hanbok day.

Happy Friday! Today was Hanbok Day for the morning group of kids. What's a Hanbok you may be wondering? A Hanbok is the traditional style dress in Korea. We wore them today to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year. First, let me tell you, Korean age is different than American age. I am currently 23 but in Korea, I am considered to be 24. When a child is born, they aren't one day old but they are one year old. Koreans count one year for when the baby is developing in the womb. I guess it kind of makes sense because the life of a child begins when he/she is first conceived. Anyways, Kate gave me my own Hanbok to wear today. It really was a lot of fun. We meditated and the children (and me!) learned how to properly bow to an adult. We played their traditional game, Yut Nori, which allowed me to learn how to count to five in Korean (Do, Gae, Girl, Yut, Mo). The mother's of the children came and when this one mother walked in, her son, Kevin, was overly passionate with joy. The look on his face seriously warmed my heart. I almost teared up. It was like he hadn't seen her in years, when in reality, he only left his house two hours prior to this. It was marvelous. We also made origami hanboks and taped them up around the reading room. I think it's pretty cool that I can say I can make an origami hanbok! (I can also make a paper crane!)

The day was a bunch of fun but when the mothers left, everyone started to cry. I gave them chocolate to help them stop. It was cute. Anywho, the rest of the day was fun. We let the kids play in the playground and it was a beautiful day to do so.

The afternoon class (elementary kids) had cooking day today. I taught them how to make peanut butter and banana sandwiches. They also drank hot chocolate and fun colored marshmallows. After cooking class, we played games. I finally got my "Jump Up I" class to like me. These kids are the oldest out of everyone in the school.. they're like eleven.. and have iphones. We talked about their pets and how they love coffee but their parents don't know that they drink it. Too funny. When it was time to switch teachers, they didn't want me to go! Finally. It took me two weeks to even get them to talk to me about anything besides answering the questions in their workbook. I thought it was weird that they drink coffee so young but the amount of coffee that is readily available in the convenient stores, I'm not really surprised. What a successful work day.

After work Kate took me out for sushi. We just had sashimi (the fish over the rice) and some kind of noodles with seafood. The bowl of noodles came out and it was literally moving and I had never been so skeptical about anything in my entire life. I was thinking "oh my god, my food is still alive. there's no way i'm eating that" but I dug in anyways. I don't ever want to be rude or disrespectful, especially here since Koreans find many things rude or disrespectful. I figured I won't judge anything until I try it - a philosophy that is new for me. The noodles were good and the moving pieces weren't alive. It was some kind of dried octopus that when wet and heated, move. Speaking of octopus, I ate a baby one. Oh my goodness gracious. When I first saw it in the bowl of noodles, I looked at Kate like 0_0. She told me just to try it and if I were anywhere but Korea and someone told me to try something with eight legs and visible suction cups.. I'd tell them to kiss my ass. But I didn't want to be rude and ya know what? It wasn't even bad. I'd never personally order it myself because it kind of freaks me out, but I've had McDonald's hamburgers that tasted worse than that octopus did. Not bad, not bad. Ohhh and the picture is of me trying to master how to use chopsticks and a spoon.. this is how they eat their noodles. Obviously it's really hard to use chopsticks to eat noodles. Koreans pick up the noodles with the chopsticks and place the bottom part of the noodle on the spoon and somehow maneuver all three utensils and food into their mouth without looking really silly. I'm still working on it.

Afterward, we went to Yangsan tower. A FREE TOWER. I love how so many things are free here. The top of the tower lets you observe the city and it was beautiful, especially since it was nighttime. There were exhibits, informational pictures, and even an audio section where you could learn more about Yangsan. America charges you to inform you and I love that Korea does not. There were also dozens of books and you were allowed to stay up there and read. It was like a mini-library with a sweet view. There was also a coffee shop where I had my very first blueberry latte. It came out blue and it was lovely. Successful Friday night, I'd say.

Pointing to the part of Yangsan I live in.

Tomorrow I plan to explore Busan again. I am going to Haedong Temple, which is a temple located on a cliff - near the seaside. I'm super excited for that. I plan to do a temple stay one day soon.. at a different temple. I'm learning more about Buddhism and I truly love it. I don't believe in religion but I believe that Buddhism is a way of life rather than a belief in a higher power. Sunday, Kate is going to take me to a different beach than the one I've already discovered. Pretty exciting weekend for me! I hope everyone on the East Coast of the US is enjoying all of that snow that I do not miss in any way, shape, or form! Later days.