David's development part 2

David is getting pretty good on his feet. He is even able to escape from his crib through the bottom door. We'll have to tie it up:

For even more death-defying, check out this video:

Insadong Parade

Jogye-sa movie

This is a video of a monk changing sunday services at Jogye sa temple

Jogye-sa and Insadong

Poor Arlene has been cooped up in the apartment while I have been running all around Seoul so we went out to Jogye-sa and Insadong last Saturday.

Frank and David in front of Insadong



A Pagoda said to house relics of the historical Buddha Sakyamuni

After looking around Jogye-sa we walked over to Insadong, a street famous for its souvenirs. It was only about a five minute walk away but it took ten because the red light to cross the street is so long. After crossing the streets we stopped at a bakery and had bread with pumpkin filling, cake bread (which had a lot of cheese in it but was completely unlike cheesecake) and patbingsu, a dessert made with vanilla icecream, beans, ice and a few other things. Its very good, especially on a cold day. We'll have to take a picture the next time we have one but David was too squirmy at that time and so Arlene had to feed him and me!

The street is closed to cars on Saturday and Sunday so there is more space for the crowds. You can't see it from this picture but it is really crowded.

Another street scene and a vendor.

There was a free concert that day complete with free refreshments put on by Daesong, a company that I think makes bathtubs (among other things)

A group of people dressed in traditional costumes were apparently trying to drum up (literally, or rather gong up?) tourism in Andong which is known for its traditional culture).

Here we can see a better view of some of the parade participants.

After buying some souvenirs we intended to go to Kyobo books. However, I took a wrong turn and we ended up going south instead of west. So we just went home after eating dinner at Lotteria. We were really exhausted on the way home and things were really busy. Fortunately a nice ajuma (middle aged Korean woman) gave her seat to Arlene (we usually can't assemble the stroller on the subway so Arlene was holdin David). We were confused as to which direction to go in one subway just as a train was pulling up and so a nice man helped us out and made sure we got off at the right stop. So all in all, things are going well but now I need to concentrate more on my research.

Yonsei and Myongdeong

I went to Yonsei (a private Protestant Christian university in Korea) the other day to take care of some banking business and to get my library card (Fulbright researchers are allowed to check books out of Yonsei). While there I was approached by a young Chinese woman who was looking for the building where Korean classes were held. I didn't know but fortunately it was club day (the various clubs have booths and try to recruit new members) and I had just passed the English club so we went there and they helped her out. Here are some pictures of the campus:

A large Protestant Church just outside of Yonsei. I'm not sure if it's connected in any way.
The student union building. I go there often because our bank is there (it literally is called "our bank" in Korean--uri unhaeng)
Here is the library.

After finishing up thing there I hopped on the subway and went to the Myongdong area. I scouted out some underground shopping where Arlene could get some clothes. I then went to Myongdong cathedral to get some books.

They are working on the cathedral so I couldn't get a good shot of it. Here is a statue of Jesus right in front of it though:

Here is a replica of the grotto at Lourdes nearby. French missionaries were very impotant in Korean Catholicism and so you can see lots of Lourdes grottos and statues of Our Lady of Lourdes.

David's development

David is growing up very quickly. He now can tell that if daddy is dressed up and mommy isn't it means that daddy will be leaving. He then will grab me and try and hold on and will get really upset when I leave. The same is true if Arlene leaves. He likes playing with the tv buttons as well as the ones on the fan. He still has some stranger anxiety though. I hope that will go away before too long!
Here is one of David's official one year old photos:

Meeting with Friends

This last Monday I was fortunately able to meet with my old friend Eun-Ok at the airport. We had a nice lunch together. We hadn't seen each other for six years I think so I was thankful that we had the chance to meet up again.

We were also very happy to have our friend May over. Arlene and May met in the Philippines and then May came to Vancouver to study English so we were able to meet there as well. Now we are all in Seoul