Chuseok!

As I mentioned in my last blog, this past weekend was a very important holiday in Korea, and I got 4 days off of work!! I had a wonderful time enjoying the festivities.
On Saturday night, one of the other American teachers, a girl named Carly, came over and I attempted to make "kimbap" (a sort of Korean sushi) for us. Turns out it's much harder than it looks. Mine ended up as more of a taco than a sushi role, but at least we got some good pictures out of it. Afterwards we went downstairs to our next-door grocer and bought some cheap ice cream. We sat on my bed, and watched "About a Boy," quite a splendid film.

The next evening we took the metro and a bus (which is a whole experience in and of itself in a foreign country=) to the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts outdoor theatre for a moon-greeting Shaman ceremony. Unfortunately, we arrived a bit too late to see the Shaman, but there was a traditional dance performance, music, a rice planting field song, and Korean tightrope walking. The dancers wore "hanbok," the traditional costume at Chuseok, the Lunar New Year, and weddings. The costumes are made of silk and come in various colors, particularly blue and red (Korean flag colors representing the heavens and the earth, respectively), light green and burgundy, and dark/light shades of pink. They are composed of an empire waist dress, with a small jacket on top--very adorable! When the women danced, they looked like they were floating on bubbles. It was spectacular! After a couple of performances, the audience went to a nearby field in the venue for the tightrope walking. Carly and I had to climb down a small cliff of large rocks without getting pushed over to get there--by the far the weirdest thing I've done as an audience member. But it was well worth it--the tightrope walking was fantastic. Again, in traditional costume, a man not only walked, but jumped up and down on a tightrope about 4 meters high. I took a few videos; you must see it to believe it. Apparently, this tradition goes all the way back to Korean dynasties, when the tightrope walker fulfilled the role of a court jester. At the end of the festivities, we were invited to join in a moon-greeting dance, which was surprisingly like Greek dancing. It basically involved holding hands and skipping in a circle. Of course, I was ecstatic. =) It was a little like being at my church's Greek festival, which I was so sorry to miss for yet another year. On the way home Carly and I met a few more foreign teachers, a few from the US, a few from England. There really is a wealth of us over here. It's lovely.

The next day, I met up with a new friend Injeong, whom I met at What the Book: an English bookstore in Itaewon (a neighborhood famous of its attraction to foreigners, as well as its Muslim population, as it has the only Muslim mosque in Korea). We went to the Namsan Hanok Village for traditional Chuseok games, food, music, and activities. I can't even express how much fun this was! There were rice cakes everywhere, in all shapes, colors, and sizes. I even got to help make some! We walked around for a bit, left to get some lunch (we had "sam-bap" which involves wrapping cooked meet and miso paste in a leaf, with rice served on the side), and then returned to the festival. We played some traditional games, including "arrow throwing," hoop rolling, and Korean seesaw. This was particularly cool because in Korean seesaw, the players stand, so it's much more like a trampoline with two people than a seesaw. Amazingly fun, although not too easy. Later we saw some other children doing it and they got 10 feet hight, at least. I got a picture. =) While learning to make "songpyeon" rice cakes, we met a Japanese woman, also a language teacher, named Maki. It was so fulfilling for me to have a new Korean friend and experience the holiday to the fullest. At the same time, it was very fulfilling for Injeong to meet a foreigner so interested in sharing her culture. The festival workers reacted to my interest similarly. For example, to play with a hoop in the game area, you had to give an ID card. I didn't have one on me, but the worker said I was special, and let me use one anyway. Later, I got in line to mash some rice with a huge hammer-like object. When it was my turn, the man told Injeong that it was only for children, but he let me do it anyway. =) I did a bit of gift shopping, and then Injeong and I shared a ton of rice cakes . We bought a "variety pack," consisting of cakes rolled in cinnamon, green tea powder, sesame seeds, and black rice powder. So delicious!! At the end of the afternoon, we were just about to leave, when a crowd started to gather in front of a stage. I am so glad we waited to see what was going on because the only Korean circus ended up performing. It was fantastic!! There were plate spinners, acrobats, and jugglers (who actually juggled with jugs). I got some amazing pictures I can't wait to show you all. It was incredible! Afterwards, Injeong and I went home.

The next day (Tuesday) I met up with my friend Jiyoon in Itaewon. She's from Seoul, but she went to high school in Michigan and then attended Notre Dame (where I met her in my dorm). It was so wonderful to see a familiar face. I can't even tell you how nice it is to know someone here. We went to a Jordanian restaurant for kebabs and hummus and falafel, then walked around the city. I found some wonderful antique shops, and restrained myself from buying a bookshelf only by remembering the flight home it would have to survive. We stopped in "Paris Baguette," a popular bakery for coffee and green tea ice cream (it's so good here!). Then we went on the metro closer to her neck of the woods to a shopping mall with a large bookstore in it. The upper floor has foreign books, and I found Aesop's Fables with the Korean translation at the back. I'll let you know how this whole teaching myself Korean thing goes....

It was a wonderful weekend--by the far the best I've had yet. Hopefully many more to come. Today it was back to work. I'll be doing lesson plans for October tonight. And tomorrow there's a field trip for the kindergarteners. I'm pretty pumped. =) Thanks for reading all this (if you made it this far=) Lots of love. Take care, everyone.