FitFoods with Claire

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/eft-tapping-somatic-breathwork-adoptee-virtual-workshop-tickets-1021718175567?aff=oddtdtcreator

EFT Tapping & Somatic Breathwork | Adoptee Virtual Workshop Join us for a transformative online workshop combining EFT Tapping & Somatic Breathwork specifically designed for adoptees.

I want to share a healing workshop I attended over the weekend called "Exploring Multiple Identities through Movement", facilitated by Mihyun Lee.

It was an experiential workshop to promote psychological well-being through physiological practice for Korean adoptees and their families.

For some of us adoptees, we often have trouble expressing ourselves and processing our emotions through language. I often come into KAD spaces feeling very safe to share, however I sometimes lack the words to express what I need to. Throughout my life, I have suppressed emotions and trauma and stored it in my body.

Having a tool like movement therapy is transformational for me because I finally feel like i'm able to complete the process of moving stuck emotions through my body and understand things more clearly. I feel like a weight has been lifted!

Mihyun is a wonderful facilitator and created a beautiful, safe environment for all of us who joined her workshop.

Thank you so much Mihyun, I look forward to experiencing more movement workshops with you!

I made a free challenge for adoptees who want to heal through breathwork! Comment “breathe” and I’ll send it to you 💜

Inviting my KAD friends to this FREE WORKSHOP in collaboration with Robert Holloway

This Crash Course is ideal if you’re a Korean adoptee planning to travel to Korea for the first time. Learn how to navigate Korea confidently and make the most out of your first-hand experience going home for the first time since birth.

In this 1 hour workshop you’ll learn:

● The ins and outs of Korean food - What to expect and where to go for some great bites

● An intro to the Korean language - The history and key phrases so you’re not completely left out

● Everyday etiquette so you’re not left out the loop

Workshop Program

1) Annyeonghaseyo? - The History of the Korean Language and Survival Phrases

2) Korean Culture Must-Knows - Greetings, Bowing and Hierarchy

3) At the Dinner Table - Sharing and Drinking Culture

This workshop will be led by Robert Holloway. Robert’s mother is a 60s era Korean adoptee. Robert learned Korean as a second language, is a conference interpreter, and founder of the online Korean language membership community Speak With Seoul.

*Please message me to get the zoom link for this virtual workshop.

Can't wait to see you this Tuesday, Jan 16 8:00pm-9:00pm EST

Celebrating Korean American Day 🇰🇷🇺🇸 honoring our KAD journeys and unique identities 💜

I visited Korea in 2016 and although I did not reunite with family, it felt like I was in reunion with my heritage, my culture, and kin. I visited the Star of the Sea orphanage in Incheon, the place where I left my old life and started a new one. I also visited Seoul, Pyeontek, and Busan.

This was the first time I remember embracing both my Korean and American identities. It was the first time I became aware that I had lost something since my adoption and came to live in the US. I felt like I lost my birthplace, my culture, my language, my family, my people. But in my loss of Korea, I also gained my American identity. A new family, a new life. I spent almost 4 decades feeling divided between both identities, even when it wasn’t a conscious thought, I felt it.

I believe that my trip to Korea was the beginning of my awakening and journey towards self acceptance and self love.

To all my friends who share this journey, I am here for you and I’m cheering you on🥰🫰💜💕

My Korean Food Journey: How It Shaped My Korean adoptee Identity

I’m going to tell you a story about food. My story isn’t just a food story, but I’d like to take you on a journey of how a Korean adoptee like me, transformed my identity completely.

If you asked me about my relationship to Korean food, I would probably say “It’s complicated.” Growing up, I don’t remember eating it, cooking it, or even seeing any Korean restaurants around me where I lived. Even if I did, I most likely would have rejected the idea of eating it, just like I rejected other aspects of my Koreanness, mostly due to feeling ashamed of that part of my identity.

I was adopted from Korea as a baby into a white American family and grew up in a predominantly white community. My Mom’s family is Irish and my Dad’s family is German. So I remember eating lots of baked potatoes and shake and bake chicken. I was never even introduced to Korean food by my adoptive family - I'm puzzled by this because as us kids grew up we enjoyed eating many other ethnic foods like Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Indian food.

Now, looking back at how I viewed myself, sadly I didn’t identify as Korean at all. I felt embarrassed, ashamed, and maybe, subconsciously, refused to acknowledge my Koreanness. Maybe it was the bullying I faced growing up, the microaggressions, or maybe it was my fear of abandonment, rejection, or not being seen, heard, or validated. Perhaps it was all of those. But what I remembered was that I had this intense desire to fit into white American culture and society. I wanted to look white, act white, be accepted by white people, and not stick out… I felt like a chameleon and became great at passing and code switching when I needed to. But it wasn’t until I actually looked in the mirror that I saw that I wasn’t actually white…I saw just how Korean I really looked.

The first time I remember eating Korean food was after I went to college and my boyfriend took me to a Korean BBQ restaurant. I remember tasting kimchi for the first time and I loved it so much I cried! And I loved all the banchan- side dishes- that covered the entire table and loved how they each tasted so unique but also so familiar in an odd way. I can remember my first taste of kimchi jjigae as I slurped it from my silver spoon, mixing it with rice, and thinking how it was the best thing I’d ever tasted- warm, spicy, flavorful, and oh so comforting!

What I didn’t love about my first experience with Korean food was the unexpected way that the Korean ladies who worked in the restaurant made me feel so bad about not being able to speak Korean, or not even knowing what the dishes were called. They actually scolded me, as my actions they felt were disrespectful to them. I felt so ashamed about the whole thing that I was afraid to go back there again.

During my college years, I made many Korean friends and they would spoil me with bringing me homemade kimbap, bulgogi, and kimchi which I absolutely loved! When I was pregnant with my daughter, I remember craving Korean food so much and although I couldn’t quite place my finger on the feeling at the time, I can now say that it made me feel connected to my birth mother in a wonderful, warm, loving way. My friend Youmee would come over and make me Korean food often and I would cry when eating it because it felt so comforting and made me feel like I was deeply cared for.

And after my daughter was born, I can remember going to eat Korean food together often and it delighted me that she loved it as much as I did. Korean food is definitely one of the ways we have bonded over the years and it has helped shape both of our identities.

But for some reason, I never learned to cook Korean food and I never learned to speak Korean. The weird thing is, I think that I am a very good cook and I learned how to cook many other types of asian cuisine including Japanese, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese…so many other wonderful types of foods but not Korean. Was this because I hadn’t fully accepted my Korean identity?

As I continue to explore my Korean identity, I am starting to seek out and connect with other Korean adoptees, who I have learned, share similar feelings around learning to cook Korean food. Many of us seem to have this block when it comes to learning or being able to cook it. For some, it’s lack of resources or access to Asian markets which allow them to get the right ingredients. For others, it’s feeling afraid to try something totally foreign and not wanting to f*ck it up. But the biggest challenge seems to be the shame many of us have all carried about not feeling “Korean enough”. Like we haven’t yet earned the right to cook it because it feels like we are imposters in some way.

One of the most empowering moments of my adoptee journey was when I had the awareness that I could rewrite my own adoption story. And take back my power. Just by talking about it and sharing my own version of my story, I could remove the part where I am not “Korean enough” and remove the shame around my Korean identity. This new season of my life has brought me to new personal growth adventures…and my quest to learn to cook Korean food!

Instead of waiting to have someone teach me to cook Korean food, I made a conscious effort to go out and create a community of other Korean adoptees who want to learn to cook Korean food together. I started a Korean adoptee cooking group and started hosting online cooking classes where we come together to connect over food and we chat about everything related to being a Korean adoptee!

Since we started cooking together, we have explored making spicy cucumbers, mung beans, steamed egg, kimchi pancakes, tteokbokki, kimchi jjigae, rice cake soup and japchae! This weekend we will attempt to make homemade kimchi. I absolutely love kimchi and eat it everyday because of the many health benefits!

I’m learning so much about my rich culture and heritage through food and I’m really embracing my new Korean adoptee community. I can say my journey has taught me to finally love and appreciate my Korean adoptee identity. I can be proud of both my Korean and American identity and I can’t wait to see where my Korean food journey takes me!

Do you love cooking Korean food too? What are some of your favorite Korean dishes?

If you asked me about my relationship to Korean food, I would probably say “It’s complicated” 😅

Growing up, I don’t remember eating it, cooking it, or even seeing any Korean restaurants around me where I lived. Even if I did, I most likely would have rejected the idea of eating it, just like I rejected other aspects of my Koreanness, mostly due to feeling ashamed of that part of my identity.

The first time I remember eating Korean food was after I went to college and my boyfriend took me to a Korean BBQ restaurant. I remember tasting kimchi for the first time and I loved it so much! And I loved all the banchan that covered the entire table and loved how they each tasted so unique but so familiar in an odd way.

What I didn’t love about my first experience with Korean food was the unexpected way that the Korean ladies who worked in the restaurant made me feel so bad about not being able to speak Korean, and not even knowing what the dishes were called. I felt so ashamed about the whole thing that I was afraid to go back there again.

During my college years, I made many Korean friends and they would spoil me with bringing me home made kimbap, bulgogi, and kimchi which I absolutely loved! When I was pregnant with my daughter, I remember craving Korean food so much and although I couldn’t quite place my finger on the feeling at the time, I can now say that it made me feel connected to my birth mother in a wonderful, warm, loving way.

My good friend Youmee would come over and make me Korean food and I would cry when eating it because it felt so comforting. And after my daughter was born, I can remember going to eat Korean food together often and it delighted me that she loved it as much as I did.

But for some reason, I never learned to cook Korean food and I never learned to speak Korean. The weird thing is, I learned how to cook many other types of asian cuisine- Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese…so many other wonderful types of food but not Korean.

I am just now starting to connect with other Korean adoptees, who I am learning share similar feelings around learning to cook Korean food. Many of us seem to have this block when it comes to learning or being able to cook it. For some, it’s lack of resources or access to get the right ingredients. Others, it’s feeling afraid to try something totally foreign and not wanting to f*ck it up. But the biggest challenge seems to be the shame we have all carried about not feeling “Korean enough”. Like we haven’t yet earned the right to cook it because it feels like we are imposters in some way.

One of the most empowering moments of my life was when I had the awareness that I could rewrite my own adoption story. Just by talking about it and sharing my own version of my story, I could remove the part where I am not “Korean enough” and remove the shame around my Korean identity. This new season of my life has brought me to new adventures…and my quest to learn to cook Korean food! I even started a group of other Korean adoptees who want to learn and support each other through cooking together virtually.

Check out my very first attempts to cook Tteokbokki, Kimchi Jjigae, and some banchan (side dishes). I really enjoy Maanchi’s cooking videos so I am mostly using her recipes. If you are a Korean adoptee and would like to join us on this cooking adventure, I’d love to become friends 🙂

Send me a message and I’ll add you to my Korean Adoptee Cooking Group!

What are your favorite Korean foods?