Monday 20 September 2010

Korean Thanksgiving

This week is Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, vacation time. The dates change every year, and sometimes every one feels ripped off, especially when the holidays (it's a 3-day stretch) fall on Sat./Sun./Mon., for example. Last year was like that. This year, however, is the best possible scenario: the holidays fall on Tues./Wed./Thurs., so many schools and businesses, like my academy, also have taken Mon. and Fri. off, so we have a 9-day stretch. Cool!

I left Seoul early Sat. morning in order to be any traffic (there is a massive exodus out of Seoul as people return to their hometowns, typically to their parents' grandparents' houses; it's been reported that 400,000 vehicles, carrying several million people, will leave Seoul in a 1-2 day period).

I went to the beach on Sat. (where I was the only person swimming. Korean "beach season" is over, so nobody swims. But the day was hot and the water was nice, so I dove right in. Crazy foreigner.)

I'm staying with a friend on the east coast; his Korean wife recently went to England to do a 1-year M.A. program in English/teacher education.

When I get back to my place I will post some pics . . .

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