Hiking in Seoul!

On the weekend of May 4th, I went to Seoul with my Korean friend May. She had to volunteer for a children's festival so I figured that I would tag along and just go exploring in Seoul while she was volunteering! Across the river from the festival I found some nice trails to hike and do some exploring in the Korean wilderness! It was nice and relaxing! The flowers were all in bloom, even the Tulips, which are my favorite flowers!

The path to cross the river!

The beginning of the hiking trails lined with beautiful flowers!

My lovely Tulips!

The waterfall I found while exploring! 

My friend May volunteering to teach children about the importance of water conservation! 

The 2013 Lotus Lantern Festival!!

On May 11th I went to Seoul to experience the 2013 Lotus Lantern Festival, which is a celebration that takes place the weekend before Buddha's birthday! This year Buddha's birthday was on Friday, May 17th so the festival took place May 10th-12th. Here is a link to read more about the different events that took place at this year's Lotus Lantern Festival. I went to the Lotus Lantern Parade and it was awesome to watch. The light up dragon was my favorite part. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

My favorite picture!! :) 

Blog Apology

I apologize that I have not been able to blog in a while. I had a big presentation to prepare for but hopefully I can get everything updated by the end of the night or by morning for everyone in America! Have a wonderful day!! I love you all!! :)

Happy Suwon!!! :)

A question that I get from a lot of my friends back home in America is "What is your favorite part of/and or place in Korea?" Well I would like to answer that question now! Most people would probably assume that Seoul is my favorite city since it has so much to offer, but my favorite place in Korea is actually a city called Suwon, which is about 30 minutes by train south of Seoul. This also ties into one of my favorite experiences in Korea, which was going to Hwaseong Fortress, which is located in Suwon! I also spend a lot of time in Suwon and occasionally get to experience a homestay with a lovely and very kind Korean family!  I took a day trip to Suwon during midterm exams on April 24th, with one of my closest friends here, Charlotte, but I call her Charles :) and we went exploring around the city and throughout Hwaseong Fortress. We found a nice spot in Hwaseong Fortress, to sit and talk about life. It was wonderful because we were surrounded by the wonders of Korean nature with the sun shining nice and bright and the flowers in full bloom. It was a beautiful sight and we even got some yummy Suwon strawberries! Suwon is a great place and if you ever come to Korea, I definitely recommend that you visit Hwaseong Fortress as well as the city of Suwon!! 

It is Happy Suwon!! Where Gil is from! And it is happier than Seoul!! :)

Here is a picture of part of Suwon from Hwaseong Fortress! 

 Here is a building within the walls of Hwaseong Fortress! It is pretty!

My picture with Charles!! We were at Suwon station waiting for the train to go to Jochiwon!