Posts Tagged ‘festivals’

wearing my Cecils.

December 26, 2010

Years ago, my family visited our grandparents and grandpa met us at the door wearing two different plaids.  I was oblivious to the contrast until my  sister exclaimed something like, “He looks like a table cloth!”

Its just as well I hadn’t noticed.  I would probably have made the same comment but in front of him.

Suddenly, there I was today, in my Cecils (that was grandpa’s name, if I hadn’t been clear on that).

The pajama bottoms are a gift from my mother as is my little guy’s vest.

Here he is checking out the Dinosaurs Adventure Board Game, which I am now translating into enough English that we can play it.  The name is in English, as are the names of the game pieces and the dinosaur names but it seems to not be a simple case of taking an English game and translating it into Korean.

We spent Christmas working at ‘kimjang’ – making kimchi.

In this photo is a maternal aunt of my wife.

Here are a few more photos of the week:

My view of the recent lunar eclipse – obscured by clouds.

The little guy impersonating a mannequin.  It looks a little better when he does it in a store next to the real thing.  Two years ago, we would look at the mannequins with the support rod piercing one leg and exclaim, “ouch” in sympathy.

Today he is performing Arirang, a lullaby and possibly more on the xylophone at a concert with his kindergarten classmates.  Check out his carefully prepared hair!

November- a tough month for Surprises Aplenty

November 8, 2010

I was nervous and excited about starting Nanowrimo – I knew it is a bit of a gimmick, but I like to write and was eager for the encouragement.  I could probably have managed to keep going even though my weekend hours had been drastically shortened – I should have tried.  I do understand that  a writer can write anywhere, even if there are places he prefers.  I knew being on the farm all weekend would be detrimental to my health – and it was, I am in full allergic agony right now – but i could have tried.

Another international event, and one that I participated in last year, is Movember.  I grew a mustache last year, as did many of my coworkers, but had trouble starting it this year.  It seems my short-term memory is failing me.  I entered the bathroom on the morning of November 1st, thinking, “Don’t shave your upper lip.”

I remembered again after shaving the left side of my upper lip.  Dang!  I repeated this for several mornings.

I think I can catch up, though.  I am not sure if this is cheating.

The writing is backward as I am shooting into a mirror, but I have a box of minoxidil in my hand.  I won’t divulge which in-law uses the stuff.

Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival

April 5, 2010

I jokingly titled a recent post “The most wonderful time of the year”.  However, that is a good description of early April in Korea.  I am not referring to the sunken naval ship, the slightly increased risk of war and the much higher risk of any such war going nuclear, mind you!  No, I am referring to the wild variety of mountain flowers, warm days and cool nights.  This is a great time to be in Korea!

On Sunday morning, I went to Jinhae to check out it’s famous cherry blossom festival.  My verdict: Jinhae is always a beautiful and quiet little town, the blossoms make it other-worldly, but wait until next weekend as they are not even close to their peak yet.

First, I went to a mountainous area that I had first visited twelve years ago with friends.  The trees were black and a little grim.  Because of the rain, I had at first thought the blossoms had been washed away.  Further exploration convinced me that they hadn’t bloomed yet.  The flowers were better in town, even though that was at only a slightly lower altitude.

After some time in town, I went to the Naval academy.  Visitors next weekend might enjoy better blossoms but will not gain entrance to the academy.

This little guy was guarding a corner of the museum, which is full of Yi soon-shin relics and information.

The azaleas are also just coming into bloom.  Geoje Island looks great – From the Chosun Ilbo:

Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival

March 15, 2010

The festival will be held from March 31 (fireworks on the evening of the 30th) to April 9.  As I recall, from twelve years ago, the whole town is tinged pink by sunlight traveling through the leaves, and a veritable snow of blossom petals lines the roads.

I seem to recall the Navy base being open during the festival and, in fact, it is also a celebration of Admiral Yi Soon-shin.

Korean Tourism has some information and links to a report of the 2007 festival.

On other sites, I saw people advising against coming all the way from Seoul just for the festival, particularly as Yeoido has it’s own festival.  Still, if you want the added value of possibly meeting the Surprises Aplenty family, you’ll come to Jinhae!


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