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| The whole gang |
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Surveying the streets of Seoul
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| Our new buddies! |
This last weekend, we had tons of fun and experienced whole new aspects of the Korean culture. On Friday, we got the afternoon off and were able to spend time with the All-Day Club. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what it's all about, but basically what I've gathered is that kids, usually around our age or a bit younger, sign up for this for free (they actually sign a contract and if they miss a day they have to pay a fine, as an incentive to come). Then they spend all day going to different classes here at the Institute that help them learn English while being centered on Biblical themes. So anyway, on Friday the members of the All-Day Club took us foreign teachers out for a day on the town. We had met them the previous day when they gave us a brief lesson in Korean, but Friday was going to be all fun. We decided to go to the traditional part of Seoul where they have tons of markets and traditional goods for sale, as well as local cuisine. We browsed the stalls, and then went to a traditional tea house, which was especially awesome since we had our super friendly guides with us. Jon and I were kind of a novelty as a young married couple, since most Koreans don't get married until they've dated for about 7 years and have saved up tons of money, so usually not till they're around 30 years old. Our new friends were really helpful in getting us subway tickets and helping us pick out the best tea, and answering all our questions about Korea. We came back just in time for an awesome vespers program.
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| Koreans staying fit |
Saturday we had church, which entailed of first a sort of pre-Sabbath School song and little talk, followed by what they call 'Clubs' (basically our Sabbath School). There were all sorts though, a regular quarterly club, a music club, conversation club, video and multimedia club, etc., all offering different ways of getting the Korean English students excited about wanting to come to Sabbath School to learn more English and see what our faith was all about. We then had regular divine service, which was all in Korean and English, and when we end up preaching it will be translated as well. After church, Jon and I took a much needed Sabbath nap, but then got up in time to wander around some trails near the University and hospital. They were pretty awesome trails, with various exercise machines scattered throughout the trail and places where you had to take your shoes off. After our walk and a closing vespers, we wandered into town to find some ice-cream for a girl who had recently had a birthday. Found an awesome ice cream parlor (serving flavors like green tea), and then wandered through a beautiful classically styled university before heading back.
Sunday was our grand historical and cultural tour! Our first stop was Gyeongbokgugn Palace. The oldest and biggest of the five palaces in Seoul, it was quite impressive. I can't say that I've ever seen architecture like that in European palaces. It was first built around the 8th century, and although it has been rebuilt since then, the ancient wall surrounding it still stands. We took a tour, wandered the grounds, and meandered through the Cultural Folk Museum on the grounds. Not only was the architecture amazing, but also the fact that it's all made out of wood (fire extinguishers everywhere!) and the paint job was simply gorgeous! Afterwards, we were supposed to go on a big bus tour around the city, but it didn't work out, partly because there also happened to be a massive 10K run going on the same day, and they had closed down a lot of streets so that 30,000 Koreans could run around them. Pretty crazy. We saw orange Nike shirts EVERYWHERE. So instead, we made our way back to Insadong, the traditional area we were at Friday afternoon. On the way, we strolled down a riverfront walk, which is famous for people to go to on dates, especially crossing the river holding hands :) We had a traditional Korean dinner, which consisted of bean sprout soup, raw potatoes, kimchi, rice tea, savory pancakes, and bim bim bop. This is traditionally served in a stone bowl, piping hot, with a raw egg on top which cooks as you stir it all up. It usually has rice, vegetables, and chili paste. So tasty. Sweet tea for dessert. We wandered the shops of Insadong a bit more before stopping at the local Starbucks to rest our weary feet and then headed home.
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| 30,000 Koreans about to run through Seoul |
This last weekend, we had tons of fun and experienced whole new aspects of the Korean culture. On Friday, we got the afternoon off and were able to spend time with the All-Day Club. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what it's all about, but basically what I've gathered is that kids, usually around our age or a bit younger, sign up for this for free (they actually sign a contract and if they miss a day they have to pay a fine, as an incentive to come). Then they spend all day going to different classes here at the Institute that help them learn English while being centered on Biblical themes. So anyway, on Friday the members of the All-Day Club took us foreign teachers out for a day on the town. We had met them the previous day when they gave us a brief lesson in Korean, but Friday was going to be all fun. We decided to go to the traditional part of Seoul where they have tons of markets and traditional goods for sale, as well as local cuisine. We browsed the stalls, and then went to a traditional tea house, which was especially awesome since we had our super friendly guides with us. Jon and I were kind of a novelty as a young married couple, since most Koreans don't get married until they've dated for about 7 years and have saved up tons of money, so usually not till they're around 30 years old. Our new friends were really helpful in getting us subway tickets and helping us pick out the best tea, and answering all our questions about Korea. We came back just in time for an awesome vespers program. 
Saturday we had church, which entailed of first a sort of pre-Sabbath School song and little talk, followed by what they call 'Clubs' (basically our Sabbath School). There were all sorts though, a regular quarterly club, a music club, conversation club, video and multimedia club, etc., all offering different ways of getting the Korean English students excited about wanting to come to Sabbath School to learn more English and see what our faith was all about. We then had regular divine service, which was all in Korean and English, and when we end up preaching it will be translated as well. After church, Jon and I took a much needed Sabbath nap, but then got up in time to wander around some trails near the University and hospital. They were pretty awesome trails, with various exercise machines scattered throughout the trail and places where you had to take your shoes off. After our walk and a closing vespers, we wandered into town to find some ice-cream for a girl who had recently had a birthday. Found an awesome ice cream parlor (serving flavors like green tea), and then wandered through a beautiful classically styled university before heading back. 
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