Aiden's Birthday
When I studied Korean through the app Mango Languages, I had to learn how to say, "Call 119" or "Please call an ambulance". I remember thinking that was such a strange thing to learn. When would I ever need to know how to say something like that? I almost needed to speak those phrases yesterday.
The day started out with a visit to a palace. I wanted the boys to see one palace while we were in Seoul. There is a palace very close to our apartment, but that one was closed on Tuesdays, so we went to another one that was about a 20 minute walk away. We are all growing weary of public transportation, so we are trying to find closer places to visit. We didn't make it in time for the English speaking tour, so we just navigated the grounds on our own. It was very cheap to visit. The boys were free and adult tickets were 2,000 won a piece which is about $1.50. We also visited the art museum while we were there which was another $1.50 to enter.
The buildings were beautiful. It was interesting to be within the walls of the palace and look over the walls to see the skyscrapers of modern day Seoul. This particular palace also had some buildings that had western architecture. They were built later. I can't remember when. The 1800s or something like that. I'm not a big art connoisseur and know very little about art. I have visited very few art museums in my lifetime. This museum had many paintings that were part of one particular style. Surrealism, maybe? I can't remember. I discovered that I loved the paintings with bright colors and clean lines.
While we were waiting at a crosswalk on the walk home, we were shocked to witness a man fall suddenly, hit his head on the pavement (I could hear it!) and then lie motionless with his head partway in the street. An older Korean couple and our family were the main witnesses, so we stayed with the man until help arrived. Luke stood in the street and stopped the traffic so that no one would hit the man. The older woman was visibly upset. I was trying to remember how to say, "Call 119!" but then realized the man was already doing that. Within a few minutes, several policeman materialized as if they crawled right out of the woodwork. They crowded around the man and took over the directing of traffic. The man opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but at that point we left the scene.
We stopped at a bakery to purchase a birthday cake for Aiden. My boy is 15! Birthday cakes in Korea are covered with fresh fruit. I remember that from our first trip here. Luke celebrated his birthday here and the cake was similar. When we purchased the cake, we were also given a disposable knife to cut and serve it with, candles (we said he was 15 and she gave us one tall candle to represent 10 and then 5 smaller candles) and a small packet with two matches in it. Koreans think of everything!
In the evening we headed out to a Korean baseball game. Aiden loves sports and was excited to watch the game. I'm not really a big sports fan, so I felt like the outing was more for Aiden. Boy was I wrong! The baseball game felt more like a concert/baseball game. There were songs playing constantly and the crowd was singing, chanting, doing hand motions, all in unison. In America we sometimes do the wave, right? That's about the only thing we all do in unison at a game other than clapping. This was on a whole other level. Both the opposing team and the home team had cheerleaders and a song leader. The songs were different for each team, but all the fans seemed to know what to do. I loved it! I tried singing along, but I couldn't make out any of the words. There was one time when they put the words up on the screen in Korean- they were super simple, so I could sing along.
There were so many unique cultural things at that one baseball game. It's impossible to explain it all, so here's a short list:
1. A stand selling dried fish
2. People watching the game while eating bowls of ramen
3. One shot- a cup of soda with a bowl of chicken and fries on the top
4. No littering- Luke said he saw one beer can on the ground when we were leaving and that was it. Everyone took care of their own trash. There were spots to recycle paper, plastic, places to dump out leftover food or drink so you could recycle the container, etc.
5. Red buttons in the women's bathroom- there was a red button on the stall door and a red button by the sink. If you push it, it dispatches the police. If a woman is in danger, she can get police assistance immediately.
6. Lines at the men's bathroom- I've never seen a line at a men's bathroom during a big public event before. They are always at the women's bathrooms. They had more women's bathrooms than men's bathrooms, so the lines were way more equal.
We came home after 10 p.m. hot and weary!! We all slept hard and are now enjoying a quiet and relaxing morning. The boys are playing a racing game together on their phones appreciating some much needed down time. It's fun to hear them enjoying time together!
The guards at the entrance to the palace. I wore jeans because I read that pants show a bit more respect at the palace. Bad choice. I was so hot!!
Jordan took a cue from his fellow Koreans and started using an umbrella to block the sun.
This almost looks like a painting in the background, but it isn't. This is the spot where the emperor would receive guests.
A view of the city within the palace grounds
A very unusual sculpture in the art museum.
My favorite painting
The medical emergency we witnessed.
Aiden's birthday cake- see the matches that came with it? There was even a little spot to strike them on the package.
We watched the LG Twins play. It was so funny to see all the Twins gear in Seoul!
The cheerleaders for the opposing team
Luke makes us pose for so many pictures. I think the boys are over it!
Kristin - I am so loving following your adventures through your blog. Thank you for taking time to write it all, and more importantly for sharing it with your fans! Keep having the best time!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's been such a fun trip!
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