Spring is officially here in Korea! The weather is warm and sunny finally after a very LONG winter. The trees are filled with buds just itching to open and bloom. In the next week or so the campus will explode with cherry and magnolia blossoms, pictures will be posted! It is so nice to say goodbye to my coat until next winter and put on a light jacket in its place. I am looking forward to all the blossoms and even warmer weather here in Korea.
Classes have been going well. My midterm exams are in two weeks. It's hard for me to believe that I am almost to the halfway point for this semester. I still feel like the semester just started! Once again, time is moving faster than I would like, oh well.
This weekend was Seungyoung's birthday. My Korean brother is 17! I went up to Seoul on Friday to pick up my new passport at the embassy. I met this elderly gentleman in line who told me that he was on a six week cruise around Asia when he lost his passport. He was at the embassy trying to get a temporary passport until he got back to the USA. When we got into the embassy, he was able to get his temporary passport, so he was on his way! Once again, you never know who you will meet at the embassy. I got my new passport so I'm set to travel until 2021!
After picking up my passport, I met Heather in Seoul. Heather came to join the weekend festivities at the Byeons for Seungyoung's birthday. We took the subway over to the Byeons and went with Hyesun to buy ingredients at the foreign market. Seungyoung had requested Lasagna for his birthday dinner, so we had to search for all the ingredients at the foreign market.
Saturday was the family party. My Korean Aunt and Uncle, along with Jinyoung and Eujin joined us for the party. I made Lasagna for the dinner (including a pan for Seungyoung, which he demolished). After dinner, we played a few games of Phase Ten and Blokus. As we played Phase Ten, Eujin was determined to always be on the winning team. Seeing that Phase Ten is a game where the person who is currently winning changes constantly, he was changing his team almost every round. I was also able to show them all the things I have learned so far this semester. Eujin was shocked to hear me speak to him in Korean. His eyes would get huge and he would say 한국어 진자 (Korean, really)! In the past he has tried to speak with me in Korean, even speaking extremely slow for me to try to understand, but I didn't know enough Korean. Now I can understand him 80% of the time. He kept asking me to speak in Korean, to which I answered him 나는 으진 사랑해요 (I love Eujin), that made his face light up! He was so happy to hear me speak in Korean since he told me that he can only speak "Kindergarten English, not real English." It was nice to spend time with the Byeons and to see Jinyoung, Eujin, and their parents again.
This weekend, I am planning a trip to Suwon with a few of the international students. We are hoping the weather continues to be warm and maybe some blossoms as we tour the fort.
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