Saturday 1 February 2014

Quiz Night, My Birthday, and Lunar New Year


It's hard to believe Angela and I only have one more month left in Korea. We've been waiting to go travelling the rest of Asia for a long time now, and it feels great knowing it's right around the corner.
In the meantime, here's a quick update as to some of the stuff we've been up to since my last post.


We went to Gangnam and visited our first multibang, a room where you can play videogames, watch DVDs, or sing karaoke. We opted for two hours of Nintendo Wii.

We've seen this guy a lot during our time in Korea.
The weekend before my birthday, I decided to host a trivia quiz at our place. I'd taken part in a lot of quizzes before, but never been moderator. It seemed to be a success, and I may do another before we leave Korea.
The four competing quiz teams.

After the quiz we went partying in Hongdae.

At work, some of my students were kind enough to arrange a treasure hunt and decorations for me.
On the morning of my birthday, I woke up to a clue that Angela had left on her pillow. Turned out she had prepared a treasure hunt for me.
It took me to various places in our house and in our neighbourhood, including our nearby Paris Baguette cafe/bakery.
We had work that day, so the treasure hunt even took me to several places at our school, including the rooftop sky garden.
My supervisors kindly gave me a birthday cake.
After work, the treasure hunt eventually led me back to our house, where Angela had prepared decorations, wine, and gifts. That night she took me to have Greek food at one of favourite restaurants in Itaewon.
Then it was back on the drink with our friends and co-workers.

As well as my birthday, we also recently celebrated Lunar New Year, or Seollal, as it's known here. Just like during last year's Seollal, Angela's Korean family invited us to have a meal at their apartment. We also did a traditional Korean bow to Angela's aunt and uncle, and in response they gave us pocket money as a gift. I am always so surprised and honoured by their generosity and warmth, and how kindly they've accepted me into their family with Angela.

After dinner, we all went outside to take the dogs for a walk.
On the way, we stopped to do some Korean sledding. Despite neither of us ever sledding using this method of propelling oneself using sticks, it was actually pretty easy to master, not to mention good arm exercise!



Pulling Angela along.
Back to walking the dogs. 
Angela's aunt tries out some outdoor gym equipment, much to the dogs' bemusement.
I had to give it a try myself. Note the rush of blood to the head, which is supposedly good for health.
Taking a group shot near the family's apartment. As always, it was such a pleasant visit, and I'm sad that our next gathering will be our last (for a long time, at least).

That about sums up our recent activities. Next up: a post about our favourite experiences in Korea!

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