Weddings, Dancing, and random moments of beauty ...

Tuesday Oct. 3

After letting mom and dad have a day to rest up while I went to work we took the ‘Korean National Day’ to visit the Mask Dance Festival in Andong. It was insanely crazy and there were tons of things going on – I spent the first little while just feeling pretty stressed from not knowing where to go or what to do. We ended up finding some pretty interesting things though. I was able to write a message using a traditional Korean paintbrush and tie it to hundreds of others in front of some totem poles (we met the carver). We then saw some martial arts, and some very impressive traditional Korean percussion groups. The show was about an hour long in the middle of a square in the blazing sun and these performers were wearing layers of thick clothing marching around, dancing, etc. Their stamina was inspiring – we were having trouble just sitting and watching because of the heat. There were also a number of things going on that Leona calls ‘gitch,’ which means very tacky and overdone – and in this case too westernized and sensationalized – but what can you do? It was still a great festival. I think one of the highlights for my mother was having me dress up as a Korean bride. Two little ladies put me in layers of beautiful clothing (most of which ended up being covered anyway) and doing me up as crowds of Koreans gathered to watch the foreigner being poorly transformed into a Korean bride. It was great! I’m not sure how much my dad enjoyed it though – I think he may have seen it as some sort of omen of the future! Either way – we got some really fun pics.

We decided to leave the main festival site and head to the Hahoe village where Koreans lived and worked in the ‘old way’. Breathtaking beauty greeted us. Unfortunately we saved that until late in the day and didn’t have much time there but the time we did have was precious. Each bend in the road brought a new site to make me gasp or sigh in thankfulness and wonder at the beauty before me. It’s most definitely a place I hope to go back to. Maybe even stay at – it turns out that you can spend the night with some of the Korean families who live there.

It was a long and tiring day (especially for poor mom and dad – I’ve keeping them at a pace their definitely not used to) but a good one – and to finish it off, there was an old sleeping lady on the city bus we took home who had her little cart, her sack of things and two chickens snoozing beside her. Chickens on a city bus – population 2.5 million – that’s certainly a sight I’d never seen before!

Thursday Oct 5^th –

Wednesday, Dad’s birthday, was another ‘rest up’ day for my parents as I had to work. We finished the day together eating ShabbyShaboo though, - always a good time.

Thursday, the first day of Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving) we headed off to another city. Yet again, I faced some confusion with the directions but we eventually found our way with not much trouble. We met a Korean soldier on his way home to see his family after 4 months in service and arrived at our destination. We opted to go to a folk village to avoid mountainous terrain and though I do hope to get back to the mountain and other parts of the city at some point – it was a good choice. We met up with a traveler, Helene, from France and she joined us in most of our journey. Despite the fact that I’ve been having wonderful experiences for various reasons I’ve been feeling like I’ve only been ‘half’ enjoying them – like there’s been a veil or a wall preventing me from the fullness and richness of it all and though it hasn’t been entirely pulled away – writing about it to a friend last night, praying about it, and getting a response that was interesting to think about if not exactly addressing what I’ve been feeling helped. And today, as we explored the old sights of Korean kingdoms - the peaceful mix of the past and the present of families still making their lives there – I soaked in the moments. The first sight we visited was my favorite – an abandoned pavilion with beautiful carvings, and beautiful little doorways opening to incredible little views.

The bus had dropped us off on the highway and we had to walk a half-an-hour to get to the village. On our way back out to the highway an English speaking Korean man dad had meant asked us if we were in need of transportation. The four of us (Helene joining) squeezed into his back seat and we chatted about his family, Korean vs. Western customs, the amazing sunset washed mountains we were passing, and various other things as he drove us not to the bus stop – but all the way downtown. Mom asked if he knew of any good restaurants – and he suggested one that his family was going to and so we joined them for a meal! His children, sisters, and nieces and nephews arrived shortly after us and though we didn’t all eat together (he was the only one actually at our table) we did get some fun in with his 5 and 6 year old children!