Thanks mummy

MMM...nothing like coffee, chocolate, Atlantic honey, and of course, gravol to cheer up my week! Yesterday I got up at the ungodly hour of 5am (in my opinion no one should be awake at this hour unless they have not yet gone to bed) to go hiking (pictures coming soon) and was super happy for real coffee (Korean coffee is great, but it's not the same). Yay for moms! :)

Night hike

I finally remembered to take my camera on a night hike...but the views were less than stunning (gotta love that smog), and virtually none of my pictures turned out! m-e-h.

But, since I have nothing else to post about, here are a few shots.




I'll try to get some good city shots another time...not sure my little camera is up to it though.

Going to Seorak Mountain this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some pics for you early next week. Love you all!!

Spring!

Has Sprung!

It's been just lovely here lately. Yesterday I think the temperature was about 20 degrees Celcius. Perfect in my opinion.

Colour has been slowly seeping into this grey and brown world of mine. I guess there IS some nature around here...just never noticed it before. The flowers are vibrant and beautiful, and the mountains and trees are slowly turning green.

I particularly enjoyed the magnolia trees this spring, although the flowers are mostly gone now. There are purple and white ones. Awhile ago I posted a picture of a butterfly on a white one. Here is a purple one:


A couple of weekends ago, we went to Yeoido...an island in the middle of the Han River, for the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Here we are in front of the colossal National Assembly Building. Not the best picture in the world, but beggars can't be choosers:And here's a glimpse of a cherry blossom-lined street:


On the way back, we saw an ad on a bus stop for the Quidam (Cirque du Soleil) show we were going to see the next week:

Hope everyone's spring is as pretty as the one over here! :D

Oops

Quote of the Day:

"Why are we the only ones on this bridge?"

Got turned around on the way home from shopping in Seoul today...thought we were doing well finding our way back despite several wrong turns and ending up on the wrong side of the Han River. We were merrily motoring along in multiple lanes of busy traffic on the way to a promising-looking bridge, when we found ourselves completely alone on the bridge (everyone else bypassed it). Insert eerie feeling here - empty multi-lane highways are not exactly commonplace in Korea.

Turns out there's a reason we were the only ones. The bridge we took was the starting point of an express highway to the airport which offered a grand total of zero exits or ways to turn around once on it. After driving through a mountain and forced to pay a toll, we were able to pull over at the highway management office building to spend some time perfecting our "clueless foreigner" impressions. Hooray for a super-nice Korean businessman who noticed our great acting and decided to play the role of "sweet and helpful stranger." A few maps, phone calls, and gestures later, we were on our way home. Kamsahamnida (thank you) anonymous passerby! :)

Cirque du Soleil

Well if you can believe it, this Canadian girl got to see one of Canada's most amazing shows...in Korea!

I feel so fortunate! Yes, I got to see the Cirque du Soleil in Seoul. It was fabulous, as I knew it would be. We saw the show entitled "Quidam," which is latin for "anonymous passerby." Here are some pictures from their site of the acts I saw:




Just phenomenal what the human body can accomplish.

I didn't have my camera on me, because they were not allowed inside. Below, find some pics of our day, taken by this clown (the one on the left).




On the way back, I bought a hair chopstick. Here is the street stylist showing me how to use it (still haven't quite got the knack, but I'm working on it):

Driving Home

Black Day

Oh yes, in case any of you forgot, today, April 14, is Black Day here in Korea. Sounds ominous, doesn't it? Like a commemoration of some horrible event...some strife or tribulation, some assault on the human spirit that we must all try to avoid in the future...like being single!

On this day, the required eating for any unlucky, loveless soul (ie those who didn't get any gifts on Valentine's or White Day) is Jjajangmyeon, or "Black Noodles," a thick, goopy, Chinese dish. You're supposed to eat them with other love-duds whilst cursing your fate as a lemon on the assembly line of love. Perhaps next year your Valentine's Day and your White Day will be filled with chocolates and candies and added pounds! Oh the bliss that will then be yours!

I did use the opportunity to try out the noodles at a nearby Chinese restaurant, and actually, they're quite tasty. Ok all you singletons back home...get over to your China-towns for dinner! No love-birds or Romeos allowed!

Temple

A little while ago, a friend and I visited a nearby Buddhist temple. He asked if he could take pictures, and (surprisingly), the monks agreed. So we took some photos inside, which is normally not allowed.

First, a tower of bells in the courtyard:
The door of wooden flowers:
Then, the inside:


The pot of incense: The ceiling of prayers:

I don't think I will ever tire of visiting the temples; they are silent, beautiful, fragrant places that make one feel quite calm and refreshed.

Happy weekend everyone! xo.

My Thought For You

• May you be well, happy, and peaceful.
• May no harm come to you.
• May you have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome the inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.

.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

Easter is celebrated here because there is a large Christian population, but there are no holidays associated with it like back home.

So today the Christians were handing out hard-boiled eggs on the street with little Jesus cartoons on them. We got about 10 eggs total in the space of about 10 minutes. They seemed to like to give us more because we are foreigners.


My egg-Jesus even had red hair! Bonus!
Then, thanks to the girl on the right, we were treated to some Betty Crocker cookies and icing from Canada that we ate ever-so-daintily:
Hope you are all enjoying your Easter weekend!

Coolio

Like the clock on the left? It's a little big, but oh well. Plus, you have to remember whether it is AM or PM.

Yet another victory for the technologically challenged! ;P

Three Months In

Well folks, I know it's hard to believe, but tonight (Wednesday night) marks exactly 3 months for me here in Korea. Wow-zas.

Along the way, somehow, many things once unfamiliar and strange have become normal and routine. Not the least of which is, of course, the neon! Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say I enjoy these colourful signs, but they no longer assault my senses as they once did. Take a look-see at a typical street in my neighbourhood once the sun goes down.

That is a nearby nightclub. The sign, when sounded out, actually says, "Ah-ra-bee-an Na-ee-tuh" - Arabian Night(s)! So funny/interesting when English words are spelled out in Hangul. Take care everyone, enjoy your week! xo

Korea - China's dustpan

The dust was heavy today, so rather than being a hermit and being somewhat healthier (although I don't know if the air indoors is really that much better), I decided to hike up Gyeyang with a friend so that I could get some good pictures of it.

Dare to compare folks.

Two months ago:

Today:

Two months ago:
Today:
Me and my friend sporting the now in-vogue surgeon look:
At the bottom, this fellow was singing some lovely tunes. The highlight was him singing Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver:
I also got some good pictures of a temple that I will post at a later date. Hope your weekend was great everyone! Love to you and good vibes from Asia. ;)