A Korean Wedding

On Saturday I had the privilege of attending a Korean wedding.

Before the ceremony we could go upstairs and see the bride, who'd been all decked out and positioned on a fancy couch for photo-taking since 9 a.m. that morning. She was stunning, and the whole scene looked like it belonged on the cover of Vogue Magazine or something. The elegance was just incredible.

After taking pictures with the bride we went to a huge buffet with a shockingly vast spread. The food was delicious. The banquet hall seemed to be full of many parties, though, not just those related to our coworker's wedding.

Apparently in Korea many wedding halls are referred to as “wedding factories,” because Korean wedding ceremonies only take about thirty minutes and one couple goes after another promptly like in a factory line.

The wedding was absolutely beautiful, but because of the setting, many people were milling about and talking just beyond the chairs and there seemed to be no reverence for and little focus on the event that was occurring.

Apparently after the ceremony that we saw, there is a private ceremony for the families in which the bride wears her hanbok and bows to her new husband's parents.

We didn't get to see that, though, so here are photos from the part we saw:

Pneumonia

My coworker contracted pneumonia! He has to be in the hospital for at least four days, and he could end up staying a week.

Fortunately, health care is fairly inexpensive here with the benefits that we receive. His bed, treatment, food, and everything will only cost him about $15 a day.

Unfortunately, he has to drag his IV downstairs to buy his own water, carry his gruel trays down the hall for the nurses to wash, and clean his own spoon and chopsticks after every meal.

I guess cheap healthcare comes at a price...

At least he's going to get better and have a chance to rest in the meantime.

Discount Water

I went to the store to buy some drinking water today and was amused at which brand was on sale. Water from the sparkling springs of Jeju Island? No, that's the most expensive one. See for yourself which one is advertised at cheapest price:



Yep, water from the DMZ!

Actually, I don't know where the water comes from. Maybe DMZ is just a random brand name. But since it's 청정수, apparently the water is immaculate!

Can Mobiles with Broken Wings Still Fly?

A girl at a church service I go to Tuesday nights gave me this beautiful mobile that she made. It was so pretty and her gesture was so kind it warmed my heart. I took extra care to pack it gently in my bag for the long bike ride home, but somehow one piece was destroyed and most of them fell off the string. I tried to fix it but in vain. I am so sad that it is ruined.

A Citadel in My Front Room

Remember making forts as kids? This one would have been a palace!



(Really I just washed my comforter and hung it out to dry.)

Meet the Press

Today one of the translators at my church invited me to write articles for a print newspaper he will begin publishing next month.  He said I can take pictures and write about anything in English, and then he will translate it into Korean for his paper.  The only stipulation that he gave me was that I have to write about things in this city, as opposed to other places in Korea.  That's not too bad a limit, since I don't go many other places here.  I'm actually super thrilled.  (Those of you who know me know of my amateur pursuits in print publishing so I'm sure you understand.)  He said that after my first story he will get me a press pass.  On the one hand I'm an amateur and he's aware of this and he himself is just getting the paper off the ground (at least the way I understand it), but on the other, this is bigger than anything I've ever tried before when it comes to putting things in print.  I am super excited.  Hopefully it will pan out and I can build some awesome writing skills.  Yippee!

Threatened with a Vain End

On my break today I rode out to this interesting spot and saw an attractively mysterious-looking path.



It appeared to lead across the tracks to some construction and apartment buildings.



Unfortunately, this massive sign was firmly planted by the path.



I thought at first it said something like, “Threat/Menace/Intimidation! Vain End!” But after realizing and then correcting my typos I saw that it says, “Danger. Entry prohibited. Road end.”

My break is almost over, so I suppose I won't impose.

A Trip to Incheon Airport

On Monday I traveled to Incheon Airport (up near Seoul) to pick up our new teacher.  I caught the 7:00 a.m. bus down here because I wasn't sure how long it'd take and didn't want to get there late.  As it turns out it was a three-hour ride and I had plenty of time to kill.  I availed myself of KFC (there are none near me as far as I'm aware) and even took in a free magic show that recurred every hour for the benefit of waiting travelers.

His flight ended up being delayed, so then I had more time to kill.  It wasn't all that bad; since climbing Hallasan I've been reading Into Thin Air and it's a good way to pass the time while sitting on an airport bench.  Eventually his plane arrived and we got tickets for the long ride home.  I knew it would be long, because Monday was Chuseok, and I'd seen the stau already building up a traffic dam as I was riding in that day.

I had no idea it'd be six hours.

Our bus broke down twice, for approximately an hour each time, apparently because it had bad engine oil.  Finally they put us on another bus and we went slowly churning through the heavy Chuseok traffic.  By the time we finally got back it was dark and it was late.

But I have to say we had a perfect Chuseok: coming up, I saw a great many Koreans in traditional hanbok visiting their ancestors' graves up on the hills; and on the dark ride home, we saw the full moon, sitting just on top of the mountain exactly like the song I learned with my kindergarten class on Thursday, and we made wishes.  It seemed like it was fitting.

Settlers of Catan, Korean Style

My coworker just moved. Two of us went and helped her some, then reaped the benefit of playing the Korean version of Settlers of Catan with her.



I'd heard a lot about this game in college but never played until last night. Needless to say, I'm addicted now and I went back for more tonight.





(For those of you who haven't ever played, Settlers of Catan is a lot like Sid Meier's Civilization computer games, only it's a sprawling board game that allows for hilarious banter among players. For those of you who haven't ever played Civ games, you're definitely missing out. Go play one of these NOW!)

Chuseok

We have a four-day weekend due to Chuseok, a huge Korean holiday, often likened to Thanksgiving in the West, where everybody travels home and spends time with their families.

Our kindergarteners dressed up in the traditional Korean garb (hanbok) on Thursday, and so did all the teachers. I was supplied with one, but because I'm not Korean, it didn't look that cool on me.

We made songpyeon (a traditional Korean food) with them, using rice dough and beans, and played two traditional Korean games: tuho, where you try to throw arrows into a pot, and one where you jump on your end of a Korean see-saw to try to throw the other person's balance off.

On Friday we took the older kids up to our little gym to play tuho with them for the last twenty minutes of our classes. It was really fun.

Another tradition surrounding Chuseok is finding the full moon and then making a wish. I don't need to make any wishes right now - I don't go back to work 'til Wednesday!

Patio Kebabs

My cool coworker (no, he's not Korean) had all of us foreign teachers over at his place the other Friday night.

He fired up the grill and cooked delish kebabs for us, as well as pork and corn. Our other coworker brought chicken, amazing potato salad, and her husband (seen peering into the fridge here).



I brought my guitar, aloe water (an amazingly delicious drink with chunks of aloe floating in it), Coke, and water. The other guys brought some appetizing chips.

It was really nice and the atmosphere was so relaxed and chill. It was a great way to end the week, and a good time was had by all.

A Taste of Every Season in Korea

In Korea, the seasons change on the first of the month, rather than being ordained by solstices or equinoxes.  So today, being September 1st, marks the onset of autumn.  I came in February, when it was still winter, and I've been here for the duration of both spring and summer.  Now I'm here in fall.  It's a strange feeling to have tasted all four seasons in Korea now.  I know, too, though, that saying I've experienced all four seasons in half a year's time is flawed inherently.  But it's certainly a fun, if misrepresented, idea to think that I've seen a whole year in under seven months!