While we are excited to be returning to our families and a familiar culture, it seems that things are falling more and more into place here. Our friendships are becoming strengthened and we are realizing more and more the beauty that is all around us. There's not a good chance we'll ever live in a place again where we can walk home with a lush green park (think Central Park) on one side and huge, beautiful, green mountains rising up in the distance. Matt is finally enjoying kimchi in all its wonderful cabbageness. The cultural things that were once hard to get over have fallen into the pace of everyday life. We also used to feel this huge urge or need to get Western food on the weekends, and now we go out for Korean all the time. This is a wonderful, beautiful place full of the quirks that every place in the world has, and we enjoy it.
Besides plans for the next year, not too much else is new. We spent last Saturday morning at one of the palaces in Seoul, 경복궁(Gyeongbokgung), with our friend Mark taking pictures in our 한복 (hanbok which is traditional Korean clothing).
He did an amazing job and it was much like a wedding photo shoot with over 750 pictures. We also got a lot of pictures with school girls and other Asian tourists who thought we were quite a sight. It was a lot of fun.
Later that day we also got to experience the modern Korean wedding in all of its strangeness to the Western eye. When watching you would say that someone watched too many Western wedding movies when they came up this idea. We were unable to see the traditional Korean ceremony as I think only the family gets to see it. The weddings are held all day at a wedding hall, with a different one every hour. You just have to wait for your wedding to come up on the screen. There are lots of flashy lights and loud music (like pop music). During the ceremony they do things like cut a cake. They don't cut a piece out, nor is cake ever served. It is just sliced into with a sword of a knife, and that 's it. Also, one person is chosen to catch the bouquet which is thrown for a picture only. After the quick ceremony, you head to a meal. All guests from all the weddings eat together. We ate a very nice (though very Korean) buffet. We felt honored to be invited and it was a fun afternoon and cultural experience.
Posing with the bride and some wonderful co-workers and friends. (I look like a giant.)
At the buffet. And yes that is a baby octopus on that fork.
Later that day we also got to experience the modern Korean wedding in all of its strangeness to the Western eye. When watching you would say that someone watched too many Western wedding movies when they came up this idea. We were unable to see the traditional Korean ceremony as I think only the family gets to see it. The weddings are held all day at a wedding hall, with a different one every hour. You just have to wait for your wedding to come up on the screen. There are lots of flashy lights and loud music (like pop music). During the ceremony they do things like cut a cake. They don't cut a piece out, nor is cake ever served. It is just sliced into with a sword of a knife, and that 's it. Also, one person is chosen to catch the bouquet which is thrown for a picture only. After the quick ceremony, you head to a meal. All guests from all the weddings eat together. We ate a very nice (though very Korean) buffet. We felt honored to be invited and it was a fun afternoon and cultural experience.
Posing with the bride and some wonderful co-workers and friends. (I look like a giant.)
At the buffet. And yes that is a baby octopus on that fork.
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