seoul, sixtieth, singing, and shopping

This weekend was a bit of a whirlwind, but great all the same. I arose at the lovely hour of six on Saturday and began the train trek to Seoul for The Event. I decided that it was time to see what all the excitement over the KTX (Korea's express train) was and made it to Seoul an hour earlier than I would have otherwise. The express train had more of an airplane feel than the other trains in which I have ridden. Landing in Seoul early gave me the opportunity for a little cultural exploration before my required activities. I met up with Alanna and headed to the Seoul National Museum of History. Now those who know me well are aware of my difficulties with directions. So it was very surprising to walk to the museum without getting lost. Alanna and I were even more astonished when we discovered that the museum was free!! Of all the exhibits, my favourite was a book of harp music that looked nothing like the Elephants Go Bouncing Down Freeways staff I usually read. I couldn't even figure out the different notes being used.

After the museum and lunch at an Italian place, we checked into our hotel and changed for the 60th celebration. Dress code: white shirt, black skirt or slacks, no jewelry of any kind, hair pulled back in a neat bun. One hundred six of us!! "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the waiter and waitress training program, we will commence with a tutorial on wine-pouring. Please drape a towel over your left arm..." We traveled in mass through the subway system to the Silla hotel and received an excessive amount of stares in the process. The evening consisted of waiting, listening to speeches (the wife of Senator Fulbright gave a speech!!), eating a delicious six-course meal (and I am generally very picky about banquet food) and singing the Fulbright Song in front of the audience. It was a long but good evening.

Sunday included coffee, a shopping trip in Myeongdong in Seoul (yay!) and transit back to Hongseong. Once again, Monday is fast approaching!!

[Shout out to Jordan for the great email she sent me :) ]