Forbidden things

Koreans will give anything to a kid, including items that Americans consider dangerous. For instance, hard candy. People are forever giving Vivian candies that are serious choking hazards, and we're forever intercepting such gifts. Balloons are another forbidden delight. Little American kids don't get balloons because they're attractive nuisances that won't respond to the Heimlich maneuver should one be inhaled and so can be quite dangerous. Doesn't seem to bother Koreans one bit- we even have played with balloons in our music class.



We were in Seoul this past weekend and Vivian, lucky girl, got a large purple balloon. She loved that balloon, but learned the hard lesson that if you don't hold on to it, it'll float away.