Happenings!

Chuseok is one of the two biggest holidays in Korea. It might be compared to Thanksgiving. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans make a mass exodus to their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food.

As missionaries, we celebrated Chuseok by visiting the CheongDeok Palace. If we were wearing traditional Korean attire, our admission was free.

Three adorable, hanbok clad cuties patiently sat on the bench while twenty missionaries took turns getting pictures with them. When Elder Larson sat down next to them with his head of red hair, the little girls were no longer looking at the cameras. Their eyes and mouths were wide open staring at Elder Larson. I wish I had that picture.

Elder Biesinger captured this shot. We will be sending this one to National Geographic.

What a great way to appreciate Korean culture. After the tour of the Palace, we all gathered at a ward house. The Assistants to the President picked up BigMacs, fries, and soda for lunch. We sang some traditional Korean songs, then went into the chapel to watch "Emma Smith: My Story." After shedding a few tears, the missionaries headed for the subway. The Art Theater was to be the culminating activity for the day.

Before the program, there were some fun traditional activities. In the old days, this is how the rice was removed from the stalks. I think, Elder Biesinger did a great job. A few more hours of this activity and we could probably have enough rice for dinner.

See how easy it is to keep the ring spinning?

Now you try it!

After a fun program in the outdoor theater, the audience gathered on the grassy area to enjoy more Korean dancing and music.

You saw the "Armies of Helaman" five pictures up. Well, these are the "Armies of Lee Myung-Bak," (President of South Korea) on their way to work.

Elder Biesinger is on his way to work. How many rent receipts can you fit in one cart?

Some of you old timers will recognize this occupation, but you youngsters will just have to ask. We found her right in the middle of Seoul while looking for a place to eat.

Elder Biesinger stopped to say "Hi!" to our neighbor Shin Kee Chul, who was out enjoying the beautiful fall weather. ("Hi!" is literally all that we or he can say.)

The restaurant next door to us is very small. Many mornings they are out on the sidewalk cleaning and trimming vegetables or washing fish.

With probably thousands of buses and hundreds of thousands of cars on the roads at one given time, this was an inevitable occurrence. The cool thing was, we were on the bus when it and the car collided. Didn't that driver know that buses ALWAYS have the right-of-way. I was hanging out of the bus window to get this great shot, then we hopped off the bus and found another way home.

I am really sorry this is sideways! Just turn the monitor on its side or lay down next to your computer. This is really worth it. This missionary's branch was having an International Night and the African part couldn't come at the last minute. Elder Harrison learned to do the "clicking" language for the program, AND then he performed it for me!


This tree is bursting with persimmons. They are delicious.

I just liked this picture. Can you see what the NONO is referring to?

Okay, I named the persimmon. Now, it is your turn to "name that fruit."

"Ginkgo biloba is the oldest living tree species. A single tree can live as long as 1,000 years and grow to a height of 120 feet. It has short branches with fan-shaped leaves and inedible fruits that produce a strong odor. The fruit contains an inner seed, and there has been a report of a human poisoning from ingesting the seed." Wikipedia
Just so you know, Koreans gather the berries to make tea. The Elders call the berries "poop berries" because of their smell.

In the fall, many people are out on the streets gathering the berries that have fallen from the branches. Frequently, we will see a man run and jump, throwing both feet into the trunk of the tree. (Yes, they usually land with their feet on the ground.) The gatherers are ecstatic as they hurry to collect more of the fallen berries.

Check out the pokey things on the inside of this hula hoop. You had better not be ticklish.

This is the coolest toothpick I have seen and tasted. It looks like plastic, but it is made of potato starch. You can really eat them.

Can you read the printing on this water pitcher? "WARTER CONTENNT"

I found the Dr. Pepper for Misty. Here is the Dr. Paper for... whomever wants it. ^_^

I title the next few pictures: Button, Button! Who's got the Button!

Wow! The end of another fascinating episode in Seoul?