Aren't they just adorable... 

The peak of the cherry blossoms was supposed to be this weekend, so today Kylie, Donovan, and I took the ferry down the Hangang River to Yeouido. My sweet mother sent me the jacket I'm wearing in this picture...thank you so much, Momma! 

The KLI 63 Building (63 floors) is the tallest in Korea, complete with observation deck, IMAX theater, and aquarium. 

National Assembly  

Oh, this picture makes me laugh... 

My oh-but-it-matches-my-pink-Gap-baseball-cap windbreaker is doing NOTHING to combat the rapidly dropping temperature at this point...spring? Who said anything about spring?  

I was disappointed to discover I'd missed the "Synchronized Sparklers" memo. 

Luke, Peter, and Richard..that's right, we work weekends, too. It's actually a lot of fun seeing them outside of school. 

And this is us, supporting the Doosan Bears to the bitter end. 

Meet the smart ones: fans of the soon-to-be victors, the Lotte Giants 

The Price is Right - our seats were a whoppin' $3 each 

Though it seems somewhat un-American to be broken in by the Doosan Bears instead of the Atlanta Braves, I thoroughly enjoyed all 9 innings of my very first pro baseball game tonight at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. 

Olympic Stadium, venue for games in 1988 

Cool breezes gently provoke showers of delicate, white petals from these fragile blossoms. 

Cherry blossoms christen the advent of spring in Seoul 

Here's some background on the Korean flag I borrowed from a website (www.paulknoll.com), for those of you who are interested.

The flag, called "Tae Kuk," symbolizes the thought, philosophy, and mysticism of the Far East.

The circle in the center, red upper half and blue lower half, represents absolute, or the essential unity of all being. The Yang (positive) and the Yin (negative) divisions within the circle represent duality. Examples of duality are heaven and hell, fire and water, life and death, good and evil, or night and day

The four trigrams also indicate the duality of opposites and balances. In the upper left trigram, three unbroken lines symbolize Heaven; opposite them in the lower right, three broken lines represent Earth. In the upper right trigram, two broken lines separated by an unbroken line is the symbol of Water; opposite them is Fire, symbolized by two unbroken lines separated by a broken line.

Symbolic of the nation is the white background (the land), the circle (people), and the four trigrams (the government). All three make up the essential elements of the nation.  

My backyard... 

Night Lights 

The flavor of Korea 

The colors are so warm and rich...a refreshing change from the overcast gray that's been pervading the city for most of the week. 

The sunset reflecting off the water makes me feel close to home. 

Seokchon Lake at dusk 

This is me at Seokchon Lake, soaking my Sunday afternoon like a sponge, absorbing the delightful sights and sounds of the families and friends frequenting the waterside.  

Meet G6-B (l to r: Alice, Sarah, Matthew, Richard, and Peter) 

Joan's really quite shy...