Although the koreans did not have time in their work schedule to take a four-day week-end, they were thinking about what to do for Thanksgiving. Montgomery took it upon himself to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal from scratch. Since he was in Korea, he did not have access to any instant or prepared foods, so it would be quite a task.

Not having an oven he roasted this turkey on the stove-top with a self made oven of a pot and aluminum foil. It was cooked to perfection.
MP'S SNAPSHOTS features a collection of Montgomery Paek's personal photos. For more great photos, check out MP's wedding photos and the archived photos in MP's Yahoo! photo album
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On Sunday, December 1, 2002, a small group of Koreans gathered together to celebrate and give thanks. A lavish banquet was prepared for the cold winter day. A few of the Koreans had come from the west and much like Pilgrims, they were happy to exchange traditions and share the unusual meal.
Montgomery laid out the prepared meal which included candied yams with marshmellows, sweet potatoes, macaroni salad, sage stuffing, grilled marinated peppers, giblet gravy, mashed potatoes, smoked ham with pineapple, cranberry relish, cranberry sauce, rolls, corn salad, green beans, beets, the turkey, and a store bought apple pie - a total of 16 dishes. Montgomery's wife had agreed to help with the cooking but since she got sick she slept all day long instead.
The food was ready and the guests all arrived. In addition to Montgomery and Mia, they were joined by their co-worker Hyang-Suk, Montgomery's cousin Michael, and Michael's girlfriend of five years, Joo Mi.

The guests were all puzzled by the strange-looking and unique food on the table, as they searched and searched and found no kim-chee or rice. Would the guests be able to adapt to the strange cuisine from the west? Or would they storm out looking for the nearest sushi house?
The koreans all settled down and started tasting the food. They were taught that the cranberry sauce was for the turkey, that the gravy could go on just about everything, and that sometimes sweet tasting foods were not just for desert. The koreans worked at adapting to the newfound tastes.

As they continued to eat, they quickly adapted to the food, gobbling down heaps and going back not only for seconds, but also thirds. It was a new sensation, this American ideal of gluttony and they rejoiced at their growing bellies.
As the meal came to an end, the pious Montgomery decided to share with the koreans, another thanksgiving tradition. He went to the turkey and started carving away at the breast. The koreans all wondered what he was up to when suddenly he held before them a great marvel - a glorious wishbone. The koreans were in awe at the size of it as they were only use to chicken sized bones.

Montgomery explained that they would all take part in trying to obtain a wish from the wishbone.
Montgomery gathered the koreans together for a game of rock-paper-scissors. It would be single-elimination with the two finalists making it to the wishbone. In the first round, the lethargic Michael was quickly eliminated. Next after several ties of fierce battle, Mia was knocked out. The two winners were Joo Mi (on the left) and Hyang Suk (on the right). Here they both seem to realize the gravity of the situation and seem to be contemplating strategy.
The two adversaries faced off in what was to be a titanic battle. Michael giddily cheered on his champion Joo Mi.

The two started to pull and tug. Unknown to all, Montgomery had recently washed the wishbone, so it was not very brittle at all. The two really started to tug and pull, and suddenly, Joo Mi took it to another level as she yanked using her body weight and she twisted Hyang Suk back and forth. It was about to come to physical contact, when the bone snapped!
The Thrill of Victory!!!

Joo Mi had won, with steely determination and a mean competitive streak rarely seen outside of a German swim team.

She confidentally held aloft her trophy and suddenly started to ponder. She had misinterpreted the game and thought that the winner was allowed to make the loser do whatever the winner wanted, kind of like a game of truth or dare. When it was explained to Joo Mi that she was only supposed to make a wish, she was clearly upset that she would not get to abuse Hyang Suk.

However, Joo Mi had still won and was happy and of course, that was much better than the alternative....