Catching Up

Well hello again! As usual, I have gotten caught up in living life, and have failed miserably to update this neglected blog. So be prepared for a peppering of what I have been up to these past few weekends.

On March 2, I traveled to Cheongdo to watch some bull fighting, taste persimmon wine in a wine tunnel, hang out at a park and see a light show. It was a fun day trip and a great group! And I was really excited to watch the bull fights, since I didn't end up making it to the Jinju bull fighting festival. I really enjoyed the bull fighting, but sadly we were only able to watch two matches. It is pretty civilized as far as animal fights go. Two bulls are brought into the ring to face one another. The bulls size each other up and can choose to fight or run. In both rounds I saw, the bulls tangled for a while, using a variety of techniques with their horns and bodies. Finally, one bull is declared the winner when his competitor runs off. Then the bulls are taken from the arena and it is prepared for the next set of bulls. There didn’t seem to be any mistreatment of the animals, and the bulls get to decide when, if and how long they want to fight. It is a pretty popular event in Korea, so it was nice to see it firsthand.

After the bull fight, we headed to the famous Wine Tunnel. I was a little underwhelmed by the tunnel, and the wine was far too sweet. But still something to check off the list of life, so glad it happened! We then headed to an outdoor recreation area, which turned out to be my favorite part of the trip. My friend Jocelyn and I jumped on a tandem bike, and shakily biked our away along the nearby lake. I have always wanted to ride a tandem bike, so I was so excited to get on and go. It took us a while to get our rhythm, but after a while we got the hang out it. I had such a ball and giggled the entire time. Jocelyn probably thought I was crazy, but I think my fits of laughter made her laugh too. It was such a blast! We finished the trip off at a light show, which was similar to the one I visited in Gyeongju. If you see one, you pretty much see them all. So now that I have been to two different ones, I am set!

The following weekend, March 9, my friends and I had an utterly delightful Spanish fiesta. We made a bunch of delicious Spanish food, including empanadas, stuffed bell peppers and tortilla de patatas. We ate obscene amounts of food, and I spent a majority of the time cooking, but it was such a fun time. I really loved sharing the food together and being able to try out making new dishes. Thinking about it makes me hungry all over again! We have tentative plans to do another cookout, this time with Italian food. That will also surely be a delicious occasion.

St. Patrick’s Day weekend and the following weekend were pretty laid back. I enjoyed the free weekends by resting, catching up on cleaning and completing odds and ends tasks I had been putting off. On the 24, I headed to Busan with Holly, Elizabeth and Lindsey to celebrate the lunar new year. The festival is held to pray for good health and good fortune in the coming year. The main event of the festival is the Daljip burning, which is basically a HUGE bonfire. A heap of straw and other flammable vegetation was piled way up high and set ablaze around the time the moon rose. It was a magnificent sight, and I was amazed by the intensity of the heat the fire put off. There were several events held throughout Busan, but we decided to attend the one at Haeundae to get a little beach in our lives. It was an interesting cultural experience and a nice, quick day trip.