Korean
Thanksgiving – Chuseok, one of the major holidays in Korea, is a time wherein
locals return to their hometowns to pay their respects to their ancestors and
give thanks for the year’s harvest. Chuseok falls during the 15th of August according
to the lunar calendar, the days before and after it included in the holiday’s
observance.
This
year, the Chuseok day fell on September 30. As most of our Korean friends have
gone home to their families, we FTAs wondered how we should spend the holiday.
Some decided to visit attractions and amusement parks as they are relatively
crowd-free. The Filipino TAs however decided to go to Hyehwa, where large
portions of the Filipino community gather on Sundays.
Upon
arriving to Hyehwa, we were greeted by familiar sounds and the reminiscent
smells of home. Food and wares from our homeland were peddled along the
streets, all the way from the train station to Hyehwa-dong Catholic Church
where we were headed.
The
sheer volume of the Filipinos who have come to attend Sunday Mass was rather
overwhelming. The Church was packed, and a lot of people were still outside.
It
has been a while since we have heard Mass in our vernacular, Tagalog. I then
realized how much I missed home. The songs, the prayers, the community, the
entire experience somehow tugged at my heartstrings and made me feel something
which was not quite homesickness. It was something else. It was like that
feeling you get when you read your old journal. That rush, that warm feeling
you get from experiencing it again which is just the right mix of joy and
melancholy.
There
was a feast prepared by the Church after the Mass. Filipino dishes were served,
and the sound of merriment echoed throughout the function hall. Food and drinks
flowed, together with the laughter and stories of our countrymen. We have met a
lot of good people, and we left Hyehwa happy, well fed, and content.
We
ended our day out by making a pitstop at Baskin-Robbins, near Yeokgok station.
The sugar rush it induced fuelled us well into the night when we shared drinks,
food and stories with fellow FTAs and some of our Korean friends who returned
to the dormitory early.
The
day following Chuseok was spent with Mr. and Mrs. Lazo. They decided to throw a
pizza party for the international students who they deemed “Chuseok Orphans”
and generously opened their home to those who did not have one to go to for the
holiday.
Aside
from the pizza, traditional Korean sweets were served, including Songpyeon, a
type of rice cake which is customarily prepared during Chuseok.
The
couple’s Korean ‘kids’ joined us and gave us an insight as to the cultural
significance of Chuseok. We FTAs then shared similar holiday experiences from
our own countries, while the Lazos shared the various cultural experiences they
had through their trips abroad.
In
its very essence, Chuseok is a time for thanksgiving. It’s a time to reflect
about the things we are grateful for and show our appreciation for them.
For
me, I am thankful that I have family and friends who support me and show me
that distance would not keep us apart.
I
am thankful for the opportunities given to me, for the experiences I had, and
for the ones that I will continue to have.
Most
of all, I am thankful that I have met wonderful people who have taken me in and
made me feel at home in this foreign land.
Chuseok
helped bring me to the realization that despite sadness, despite difficulties,
there would always be a lot of things to be thankful for.
- Laurence Enriquez
No comments:
Post a Comment