I submitted the following this morning for publication in the high school newspaper. Keep in mind it was written to first year high school students, equivalent to 10th grade in the States, with intermediate English language skills.

My Big Family

One of the first things I noticed when I came to Korea last year in March was that families appear to be very important. Whether a family has one child, two children, or even four kids, Korean parents spend a lot of time and energy trying to raise happy families. It is much the same where I come from. My home state of Utah in the United States is famous for its large families but as large as each family gets, parents still love each child equally.

My own family is quite large when compared to most Korean families. I have one brother and four sisters. Both my mother and father came from large families so I also have many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Recently I sat down to determine just how many relatives I have. How big do you think my immediate and extended family is? Fifty people? Seventy five people? One hundred people? I think you'll be surprised.

I already mentioned that I have one brother and four sisters. Two of my sisters and my brother are married. One sister has two sons, the other has two daughters and one son, and my brother has one daughter and one son. That means I have four nephews and three nieces. Add them all up and I have eighteen people in my immediate family!

Now for my extended family. My father has two brothers and three sisters. They are all married of course and they have many children. So, on my father's side, I have two grandparents (though my grandfather passed away eight years ago), five aunts, five uncles, and twenty one cousins. That's thirty three people.

My mother's family is even bigger. She has three brothers and six sisters. Most of them are married and some of them have enormous families. On my mother's side of the family I have two grandparents (my grandfather died twenty five years ago), nine aunts and six uncles. And, believe it or not, there are forty two cousins on my mother's side of the family. That's fifty nine people!

If you didn't fail your last math exam, you now think that there are one hundred and ten people in my immediate and extended family but you are wrong. Many of my cousins are married with children of their own so, to get an accurate count of all my extended relatives, you must also include them in the final number.

Are you ready? If you include the spouses of my cousins and their children, that's an additional one hundred and fifty five people. I am not lying! Now, add them all up for a final tally. What is the total? I confess that even I was surprised to learn just how many relatives I have. The final number is two hundred and sixty five. That's right, I have two hundred and sixty five people in my immediate and extended family. If we all got together at the same time, that would be one enormous family reunion, don't you think?

How about your family? How many aunts and uncles and cousins do you have? When you get married, how many children do you hope to have? If you are really ambitious, you could do what my friend Sam's parents did. They had twelve children. Actually, these days I don't think that's ambitious, I think it's plain crazy!

Memorable moment

Today is Remembrance Day in Korea. It is the equivalent holiday to Memorial Day in the States. Schools and many business are closed so I have a much appreciated day off.

Yesterday, at the conclusion of my housewives class and a discussion of the upcoming holiday, one of my students, a kind but silly woman whose gregarious nature masks her limited English language skills, approached me and solemnly said, "Your country, many people died here. Thank you." The moment passed as quickly as it came and left me stunned and humbled.