Public holidays galore :)

I guess it is a good thing that we are so busy (non-work related) that we are now almost 2 weeks behind updating this blog. Catch 22 really....nothing to write about = plenty of time to write about nothing. Plenty to write about = no time to write blog...too busy doing stuff.

Anyway, it is a quiet Monday night in South Korea. The apartment has been cleaned, laundry put away...so I find myself with some time to sit down and reminisce over the weeks that were.

Thanks to Buddha's birthday on 21st May, we found ourselves with a lovely long weekend to go and explore some of Korea's treasures. Along with our good mates Andy and Megan, we headed to Gyeongju which was the capital of 'Korea' during the Silla Kingdom (7th to 9th century). The city is packed with historical sites, many of which are world heritage sites. The weather gods were kind to us on friday when we decided to climb a random mountain outside the city and spend a lazy afternoon sipping on red wine surrounded by beautiful grassy royal burial mounds. Unfortunately that's when the tides turned and from Friday night through to Monday morning, Gyeongju was blanketed in thick and very unforgiving rain clouds.

We still got out and about and explored the Seokguram grotto and Bulguksa temple along with the other crazy Koreans who thought sightseeing in torrential rain sounded like fun. It became a game of dodgems with umbrellars, no major injuries but a few near misses. Was a great weekend despite the rain....but I think I would like to go back and explore it properly in the sunshine.

Otherwise, life is ticking over same same. We are in party preparation mode for Brendan's birthday party that is taking place this weekend. We have gone with the theme of home grown superheroes, that is superheroes with a Korean twist. Stay tuned for photos, we are counting on some pretty funny ones.

In other news, there is a national election taking place in Korea this wednesday = no school! I LOVE IT :) Advertising for elections is done very differently over here. It is done on a very personal level and there are groups of ladies dressed head to toe in matching outfits lining the streets, particularly at traffic lights, bowing to the passing traffic...I'm not joking!

On a more sombre note, we are aware that South Korea has been in the news recently due to the sinking of the South Korean battleship and the rise of conflict between the south and north. From what we are hearing on the ground it sounds like the international media are exaggerating the conflict (what! shock horror, the media exaggerate). We are fine, things are fine and none of the locals seem to be concerned about tensions escalating....but we will keep our ears close to the ground.

Until next time....

//Kate