Playing Host

This past week something really awesome and special happened: Dad and Aunt Julie visited Korea! Unfortunately I couldn't pick them up at the airport, since I was busy babysitting lots of children who were in the holding cells during the Wizard of Oz production. Fortunately, with the help of Google map, videos and meticulous instructions, they made their way from the airport to our apartment without much trouble at all. It was so surreal and wonderful to have them here. It's always a bit jolting when a face that belongs at home turns up here, whether it be from a friend or a relative. David and I had loads of fun showing them around our temporary home country. One of the first things we did was take them to Insadong where we did a bit of shopping and toured the nearby palace and temple.


Dad and Aunt Julie at Jogyesa temple.


Colorful lanterns.


Prayer beads.


Aunt Julie browsing the market at Insadong.


A calligrapher.

On Sunday we went gunho into the Suwon Folk Village. There was plenty to see there, from traditional architecture to folk dances. We ate some traditional pancakes there as well, which Dad and Julie really enjoyed.


Dad and Julie investigating a traditional house.


Beautiful colors.


Me, Dad and Julie. :)

On Monday, David and I had a holiday from our school, so we took Dad and Julie to explore downtown Incheon. After a stop at Dr. Fish, where they had their feet nibbled by hungry fishies, we went to Chinatown. The highlight there was that we got to witness the creation of amazing dumplings. A huge ceramic pot was heated with an open flame and the dumplings were stuck onto its side to cook for several minutes. We thoroughly enjoyed eating them. After exploring Chinatown we went to the Yeonan Pier's fish market. It's a hub of lively vendors selling squid, fish, crabs, shrimp the size of my arm and basically anything and everything the sea has to offer.


The delicious dumplings cooking.


Eating the delicious dumplings.


This octopus was bigger than me!!!


A sampling of fish.



During our workweek Dad and Julie did their own thing. We had coffee at Paris Baguette (a pastry shop) together every morning before I had to ship out to school. They toured the DMZ, explored more of Seoul and even visited our school to see the kids.
It was a long and full week with them. I was really sad to see them go, but at the same time really ecstatic that my traveling has helped them broaden their experience of the world into Asia! So please, come visit!