Fall is one of my favorite times of the year so I decided to enjoy the beautiful weather on Sunday at Mungyeong Saejae, an area which is bursting in color. My visit also coincided with the final day of the apple festival so I was able to buy a box full of Mungyeong apples with which I'm going to make apple sauce and possible apple butter. Click here or on the photo above to go to the Mungyeong Saejae page under Botanics.

A month after I moved in I finally had time (and money!) to make my apartment a bit more homey. My school so graciously supplied the basic furniture and kitchen items and I bought everything else. By American standards the apartment is quite small but it is band new, comfortable and has the convenience of a washing machine in it.The only thing I would change about the apartment is I would like a slightly larger kitchen and one that is separate from the rest of the apartment - I can tell that the smell of the spices I cook with are beginning to linger in the apartment. Other than that one quibble it's a great apartment.

Since I'm in Korea and unable to celebrate Diwali at the temple or with my friends I decided to host a dinner for the waygook (foreign) community in Jeomchon. For those of you who don't know, Diwali is the festival of lights and one of the biggest holidays in India. It's celebrated with food, sweets, diya (candles) and fireworks. I cooked for two days so I could feed 19 people and thankfully there was enough food - which was some sort of Diwali miracle since my kitchen literally consists of a sink, one burner and a rice cooker. I am still amazed I was able to make pav bhaji, chana masala, dal, sambhar, rice and kheer. What might be even more impressive is that all 19 of us were able to fit into my tiny apartment! It was fun evening!

This weekend I went to Mungyeong Saejae with my friend Kate, who came to visit me. Kate, a good friend and fellow anthropologist is an English teacher in Seoul. We were able to meet briefly while I was in Seoul for orientation but this was the first time we got to spend more than a few hours together since last June. Her visit coincided with a local apple festival at Mungyeong Saejae so Saturday morning we hopped on a bus and made our way there. Mungyeong Saejae is known throughout Korea because hundreds of years ago it was part of the main road between Seoul and Busan. Gates from this historic road can still be found there. We enjoyed an afternoon of walking around the festival, meandering throughout the replica village near the front gate and admiring the changing leaves before we headed back to Jeomchon.

While the pictures in the post below give you some interesting visuals of the Jinju Lantern Festival, I think this video, which my travel companion Lydia made, gives you a much more intimate look at the lanterns. At the end of the night we took a small boat out onto the river which weaved in between the bright vibrant lanterns, allowing us an up close look at some of the lanterns. It felt a bit surreal sitting on a boat gazing up at the gorgeous lanterns thousands of miles from where I was a month ago. It was truly a memorable experience!

When I have the opportunity I'll add a few more videos from my experiences here in Korea under the Globe Trekker Korea tab above.

When I first heard about Jinju's lantern festival I was determined to attend it because I had missed similar opportunities when I lived in Japan. Jinju was relatively easy to get to - a total of 3 hours on two buses with a brief connection in Daegu. Buses in Korea are fast, clean, cheap and relatively comfortable. The weather in the southern part of Korea is still quite sunny and warm during the day and offered a nice break from the slightly chilly temps that are becoming the norm in Jeomchon. My travel companion Lydia and I enjoyed walking up and down the river banks throughout the afternoon and well into the night. We realized when we finally made it back to our hotel room to go to bed we had walked 6 hours without more than a few minutes of rest. The festival was an incredible experience with gorgeous lanterns positioned alongside the riverbanks as well as floating on the river. The festival commemorates the Japanese invasion some 500 years ago and small lanterns are set out on the river to memorialize the Koreans who lost their lives during that conflict as well as other departed ancestors. During the festival we saw hundreds of beautiful lanterns, ate some tasty festival food, watched an impressive fireworks display, danced with a troupe of masked dancers and took a boat out amongst the lanterns.

I went out last weekend to explore Jeomchon since the weather was beautiful. I walked around town for an hour or two each day hoping to become more acquainted  with my new home and find some interesting sites. While on these walks I came across the local market - women sell a variety of local vegetables and fish outdoors while shops bordering the market sell everything from hanbok (traditional dress) to meat. Once I've been able to learn my numbers in Korean I'll start shopping at the local market since I think it'll give me the opportunity to practice Korean as well as save some money.

On Sunday I went to the Mask Festival in Andong, a yearly festival which showcases masks and performances from all over the world. We spent the day wandering around the festival, making our own masks and enjoying Korean food. It was a really fun way to start out my new life in Korea.