Sunday May 2nd:
Despite the fact that my body was stiff as a board from the 5K and me, Randy, and Anderson were so cozy in bed….we woke up and got dressed after the alarm went off. Randy and I kept saying, “should we just stay home today?”…well we didn’t and we were so glad that we got out of the house. To the Ceramic Festival!!!
We treated Anderson to a Burger King Breakfast picnic as we waiting for the bus that would be taking us on our 1.5 hour ride to Yeoju…”the Ceramic Capital of South Korea”. Anderson did great on the bus, he played and then slept the rest of the way. Again the sun was shining and it was the best day to be walking around shopping for pottery and soaking up some culture! On this trip Anderson was able to make a coaster out of clay! I was hoping to be able to spin my own vase on the wheel, but there was a long line of children ahead of me and Anderson was losing his patience so I settled at watching the demonstration. The Festival allowed children (and adults) to paint pottery and make pottery for purchase…we mostly watched since the tables were really full and Anderson was more interested in watching the other kids instead.
Part of the trip was supposed to include a ride on a sailboat! If you know Randy, you know that this is how I sold him on the idea of taking the trip, however; after viewing this so-called “sailboat” we decided against the ride. The sailboat looked like a ferry with one sail and a motor. Supposedly, it was depicted from some of the early designs of a sailboat ever made. We decided to make our way to the Buddhist Temple instead. Here we had to be quiet since there were people praying. I thought it was so interesting to see how they pray. Some of the woman laid with their heads down, while others were more active posing in a kneeling position and then to a standing position almost resembling a form of Yoga. At the Temple, Anderson loved seeing all the colorful lanterns hanging!
A sketch artist asked if he could sketch Anderson, informing us that it would only take 10 minutes. Twenty minutes later after trying to keep Anderson still and looking at the artist, with a bunch of bystanders staring and offering Anderson candy, the portrait was complete. We paid 30,000 won for a portrait that looked like Anderson with some Korean flair, but I figured it would make a great keepsake in his baby book.
Shopping in all the pottery shops, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much my mom would have loved it there! Some of the pottery was really expensive…the green ceramic pots and vases as well as the handmade china sets they were in the 200,000won range which is just under $200. Randy and I settled for a piece for our office since he is always collecting things from our travels. I wanted to load up on so many gifts but knowing that we would have to carry them as well as Anderson, I quickly decided against stocking up!
Anderson found refuge in the windmill park. They had a display of windmills of all different colors and sizes that the kids could run through…he loved it! A group of young girls came over to give him a sucker and take pictures with him…Anderson thanked them by blowing kisses! When Randy took Anderson’s hat off the girls reacted as if he was a male stripper ripping off his pants…something about his blond curls gets them hooting and hollering…Randy and I were cracking up!
At lunch, as we devoured some chicken on a stick, a young man kept bringing us free food. He was excited that we were from Chicago so he must have been there before! I was not impressed with the food but it is impolite to turn it down so I was glad Randy was there to eat it! He was chasing it with the chicken and a coke.
Things learned: Corn on the cob looks good but feels like wax and tastes like fishy water…yuk! Try to avoid eye contact near food tents in hopes that a friendly Korea doesn’t offer you free food you may not enjoy but are forced to eat! And when spending the day eating things that seem less than satisfying…a coke becomes your best friend and is easy comfort food!
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