Lotus Lantern Festival

Since I have been so sick lately, I really wanted to get out of the apartment and have some fun. In spring, a lot of festivals are happening, like the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Sea Parting Festival, and lots of tea festivals, etc. One in particular that I knew I did not want to miss was the Lotus Lantern Festival. This festival is celebrated every year for Buddha's birthday, which is May 28th. The main street in front of City Hall in Seoul is closed down and thousands of people walk the streets with lanterns in honor of Buddha. The tradition of the lotus lantern goes way back in the history of Buddhism. "According to Buddhist beliefs, the lighting of a lotus-shaped lantern symbolizes a devotion to performing good deeds and brings light to the dark parts of the world that are filled with agony."

The festival lasted all weekend, but we were really interested in seeing the parade. I wanted to visit the temple near City Hall prior to the parade to make my own lantern and enjoy the temple, but we didn't get out of Bundang early enough.

We arrived to the main street at around 6pm and already people were grabbing chairs and lining up. Kyle, our friends Angie and Luis, and I all grabbed seats and anxiously awaited the start of the parade. Angie stopped one of the event organizers and worked her magic, and we were presented with lanterns!

My Owl lanterns! A lot of photographers were taking pictures of me with these. Maybe I'll show up in a Korean newspaper!!

Free lanterns for everyone. These were just the cheap plastic ones provided by the festival, but still pretty!

The parade started at 7pm, and people poured through the streets, singing and dancing, celebrating life and light. It was amazing. The energy was intense and every one was happy!

The giant lantern floats were incredible! The amount of detail was unbelievable. It was all made of parchment paper. I would love to see how these things are created! They were enormous!

The giant dragon!!

Lantern lit up at night.

It was a beautiful festival and I am so happy that we were able to enjoy it!!

M.I.A. and Children's Day.

Hello friends and family,

I'm sorry I haven't updated the blog in awhile. A plague hit the school and I was one of the worst hit. I had to take all 3 of my sick days, and I am still recovering. Whatever the sickness is, it is still going around and has put many teachers and students out of commission....some even ending up in the hospital on IVs. It's been pretty scary, but luckily no one has been seriously affected by the illness. We are all trying to be very careful, and making sure there is enough soap for every to wash their hands multiple times.

A post that I was planning on writing before I got sick was about Children's Day...so here it is.

Children's Day is a huge thing in Korea. It is a national holiday. If it didn't fall on a weekend this year, we would've had the day off from school. But since it was a Saturday (May 5), we had our celebration on May 4th. The entire day was dedicated to our kids. Thursday night, all the teachers decorated the floors. We put balloons up on the ceiling, we made signs, bought gifts....we went all out. Koreans usually go out all with their kids as well. Parents buy their kids toys and presents, and take them to cool places like Everland (a giant theme park with a zoo/aquarium) or Lotte World (an indoor amusement park). It's crazy.

So the day of the event, I was in charge of the bubble station on the roof. The kids went crazy up there. This is the only place where they can be outside during the day, since we are all cooped up in a 5 story building every day. This was their chance to run around in fresh air, popping bubbles and dancing to music. They had a great time.

Joshua....He's 38 months. We all want to steal him...

And now you do too.

He became very good at making bubbles.

This is Jeff, Kyle's student. He did not like the soap that was stuck on his hands.

All the children got umbrellas from the school that they got to decorate with stickers and paint. The school gave them acrylic paint......Now, you don't have to be an art major to know that water + acrylic paint = watery paint. So we'll see how long those things last in the rain. Nevertheless, the kids loved painting the umbrellas. After the umbrellas, we got to do some face painting. I didn't get any pictures of my elementary students, but they were more adventurous with their requests. There were a few full face-painted dogs and bunny rabbits hopping around that day.

Ryan, Sarah, and Candy painting their umbrellas.

June picking out some paint.

The kids had a great time, and it was nice to put the books and the stress aside and actually have fun with the kids. I approve of Children's Day!

Ryder Mitsuo Aponte and Namsan Tower.

This week, my sister had a baby! It's a very exciting time, I am very happy that Peanut Aponte is finally here! This time has been very exciting, but also VERY difficult for me since I am not home to be with my family. My parents have been sending me pictures of Ryder and Allegra, and I just want to hug them and hold Ryder's little hand. He's super cute, and already feisty. I heard he punched the doctor in the face as he was coming out!

Since I can't be with Ryder right now, I wanted to do something special for him.

A few weeks ago, I visited a place in Namsan called N Seoul Tower. It is considered the best tower in Asia. It was built in the 70s and opened to the public in 1980. It has the best views of the city! The whole area is lit up, with great views of the Han River and the busy streets in and out of downtown Seoul.

The first time we went up, it was extremely cold and very windy. We did not stay long, but I walked up to an observation deck and saw millions of locks lining the fences and gates. People buy a lock, called Love Locks, and write a little message and attach the lock.

It is mainly for couples, but I decided to create one for Ryder. I had been waiting for him to arrive so I could run up to Namsan and attach a lock for him over Seoul.

I may not be near Ryder, but he is in my heart and my mind all the time. I haven't even met the guy and I already love him. (They should call him Ryan Gosling ; )  )

I love you, Ryder!