A lot has happened since we wrote last. Ok, here we go. For New Years weekend we thought we should probably head to the biggest city in the world to celebrate. Yeah, I know, rough, but someone had to do it... Our friend Spy, a student in one of Seth's classes, is from Seoul so he offered his parents' home for us to stay in and served as a most wonderful guide. We took the KTX train from Gumi to Seoul. This train travels at approximately 300 km/hr (about 180 mph). It was such a smooth ride, you'd never guess we were traveling so fast. Our arrival in Seoul greeted us with many opportunities to use our Korean. Spy had us buy our own subway tickets, ask for directions, etc. We arrived on late Saturday afternoon. First we headed to Insadong, a traditional street with a lot of cute shops and art exhibits. There is also some sort of campaign in Seoul where people stand on the streets with a sign that says "Free Hug" and people are to go up and give/get hugs. So we persuaded our friend to go and get himself a hug. Spy then took us to a restaurant that is known for its excellent bibimbap (delicious). Afterward, we headed for the (insert name) river that meanders through Seoul. Though it was cold many people were enjoying the walk looking at the detailed light display that bordered the river's edge. We also got to look through an outdoor gallery of pictures (dating back to a hundred years ago). It was so neat to look and see how this area had changed throughout the years.
Then we hopped on the subway and headed for Spy's home. His parents were wonderfully kind to us. His mom served us tea and rice cakes and then we all chatted for a bit in Korean and English before heading to bed. We were pretty tired from the day and sleep soon greeted our tired bodies.
On Sunday, Spy's mom made us a HUGE traditional Korean breakfast. It was seriously amazing. One thing that I'd wanted to do while here in South Korea was eat a meal at a Korean's house that they'd actually made themselves. My wish was granted on this last day of 2006. On Sunday we decided to head to the Yogido Full Gospel Church, also the largest church in the world (in terms of membership). Indeed it was huge, there was a choir with around 180 people. It was beautiful, my Poppers would have loved it. Unfortunately, Westerners (and people of any other race) pretty much stand out compared to Koreans so we were ushered into a section that was reserved for foreigners where we watched the service on a big screen TV just to the side of the sanctuary that can seat over 10,000 people. They translated the service into 8 different languages so with our headsets in place we listened and watched. The service was nice, but also it brought many questions to mind. The message preached was that which indicated that if we worshiped God we will have a lot of money and be successful, a theology which I definitely disagree with. What about the poor, those that are starving, is it because of God's wrath that they suffer, or is it because of our own ignorance, our unwillingness to serve and our inherent preference to sit in our lazy-boys and avoid the pain of those in our very neighborhoods, that need to know love, that need to be fed, that need warm places to stay? Too often, I fear, God is equated with monetary wealth rather than the wealth given in His Son. This wealth is not in money, but in giving of your heart, to follow, to serve. Jesus didn't make a lot of money- did He fail in His worship. If you say yes, then I'll wonder what version of Bible you're reading. Hmm, I'll keep thinking about that one.
Ok, our time in Seoul.... After church we grabbed some lunch and went to the Jeoldusan Martyrs' Museum that commemorates the deaths of thousands of Catholic Koreans who were killed in 1866 on this part of the Han river. It was frightening to see the instruments used to torture them and facilitate their deaths. In the museum there were a lot of ancient books and relics from the past. Fascinating.
Afterward we hopped on the subway and headed for Namsam town (also called "N Tower" or "Seoul Tower"). We'd hiked up to the tower and had hoped to catch the last sunset of 2006 while overlooking the city of Seoul, but unfortunately missed it. It was cloudy anyways. When we reached the top of the tower (there were so many people there) we enjoyed the sights, looking at the city at night, and wondering what the new year would bring. On the observation deck a man, who'd set up a lot of sound equipment began to play some traditional flutes. When we listened to the background music we realized that it was definitely traditional Latin American music. So, Seth and I did what anyone would do. We danced the salsa. Yep, in Korea. I'm sure Korea has never seen anything like it before. So people watched us dance for a while and took pictures, inarguably probably to show their friends the ridiculous Westerners they saw in Namsang Tower. We had fun. Actually it was wonderful. It is good to laugh and enjoy life. My husband is good about reminding me of this in his own ways. The three of us ate dinner at the restaurant in the tower. All you can eat Korean food- always a good idea if you have a Mr. Seth Clarkson along. The food was incredible. We ate all our favorites, and ate all of them we could possibly eat and topped the meal off with ice cream. The night view overlooking the cit was absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't think of a more perfect way to end 2006.
We ushered in the New Year with Spy's family. We enjoyed a light snack and celebrated as we said the countdown in Korean. 2007!
Monday (yeah for days off) we began with another massive breakfast prepared by Spy's mom. She made dak gook (rice cake soup) that is a traditional Korean meal served in the new year. When you eat dak gook Koreans believe that you get another year older. Then off we headed for Gyeongbuk Palace, the king's palace during the Josean Dynsasty. It was amazing. Since we were there on New Year's Day there were a lot of kids dressed up in Han Bok, the traditional Korean wear. We even persuaded some kids to take their picture with us (check out our photobucket page- lots and lots of pictures). We also stopped in to check out the Korean Folk Museum before heading home on the train.
And now, for the past three weeks, we've been working. A lot. Seth has been teaching 8 classes a day and I usually have 6-7. In January, during the school break our hagwon has an English language camp for kids. I've been teaching Arts and Crafts and Seth has been teaching Speaking classes. At first it was a bit of an adjustment to go from teaching businesspeople with graduate degrees to 9-11 year olds who can only speak a bit of English. There are some kids (two in particular) who can probably speak better English than I do. The kids have been more fun than I'd ever imagined. Their energy is very refreshing. I'm always learning something new and have again realized that kids are pretty much the same not matter what culture/country you are in. It will be a relief when it is all over as we will actually have our weekends back to ourselves again, but the kiddies will be missed (well some of them). This weekend is graduation and the kids will finally get to see their parents again. Three weeks, without their parents, wow. Ok, I'm going to read my Bible now. Talk to you all soon!