Sunday in Seoul

This week I got up in time for church. As I was getting ready I listened to Prairie Home Companion streamed over my computer. A bit weird, hearing Garrison live (well, actually the program was a rebroadcast, but--) here in Korea on Sunday morning. The Anglican Cathedral of Sts. Mary and Nicholas (seems a strange combination to me) is about a 20-minute walk from my lodging. I was even early (friends at St. John's will be amazed). The Cathedral is lovely. Of course, the English-speaking congregation meets in the crypt chapel, not the sanctuary, but given our numbers, that's appropriate.


Like any good Anglican/Episcopal service, it was followed by coffee hour. Since my visit last year, they've replaced instant coffee (a Korean norm) with actual coffee produced by two automatic drip pots. I discovered the person responsible for that is a Korean woman who attends this service. She had lived in Minnesota for a few years (thus recognizing the importance of real coffee), and will be going to Minnesota in June to deliver her son to the University of Minnesota where he'll be a freshman. So of course we exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses. It's a small world. . . .

Walking home from church I ran into a "changing of the guard" at Toksugung Palace. Now this is not exceptional since the ceremony occurs several times a day at each of the palaces/historic sites in the city. But it was fun to see again anyway. It is extremely colorful, loud with drums and cymbals, and always draws a crowd.

Grabbed a salad at a Paris Baguette shop on the way, ate quickly while watching the latest on CNN, and spent a couple of hours on homework. (Yes, I am doing some studying.) At 3 p.m. friends of Minnesota friend and Korean teacher Judy Chang came by. We drank coffee at a nearby Starbucks and had an enjoyable conversation. It turns out that Michael's mother is taking drum lessons; he'll be checking to see if there's a performance, or even a practice, I could attend. Small world syndrome continues. I am enjoying the opportunity to add to the number of Korean acquaintances/friends I have.

Am planning on getting to bed early tonight. Tomorrow begins a whole week of classes. On Tuesday we'll be moving beyond the alphabet, which I already knew, and perhaps going into new areas -- which will undoubtedly strain this old brain. So a good night's rest is required.