"today is my new favorite day"

"Any day spent with you is my favorite day. So, today is my new favorite day." ~Winnie the Pooh

Last weekend, one of my friends came from Japan with her friend to visit Korea on a long holiday weekend. Kanako was my resident in Birnam Wood at Western, and we were friends from IEP (Intensive English Program) events too! I met up with her and four of our Korean friends (Park, Minji, Ji In, and Jake) for an evening of running around Seoul and doing touristy things. 

Our first stop was Myeongdong Cathedral. This is a beautiful place to visit on any ordinary day, but this day was special...there was a wedding going on while we were there! We walked in just as the ceremony was ending, and we stayed to sneak some pictures. 

Here are the groom, the bride, and their respective parents. The mothers were wearing hanbok, the traditional Korean dress. Apologies for the poor smartphone camera quality! I was zooming in from quite a distance ;)

The extended family.

From Myeongdong, we headed on to Gyeongbok Palace!

And of course Gwanghuamun Square to see King Sejong!

By that point, we decided it was time to eat something. We wanted to have ssamgyupsal, a kind of Korean barbecue, so we set out to find a place.

#oscarselfie in the streets of Jongno-gu.

After walking around for a bit, we found a place to eat.

Look how beautifully the food was displayed!

Kanako brought gifts for us from Japan! How sweet is she??

After dinner, we headed to Kwangjang Market, a traditional Korean indoor market.

We sat down in a tiny restaurant in the market to have makgeolli (Korean rice wine) and pajeon (potato and green onion pancakes). Kanako did the honor of pouring makgeolli for us!

Hahahaha we only got Ji In's eyebrow in this one ;)

On the subway on our way home.

I mean, how lovely are they?? Seriously!! Minji and Kanako <3

Ji In and me <3

Saying goodbye :(

It was so good to have our dear friend here! We love you, Kanako! Come back again to visit soon!!

Holi Festival in Busan!

The beginning of 2014 brought an unexpected surprise for me. I began taking a Korean class in January, and there I met a kind, interesting, easy-going person named Sagar. We had dinner once, went on a first date two days later, and became a couple two months after that! I feel very lucky to have found someone so special. Sagar is from India, and he has been very patiently teaching me about Indian culture, traditions, food, and celebrations. I heard about an Indian celebration in Busan, and we decided to go and experience our first Indian festival together in Korea! 

Here we are, having lunch just before the festival :)

The celebration is called Holi (The Festival of Colors), and a group called Indians in Korea hosted the event. It was held at Haeundae Beach in Busan on Sunday afternoon. 

When we arrived, we were given packets of "dry colors"--pink, blue, yellow, and green packets of finer-than-chalk powder. After a dramatic countdown, everyone threw handfuls of powder into the air. We were surrounded by a haze of colors!

What I loved about the festival was the community feeling that we had with a bunch of strangers. People walked up to us and rubbed powder on our faces, or patted it onto our shirts, and we did the same to others. Everyone was having so much fun sharing the experience together! 

After the colors had dissipated a bit, Indian and American music was blasted from huge speakers that were set up on the beach. It was a full-on dance party! Some people ran into the ocean to wash the colors off, others laid out on the beach to enjoy the sun, and others danced the whole time. There were delicious samosas, coffee drinks, and soda available to everyone who participated.

Here we are, covered in colors and having a great time! (note the photo-bomber on the right side...)

I'm so glad I got to experience Holi in Korea! There are so many fun experiences to be had here!