Pocky Central

I am an only child. But I have a lot of brothers and sisters.

This is because of two things - one, the way my family (a fairly traditional Korean one) works, and my habit of ‘adopting’ friends.

I’ll talk about the family thing first.

In Korean culture, much like many others, you refer to your cousins (and often your close friends) as ‘big brother’ or ‘big sister’. Why this is, exactly, I couldn’t say. It just is. So at family gatherings, I have a lot of ‘hyungahs’ (big brothers) and ‘noonahs’ (big sisters) as well as younger siblings (who I just call by their name).

Thus, I have a fairly large group of ’siblings’ as is. (At current count, I have six cousins on my mother’s side of the family, and fourteen on my father’s side, not counting second cousins and the like)

As for ‘adopting’ friends, some people just click with me. Others have been friends for so long, it feels like we’re family. These are the people that I call ‘little sis’ or ‘bro’ or what have you. I don’t have nearly as many of these ’siblings’, but they’re out there, and they count as family to me.

Most of the time, I don’t even realize I’ve stopped calling a friend by their name and by a sibling term until they point it out.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll have a ‘family’ with more than one hundred people in it by the time I pass on.

I have been to South Korea (my ‘motherland’, as it were) twice in my life. Once in 1988 (when I was 12), and once in 1996 (20).

The reason for both trips was the same - to improve my Korean (reading and writing), and learn more about where my parents and family came from.

One thing I remember very fondly from both trips is the fact that the members of my extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) were very, VERY accepting of me, even though they had never met me before. They took me into their homes, showed me around, and help me cope with a culture that I honestly didn’t know much about.

This is part of the reason I love my family so much. It was because they were so willing to work with me, put up with my American-ness (I was very, VERY stubborn and selfish back then), and always make sure that I was okay, and that my summers in Korea were wonderful.

It is thanks to there people that I am who I am today, and for that, I am eternally grateful. Some of them have moved on to whatever may lie ahead, and I miss them very much. But I know that they are watching over me, and that they will always be there for me.