For our South Korean friend, Kim Jijhe's birthday we celebrated with dinner, a cake and watching the "Savior of the World" at the convention center small theatre. There were a lot of nuances held within the celebrations.
For example, Dave used to play in the orchestra which accompanied the production. Now it's recorded, but that brought back a lot of memories for him.
Another thing was, that noone had ever made a birthday cake for Kim. Christine made this one for her and she was very moved by that jesture.
Finally, it is interesting to note that in Korea, you don't move up in age on your birthday; you do it on January 1 with everyone else in your school grade. Interesting. Though Kim has had 22 birthday anniversaries, she doesn't turn 22 until January 1. They celebrate the anniversary of her birth, but it doesn't mark a new age. It creates order within the school grades to have everyone be the same age.
Kim taught us a lot about the education system there. After an early morning start in the public schools, the children go to after-school academy. The parents must pay for this, and the more wealthy a family is, the better the opportunity.
There is no time for anything creative. There are no choirs, bands, orchestras, plays, sports, or anything other than ... as Kim put it, "study, study, study."
We need to appreciate more the country we live in and the opportunities offered therein. I know I do.
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