visiting home

Two weeks ago, I visited my parents for a short weekend. Now that I have class on Saturday, my weekends are abbreviated to Saturday nights and Sundays. My sister, her husband, and baby Hadynn were also in town for the weekend. She is more than five months now, and she's such a happy baby. Somehow, my dad can always get her to relax, and my mom can always get her to laugh.



One of the best parts about being home on the weekends is the leisurely breakfast we often have on Saturdays or Sundays. Growing up, I didn't enjoy eating rice for breakfast (pancakes were so exotic to me, and forget waffles!), but I love eating congee now. It's a long, gingerly-paced breakfast, with soy-sauce flavored pickles, scallions and eggs, fermented tofu (my favorite), shredded dried pork, and whatever else we have (in this case, breakfast sausages, oddly enough) to pick at while slurping soupy rice. Congee breakfasts are never rushed and are often filled with laughter, especially when my siblings are home too.



Whenever I'm home, I always try to make a trip to my favorite cheap eats restaurant in Philadelphia (Pho Ha, 6th St. and Washington Ave. in South Philly). Usually, my sister and I go, but I took Peter since he was also in Philadelphia for this year's Korean American Students Conference. I've talked about this pho place for years (great broth, plenty of thinly sliced beef, a big plate of fresh herbs and sprouts...), and I'm happy to say that Pete agreed that the pho really does live up to my hype.

After I graduate in May, I hope to go home more often. As much as I love the comforts of our apartment in Brooklyn, I do miss my parents and have a great deal of pride in Philadelphia. It's good to be home.