As I Was Saying....

Before being so rudely interrupted by being plunged into the dark ages with no Internet, I was trying to post this latest installment of our Chuseok adventures.
As the holiday drew near, every store-- big and little-- displayed these great gift sets of everything from perfume to crackers. There were a few carefully packaged items that just wouldn't make the translation to Western culture as coveted gift items, but mostly they covered the gamut of expensive fruit, soaps/lotions, sauces, juices, and cookies/candies/rice cakes. Chuseok is a time to give tons of gifts and visit family-- with gifts-- and show appreciation to employees-- with gifts...
Just before the break, our school's PTA mothers set out a feast of snack items foreign (just like home) and domestic (new treats to try) that covered 3 big tables. The leadership team at my church spent one whole day delivering fruit to all the foreign members of our English ministry. And we got a gift from the school-- along with a note of apology for the loud construction over the break (we affectionately named that obnoxious piece of machinery "the rockpecker" )

Here's a peek at the gift from the school:

Enough for a whole army of spam-eaters...
but is it enough for me?!

It even came with its own carrying case!

When I first saw these in the stores, I thought how funny it would be to get Spam in the States-- it's more like a gift you'd give an ex-girlfriend, a mother-in-law, or your accountant after his mistake cost you thousands of dollars in back taxes and overdraft bank fees-- not so in Asia. As you can see on Lon's page, Japan loves this stuff too!
The fruit from Church was really good: loads of Kiwi, peaches, and these gourd-looking things that I didn't know were melons until I cut one open and ate a big bite! Beware of new fruits in foreign lands!
One final word of encouragement:

Have a Spamtastic week!