Kate's in Korea: Family Bonding

Since I often travel on weekends it is harder to spend time with my host family and really strengthen our relationship. Therefore, when my host dad suggested that we go to Seoul on a weeknight I agreed. Initially I thought the plan to leave for Seoul on Thursday evening at 5PM and return that same night was a little crazy since the drive is at best two hours but my host father insisted it wasn't a bad drive at all. Since my dad was kind of vague when describing what we were going to Seoul for it was not until Thursday morning that I discovered I would be going to see a lantern festival. I quickly became very excited since I missed the famous Jinju Lantern Festival.

At 5 o'clock my host brother met me at school and we walked across the street to his father's office. There our mother met us and the four of us set off. My host mom brought kimbap and some snacks for the ride. It was then talking to my host brother that I was informed that the kimbap we were eating was not delicious because the rice was from China not Korea. I'm not really sure how accurate that statement is but I nodded as if I agreed. Koreans tend to be very proud of their country and are very comfortable talking ill of other Asian countries. It makes me slightly uncomfortable at times, but I have learned that it's best to not say anything in return.

After a 3 hour drive we arrived at Cheonggyecheon, the man-made stream in the center of Seoul. I had visited the stream once before and found it to be absolutely beautiful. I was surprised to find it was even more beautiful at night. The bottom of the stream was lit up in parts and then there were lanterns everywhere. The Seoul Lantern Festival is small compared to many other festivals but I was impressed at how beautiful everything was. I wasn't really expecting to see entire people made out of lanterns, let alone a recreation of a wedding celebration. Many of the lanterns depicted what life was like in Korea in the old days, which was neat because it allowed me to learn more about Korean culture. My father is also always excited to show off Korean culture. Nearly twice a week on our walk to school I receive a talk on some aspect of Korean culture ranging from respecting your elders to stories that are told to children. The night was extremely fun and was a great chance for me to unwind with my host family. It's also nice to have a shared experience with my parents because the language barrier makes it more difficult to bond through conversations.