Spring Happenings

First and most importantly, my dad and bro are here right now! It is so great to have them here and be able to show them around the city and where I live.  Currently, they are in a town to the south of Seoul and will be back on Thursday.

The following are just some of the many things that I have been doing during my free time here.

1.  Seoul Racecourse
In Seoul, there is only one place for Koreans to gamble: the horse track.  I am not sure why, but Koreans are not allowed into the casinos here.  To enter a casino, you have to show your passport or Alien Registration Card to prove that you are not Korean.  So, many Korean men flock to the race course to get their gambling desires fulfilled.  It is a very interesting and fun place to visit as you can bet as little as 100 won (10 cents) and you get to sit outside and watch horses.  Personally, I know nothing about horses and just chose the winning horse based on whether or not I liked the horses looks or name.  It worked out pretty well for me.

Horse shoe entrance.

The stadium outside of the race track where you pick your winning horse.

The city of Seoul is genius and created a public park in the middle of the race track as to not waste space.

Right after a race finished.

Somebody got lucky!

2.  Dinner with teacher friends
This meal was delicious and really fun.  But, I have to admit I tried pork skin.  They all loved it and I had to do it.  It is not my favorite thing I have eaten here to say the least.

Pork skin cooking.

My friends :)

3.  Show Time

For my friend Marla's birthday, I went to go see the musical Grease in KOREAN!  It was actually better than probably anyone is thinking right now.  We had a great time dancing in the back and singing the songs in English.  It was a really well done production and the Koreans have got the Grease moves down.  It was on my bucket list to see a show here in Korea, so I am very happy that I did.

The entrance to the theater.

The birthday girl, Marla, dressed quite appropriately for the show.

The following weekend for my friend Sammy's birthday, a few of us went to go see Cirque de Solei.  I had seen the show once before when I was younger, so I didn't remember much.  It was a really fascinating show and kinda creepy at some points.  There are people coming out from every direction and sometimes spooky music.  But, the ways some people can contort their bodies and the acrobatics were just incredible.  I highly recommend going to see this at least once.

Friends outside of an actual circus tent!

4.  Cinco de Mayo in Seoul
Cinco de Mayo happened to overlap with Children's Day (a national holiday in Korea) so I had the day off from school and spent the majority of the day by a river that runs through Seoul eating tacos and having some imported beer.  The food was actually really good and we had the perfect weather to be outside.

The bridge over the river decorated for Children's Day.

The city was packed with people.

Friends and I by the river.

5.  Buddha's Birthday
I was lucky enough to be in Seoul during Buddha's birthday and I visited one of the more famous Buddhist temples in Seoul.  It was absolutely beautifully decorated and I got to catch some of the lantern parade through the city.  I also got to the temple just in time to see the monks doing dances for Buddha, it was really fun to watch.

Monks workin it.

The dance leaders.

The lantern parade.

The whole temple was decorated with these lotus lanterns. So pretty!

This is a tree in the middle of the temple.

6.  Han River Cruise at Night
I finally made it to one of the top tourist attractions in Seoul.  On a Friday night, my friends and I decided to take a night cruise along the Han River.  It was really pretty as the whole city is just lit up and sparkling.  There are about 25 bridges that cross the Han River and at night they look even better than during the day.  It was fun way to begin a weekend.

7.  Seoul Children's Grand Park
Now that the weather is nice, instead of sitting around an apartment on the weekend, I am able to just sit outside.  It is so nice and Seoul has some amazing parks to do it in.  A couple weekends ago, I spent a day with friends exploring Seoul Children's Grand Park.  It definitely does its name justice.  It is enormous and filled with tons of children.  The park also includes an amusement park, zoo, nursery rhyme area, river to play in, tons of open space for picnics and exploring, and lots more.