Friday night was the reception dinner for the Rotary District Conference. This was for all the higher-ups in Rotary. Mina, Janis and I all dollied up in our black dresses. We definitely stood out. Mina's host mum from Andong kept trying to cover her up. The women there were lovely -- some in traditional Hanbok gowns and others in pastel coloured suits with sparkles. Complimenting is different here. We got lots of "Ah, very beautiful," as we shook hands with the men. They have a way of bending in and looking you up and down as they say it that is surprisingly not creepy. I think there is just a different sense of personal space here. Everybody tells us we are beautiful or handsome. When we show pictures of our families they all say, "Ah, very beautiful." When we show pictures of our houses, it is, "Ah, my house. Very beautiful." When we meet kids or teens (boys and girls) on the street, "Ah, you are so pretty."
Three things that we are asked every time we meet a new group is our marital status, our age and our waist size (mostly for the men). People here age very gracefully. We have spent time with lots of men over 60 that look to be in their late 40's and have seen people in their 80's that look 60.
Yesterday was the Rotary District 3630 conference. There were probably three thousand + Rotarians in attendance. The event was held at a stadium from 10am to 5:30pm. And there was no translator. So we had hours and hours of boring speeches in a language that we could not understand. We could tell it was boring because even the Koreans weren't laughing. There was a speaker from the Korean Smile and Laugh Resource Centre (who knew there was such a thing here) that was right up my alley. I will ask our new hosts if they can arrange a visit there. He does Smile Therapy and titled his talk, "Strategies to Change Your Life." His top three strategies as translated by our friend Grace who will be visiting the island on the incoming Korea team in early May, are: Laugh loud, use your stomach, and laugh long. Smile for 100 days for confidence, passion and to prevent heart disease. Say to yourself, "I am a national treasure. Of course I am!"
Today is an entire day off, our first. We are not sure what to do with ourselves. It is gloriously sunny. I slept in until 9am and then went for a beautiful run for an hour and a half or so -- my first run since I got sick. I think I will spend the rest of the day under a nice tree somewhere and then meet up with the team later to go to the bath house. As I was running this morning it dawned on me that our time in Korea is winding down. I wish I could capture it all and bring it home with me. I know the experience will be with me forever.
Three things that we are asked every time we meet a new group is our marital status, our age and our waist size (mostly for the men). People here age very gracefully. We have spent time with lots of men over 60 that look to be in their late 40's and have seen people in their 80's that look 60.
Yesterday was the Rotary District 3630 conference. There were probably three thousand + Rotarians in attendance. The event was held at a stadium from 10am to 5:30pm. And there was no translator. So we had hours and hours of boring speeches in a language that we could not understand. We could tell it was boring because even the Koreans weren't laughing. There was a speaker from the Korean Smile and Laugh Resource Centre (who knew there was such a thing here) that was right up my alley. I will ask our new hosts if they can arrange a visit there. He does Smile Therapy and titled his talk, "Strategies to Change Your Life." His top three strategies as translated by our friend Grace who will be visiting the island on the incoming Korea team in early May, are: Laugh loud, use your stomach, and laugh long. Smile for 100 days for confidence, passion and to prevent heart disease. Say to yourself, "I am a national treasure. Of course I am!"
Today is an entire day off, our first. We are not sure what to do with ourselves. It is gloriously sunny. I slept in until 9am and then went for a beautiful run for an hour and a half or so -- my first run since I got sick. I think I will spend the rest of the day under a nice tree somewhere and then meet up with the team later to go to the bath house. As I was running this morning it dawned on me that our time in Korea is winding down. I wish I could capture it all and bring it home with me. I know the experience will be with me forever.
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