Phil and Yuki were over from Japan for the weekend. It was really nice to catch up with them and have dinner.

I finally made it to the walk behind my house. There are soooo many little paths going off in all directions. I lost my bearings a bit but made it back in one peice. I should have gone earlier - it is a nice area to walk.

It was a partly cloudy day but we had rain last night and it cleared up the sky. Perfect for being able to get pictures of the surrounding area.

Colourful fungi

While I was walking I came across a couple of families taking a photo of the kids on a rock. Unfortunetly for them, when I appeared on the scene the kids lost interest in looking at the camera and all stared at me. One of the fathers offered to take a picture of me with his daughter. I said thank you very much and here we are!

Maple

This owl and sometimes another one have been sitting outside in the trees outside my balcony this week. It is quite amazing to have owls in a city of millions.

There was a festival this week at work. Here some girls are practising for a dance. Korean dance I think.

It was Lizzie's, my friend and office mate's birthday on Saturday. She looks quite dangerous here but she is really a sweetie.

Some new friends. The girl second to right is a co worker and the girl with long hair studied with her at uni in Australia. Neither of them knew the other was in Seoul now so there were some screams of delight when they saw each other, unexpectedly for the first time in a couple of years.

Me with a co worker.

Yuk, that's all, yuk!!!

Korea University put on a concert with some famous singers. Some friends and I went down after nine when we could get in for nothing. It was interesting jumping up and down, trying not to stand on anyone's feet! Korea Uni and Yongsae Uni have a great rivalry to be the second best Uni in the country. There were some Yongsae students at the concert with their Yongsae T-shirts on. They didn't seem to be very welcome.

We went to a small, small, actually tiny village with colourful shops and had tofu for dinner. I'm just being a bit potty!

May 15th is teachers day in Korea. My students surprised me by bringing gifts! One of my kids mother brought a big, yummy pizza that we all chomped into.

These flowers seem to be a popular gift The stem is put into a plastic pipe and then wrapped with ribbon. It reminds me of a poodles tail. I got a red one too but gave it to a girl I came across who was in tears. I hope it cheered her up but I suspect I might have stunned her!

What goes there?

What's wrong with this leaf? It just grew!


Hmmm...... that doesn't look good.

What's that funny discolouration?

Ahhh...... looks like little heads. Let's get a closer look at that!

Hmmmm.......

They look very much like.......

Caterpillars!!!!

Nearly finished that leaf.

Off to find some more grub!

Long weekend

'S' is for Seoul and what runs through Seoul? The Han River!!! Woogi and I went on a night cruise down the river on a pirate ship complete with South American entertainers.


My pirate!

The music was good!

On Sunday we went to a palace where there was the reenactment of what the king did when a foreign diplomat visited. There was music, dancing and games and it was fun! The palace is set in a park and it was a really nice way to spend a hot day after heavy rain on Saturday.

The king's guards. They had an eye on me!!!

Musicians

The church I go to had a lot of play things for Childrens Day. I liked the animals made from balloons.

I heard some yapping and found these wee fellows. I can't understand the coloured ear thing but I've seen it alot in Asia.

Making Tea!!!

I recently discovered that I could make my favourite Korean tea. There are some variations on it but this is what I did.

Wash and break cinnamon bark so that it will fit into a pot. Cover with 10 cups of water.

Peel, wash and slice ginger root and put it in a seperate pot with 10 cups of water.

Bring the ginger and cinnamon to a boil then simmer for 1 hour.

Sieve the cinnamon and then add the liquid to the ginger.

Add a cup of brown sugar and dissolve and then strain again.

There you have it. A lovely tea taken either hot or cold!