My Parents In Korea!

As alot of you know, my wonderful parents came to Korea to visit us. This was their first actual holiday since I was one!I was so excited and anxious to make everything perfect! I wanted them to enjoy every minute of it! When I saw them for the first time ( after I had forced my students to eat as fast as they could so I could get home) It was like no time had passed! We had a great time! They were exhausted from their flight so I got them into their hotel and met them after work for dinner!

My parents were such troupers, they ate everything I brought them too and they were game to go anywhere I sent them or took them! The first weekend was a whirl wind of activities! We went to Suwon, an old folk village, Big Buddha, Tejosan Mountain, a Cheonan Sky Walkers Volleyball game and ate tons of new food! They had a great time!

During the week we both still had to work, but between Jason and I's schedule my parents were hardly ever alone, and if not I had them go somewhere else. They did have some bad luck with things closed and not open certain days, but on Tuesday and Wednesday they went to Gyenju. Where Jason and I had been in October. They loved it! One of their favourites!

The Thursday the got to meet my two kindergarten classes and saw where I worked. They met tons of people and kids! The kids were so excited to see my parents. Even kids I don't teach wanted to meet them! I did crafts with my parents and the kids. My dad was a huge help, he kept making sure the kids washed their hands, and they loved coming back and showing off their clean hands! The kids had so much fun meeting them!

It was so nice to be able to show my parents where I live, how we are getting by, and how wonderful this country is! Now they have faces in their mind when I speak of a kid or of a friend of mine!

The following weekend we went to Seoul. My parents got us this luxurious suite to stay in! It was stunning! That weekend was filled with sites of Seoul! My parents went up early on Friday and did Seoul tower (which we were glad we didn't have to walk up all those stairs again!) and Namdemun market. Saturday we did a whole bunch of palaces, we went to Insadong and went to an old village. We then got to take them out for dinner to a garlic italian restaurant. It was so nice to be able to pay for my parents dinner finally. We were so happy that they could come and share this experience with us! I also was very proud of them for getting on a plane and coming! I thought it was going to take alot more convincing to get them here! After dinner we went to the Seoul Lantern Festival! it was beautiful! I had no idea what it was going to be like, but I was told it was the last weekend of it. I thought it was going to be lanterns hanging from trees, but it was actual figures and pictures and sculptures made from lanterns! It was amazing! They were huge! The next day was Sunday and we had a great breakfast and went to Itaewon so Jason and I could get cheese. They were getting anxious about their plane so we didn't do too much. It was very hard to say goodbye! And of course, I cried.. but I was so happy that they had come! It was a wonderful trip and we had an amazing time, and would love for them to come anytime! Love you lots mom and dad! Thank you for support and love!

Seoul Lantern Festival

The last night that Robin's parents were here, we went to the Seoul Lantern Festival. I don't think that any of us knew exactly what the lantern festival was all about, but it was absolutely amazing. There is a man made river, which was made to make the area look a little nicer, and all down the river were these beautiful lanterns, all shapes and sizes. This post is going to be short, just because the pictures do most of the talking.

One thing to mention is how efficient they were at corralling people in and out, they had people who looked like they were directing landing airplanes with flashing lights in their hands yelling at people and telling them to move through. There were times when we had to take pictures on the run. However for a city with 10 million people and others from around the country, they have to keep them moving through. 

Below is a video of some of the lanterns and the music that went with it.