Riding Shotgun

Koreans do not like to "ride shotgun" in cars.  My co-workers regulary hold the back seat door open for me when ever we are driving on errands.  Yesterday, I drove my realtor and my landlady to sign the lease papers for my apartment.  They both eagerly climbed into the back seat and left the front passenger empty.  That would never happen with my family and in fact I'm calling shotgun now, for when I come to visit over Christmas.

Lantern Festival

These are paper lanterns, larger than life size. We walked along the river, amazed and enthralled.


I'm so sorry that I am not a better photographer. But this is just enough to tease and tempt you into coming and visiting.

Carving

This is the first time that I have seen people carve fruit for Halloween but when the commissary only has a couple of pumpkins... you have to get creative for the Young Adult activities.

The Beautiful Beach

Observing US holidays in Korea means that you get a few Mondays off when everyone else has to work. (Of course, everything in Seoul is closed on Monday because the department stores, museums and attractions are open all weekend. It's a catch 22.)
The glitter you see on the horizon is the water. There was probably about a mile of mud before it. The tides in Incheon are huge. And the mud is full of shells so it's not something that you want to be walking through barefoot.
This is the beach that a lady sent us too after telling us that the others in the area were too muddy. But as you can tell, there was no one else on the beach with us.

Hmm...

McDonalds delivery... not something that you would see in the states. On the other hand I have yet to see a drive thru window.

Learning and Exploring

Megan and I have been taking turns show each other the sights and tastes of Korea. One of my favorite outings was just to the Korean grocery store. She walked me down every aisle and explain what things were and gave them the thumbs up or thumbs down. Brilliant!


We also have gone to our fair share of museums! I love exploring the history and the art. There was one artist, Whang Inkie, who recreated various famous paintings... like van Gogh's Starry Night in legos.
My kitchen is the cleanest it has been in months and look at the lovely vase I bought at Icheon.
I love these shelves and the pottery wasn't bad either!
Leek pancakes are an excellent way to eat your vegetables!

Visitors

The hike up the mountain was definitely worth the dazingly light display of a panoramic view of Seoul.

It's great to have family come to visit and even better when they speak Korean! Everyone has been so shocked to have a white girl talking to them...