Alchemy of Seoul

  This week was much more social for me than I am used to when school is in session! Friends know that I am often hunkered down and working nonstop from one school break to the next. This week was a new experience for me.  First, Nimmi and I went looking for a post office on Tuesday night (we found it!) and we had dinner near the post office at an Indian Restaurant called Diwali. I wanted to love it. I was excited for Nimmi to eat food she did not have to make. But the food was sweet! Things like chicken tikka masala and palak paneer were so sweet we had to ask for salt and dash it liberally over everything. Also, the palak paneer (which is a spinach dish) was orange in color. I know you won't believe this so I am including a photo. There  are three dishes on the table between me and Nimmi...the first one is aloo gobi. The second is palak paneer. And the chicken tikka is the third one by the garlic naan.  Palak paneer that tastes like a sweet pumpkin dish was kind of...

  My new plant garden: begonia, calathea majestica, croton (with the yellow leaves), tradiscantia albiflora, hypoestes (pink and white ones in the big clay pot) and the ficus in the foreground is a ficus elastica (rubber tree plant). There is also an Asiatic jasmine (last photo on the post).   This week was a little bit hectic in the beginning, but it ended in a nice relaxing fashion.  I gave my first AP Chemistry exam on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. That was stressful for me and for the students, but it turned out well. I was just working late at school all week to prep the various versions and grade them.  We also had military exercises at the airbase across the big road from the school. There were lots of helicopter flyovers, and they are loud (one included in the video) so it was a disruption in class a few times this week.  On top of that, we were all trying to get our bank accounts set up online (we have our alien registration cards, so we need...

Week 6: Deoksugung palace, Galbi stew in Insadong, Lotte Tower, and Open House Week 6 flew by. It seems like something was happening every single day. The big event was a Saturday tour of several places in downtown Seoul, sponsored by the school and led by the band instructor.  The photo above is from the throne room/palace at Deoksugung, which is one of five palace complexes in Seoul. This one is a smaller palace right across the street from City Hall. It was used as a palace from 1593 until 1919 (the Japanese occupation messed up all of the palaces). During the period of the Japanese annexation (which effectively ended the Joseon dynasty) the palace and grounds became a public park. It has been restored to some extent but is only about one third the size of the original complex.  The palaces (and temples) from the Joseon dynasty all have this similar pattern of adornment with the green layers covered by vibrant floral decorations, dragons, waves, and mountains. This form of ...

  Week 5! I have been in Korea for exactly one month now as I arrived on August 4th. Time has just flown by.  I realized something that a lot of people have probably wanted to tell me. The hibiscus flower that is the national flower of Korea is also called the Rose of Sharon. I should have known this. I have seen bushes of Rose of Sharon flowers at the Arboretum in Arcadia many times. And my stepmom is Sharon, so I have even had conversations about this flower since it is beautiful and shares her name.  It all hit me this week when I noticed these tiles on the fence leading up to the school. I walk past them every day. I just had one of those Aha! moments one morning when the symbolism and the meaning from my past experiences all connected.  My 56th birthday was on a Wednesday. I got to school and had an immediate impromptu science department meeting. When I got back to my desk it was decorated with beautiful gifts from Nimmi and Hailie. Nimmi brought me a lovely sce...