Mother's Day and Memories of Korea

Jeju, March 2008

In February/March 2008, Viking Man went to Jeju-do, Korea on business and I joined him later in a last minute decision. It was a beautiful and unique trip and a fitting way to say goodbye to Korea (see the original post). Ever since, we have regretted not buying ourselves a souvenir dolharubang, a mushroom-like statue made from the porous volcanic rock of the island.

This Mother's Day, Viking Man announced a cryptic present he said I would never be able to guess. When two large crates showed up in the carport last week, I was still stumped. I have to admit that I was pretty stunned to see a giant dolharubang when we hacked open the first crate! Six years and three countries later, we have our Jeju souvenirs.

The packing slip declared each crate to be 400 kg. With one stacked on the other, it looked like a good chance that we now had a pair of decorative crates for the carport. Even my handy Viking had to think this one through for a couple of days. Today, he was finally able to execute 'Plan D', in which he rented a chain hoist, pried a board out of the carport ceiling, manipulated a couple of straps around the statue, then lifted it like it was nothing. The bottom crate followed easily. A quick jaunt on the dolly, and they are now guarding our house and garden.

Thanks to our friend Ho in Korea for arranging the shipment, and happy Mother's Day to me.

Tibet Photo Exhibit, October 5th

I almost forgot about this, so it's going out of order. One night I went down to Samcheondong to attend a Tibet photo exhibit put on by Kyoung and Johan, a Korean-Belgian couple we know. They're not professional photographers, but they were so inspired by a recent trip to Tibet that they put on this very well-organized event to raise money for the children there. They had their photos nicely framed and hung, and offered specially printed books of postcards, all for purchase with all proceeds going to charity. At the opening ceremony I attended, they had a traditional Korean flutist and singer perform, and Kyoung, who is learning how to tango, bravely showed her skills. I think if you click here and here, you can see (poor quality) videos from the evening.

Seoul National University Museum of Art, October 9

I was invited to a gallery opening of Danish art in conjunction with the Queen's visit on October 9th. I wore what I hoped was appropriate clothing, arrived at the requested time, and showed the proper identification for entry. There were several speeches from members of the official delegation including the Deputy Prime Minister, and though the ceremony was not so interesting, it was interesting to see how an event like this is put together. Then while the Queen and the delegation got a private tour of the exhibit, a Danish jazz trio played for us in the auditorium until we got clearance to view the exhibit ourselves. I wasn't able to take photos inside, but I was able to get a shot of the Queen as she exited.

Haslla Art World, October 25th

Today we took our morning kinder kids on a field trip. We piled them all on a train and headed south along the coast to Jeongdongjin. It was a beautiful day--in great contrast to Monday and Tuesday--and the sea was gloriously white and frothy. We took some pictures at the famous beachside Jeongdongjin Station, then hopped into our vans which had met us and drove to Haslla Art World, an indoor and outdoor art center in the mountains that rise out of the sea. We had lunch on an outdoor balcony then toured the outdoor center on foot. I hope to go back as we didn't get to explore over half of what was there.

Brian, Lisa and Peter

Jinny, Sally, Alice and AbigailJohn and RayPenny and the seaPlatform at JeongdongjinIn front of Jeongdongjin StationHiking through the art parkGiant sundial and relaxation pavillionSculpturesMy kiddosPeter the tank

Harry and Karas

As you know if you faithfully read my blog, Harry and Karas are two of my advanced students. This post features their art. They like drawing pictures of each other. It all started one day when Harry drew a picture of Karas on my whacking stick. You can't tell from the picture, but it says something about her having diabetes. (Unrelated note about the stick: Julian encourages use of the stick. We're not necessarily supposed to hit children, but whipping the stick down in front of children with a loud 'thwack' is looked upon favorably. There are five or six of them floating around downstairs, and I think Joseph has at least three of them.) A couple of days later, Karas rendered her versions of Harry on the board, and now it has turned into a 'thing'. I think they secretly love each other. Today being Friday, I let them have some fun, and not only did they draw each other, they drew 'hentai saru' or 'nuclear monkey' in Japanese which is what Karas calls Joseph because 'he is mean and ugly'. Oh the drama.