Today, I once more spent the morning foraging with my friend in the forested mountains of the Grand Park. It was a nice lovely hike and very soon we found plenty of small elders weighed down by juicy berries. We gathered about a half a quart of elderberries with plans of making pancakes and elderberry syrup, and quite possibly some elderberry wine. On the way home, I stopped by the market a block from my house and picked up a lovely bunch of oranges and kiwi at ...

This morning I roused myself for a comfortable Skype chat with friends having a Game of Thrones party complete with costumes and recipes from the official and unofficial cookbooks, some of whom I have not seen in years. We carried on and caught up for some time, before I left them to feast and dressed for the day. I started the laundry and excitedly prepared myself for the shopping at H&M, which was postponed from yesterday. I stayed within my budget and...

I woke up this morning with a driving sense of purpose. I made my coffee in a semi-conscious state and focused on going to National Museum of Korea. The snow was still on the ground from the previous day's flurries and the air was crisp and cold as it often is in winter. As I continued walking out of the station and on to the museum, little dustings of snow drifted down swirling around like the little ice fairies in Fantasia. Soon, however, I approached the ste...

I didn't travel today, but I realized last night that I didn't need a vacation from my vacation. The un-entered blog entries were piling up as was the laundry, and my kitchen was looking rather empty in terms of rations. So though this entry will look rather slim, it is because it is my seventh (or is it eighth) to write up tonight. For a while, the silence of the room was going to drive me crazy so for the first time in weeks I turned the television on and ...

If you had asked me a week ago what I was doing on this day I would have said that I was going to the Seonjeongneung and Yunggeolleung Royal Tombs (Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty). After yesterday's experience, however, I decided I'd opt for the indoors rather than fight the heat. I didn't want to need a vacation after my vacation so to speak. Last night I was sorting through my bookcase and found some old maps and guides that previous teachers had left and fo...