The Lotus Lantern Festival

There have been a lot of activities and festivals cancelled or postponed in light of the Sewol Ferry tragedy. Rightfully so, the country has been mourning and all citizens have banned together showing love and support for those affected.  Unlike us on the western side of the world, who tend to respond to disaster with the ideals of coming back stronger, harder and better, over here the healing process is found in quiet contemplation and solitude.

With that said the Buddhist celebration of the Lotus Lantern Festival in Seoul went on as scheduled, with the addition of many memorial attributes to the parade and festivities.  Look for the yellow ribbons in the pictures, those are in memory of the victims.

We had such a fabulous time! Great dinner at a little Beer and Chicken Hof. Then, as with every where we go, we ended up meeting some very friendly gentlemen at the parade.  We traded booze and snacks and enjoyed the floats and music together!  Only the one man spoke very broken english but we got along just fine.  Since this night, I've taken quite the liking to a Korean rice wine called Makgeoli, which is on average about 1,500 won a bottle... or $1.50.

Once the parade ended we followed it down the street where we met a cool couple who are in Korea with the American military.  Obama had actually flown out of their base that same day, which is random and cool.  They invited us to tag along to meet their Korean friend Yoogin...which led us to our first nori bang experience.  A nori bang is basically a place you can go and rent a room to do private karaoke. You can order food or drinks if you want...or you can just belt out a few songs solo if thats what you're into.   These things are wildly popular in Korea and we knew it was only a matter of time.

Next weekend is a long weekend. Monday is children's day and Tuesday is Buddha's birthday... so stay tuned for some 4 day weekend adventures.  We're meeting up with Scott Knox!

Korea's National Pass Time

Last Sunday we went hiking.  This was supposed to be fun.
Koreans love hiking!  There are hundreds of trails to explore in the many hills and mountains of this beautiful country.  Ben did some research and we decided to head out to Namhansanseong Fortress, not too far from our place.   The day was gorgeous and the hike was breathtaking...on many levels.  As neither of us can read Korean we actually ended up taking the most challenging route possible.  At times, I really had to channel my inner Pam Duynstee to remember to enjoy myself as we scaled the mountain.

The misleading beginning of what appeared to be a leisurely afternoon hike.

And how quickly things changed... This couple pictured were probably in their late 50s and were hiking enthusiasts.  They thought we were pretty funny. They were with us during some of our most trying times and recognized our struggles.  When we finally reached the top they rewarded us with apples and a whole cucumber which we DEFINITELY needed.

This was our first view of the fortress and realizing how far away it still was after 2 hours was not the greatest feeling.

FINALLY the top... or what we thought was the top.  We found ourselves on the wrong side of the fortress wall and discovered we had another 35 minute treacherous hike to the entrance...This is where we parted with our Korean friends and sneakily climbed the centuries old wall.

Once over the wall things continued to get interesting!  We ended up meeting another man who made huge efforts to stay with us as we explored the sites (blue shirt).  He spoke pretty good english and insisted we come with him to "meet the CEO of the Cafeteria".

  In Korea, it is extremely rare that a person owns a house.  They are VERY VERY expensive.  The only houses we have actually seen were on this hike.  

This guy was sort of weirding us out at this point but he was really nice so we were just going with it...and we are so grateful we did!  He ends up taking us to this elderly man's home near the top of the mountain.  He is actually a retired CEO of some construction company that built oil rigs in Saudi Arabia ($$$). He just so happens to own a Cafe these days, which is probably where the cafeteria thing came in? Not too sure.   We had the best time! We started with coffee then four of his friends showed up and we ate and drank with them for over 2 hours...then they drove us down the mountain.

Before anyone freaks out, in no way is this weird or dangerous!  The people of Korea are SO kind and hospitable and we were never a yell away from crowds of people.

This was our Korean Easter!
xoxox

HR! Honors Review English School

Here are some photos of our school.  So far all the kids have been great!  They really make the job worthwhile.  All of them are super bright and most of them are just hilarious.

Each teacher has a desk...this is mine.  We are the fourth and fifth floor of the building.  This is the door you walk through off of the elevator, where you are welcomed by the front desk.

Classes are really small.  My smallest is only 2 students and my biggest is 12.  Each class has a computer and a whiteboard.  The fifth floor is basically a library and a computer lab, there are some specialized classes up there but neither Ben nor I teach up there.  Right now all of the Middle School kids are on an exam break so we have a reduced class load.  Typically we will teach six 40 minute classes a day.

These kids were writing a test, haha.

Sunday trip to Euljiro Markets

Today, Ben and I ventured on the subway to Euljiro to check out some markets.  It being Sunday, unbeknownst to us, much of the area that we were interested in was closed.  Although the market was downsized, to us, it was still buzzing with activity.

Cheongye Stream + Beers

We had an awesome time wandering around taking in all the colours and smells.  Our only purchases were a couple of beers and a bottle of hot sauce (not that hot) that I got for 1000 won.

Didn't bother looking for an 8.5 in that pile...                  These fish are actually candy!

Some beautiful traditional Korean gowns.

Overall a successful day!