Namsan in the Spring

I live sort of on the side of Namsan, a mountain in the middle of Seoul on the top of which is Seoul (or Namsan) Tower. It's a nice place for walking when the weather's nice. Last weekend the cherry blossoms were still out in full force. Beautiful. It's an interesting contrast when some trees are covered in flowers and some are still dragging themselves out of winter mode.And of course Namsan has some fantastic views of Seoul.Inside the base of Namsan Tower there is a restaurant and store. Along the central wall, little tiles have been bought and decorated by friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. I love it! Such a great idea.A gift. :) Did I ever mention that I LOVE giraffes?!!

More Spring Flowers

They're all so beautiful!!! The magnolias smell SO good!!!!

spring flowers

I LOVE THESE!!!!

strawberries!!!

Friday was field trip day at my kindy. We went to a strawberry farm.It took more than an hour to get there. Apparently there was an accident between a small bus and a car on the way but I didn't see it. Turns out that the accident was one of the buses from another branch. The front was smashed in and the car was very damaged. The bus driver was a little bit hurt but is okay. The kids are all okay (they all wear seatbelts), but were quite shaken up.Once at the farm we went into a large building full of picnic tables to wait for the little tour.Along one wall was a long table of strawberry, lettuce and other plants grown by hydroponics.The kids got a little antsy, of course, but were quite well behaved. The tour began with a little introduction. I can't tell you what was said since it was all in Korean. After the introduction we went into one of the very long greenhouses.It was a bit of a pick and eat tour. Yum! Fresh strawberries! They were so sweet and juicy.[Another picture here]
Some of the kids ended up covered in strawberry from head to toe. Too funny. Then it was back to the other building where the kids got to take turns mashing strawberries to make jam.After they each got their turn, it was lunch time. The kids all brought lunches and the school provided the teachers' lunches - kimbap. It would have been okay but it was fancy kimbap with sesame leaves in them and half of them had fish or fish eggs or little dried shrimp in them. Yuck! I had plenty to eat, though, as the kids had lots off great food to mooch. :D I even got a fruit by the foot!! (Can't easily get things like that here.)After lunch the kids had play time with bubbles and balls to kick around in a little yard. There were a few Jindo puppies in a cage to the side. I went over and ended up getting a lot of the kids interested in having their hands licked. At one point the adult Jindo at the other end of the yard ended up with one of the balls. It's the dog's ball now. A few puncture holes rendered it quite useless. There was a snack of bread with fresh warm strawberry jam. It was so delicious! The kids each got to take home one jar of freshly made jam and I will get a couple that I ordered on Monday. The teachers all got to take a container of strawberries for free. :) Then it was time to head back to Seoul where the parents would pick the kids up at pre-chosen spots. I got to go home a little early. What a great way to end a nice field trip day.

spring flowers

From an evening walk after teaching in the Yongsan area.(alongside the national museum in Ichon-Dong)

Sunflower :)

I am a Sunflower What Flower Are You?

"When your friends think smile, they think of you. There is not a day that goes by that you can't find something good about the world and your fellow human."

I have always loved (been obsessed with?) sunflowers.