After my dental appointment on Friday, I headed into Seoul to look at the Christmas lights. Unfortunately, they're starting to take them down, so most of the places I went weren't lit up. It was cold, but I walked for about 2 hours and then stopped at a restaurant before heading home. It was a pleasant evening. See below for some snapshots.
My weekend has been nice. On Saturday I went to the National Museum of Korea with my friend Ute. Today I had coffee with another teacher from my school, went grocery shopping, and did some serious housecleaning. I think I have the cleanest floors and bathroom in Kyonggi Province! I also washed my bedding by hand since I don't have a washing machine. I now have the fan blowing on it in hopes that it'll be dry enough to use tonight. Then this evening I met up with Ute for tea.
I've taken January off from my responsibilities at the church because I was hoping to take some weekend trips this month. Instead, I've been sticking close to home because of my tooth. Especially at the end of the day, I just want to be in my own apartment and close to my large supply of Tylenol and Advil. I have another dental appointment on Monday, but I might also go see a doctor this week since it's still extremely painful with no improvement. Friday was my 13th appointment. So far I've paid a total of $53.50 for my dental care in Korea. I can't even imagine how much I would have paid for 13 appointments without dental insurance in the U.S.
Enough rambling. Here are some snapshots of Seoul from Friday evening.
First, Seoul City Hall. The sign says "Saehae bok manhee badeushipshio" which means "Happy New Year!" I was very proud of myself for being able to read and understand it!
The Christmas tree in front of Seoul City Hall. All the public Christmas trees here have neon red crosses on them. So do all the church steeples. It's a little surreal at night to see all the neon red crosses glowing across the city. (In Korea, red crosses are churches, green crosses are hospitals. Just so you know.)
They've erected an ice rink in front of the city hall. I thought about renting skates since I love to go ice skating, but it was really crowded and didn't look like it had been "Zambonied" in a while . . . maybe ever . . . so I just watched. You can see what's left of the Christmas decorations in the background. They've started to take them down, but around Christmas time, that whole structure was lit up and quite a sight!
I really like this giant seashell sculpture in downtown Seoul.
This is a department store all decked out in Christmas lights!
3 comments:
Yeah, they're really amazing. I wish the City Hall lights, that you can see in the background of the ice skating picture, had been lit up. I didn't actually see them illuminated, but I've seen pictures, and they're spectacular. Way to go, Korea!
Hola Ellen
I hope your tooth is feeling better by now.
Pretty pics!!
Hi Jane! The tooth is getting there!! Thanks for the thoughts.
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