Lunar New Years Prelude!

Knowing how enthusiastic I am about experiencing Lunar New Years, Kyle set me up with his best friend, Tae Hun, whose family is perhaps more liberal than most:

I hadn't met Tae Hun until tonight but he heard about me through Kyle, and decided to invite me to his home for New Years. The three of us went for chicken tonight - very topical, since New York City is suddenly mad about Korean bak-bak. The New York Times recently printed an article about the trend.

Dakgalbi (닭갈비):

We didn't have the crispy fad chicken but rather Dakgalbi, a simmering pot of spicy breast with rice cakes, rice noodles, carrots, etc. It was divine; spicy with a hint of peanut sauce.

Afterwards, we went to a coffee shop to get smoothies and discuss the pending holiday. Tae Hun had prepared notes to educate me about Lunar New Years. I am so excited. In the box at the top right corner of the page is the schedule he jotted down!

10:00 AM: Ancestral service.
10:30 AM: Dokgu (rice cake soup) breakfast.
12:00: Traditional bowing. Family bow at the feet of their elders.
1:00: Take a rest.
2:00: Go to a cemetery, at a mountain, to again honor ancestors.
3:00: Play games like yoots (Hangul pronunciation.)

The ironic part is that Koreans turn a year older when they eat dokgu, and my birthday is on Sunday so it'll be the case for me, too!