Georgia Peaches and Korean Hanboks

We returned to the South for a second time in a month, this time to Georgia for our cousin S.H.'s wedding. On our two-part journey to Atlanta via Chicago, we saw quite a few military personnel dressed in desert fatigues at the airports. I found myself pausing to say a quick prayer and thank them quietly as they walked by. We also noticed more blind people than we were used to as we wandered through Atlanta. Turns out that the town was hosting a National Federation of the Blind convention that week.

We stayed in downtown Atlanta, within walking distance from Centennial Olympic Park, with its leaping fountains that kept kids of all ages screaming with laughter.

We also tried a couple of great restaurants nearby – Fire of Brazil (www.fireofbrazil.com), where men called Gauchos walk around with large slabs of grilled meat on skewers and cut delicious slices of beef, lamb, chicken (you name it), for you right there at your table, to supplement their great salad buffet; and Pitty Pat’s Porch (www.pittypatsrestaurant.com), where we savored barbecued ribs, fried chicken, and blackened flounder, Southern-style.

We topped off this meal with peach cobbler a la mode for dessert. (Had to do it, considering we saw “Peachtree” everywhere we turned – Peachtree Street (more than one!), Peachtree Hotel, Peachtree Tavern,…)

The wedding was beautiful, with the ceremony set in the small town of Roswell in a round-shaped sanctuary nestled in the woods. I especially liked seeing the mothers in traditional hanboks. At the reception, held in a historic home just steps away from the church, A played the guitar and sang "This Day" (by Jadon Lavik) beautifully for the newlyweds' first dance. We were immersed in Korean during our time with his family, including the wedding, so I was doing lots of smiling and guessing what was being said based on hand gestures and facial expressions. I was careful not to look too much like I knew what was going on, though, after having to defer several friendly advances to A, who was always ready to translate for me.