Elder and Sister George

February 8, 2016

SOELLAL, EULSUKDO, AND NAKDONG

This Tuesday is the biggest holiday in South Korea - Soellal! It lasts for three days,(Feb. 8,9 and 10) and the weekend before it takes place is a madhouse of millions of people with multi-colored suitcases-on-wheels all over Korea getting on buses, smashing their bodies into subway cars, and sitting in a traffic web on clogged streets and highways where most people deny the existence of traffic laws. Soellal is the Korean Lunar New Year, which has been celebrated since ancient times. The customs are:

• People return to the home of their father, or the oldest brother in the family
• Some people dress up in hanbok, or traditional Korean clothing

• They eat traditional food, and play traditional games.
• They give gifts to each other - a lot more than at Christmas or on birthdays.

We've noticed quite a few gift boxes arriving at the mission home. Some of them are huge cases of fruit - oranges from Jeju Island, for which the island is famous; apples from local farms; or, as shown by a display in a department store:

the not-so-traditional SPAM!

The Mission President received a tasty treat today - two cases of black seaweed - perfect!

EULSUKDO ISLAND and NAKDONG ESTUARY

If you want to do some serious "birding", you have found the place! - Eulsukdo Island at the Nakdong River Estuary. The island is a delta, positioned right where the Nakdong River empties into the South Sea, and has many bird species inhabiting the island throughout the year. 

We came on a blue-skied but wintry day. The island was inhabited - 

birds: millions; people: a few more than five

 The reeds and grasses are great places for birds to live.

 President Barrow, Sister Barrow, and the Georges. It was freezing for the women, and just right for the men!

 The men with Ben Barrow in the middle. Ben is a senior in High School here where he attends an International School. 

Somewhere is 0.9 kilometers away... translated:

Nakdonggong Hakuseng Tetombongro

View of Busan from the island

Ducks, herons, and sandpipers are just a few of the many species here.

Picnic gazebo made out of trees

A great day with the birds and the Barrows!

What We Do

Day to day happenings in our lives:

We ride on the subway to go to a baptism.
L to R - Elder Smith, Vicky, Elder Seok, Bryan

We watch the missionaries do funny things.

Here they devoured an entire Baskin Robbins ice cream cake.

Here they are modeling the latest missionary fashion, "Lego" ties.

Elder Dobbins' mother sent these and they really are made out of Legos. 

L to R Elder Lee Sanglim, Elder Dobbins 

We eat dinner at some of the ward members' houses.

Here we are at the home of Sister Lee and Brother Gu.

Sitting on the floor is hard for Bryan, and is also hard for me if I am wearing a straight skirt.

The shared dishes down the middle of the table are kimchi (red), seaweed (green), and pickled onions (brown). Each person was served a WHOLE CHICKEN! This was OK with everyone except me, who didn't want to seem rude, but I knew there was no way...

Notice that each guest has a spoon to eat the broth, and a pair of stainless steel chopsticks to eat the whole chicken, and all the side dishes.

The elders were given a terrific orange, so before they actually ate it...

Elder George is giving some advice to Elder Park Kangsan, one of our favorite missionaries, who just left for home.

This is Hyunji, an adorable English student. She comes every Tuesday night. Bryan takes the adult advanced class, and I have Hyunji for one on one tutoring. (I couldn't get the video to load, so you will have to imagine her saying "My name is Hyunji").

HAPPY SOELLAL!