Alchemy of Seoul

  Gabjinnyeon or The Year of the Blue Dragon as celebrated in Lanterns in the main plaza in front of the central palace (Gyeongbokgung Palace). The lantern festival ran from January 6-21. I went to see it with Nimmi, and Ally and her kids, on the 13th of January.  This Lunar New Year will be the beginning of the Year of the Blue Dragon (in Korea). In Korean lore and art, the Blue Dragon is the guardian of the East. There is also a Black Tortoise and Serpent that guard the North, a Red Phoenix that guards the South, and a White Tiger that guards the West. These deities also represent seasons (the Blue Dragon is also Spring). While the symbolism came from China in the 5th century AD, it has been used in many burial sites in Korea, and the lore has taken on its own Korean flavor. A dragon year is expected to bring lots of change and prosperity anywhere in Asia. I hope the Blue Dragon really can protect the East this year.  This vase is very well-known in Korea. It is a treas...

  January 1, 2024, sunrise at Hapyeong Beach, Gangneung, South Korea. I rented a car at the mall near my apartment building on December 31st and drove for about 3 hours to get to the coast. I stayed in a hotel called Pension Badawa that is right on the beach. My goal was to watch the sun rise on the new year. I was not alone. There were thousands of people on that beach with me at dawn on New Year's Day. This is quite a tradition in Korea. Many people go to the mountains or to the beach to watch the sunrise.  It had been raining at the coast when I arrived at about 3:30pm on the 31st. But the rain stopped at nightfall (around 7pm) and did not start again until just after sunrise, as I was walking back to my car at the hotel. The sunrise itself was not very spectacular. A blush of pink against stormy skies. But the waves were high, there was a lot of crashing going on, and the wind was whipping up the peaks of the waves.    Gangneung is on the east coast of S. Korea, ...

  The school break officially began on the afternoon of the 15th of December. I was completely exhausted so I used the weekend to recover from the semester, do some cleaning, mail some cards and packages, etc. Then I worked for three days (not the whole day, but I needed to clean up the chemical stockroom so I got things organized one day and then dug in over the next two days). I also packed for my vacation.  I have been trying to stay local for school breaks and save money for next summer when my kids will come visit, but several friends had given me gifts of money before I left California, and I ended up not needing all of it for the move (the school really did provide a lot for me). So I used the money to buy an airplane ticket to Bali for the winter break. I knew I would be alone for Christmas and missing my kids so I thought it would be a good distraction.  And it was! Bali is achingly beautiful. I was oohing and aahing over the pretty flowers, water, sky, colors, p...