It's Been Soooo Long!

Hi everyone!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written.  I've no real excuse, I just didn't feel like it.  I'll give you a few quick updates.

I went to the Lantern Parade in Seoul again this year.  It was great to see it again.  However, it was held shortly after the ferry incident and it was a very somber affair.  Last year there was a lot of noise and smiling and laughing from the participants but this year the parade was very quiet and the participants looked very serious.  It was still a great experience.

I've gone on a few hikes this spring.  I still question my motives, and my sanity, all the way up the mountain, but it feels great once I've reached the top.  I'm still incredibly slow going but that way I get to enjoy the nature.  It is so beautiful.

The last three pictures were taken at the fortress wall, which I'd been to in the fall.  I believe I have one almost identical to the last picture in a previous post from the fall.

I also went to a Korean baseball game this spring.  It was very interesting.  I was rooting for the Dooson Bears because they have an English website.  They played the Samsung team, which had won the championship the year before.  It was pretty crazy.  Dooson crushed Samsung by something like 14 to 2.  I was surprised that they kept playing right to the ninth inning.

We bought tickets at the gate and and there were no assigned seats.  That would have been okay, except some people were using seats, that others had paid to sit in, to hold their food.  Some said they were saving the seat for someone, even though these people never ended up coming.  I thought it was really inconsiderate.  I know I would have been upset to have paid for a seat and then had to sit on the stairs or stand by the fence because someone didn't want to hold their chicken.

You are also allowed to bring in your own food and drinks to the games.  So, there were a lot of coolers.  Due to the previously mentioned seating problems, I was not able to sit with my group, but I did get a seat next to two very nice Korean women.  The one right beside me spoke English and explained things to me.  For example, the only foreign players on each of those teams were the pitchers, who were from the US.  The one who didn't speak English made me a hat out of a newspaper to keep the sun out of my eyes. I enjoyed the game and hope to do it again sometime.  It was also very cheap.  It was less than ten dollars.

I'm sorry it took me so long to wright something.  I'll try not to leave it so long next time.

Take Care!