We Are Rice and Beans

My name is Grace Whang Vega, and I am a Korean-American architectural designer and comic artist from Howard County, Maryland. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon in 2009, I had the fortune to work in several lighting design and architecture firms in New York City, Washington DC and Maryland. In 2013, I married my wonderful husband Angel Vega, a software engineer from Puerto Rico. After 3 years of non-stop traveling the world, aiding in relief efforts in Haiti, and serving in local churches together, Angel and I launched We Are Rice and Beans, a comic blog chronicling our day-to-day antics as a newly-wedded, nerdy, interracial couple. I finally became a freelance designer and stay-at-home mom to our newborn baby daughter Hope.

---

 a selection from WE ARE RICE AND BEANS

use the thumbnails below to click through some favorite comics!

The Korean tradition of 백일 (“Baek-il”), the 100th day of a baby’s life, is a celebration in which family and close friends come together to mark the metaphoric end of the baby’s fourth trimester. During the first 100 days, the baby and mother are kept safe and at home, away from the elements and from potential harm or illness.

Historically, most babies back in the day would pass away due to the unfortunate living conditions of the time, but if they made it to their 100th day, it was a sign that the most difficult times have passed! So when it came time for the baby to be presented to the world on his/her 100th day, it was cause for great celebration and also served as the baby’s debut into society.

The number 100 also holds a deep importance and meaning as a milestone in Korean tradition: my parents and grandparents always told me that if you make it to 100 days, it also meant that you would make it to 100 years!

Angel has been learning Korean behind my back. And for nefarious reasons.

The old ladies at the Korean supermarkets practically throw platefuls of food at him every time we go, and I don’t even get a free sample. Diabolical.

Swiggity swooty, I’m coming for that booty! I can’t be the only wife that does this.
 

(In reality, even when I get caught, I still go for it anyway. Hehe.)

Some of my favorite interactions are between my husband and my elderly Korean grandmother. And they usually go something like this:

Angel and I speak Spanish and Korean to Hope when we can.

Recently, however, we discovered that both languages share certain words…though not their meanings.

They say when you’ve been married for a while, you can look at one another and know exactly what the other person is thinking…without even having to say a word.

Yeah, right.

My sister recently sent me an article about how most Americans can’t do the “Asian Squat”, or the “Kimchi Squat” as my people call it.

Statistically, only 13.5% of Americans can even pull it off. So I checked with Angel to see which end of the spectrum he belonged to.

Now We know

---