To begin, my school had a talent show a few weeks ago. The singing was adorable and the art was impressive. It was a nice day to see my students put on a show for their parents and the staff.
Here are some photos of their artwork.
 |
| Teemo from League of Legends! The students were super impressed when I told them I play. :-) |
 |
| Psy |
 |
| Jax from LOL |
Last weekend, Andy and I went to his co-teacher's wedding. It was an interesting experience. The ceremony was held in the Liho Hotel in Cheongju. When we arrived we were pretty unsure about where to go, but a gentleman (who we later found out was He-Jin's father) saw us in our confused state and directed us to the envelop table. Commonly, wedding guests simply give an envelop of money to the newlyweds as a gift. After signing our envelope and looking around for the next place to go, we were then rescued by a friend of He-Jin's. She took us to an adjoining room to get a photo with the bride, and He-Jin was so excited to see that we had come. It was really sweet to see how happy she was that we were attending and I'm very glad that Andy was placed with such a nice co-teacher.
 |
| He-Jin smiling beautifully with her father before the ceremony. |
The ceremony itself was surprisingly short and I wish we could have understood what was being said. Nonetheless, it was a great opportunity to experience a piece of Korean culture. The bride and groom's mothers were dressed in Hanbok, a kind of traditional dress reserved for special occasions. At one point during the ceremony, the bride and groom did what I can only describe as a ceremonial bow to show respect to each set of parents.
In Korea, whenever greeting someone, it is custom to do a slight bow (about 45°) with both arms to the side as a sign of respect. As you can see above, the bride is bowing much farther and the groom has knelt to the ground. This type of bowing is not common and would even be offensive if done under normal circumstances. This is a sign of great reverence and, as a result, is only used during these types of ceremonies.
After the wedding, the bride and groom returned to the front of the altar for one huge picture with the family and another with all of the friends. By the time this process was finished and Andy and I left the hall, the decorations and pictures for the next couple were already set up. We went to the second floor for a buffet style dinner where we simply grabbed a plate and sat anywhere. When we were done, we were told we could just leave. The entire event took less than 2 hours!
The next day Andy and I went to a Cat Cafe in Cheonju called "Hello Cat". In a nutshell, a Cat Cafe is a place to sit and drink expensive (yet delicious) coffee or tea while watching, playing with, and petting cats. It was a little strange at first but it was worth at least one visit. Living here without Sugarfoot and Caramel has definitely made me feel pet withdrawal and petting the strange looking buggers helped relieve some stress.
 |
| That face. |
 |
| This one jumped right up to our table even tough we hadn't bought treats to bribe him. As a result, I decided that he was clearly the best in the bunch and I knew that it was true love. |
 |
| Probably one of the funniest cats I've ever seen. |
Anyone who visits us will be treated to this experience. It was worth it. :-)
