Fairy Trees

Hello everyone and happy spring! After playing Hide and Seek with us for the past month, spring has finally come to Korea, and is best manifested in the glorious display of cherry blossom trees bursting out all over the country. You can’t look at a fully blooming cherry blossom tree in the warm spring sunshine and not be happy. It just doesn’t happen.

I’ve been away from posting for a while, which is kind of a reflection of the past month that I’ve now deemed ‘sloth month.’ In the beginning of March I was all ready to go with my studying and training and productive plans for the spring…and then right after St. Patrick’s Day I got hit with a bad cold that put me out for a week. Then the week after that developed a sinus infection, which lasted a week and a half, and then, to top it off, just when I started feeling better I went and sprained my knee.

Four weeks of sloth – pretty much the only good thing that resulted from all of the time I spent in my apartment is that it’s really, really clean and organized, and that I’m fully caught up on all my TV shows. And a newfound fan of How I Met Your Mother. Now, I have finally emerged from hibernation, and am ready to get out and enjoy the beautiful spring weather.

I decided to kick off my renewed healthiness (isn’t that funny how much we appreciate being healthy when we’re sick?) with a spontaneous, jam packed day of fun in Seoul. I had to miss out on a girls’ weekend trip a couple of weeks ago in Seoul, and then when I had to cancel my plans for the 10K I was supposed to run because of my knee, I chose to take my free day on Sunday and spend it in Seoul.

After waking up at the crack of dawn and arriving in Seoul in time to surprise Steve and Mary and attend church, (also ran into some fellow Mankatoans with their daughter at church who happened to be visiting their other daughter in Korea - which marks the occasion of me meeting one of my former Mankato swimming rivals for the first time without a swim cap on) I hit up not only Subway…but also Caribou Coffee. It was like a bright sunny afternoon back home all over again. Sitting outside in the warm sun with a friend of mine, people watching Seoul-style, and enjoying some familiar Minnesota comfort food, (coffee,) I decided that even though I was bummed about my knee injury and missing the 10K, I had to be thankful for being able to have such a nice Sunday.

I hopped back on the subway late afternoon, this time to hit up Yeouido, a business district in Seoul situated along the Han River.

Though Yeouido is home to skyscrapers and businessmen in suits, this weekend it was all about relaxing and enjoying the warm sun and the beautiful flowers that were in bloom.

It was jam packed with people posing for pictures, laying on the lawns and having picnics, listening to live music, and strolling along the tree lined avenue. It’s easy to think of Seoul as just a giant, busy, bustling city, so it was nice to see other people and families relaxing together and enjoying a nice day outside.

The next morning I was pretty sleep deprived, but as I grew closer to my school in the bright morning sunshine, my state of sluggishness quickly evaporated as I was greeted with this sight:

The blossoms were in full bloom, and I decided they looked like trees that only beautiful fairies could have created. I was mesmerized, and walked into the teacher’s office ten minutes late for the teacher’s meeting because I took so many pictures. (It’s not like I can understand anything at the meeting anyways – they all know that.)

Changpyeong had been transformed over the weekend, and I loved it. I invited the high school teacher, (Emily from Virginia) who had the day off, to come visit my school and hang out for the afternoon when I discovered afternoon classes were cancelled.

At 2 PM Emily came trotting down the lane, and we enjoyed the beautiful afternoon strolling, taking pictures, and chatting with my kids who were all outside doing some yardwork for ‘volunteer day.’

There is just nothing like a warm spring day outside after being cooped up for a long time.

On the bus ride home, I was glued to the windows as I spotted more fairy trees here and there, shining a brilliant white against the new spring green on the hillsides. Sadly, the blossoms will only last a few more days, but I’m so glad I was able to celebrate them in all their glory. I’ll miss them next year, but will always remember Korea’s magical transformation in my heart.