Chuseok-weekend

This weekend was Chuseok – Korean Thanks Giving. Apart from Lunar New Year, called Seollal, Chuseok is the biggest Korean holiday. Literally, Chuseok means “Autumn Evening” and is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th Lunar month, when the moon is full. Chuseok is a type of fertility festival, with ancestor worship rituals to give thanks for the harvest. Chuseok occurs right after summer, at the height of harvest time when produce are at their ripest. It is customary for people to return to their ancestral hometowns for great family gatherings, ancestral rituals, games and dining (and lots of work for the women).

This year Chuseok fell on Sunday, 14th September. The days before and after Chuseok are also holidays, so this was a long weekend.

On Saturday I again attended the international Sabbath-keeping church at Ilsan. It takes about an hour and a half (I’m guessing) to get there by bus and subway. The evening I went to COEX-mall to meet a friend for a movie. Three new teachers also working at the university with me (but in another department) tagged along. I was initially happy to show them around, but soon realised that I wasn’t in a mood for “youthful” chitchat. They are all a couple of years younger than I am. At first I was shocked at the idea that I might have become old, but I have come to understand (to my relief) that that was not the problem, as I have many friends that are much younger than I am. The issue is not the age difference but the type of conversation. Like Sartre (or is it Hegel?), I don’t like superficial chit-chat. Which is one of the reason why I don’t like hanging out in groups either, as groups are seldom conducive to deep discussions.

On Sunday I slept late and went to Dongdaemun Out Door Market in the afternoon, where I bought 10 pairs of socks for 3000 Won (about R 21) and a small backpack for around 4000 Won (about R28). In the early evening us foreign staff came together for a Chuseok potluck dinner. At first I didn’t take anything, since the invite I received said to come and bring something if you want. I didn’t want to, as I was away the whole afternoon and didn’t feel like cooking. But upon my arrival the food looked too little so I rushed back to my apartment, cooked up some spaghetti with garglic stalks, and mixed it all with basil pesto and chopped tomato. Delicious food is in the mouth of the eater and it turned out that my pesto spaghetti was a hit.

Yesterday I decided to look like a scarecrow (hence the photo). I met with a friend in Apgujeong, had lunch, walked far to get Haägen-Dasz Green Tea Ice-Cream, walked far again to get a bus and went to the mall close to Konkuk University. There we found comfortable seats at a Starbucks. Comfortable seats are extremely important to me. It is a crucial consideration when I decide to go to a restaurant. I would rather lose out, than have to sit on hard, straight-backed chairs.

Late last night I eventually arrived at campus and was greeted by volumes of fresh air, rolling like waves of mist from the green blanketed mountains. I breathed deep and smiled.

At my apartment dirty dishes and clothes for ironing greeted me, but I immediately decided to leave it for the next day. Because, after all, praise God there is a next day.

And this morning, I ironed three shirts.