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 :) ]
Showing posts with label seoul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seoul. Show all posts
10 October 2010
06 October 2010
chuseok
Chuseok (pronounced Chew-sock) was a great experience, even though it was a bit of a marathon at times. In Korea, Chuseok is a holiday where the ancestors are celebrated through offering them food and drink. Generally, people go to their hometown to celebrate with their families. I went with my host family to Seoul for Chuseok. My host father has five brothers and there were all in Seoul with their families. We all crowded into five or six hundred square foot apartment for the festivities.
During the day before Chuseok, I mostly ate, played games with all the cousins and listened to people speaking in Korean. Jisu and I though about going shopping in Seoul, but it was pouring outside. That ended up being a wise choice because there was major flooding in the area we would have gone to. We watched on the news as people were walking in water up to their knees and the subway stations were closed.
The families split up for the night and I traveled about forty minutes to another house to sleep. The next morning (the actual day of Chuseok) we got up early and went back to my host father's oldest brother's apartment. All the women worked on making food and set up a table in the living room with the food on it. Then all the males gathered around the table, lit some incense, said a few words, and bowed before the food. Because I am not a male, I was not asked to participate in the rituals, although I did have to refuse the alcohol that was being passed around afterwards. Later, we made songpyeong, a traditional dessert. We took a rice-based dough, made it into a little cup, filled it with this sweet bean filling and pinched it closed. All the "uncles" thought that I made songpyeon very well, and apparently this means that I will marry a handsome man and have beautiful children. I won't object...
My host sisters and I headed into Seoul with the general intention of going to Starbucks. We first stopped at a Korean McDonalds for lunch. The menu is similar to America, although there are fewer healthy options (okay, no healthy options-not even diet cola) and a couple of interesting Korean/American combos. For example, there is the Bolgogi burger-but I did not try it so I cannot report on the flavour. Later in the day we left Seoul and headed back to Hongseong.
On the whole, Chuseok was a great time to get to know my host family better and experience some of the Korean traditions. I also loved catching up on sleep and having a break from my school work.
During the day before Chuseok, I mostly ate, played games with all the cousins and listened to people speaking in Korean. Jisu and I though about going shopping in Seoul, but it was pouring outside. That ended up being a wise choice because there was major flooding in the area we would have gone to. We watched on the news as people were walking in water up to their knees and the subway stations were closed.
The families split up for the night and I traveled about forty minutes to another house to sleep. The next morning (the actual day of Chuseok) we got up early and went back to my host father's oldest brother's apartment. All the women worked on making food and set up a table in the living room with the food on it. Then all the males gathered around the table, lit some incense, said a few words, and bowed before the food. Because I am not a male, I was not asked to participate in the rituals, although I did have to refuse the alcohol that was being passed around afterwards. Later, we made songpyeong, a traditional dessert. We took a rice-based dough, made it into a little cup, filled it with this sweet bean filling and pinched it closed. All the "uncles" thought that I made songpyeon very well, and apparently this means that I will marry a handsome man and have beautiful children. I won't object...
My host sisters and I headed into Seoul with the general intention of going to Starbucks. We first stopped at a Korean McDonalds for lunch. The menu is similar to America, although there are fewer healthy options (okay, no healthy options-not even diet cola) and a couple of interesting Korean/American combos. For example, there is the Bolgogi burger-but I did not try it so I cannot report on the flavour. Later in the day we left Seoul and headed back to Hongseong.
On the whole, Chuseok was a great time to get to know my host family better and experience some of the Korean traditions. I also loved catching up on sleep and having a break from my school work.
Here we are making Songpyeon!
18 August 2010
church and climbing
Sunday was a free day in Seoul!!! In the morning, my friend Sam (short for Samantha) and I went to Seoul Union Church, located on the campus of Yonsei University. It was a beautiful experience. The pastor at Seoul Union Church is from Ghana, the other hundred congregation members from all over the rest of the world including America, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. We discussed being peacemakers, actively working to restore man's relationship with God and with each other. After the service, there was a young adult prayer service that I also attended. It was great to be in the presence of other believers and worship together. If I am in Seoul on a Sunday morning, this is definitely the church that I will visit.
After church, I headed out on my own to find a rock climbing gym I had discovered on the internet. For once I did not make any wrong turns, negotiated the subway system successfully and got to climb for the first time since April. The gym that I found was a small bouldering room in the basement of another building. There three other guys there who did not speak English, but it was great to just climb. The bouldering routes were different than I am accustomed to in that they have the route marked for the hands, but it does not matter where the feet are placed. I will have to see if this is a Korean custom or only unique to this gym.
I planned on shopping on Sunday night, but my one hour nap turned into three hours and I ended up hanging out at the hotel. On the whole, it was a great day.
After church, I headed out on my own to find a rock climbing gym I had discovered on the internet. For once I did not make any wrong turns, negotiated the subway system successfully and got to climb for the first time since April. The gym that I found was a small bouldering room in the basement of another building. There three other guys there who did not speak English, but it was great to just climb. The bouldering routes were different than I am accustomed to in that they have the route marked for the hands, but it does not matter where the feet are placed. I will have to see if this is a Korean custom or only unique to this gym.
I planned on shopping on Sunday night, but my one hour nap turned into three hours and I ended up hanging out at the hotel. On the whole, it was a great day.
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