Last Saturday...

...was better than this Saturday. The stories from this Saturday are only about Darin having to work and me taking the kids and the mini-van to Seoul to go to the temple, only to get lost in the city for over an hour on the way home and calling Darin at work repeatedly in tears, wondering how in the world I should get home. Needless to say, it was not my proudest Korean adventure story. So let's just go ahead and forget it ever happened, and just talk about how much fun LAST Saturday was, when we all went together to the Korean Folk Village.

First of all it was a beautiful day, bright, sunny, slightly coolish but not freezing. Flowers were just beginning to bloom. It was lovely. And it was a Folk Village, and while our cultural histories are so very, very different, there is something extremely universal about a Folk Village. They are almost always full of adults in costumes, acting like they are living in ancient times. Random circus acts, primitive houses and straw huts, hands-on games and chores for the children to try. And of course barn animals. So while living overseas is always an adventure, I'm happy to report the day at the Folk Village was oddly familiar. Take a look:

The adults dressed in ancient costumes:

The silk thread making lady, who was insistent that the girls touched the freshly made silk thread. Which was so fresh that I saw the pot of boiling silk worm larvae from which is was derived. Needless to say, hand sanitizer was in the picture shortly thereafter.

The fake garlic farmer. I couldn't find his informational plaque, but I imagine he is a revered figure in Korean cultural history.

The fake black smith, who was actually forging some tools.

And our personal favorite was the fake ancient pottery thrower, who had to pause his ancient presentation to take a call on his cell phone.

The random circus acts:






The primitive houses:



The hands-on chores and games:









The barn animals:


Which leads us to the one aspect of our day at the Korean Folk Village that didn't seem to ring any bells of familiarity, and that was lunch time.

The food court tables:

The utensils:

The menu:

Please take a moment to peruse the lunch menu. Perhaps you will find something that sounds delicious...like "bran cake with mugwort", the "acorn gelatin", or the "fermented rice nectar". But don't worry, there was always "rice gruel with pumpkin" if you weren't feeling too hungry that day.

Ultimately we settled on the potato pancake (which could hardly pass as foreign cuisine), five bowls of rice and the handmade dumpling soup, which I have to admit was delicious.

A day at the Korean Folk Village:





Proved to be a really great idea for both young and old alike.



And with that complete, it is time to announce that spring break has officially started. After church tomorrow, we will venture to the popular tourist destination of Gyeongju for three days of sun and fun and spring relaxation.

Bon Voyage!