Spring in Korea

These past two weeks have been recuperating weeks. I've been keeping on the dl, not going out much, trying to stay home when possible. It's been sort of nice, actually. I've had some time to clean my apartment, make myself some new recipes, and catch up on some chores.

One thing I thought I would really miss when I left my old neighborhood was the birds, as hearing birds (or any wildlife) is a bit rare in Seoul. However, I realized that I do have birds singing in my neighborhood, which is nice. They're mostly in the alleyways, as I'm on a busier street, but I can still hear them.

Meanwhile, it's lovely in Seoul this spring, so far. Usually, it's "yellow dust" season and every other day or so is a health hazard, but this spring has been very kind to my lungs. (*knocks on wood*) The skies have even been blue, rather than a borderline grey-blue or white color.

Depending on where you are, there are more or less trees and blossoms to see, but Seoul seems to have become much more nature friendly since I've moved here. Perhaps, that's because I've moved to more nature friendly areas.

Cherry blossoms along an apartment complex. 

One of the most visited places in Seoul for cherry blossom viewing is Yeoido, which is an island in the middle of the Han river which runs through the city. It's a popular spot for picnicking and leisurely walks, as well as the location of the National Assembly building.  

Every spring, Yeoido holds a cherry blossom festival, which also serves as a flower show of some sort. I remember my father bringing me to the annual flower shows back in Philadelphia, and that must have instilled some deep appreciation of flora in my life, as I love looking at, taking pictures of, and nurturing plants. (Though I can't say I'm particularly any good at gardening.)

I didn't get to go up to the mountains for cherry blossom viewing in Seoul, but I did get this really nice view of Namsan and its cherry blossoms.

If you look carefully, you can see the "pink fluffs" of the cherry blossons on the mountain.

After the cherry blossoms had come and gone in Seoul, I went to Seoraksan. More specifically to the valley where "Osaek" is located. I took my sister there her last weekend in Seoul, and I fell in love with it.

Oseak literally means "Five Colors," referring to the spring waters of this location.

I love the different colors of the water, particularly the deep blue-green against the red rocks of the cliffs.

Soft green on craggy rocks.

Green is starting to sprout up around the tops of the mountains.

And then back to Seoul, there are a lot of beautiful plants and trees growing where I work, and I sometimes can't help but stop and take pictures (even though a certain coworker teased me about it).

From the other end, near World Cup Stadium, there was more beauty to be seen.

Can you spot the kite?

When I first moved the Seoul, I really missed the flowers and blue skies of spring, but now that I'm seeing there here as well, I feel more content. I used to take a lot of random spring photos back in the USA, but I get to do that in Korea as well. It's a little joy, but little joys make life much more consistently happy.

Happy spring!

On Stage

When I get tired, I start feeling a bit depressed and esily anxious. I need to get more sleep...

I've been doing some extra things for my work place, however, which has been a bit exciting, if not nervewrecking. I'm learning a lot, in particular that I'm much more comfortable on stage than I have been in the past.

Last week, I gave a special lecture on academic essay writing for students interested in the essay contest happening tomorrow. I was in high heels, but I was walking up and down off of the stage due to my habit of walking around in the classroom. I was really nervous about it when I started trying to come up with my plan for the lecture, but by the time things were falling into place, I felt prety confident, though I generally have that slight fear that things will just implode when it actually gets down to it.

Fortunately, it went well. I wasn't sure how it went, but the administrator who organized it let me know that it was the first time they tried something like this and that she would recommend that the school put on this lecture every year for students.

Tomorrow, I will be the MC for the essay contest, which should take about 10 to 15 minutes, or less I hope. I have no idea what to expect or how to approach 150 students who are waiting to write an essay in a couple hours for a nice little bundle of cash. Should I just be straight forward and keep things short and simple? Should I try to make them laugh? Should I encourage them?

Tonight's Subway Report

After having a nice little dinner with Lisa, I headed home on the subway.

As I walked down the stairs to transfer to another line, I heard a very loud, sputtering, airy noise. An older man in front of me turned around to look at me with a concerned look, as if thinking, "Did you hear that?" I realized that he probably just farted a very ... uh ... moist fart.

I gathered my powers of self control to erase the look of shock off my face and relax my eyebrows and close my mouth (partially because the thought of having the cloud of moist fart float into my mouth made me feel even more shocked). I then walked past him with my best forced expression of disinterest, though I think I had a little bit of an awkward smirk on my face. He kept his eyes on my for another half second before he checked the faces of other people who weren't quite so close by.

Once I boarded on the subway, I ended up sitting next to a man looking very intensely at his smartphone. He looked very tired and very red. We got the the next stop and the doors started closing, to which he yelled, "Ah!" and jumped up and ran, somewhat stumbling, but with a rather impressive velocity, towards the sliding doors. By the time he was up on his feet, the doors had already closed, but he didn't seem to register this fact. He just ran straight into the door, yelled, "Ah!" again, and then just stood, still just as red faced, blankly for a few seconds wondering what went wrong. He then pulled out his smartphone and contemplated its bright interface again.

I think everyone in the car winced when he hit the door, then waited, preparing ourselves to try to catch him as he fell, but after he seemed to be oblivious to the fact that he slammed his face into the door, we all turned away, trying not to catch each others' eyes. If one person had even let out a chuckle, I think we would have all burst out laughing.

Poor guy.