reflection

And so tonight I'm standing here, looking down from a side trail along Mount Namsan...and slowly the words form in my mind..."This is my town." When I first came here this place was entirely unfamiliar and foreign to me. But now, now it has become like my second home. I feel comfortable here; it's like I've found my niche without even really trying. In a sense I feel that this is where I belong, because the bonds I've made here and the experiences I've had are irreplaceable. There has not been one day in the last nine months that I would trade for anything. There has not been one moment of my being here that I regret, not a one. This place has changed me, and any chance to change and grow beyond what I once was is a welcome and rare opportunity. For certain I will miss this life when I leave, and I am saddened that the end is coming so soon. Even so...there is still time left and for sure I will be savoring every minute of it. But for tonight, I'm here, I'm here...and I'm waiting with anticipation for whatever lies ahead...

And on a lighter note, this is what you get when Korean kids try to play Scrabble.

the Kimchi Field Museum

Hola hola hola...

And so begins another week here in Seoul Land. I've got work to do here in the office no doubt, but I'm really feeling the Monday doldrums this afternoon so I thought this might be a nice break from the monotony of writing weekly reports.

This past week at school we went on a field trip to the infamous Kimchi Field Museum located in COEX mall. I'd been meaning to go see this on my own since I got here, since for sure plastic replicas of kimchi might be an interesting change from the dull museum norm of boring paintings and artifacts (sarcasm intended). In my opinion, it was actually quite small...not really up to par space-wise as a traditional museum in that it was more like a special exhibit than anything. The highlights included a hands-on section where you could touch & smell the different ingredients of kimchi and an interactive computer section where you could watch videos of various kimchi being made. At the end of the exhibit they even had some kimchi that we could try for ourselves, though I wasn't really feeling all that well that day so I decided to pass.

All in all, not a bad outing for the kids, though I think they were simply more grateful to be out of class then they were to be learning anything actually relevant about their national dish. In any case, I had fun...and isn't that what really matters? :)

the display of plastic kimchi

John, SeungMin, Daniel & Grace

the Rose B class & the teachers (including yours truly!)