Just another normal weekend - IN SEOUL!

As of today I have been in Korea for 72 days, and I only have 50 more. Wow! Hard to believe it! In light of this, however, I have all kinds of plans for the next few weeks and weekends. Every day I have to study Korean, German, and Spanish, every week I have to complete at least one extra project - scholarship applications, presentations, research papers, etc. And my weekend schedule for the next couple months looks like this:

November 8-10: Busan with old friends
November 15, 16: time with my room mate, and the Global Village Sports Festival
November 23-24: Temple Stay
November 30-December 1: Seoul to visit friends and make pumpkin pie!
December 7-8: Suwon Swing dancing and visiting with a friend
December 14-15: study - weekend before finals
December 20-24: last weekend in Korea - visit Aeri and Jinju

So in a way the weekend I just finished is the last "normal" weekend I will have here. I spent Friday night and Saturday morning studying, and then went to Seoul on Saturday night to have some much-needed girl time with my 오니, (O-nee, big sister) Jinju. Sunday I went on a field trip to one of the palaces with my History class. Over all it was an extremely relaxing weekend full of great people and beautiful fall scenery.

 The classiest Starbucks I have ever seen along with other amusing sights on 대학로 - Tae Hak Ro, University Boulevard. Following a nice stroll we found an even nicer Indian restaurant.

  I've eaten Indian food once in the recent past, and it must have been terribly cheap because I didn't like it at all. But this place was amazing! Ethnic food in Korea is really expensive, so I probably won't go back, but finding a place in Nashville - that's reasonable!

Foggy Seoul - the view from Jinju's bedroom window...

 This is the City Hall in Seoul. The front part was build under the Japanese imperialism, and the back part - supposed to look like a wave overtaking the front - was built last year. If you've heard about lingering animosity between Japan and Korea, well sadly it is true. Mostly on a national level, and mostly on the Koreans' side. Few individual Koreans have any real issues with any individual Japanese, but it is not uncommon to hear hostility, mistrust, and even racial comment toward Japan and the Japanese people. 

 We witnessed a "Changing of the Guard" ceremony complete with costumed actors, drums and many other native Korean instruments, (look for the conch shell in the picture to the left) flags, and even a photo op. Where else but Korea would the actors stop and pose for pictures in the middle of a ceremony?

 Above: the outside wall of the palace.

Below: the opposite side of the wall.

 Whatever you do, don't walk in the middle of this staircase! The middle is where the ghosts go. Generally considered uncomfortable company in this culture.

 Someone once decided that Korean buildings should start looking more like European buildings. Including foundations which went against the Korean philosophy of everything being connected and going up. 

Here is the wide open yard in front of the main palace. This palace is small because it is where the Korean Emperor disguised and hid himself from the Japanese after his wife was assassinated. Korea was also extremely poor at that point.
My fellow Tennesseans should recognize the picture on the right...ghost chimneys are scattered thickly around where I grew up. Granted, most don't look quite like this one to say the least.

After we finished our tour of the palace we walked around Seoul for a bit, ate, chatted, and then went to the Seoul National Museum. It is HUGE!! And my camera died. So...you'll just have to visit it yourself!

I told you Korea was full of beautiful places and things. I stopped trying to take pictures of all the random beautiful sculptures and architecture that I see every time I go anywhere. It's truly incredible! I know there are stories behind each one, though they are rarely posted, and even more rarely in English. Maybe some day I'll understand the language and more fully understand this wonderland in which I am living...