Late-ness, Laughter, and Lanterns!

Have I mentioned that I love weekends in Seoul?!  This weekend started out on the right note--with food!  The D-Dong ladies (well, 6 of the 9) got together for our monthly dinner and since it is far too cold to dine al fresco on the roof we decided to take Alex's lead and go french.  Alex took us to La Celtique, a cozy second floor creperie between Sinchon and Edae.  When I glanced at the menu and saw the sweet crepes, my decision became easy.  I had the house special, the Celtique, which consisted of a crepe topped with apples, cinnamon, caramel, whipped cream, and vanilla ice cream.  What's not to love?

Oh my goodness, heaven on a plate!

I have been looking forward to Saturday for over a month--since the day I booked six tickets for a girls' night out to see Urban Ballet as part of the Seoul Performing Arts Festival.  Allison, Joy, Misty, Rebecca, Jen, and I met Saturday afternoon and made our way across the city to the Performing Arts Center.  I knew it would take us a good amount of time to take the metro, but I didn't anticipate the confusion that would result at the theater when we tried to claim our tickets.  As a result of some language issues and my our lack of knowledge of the city, we arrived a few minutes late to the performance and found ourselves outside the theater hoping to get in.  Needless to say, I was super frustrated as we stood there and a fourth of the show passed us by.  Eventually we got in, carefully felt our way to a row of empty seats in the dark theater, and spent the next 45 minutes mesmerized by the incredible abilities of the human body.  The dancers took modern hip-hop dance moves and broke them down into precise ballet maneuvers--it was AMAZING and left us wanting more!!


After the show we wandered around the Performing Arts Center complex, marveling at the beautifully adorned buildings and the sheer size of the complex.  Working our way back toward our neighborhood, we stopped near City Hall where Kristen joined us for dinner.  Watching us try to choose a restaurant was pretty comical--"I think that one is too small," "What about that one--do the pictures on the door look good?", "Nah, let's just go to Outback."  Thankfully the Outback Steakhouse had a 20-30 minute wait, and we were starving so we opted for one of our initial picks and sat down for Italian food at Sorrento's.  It turned out to  be a fabulous choice and the six of us spend the next hour eating, drinking, and laughing.  Spending time with awesome women is good for the soul!  The group split and parted ways after dinner despite our best efforts to find a nori-bong to keep the party going.  We decided to save karaoke singing for another time, because the Lantern Festival was waiting!

Misty, Joy, and me at the Performing Arts Center

A small part of the Performing Arts Center complex

Kristen, Allison, and I took advantage of the beautiful, clear evening and made our way down to the creekside to see the collection of lanterns from countries all over the world.  In honor of the G-20 summit, various nations made their mark in light and it was splendid!  Apparently we weren't the only ones hoping to take in the spectacular sight before its end on Sunday--we found ourselves in the middle of a stream of people and we hopped right in.  Finally we figured out a way to skip the line and see the lanterns away from the crowd.  Here's what awaited us...

The site of the G-20 Summit attended by world leaders from 20 nations (yep, including President Obama)

Entrance to the Lantern Festival

One of the enormous lanterns...and part of the enormous crowd!

Lines, lines, lines! 

Show us how you really feel about waiting in line!

Just in case the throngs of people waiting in line get hungry...you can get yourself some sauteed silkworms (eww!). 

Like a torch lighting the way...

Sneaking in a photo of me enjoying the lanterns!

Strings of colorful lanterns illuminating the darkness.

Man and woman lanterns

More lighted beauties!

Just a guess, but I think this one is from China

This was one of the most impressive lanterns of the night!

Hmmm....I wonder which countries these babies represent?!

A view of the entire creek bathed in light...

Guess what holiday is coming soon?!

Stopping to snap pictures at an interesting cafe near the creek.

Lanterns and pinwheels all in one night!

Every outing I take into the city seems to reveal new treasures hiding all over Seoul--like a French ballet in Seoul and lanterns glowing into the night.  It will easily take me the entirety of my two year stay here to become familiar with this amazing city that was once a total enigma to the rest of the world.  All I can say is, more good times please!

Falling in love with Fall!

What a week--I think I've walked a hundred miles over the last four or five days!  Here is how I've spent my time enjoying autumn in Seoul...

After a productive day of teaching on Tuesday, Stephanie invited me to join her on a walk/hike up Mt. Ansan, the mountainous area behind our campus. Many of the new teachers took this same hike during our first week in Seoul, but seeing that the gathering time was somewhere around 5 or 5:30 am, I opted for sleep instead. Today, however, I had no good excuse for passing up a walk in the beautiful fall sunshine--so off we went. Stephanie knows the mountain like the back of her hand and was a fantastic guide, even allowing me to stop and capture photos of the incredible fall foliage.

Rows of trees with leaves of green. 

The colors are changing! 

Reaching the pagoda.

Our first stop was a rest point midway up the mountain.  I'm not much of an athlete or what you would call a "nature girl", so by this point in the hike I was ready to stop and take a breather.  My legs and lungs were burning!  We came upon a beautiful pagoda and exercise area where several Korean men and women were working out on a series of machines (just like you'd find in the gym!).  Steph and I had a great time trying out the workout equipment and looking like fools in the process.  We stayed long enough to snap some photos near the pagoda, then pressed on.

Trying out the workout equipment.

Now doesn't this look like fun?!

Me and the pagoda!

Not far down the path we detoured so Stephanie could show me some of the original trenches that remain from the Korean War.  Some are lined with sandbags, others with tires.  Regardless, it is both difficult and frightening to stand on the edge of a trench and imagine what this area looked like just sixty years ago.  The entire mountain had been stripped of all trees and vegetation--the city below was in ruins.  Looking at the photos, you would never know.

One of the many trenches that cut into the mountain.

Remnants of the Korean War still remain.

Back on the main path, we reached a huge flight of stairs.  This hit at the part of the hike where I was totally exhausted, but I managed to coax my body up the stairs.  We were in sight of the top at this point and I wasn't going to quit now!  There is an observation point at the top of the mountain with a 360 degree view.  Seeing the forest surrounding us painted in beautiful fall colors made the entire hike worthwhile!  

The observation point at the top!  We made it!

A view of the city...

Looking over at Mount Namsan

The beautiful fall foliage on the mountain.

If you look carefully you can see remnants of the old city wall.

Daylight was fading fast and Stephanie still wanted to take me down to the Buddhist temple nestled on the side of the mountain.  The trail wasn't much of a trail at all, rather we climbed down the top and side of large rocks with a rope handrail threaded throughout.  It was a bit treacherous, but we made it down and could hear the bell at the temple ringing out.  The temple certainly did not disappoint and we spent a few minutes wandering through the grounds.  The most incredible sight was inside one of the buildings--it was filled entirely with burning candles which cast an incredible glow throughout.  We weren't sure if we should enter or not, so Steph held the door open for me so I could peer inside and snap a photo.  There were cool statues everywhere and a few monks milling about.  The biggest treat was witnessing one of the monks ceremoniously ringing the bell we had heard from the mountaintop.

From the outside, not that impressive...

...but look what you see when you peek inside!  Thousands of candles!

The altar inside one of the main buildings.

Just passing through...

A place of worship.

A very old, and very bizarre tree!

A few sculptures from the row of demons.

I saw this as we made our way out of the temple grounds.   Something about the position of the hands caught my eye.

As darkness fell we hiked back to campus and by the time I reached my apartment, I was beat!  I'll definitely have to make that hike again and again as the seasons change.  There's truly no better view in town!

Parent conferences hit on Thursday and Friday of this week, and I'm happy to report that my meetings with the parents went quite well.  After sitting through a total of nine or ten hours of constant chats with the parents, I was so ready for the weekend.  I managed to drag myself out of bed early on Saturday for an 8am Costco run (gotta go early to beat the crowds).  As soon as I got back, I dropped my groceries in the kitchen and ran out the door--a tour of the Secret Garden at Changdeokgung Palace was waiting!  Somehow I actually made it to the palace, purchased my ticket, and found the tour just in the nick of time.  About 100 lucky English speaking visitors gathered around our very cool tour guide for a two hour guided experience that was full of beauty and history.

Truly I don't remember much that the tour guide said, but I was able to spend some time soaking in the surroundings.  Welcome to the Secret Garden of Chandeokgung Palace...

This is what I came to see!

One of the large ponds on the palace grounds

The trees are "burning" with fall colors!

Entrance to the living quarters of one of the Joseon dynasty kings.  He wanted it to look like a common man's dwelling.

One of many pagodas I saw on my tour.

Part of the servants' dwelling.

Another tranquil pond!

I think the ceilings showcase the most interesting artwork!

Observing proper temple protocol and removing my shoes.

Since I went alone on today's tour, this is the only picture of me you'll see!

I just love the bright colors in Korean decoration.

Check out this 750 year old juniper tree.  Half of the tree was lost in the September typhoon.

The actual palace--I figured I should check it out since I was already on the grounds.

A little closer view!

An interesting adornment on the stairway.  He looks happy to be guarding the palace steps!

The altar inside one of the palace buildings.

I love capturing the little details that makes Korean architecture so cool and unique.

Some adorable Korean girls chasing the falling leaves!

Making my way toward the exit, I came across the little cuties in the photo above and I couldn't help stopping to watch them in their game of "chase the falling leaves".  It was such fun to see kids expressing such an innocent joy at something as simple as a leaf falling from a tree.  It really made me stop and think about the simple joys I chase after these days--reading a good book, downloading a new song, turning up the music and dancing, talking with a friend from home, writing a postcard or letter, receiving mail, working on my life list...  I think one of the reasons God placed me here is to give me a chance to re-discover joy in my life.  So far, I've found the joy in teaching again and I have a bit more time to pursue my passions.  As I reach these conclusions, I wonder if the people I left behind at home are experiencing this same sense of contentment I feel.  What are your simple joys?  Are you seeking them out, experiencing them, and living each day to its fullest?  I sure am trying and I think things are working out fine.  No, better than fine.  Things are working out great.  Can you believe all of this came from admiring the beauty of fall?!