Let There Be Light...and Lanterns!

In an effort to get back to updating my blog on a more frequent basis (here's hoping) and to try and keep my exhausted body awake until at least 8:30pm I decided I'd come straight home from my outing to the 2011 Lantern Festival and write a short blog post.  Yes, it's a school night and I finally got off of "the hill". Kristen and I went to the lantern festival together last year and really enjoyed it, so over the weekend we decided to give it a go this year too.  We left campus before dark and headed down to Cheonggyecheon Stream to see the beautiful illuminated creations.  Some of the lanterns were familiar from last year's trip, but many were new and quite enchanting.  Check them out...

That's one feisty looking tiger!

Illuminated guards.

Traditional musicians.

A parade of light!

One of my favorites--it is so beautifully painted.

Watch out for flying fish lanterns!

Batman, duh!

.Superman as a lantern?

Swimming fish...and lots of Nemos.

I love Italy:)

The Lady of Liberty illuminated in Seoul!

So many beautiful lanterns to look at!

My absolute favorite lantern of the night!

This year the crowds were smaller and we were very happy to be able to walk along the pathway next to the stream.  Before we finished our lantern viewing, we came across a station where you could pay for a lantern to set adrift in the stream.  For 2,000 won Kristen and I thought it was a worthwhile opportunity so we both purchased and assembled our own lanterns.  There was space on each lantern to write 4 messages so I filled my lantern with the fruits of the spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Forbearance, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.  These are all attributes that we have been studying in our Beth Moore bible study and qualities I would like to own.  At the moment I am working on having more patience with my students, exhibiting self-control when it comes to eating because I'm so stressed, and finding peace and joy in the craziness of everyday life.  A lady lit our candles for us and we  set those babies adrift in the stream and watched them float away.  On a side note, as I watched my paper lantern with a real lit candle float away I saw another lantern ablaze in the middle of the stream off in the distance and had a little chuckle.  In America they would never have trusted us with REAL fire!

Getting ready to set my lantern adrift.

See ya!

We ended the night with a trip to Baskin Robbins for ice cream cones--it seemed fitting since it felt like we walked at least 5 miles up and down the stream (in reality it was probably only 2 kilometers, but who's counting!).  I have just realized that at this time next week I will be on a flight headed for Hong Kong, ready to celebrate Thanksgiving in a new and different way, but for now I am content to sit here and feel very thankful for all of the incredible blessings I experience on a daily basis.  That sleep I have been staving off has crept up on me and my body tells me it is time to give in.  Goodnight for now...more photos and news from Seoul soon!