8.17.2011

Korean Independence Day

Happy 15th of August!! As an American, that just doesn't have the same ring to it :) That being said, I am in full support of a country celebrating its own independence! And they are quite patriotic. All the streets were lined with Korean flags and the entire country was on holiday. Now, that last part is why we didn't go anywhere in Seoul. Here's the thing; in America, say on July 4th, there is a ton of people traveling to spend the time with family, but the country is so large that there are only spots of the country being overrun by people. Ok, so imagine 50 million people in the state of illinois and tell everyone to go on holiday but they can't leave the state. That's what you have in Korea on a holiday. Hence the reason we typically stay in our apartment or only venture out into our little neighborhood on such days :) So, now you are probably dying to know what we did on our holiday! I'm so glad you asked. Here is our super amazing day: 
We started out the day by sleeping in, as per our usual holiday tradition. After we got up and around, we met our friend Kelsey for a little goodbye lunch on her last day in Korea. We had big plans to take her to our favorite Shabu-shabu restaurant but upon arrival it was quite clear that we would be waiting for hours for a table. We turned the taxi around and headed back to our starting spot. We decided on a place that definitely lacked in glamour but made up for in taste and quality of food. Kelsey also got to eat full-on Korean food on her last day. :) There's a great little "cafeteria-style" bibimbap restaurant near our school that is A-mazing! 



Such a sweetie. So glad we were able to meet her! 
The whole lunch plans began at church the day before when I asked her if she had tried the ice cream fondue at Baskin Robins, to which she promptly responded negative. I mean, come on! How can you live in Korea and not try the fondue?! :) She is, however, an avid ice cream lover like myself so we quickly made plans to meet up for lunch and ice cream fondue! After our lunch, we walked to our neighborhood BR and got all settled to enjoy dessert and they were out of the chocolate. boo. So we caught a taxi and headed to the next BR and found them in the same predicament. Apparently the dish is on its way out but they keep luring people in with the advertisements. I hate the old bait and switch deal. We had to settle for plain ol' ice cream and good conversation :) It was fun. 
We said our goodbyes to Kelsey at the subway station and then caught a train to a nearby shopping spot. I want you to look very closely at the following picture... do you see anything unusual (besides the odd facial expressions)? keep looking.... ok fine. I'll just tell you. 
WE ARE WEARING SUNGLASSES= NO RAIN!!!!!!! 
We had an entire afternoon of no rain. Sure, it was extremely hot but I was so happy to 
actually wear my sunglasses, you have no idea! :) 


Due to the intense heat, we didn't shop long and ended up going home and crashing for awhile. After we were rested up we got ready and headed out on a dinner/movie date night to Nowon. We ate dinner at T.G.I. Fridays which is always a fun way to spend an evening :) After dinner we saw "Cowboys and Aliens" which was pretty fun, even though I don't typically get into Sci-Fi. 


Overall it was a very relaxing and enjoyable day! 

This has nothing to do with our holiday but I made this great little "dessert/refreshment" tonight and wanted to share it with you. I got the recipe from a co-teacher. I'm not exactly sure what the weather is like in American right now but I'm pretty sure its still Summer so this would still be very enjoyable. 

Here's what you need:
watermelon
canned fruit cocktail
Sprite
Strawberry milk

Put it all together and you have an extremely refreshing little afternoon snack or a light evening dessert. 
It is so yummy and equally easy! 


As I mentioned, a few weeks ago Robert and I were really going through a rough patch of homesickness and loneliness. We are over that now and can enjoy our life here. That being said, we still get very lonely. Robert said this the other day and I thought it was a perfect way of describing our feelings: "living here is like playing in your backyard alone with your super cool toys while all the neighborhood kids are playing with each other next door." While we are enjoying our "adventure", somedays we would really like to just be playing next door with the other kids... 

*that's all for now*

2 comments:

Reny Girl said...

Living in a foreign country, has it's upsides and downsides! I know what you're saying. Robert said it well. I'll be praying for you.

Tricia Williams said...

Aww.... I definitely know how that feels. 7 years away, the feeling still comes and goes but it gets easier.

I hope you do not mind that I have shared your URL with a lovely Christian gal I know who currently teaches in Korea.
Who knows, you may already be the best of friends. Here is her blog: http://elainastone.livejournal.com/
I did NOT ask permission but I'm sure she won't mind. :)