A few September events....

Well, you can't say I didn't warn you... there would be very little blogging going on after August 31st. But, life is still going on around us even though ours basically consist of school, coffee shops and more school. September is a big month for Koreans because it holds one of the biggest holidays~ Chuseok. The American holiday that resembles it the most is our Thanksgiving. It is centered around harvest and family. When you add in the Asian culture, it also has a little ancestry stuff as well. I really don't know the full history behind it, but everyone travels to their family's house and cooks for 2 days. Most schools gave kids 3 days off of school, but we just got Monday and Tuesday off. It still gave us a very nice and relaxing weekend. 

For starters, Kindergarten had a huge Chuseok festival which did not disappoint. We had a traditional Han-bok fashion show, played traditional games and made Song-pyon (rice cakes) which is a big Chuseok food that EVERY Korean eats on Chuseok! 

Here are a few snapshots of our day:

The second time in my life to wear one of these :) 

The Han-boks are all unique and beautifully hand-crafted. The details are absolutely amazing! I tried to get a few close ups to show how gorgeous they are 

Making Song-Pyon

I even got a gift from one of my students! :) I am stocked up on Ramen for 6 months!

 I'm happy..I love the stuff! 

On Saturday, Robert flew to the Philippines to see his father, who just so happened to be there for a Missions conference over our holiday. Now, obviously I would have loved to go but being that it was Chuseok, there were negatives and positives. First, the fact that we had a 4 day weekend was a great opportunity to head down there. Unfortunately, because everyone was traveling, it jacked ticket prices substantially. Therefore, I told my husband to enjoy the trip home and I would stay behind. Before you get all impressed with my bravery, be aware that I made arrangements for my friend Hannah to come stay with me before I let him go :) I will blog about his trip later since it truly deserves its own post. 

For now, I will just focus on my part of the holiday. 

Hannah and I decided to do everything "girly" possible. Beginning with lunch at Mr. Pizza where the slogan is "they love women"... We thought it only fitting to start off our big Girl's Weekend there... 

Fact #327 about Korea: you share everything here. If you order the salad bar, you are only given one tiny plate on which you put enough food for two people. Both our drinks also came with 2 straws for the added convenience of sharing. 

Next stop: Coffee Mama for some yummy Caffe Mochas 

We spent the later part of the afternoon watching a movie and doing our nails. We decided to head to the grocery store for some snacks and goodies for the weekend and Lotte Super just happens to be a few doors down from Baskin Robbins... who can resist that? We sure couldn't. 

We settled in for more girly movies and late night chatting 

*Having a blast together*

Late Sunday night we decided that a leisure stroll through the park would do just fine 

so we set out to do just that... 

Monday was actually Chuseok Day so we figured that would be the best day to go out into the city since there would be less people due to all the traveling. While it was still busy, it was nothing compared to regular days so I think we made the right choice. We went shopping of course!!! 

What's a shopping trip without a high priced frappuccino from Starbucks? 

 We were quite pleased with our purchases as you can tell...

Monday night brought on the Pamper Party... 

We laughed until we cried... 

Late night snack included making banana bread in the rice cooker :) 

Tuesday we went to my pastor's house for a "Foreigner's Chuseok" dinner. 

This is Pastor Oliver and Ellen Im~ wonderful host and hostess. 

We had a lovely time and met some new foreigners that just arrived in Korea a few weeks ago. 

Unfortunately Hannah had to go home on Tuesday night... all good things must come to an end. But, on the flip side, Robert arrived early Wednesday morning and it was so wonderful to have him home! Me and separation are not the best of friends... 

We got back into work and prepared for a relaxing weekend... We finally got my helmet from the states so we could go on a longer ride into Seoul. We decided to head to Hye-wha which is a college town because we figured it would be a good studying environment. It was so exciting to actually SEE the sites of Seoul! Usually we travel by underground subway so there's not much sightseeing going on. 

We arrived in time for lunch and decided to try out a place we had seen before and thought it looked interesting. When we went it, they started to lead us up one floor, then another, then another, then.. you get the idea. I was huffing by then but finally on the fifth floor, it was all worth it. The room had a sky light and big windows and it was all natural lighting with the most amazing aesthetics! While the food was way over priced, the environment made up for it! 

After lunch is was time to head to the coffee shop for some serious studying. This had been a favorite spot from another visit and we enjoyed it yet again... its a tad swankier than some of our other frequented spots. 

After studying for several hours, we got back on the bike and headed to meet some new friends, 

Kyle and Jessica, for a movie and dinner. It was a great time to get to know them a little more and we really enjoyed the fellowship! 

And there you have it... a great and relaxing weekend in the lives of the Blacks...