Chuseok means work week starts thursday

Hello blogging world, its been awhile.

Chuseok- Wow it really has been a long time.  Chuseok, the magical Korean holiday that means I get off from school until Thursday.  This is kind of the equivalent of thanksgiving for Koreans.  Its a time to give thanks and pray to the ancestors.  But mostly, its a time to eat a lot of food.  Koreans don't mess around! We start cooking a few days in advance and don't stop until its time to eat.  But this meal is early in the morning, were talking 9 or 10 we were at my grandmas on my host dads side.  We spent the majority of the day there the day before cooking and hanging out.  This day we showed up, the boys changed into Hanbook (traditional Korean clothing) and we set the table.  This table is very important to the family and they work very hard in making it a perfect way to respect their ancestors.  Several dishes are laid out, drinks are offered, and praying commences.  So while the boys are in nice suits, the girls are mostly in their P.J.s still.  The boys are the ones who set the table and pray, they were also the ones who last weekend helped groom the gravesite.  After this table setting was over we took it apart and started to eat some yummy food.  And lots of fruit! Oh so much!  I awkwardly spent the time not sure if i should help or stay out of the way.  I played some board games with the cousins and even watched t.v.  By mid-afternoon it was all over and we headed home.  Later on I went to see a movie with my host mom and sister.  My host mom was a little freaked out but it was really cute haha (Into the storm).  Overall the holiday was good, not what I was expecting but good.  It was not as formal as I thought and a lot more went into the food then actually enjoying the meal together.  The prayer portion was very interesting and I'm grateful i was included in this holiday.  On a side note, the grandparents bed was as hard as a rock.  And when i say that I mean the bed was literally a slab of marble.  When i asked my host sister she responded “good for your health”  which is the answer to most questions I have about Korea.