Turn of the seasons

Last week it was snowing; this week it is bright and sunny. They said the seasons change fast, but this is practically tropical.

To celebrate this gorgeous weather, I'm inside procrastinating against planning my afternoon classes. School has been a tad stressful lately with the introduction of the new English program in the kindergarten where plans get changed hourly. "Not fixed yet," and, "This is first time" are common phrases heard around the staff room.

On the plus side, my mum is currently visiting in Korea, with the rest of the family to follow next week. It's great to have my own personal interpreter; sometimes I forget she can speak Korean ;) We spent last weekend meeting my grandma and getting our hair permed - "magic" straight perms are all the rage here, but are getting taken over in popularity by "setting" perms that give you long curly locks - and doing a touch of sight seeing.

Among other things we headed to Deoksugung where we enjoyed a peaceful stroll around the palace as well as taking touristy photographs with the palace "guards". Like Gyeongbokgung, Deoksugung hosts a re-enactment of the ancient changing of the guard ritual. This time I took video. I'll post it when I'm back on my own PC.

We went to mourn the late Namdaemun gate which has now been totally blocked save a small viewing window. Sheets for graffiti have been pasted up for people to express their regret. We also visited the gothic Myeongdong Cathdral. Scaffolding and false facades continue to be the bane of my travels.