Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I don't know how or when, but somehow August completely escaped me. It finally registered today when I looked at my calendar and discovered that there are only 2 days left until September. Unbelievable. I didn't think it was humanly possible for time to move any faster than it did my first year in Seoul. But I am almost 100% confident that these first six months of my second contract passed faster than the first six months of last year's contract.

Upon returning home from vacation, I had about a week to adjust back to Seoul life before my parents came to Korea for 5 days. They were only here one weekend day, which meant I was usually meeting up with them after work, limiting our options on what to do. One night we went up the Seoul Tower and another night I took my mom to a 찜질방 (Jjimjilbang, Korean bathhouse) for that experience. We spent a lot less time running around seeing things and much more time enjoying meals and talking than we did last time they were here. Much of the food we ate was similar to what they had tried last year, galbi, shabu-shabu, bibimbap, gimbap, and so on. I did convince them to try Korean pizza one night (since it really isn't the same as American pizza) and ordered a potato gold pizza from Mr. Pizza (as an odd side note, the slogan for Mr. Pizza is 'Love for Women'. huh?). This Korean favorite has sweet potato stuffed crust and is topped with corn, mushrooms, meat, and of course potato wedges. For all you skeptics, and I believe my mom was included in that category, the pizza is really quite good. In fact, my mom continued to talk about it for the rest of the trip!

However, the Sunday they were here we went to Gwanghwamun Square, which just opened in August 2009 and was a place I had passed before but never visited. The large square (almost 20,000 meters squared) is located in the heart of old-city Seoul, near the Gyeongbokgung Palace. There are two statues in the square, one of King Sejong the Great and one of Admiral Yi Sun-Shin. There is a also a fountain and a walking path that leads directly from this square to the start of the Cheonggyecheon Stream (which runs for 6km through Seoul, finally connecting to the Han River).

Underneath the square, between the two statues, are two separate museums, one dedicated to King Sejong and one to Admiral Yi Sun-Shin. King Sejong was the fourth king of the Josen Dynasty, reigning from 1418-1450. He is highly regarded, as he was responsible for some of the most important achievements in Korean history, including the creation of 한글 (Hungeul, the Korean alphabet). The museum was very tourist friendly, everything was in Korean, English and Spanish (the first time I have seen that language used in this country). Here I also learned that Korea is not the only country that uses Hangeul. The Cia-Cia tribe in Indonesia has adopted Hangeul as their official written language since they didn't have their own writing system. Admiral Yi Sun-Shin on the other hand, was noted for his achievements in naval battles against the Japanese during their invasions between 1592-1598. He is know for his innovative use of the turtle ship, which he is credited with designing. He is also reputed as being one of very few admirals to have won every naval battle he commanded (at least 23). As always, it was fun to get out in the city and see something new. I love that even after living here for 18 months I can STILL find things to do that I never have before.

Last week brought my first open class with the Bambi class, one which went much more smoothly than my two had gone with the Nemos last year. No behavior problems, no Korean, no crying and definitely no parents complaining at the end. Having a set of parents who don't have the typical Korean approach to their child's education has been very refreshing, since most of my parents last year were very Korean in their approach. (The Korean approach being that they are overbearing, blame any fault of the child on the teacher, get way too involved, and have the sole goal of making the child the best in the class). We also went on a field trip, this time to see the Wizard of Oz. The story was definitely adapted by Koreans. For example, the wicked witch had a friendly mouse and cat as her sidekick. There were drum lines interspersed throughout the performance. Males dressed up as fairies (complete with pink and purple skirts, wands, headpieces, and glittery tights) and danced around the stage. Also, it remains unclear as how Dorthy ended up in Oz, as there was no tornado. And she didn't have Toto, just an empty basket. Glinda was also on roller skates. The whole thing was in Korean, so I don't really know how well they kept to that story line, but overall my kids enjoyed it. Except Justin, who when asked what is favorite part was told me "the blue and red benches outside, we sit before the play." Also, my Bambis are convinced the tin man is a robot, and nothing I can say will convince them otherwise.

This past week we also lost our first staff member since March, and one I have been working with for my entire year here. Jess made her departure from Korea, leaving us all a little nostalgic and sad. We started talking at dinner about all the things Jess will be able to do in America that she can't here and it made us all a little homesick. For the first time, I felt a little bit sad I wasn't the one going home, which I hadn't felt saying goodbye to any of my previous co-workers. Not saying I have fallen out of love with Korea, I am definitely still loving my life here and enjoying every moment. I am sure that my sadness came from the fact that I myself will be returning to America in about 2.5 weeks for a brief 13 day stint, and am getting more and more excited every day. Meaning I just want it to be my turn! I was initially feeling silly about booking my ticket to America, figuring I didn't need to come home for a visit and the money could have been saved for other things. However, as it draws near I am so glad I did book it, as a vacation in the land of red, white, and blue is sounding better and better! So get ready America, on September 16 I will be landing and will be ready to take in (and eat) everything American I possibly can in my short time!