youngest sister, who we nicknamed "Bowling Como" on Saturday.  Como means paternal aunt in Korean.  Bowling Como came with her husband and their two kids, Kyung Jin (daughter) and Kyung Pyo (son).  Both of their kids have studied in the U.S. and have really good English skills so they often translated throughout our conversations since Como and Como Bu (uncle) speak little to no English. 

 I have a special fondness for Bowling Como because she has always shown much interest in my life and my siblings' lives.  She and my uncle came to our wedding and visited several times in the U.S.  Both Como and Como Bu are extremely generous, kind, and easy going people.  Several times throughout the day Como emphasized quite emphatically that if we ever needed anything she would just be a phone call away.  They took us to lunch at a restaurant here in the hotel.  They were extremely gracious and I hope that we'll be able to get to know them better during our time here.

On Sunday, my dad's older brother and his three kids came to visit.  In Korean, we call him (Koon Ahbohjee) which literally means, "Big father".  He is the head of the family since he is the oldest sibling.  I know how fond my dad is of him and how much he respects him, so it was nice to be around him for the afternoon.  I was kind of nervous about meeting with him and my three cousins, Kee Bom, So Hee and So Jung, because they speak very little english, but it ended up being a really fun afternoon.   They greeted us with a large bag full of apples and clementines, as well as some traditional korean pastries.  I sliced some apples, laid out some clementines, chocolates we bought from the PX and poured orange juice and we talked or mumbled through our conversation for a few hours.  So Hee, one of my cousins, is a really funny girl-- very charming in the way she talks and she put us all at ease by asking funny questions.  Peter offered the phrase he has mastered in korean to them by saying, "I don't speak Korean well".  My uncle and all three cousins just erupted in laughter and replied almost in unison, "We don't speak english well!"  

They soon left after an afternoon of catching up and lots of laughter.  I really look forward to getting to know them all better.  My uncle had good things to say about Peter too.  He told me that just by looking at Peter's face he could tell he was a good, gentle, and kind man and that he could tell he loved me.  I suppose some things don't need words to be communicated.