Seoul Marina

Do you know what kind of guts it takes to wear a hanbok when you are 66 years old?  First of all, you cannot blend in  because it is an obvious kind of outfit.  Secondly, it can feel like an instrument of torture if everything is not in perfect sync.  And third, mine is hot pink.

To make matters worse, I was the only one who showed up in one.  If it had been the party Tuesday night at the Shilla Hotel, I would have been right in step, but this time I was on my own.  Can you imagine getting on and off a bus in this thing?  The Korean people thought I looked beautiful.  The Americans were discreet in their comments.    Janice went with me to the party, a farewell dinner for the Re-Visit Peace Corps members.

The party was very elegant.  There were speeches, and there was music and some videos of the group as they went through their week of reunion.  One man was sobbing as he watched himself on the video sobbing while he greeted his old friends.  It was emotional for all of them, just as it was for me three years ago when I had my reunion trip.  This one is considered Reunion Redux. 

When the party was breaking up, they handed us some fabric things that looked like large pouches.  You light them and when they get enough hot air in them you let them go out into the sky.  I am pretty sure these would not be popular in America.  I watched with bated breath as one of the balloons with fire raging inside kept knocking up against the building.  Ok, the building was stone and glass and concrete, but fire is fire.  Finally it went out over the harbor.  They were beautiful.  

For some great pictures of NamDaeMun  try this blog:  http://theconstantcrafter.blogspot.com/2011/10/beautiful-saturday-in-namdaemun.html