Thanksgiving & making 30

Today is Saturday, Chusak. Chusak is more or less a Thanksgiving Day, though with more tradition. It falls on the 15th day of the eighth moon (lunar calender). There are family feasts, giving of thanks to a bountiful harvest, and ritual acknowledgment of ancestors. Korea to my observation still has one foot rooted in agrarian society. And the footprint of the other still there. As such, this is a harvest holiday.

Signs of the harvest are present when motorcycling. The roads are used freely by farmers to dry their rice, and peppers. Thus, a word of advice. Be cautious when motorcycling because your lane can end suddenly with 50 meters of drying rice, or red peppers. Also gifts are given in the form of locally grown grapes, and apples... some of the best grapes i've ever had. The apples are good too.

95% of stores are closed today. Seoul is a ghost town. All families will go to the place of their ancestors, or to the head of household's home to feast together and bow to their deceased ancestors. Typically the extended family will visit the tombs of the ancestors that have been manicured by the local family, or head of household, bow and pour soju to them. The wife of the oldest male is a prisoner of cooking and cleaning for the entire extended family... the dutiful male head of household will drink soju with other men, and the kids will acquaint themselves with cousins.

I've received some gifts that are a combination of Chusak and birthday from students and parents. I have enough Korean Red Ginseng to seed all of Asia... its supposed to be good for man health. Several gifts were in the form of fruit... i have a refrigerator full of fruit. Even my quiet neighbors have offered me bunches of grapes...

I have both Friday and Monday off. I'm enjoying the long weekend hiking and riding my motorcycle.

I'm asked to write an essay for an essay contest put together by the policy makers of Guest English Teacher programs. They are looking to motivate teachers and policy makers, and critical ideas of how to improve the program. Also, I should incorporate useful advise on overcoming adversity related to cultural barriers, and intra-school conflicts (conflicts with teachers and students). This is a nice exercise but i've not been able to put together more than a page.