So this week was a busy week for me. I had my regular school classes, tutoring, language exchange, and then fit in a trip to Ilsan to see the Holt choir "Voices of Soul" perform, visited with a reporter from the daily paper "Focus," went to see the Rodin exhibit, and went to a wine tasting with Kate at Cafe Huh...a cafe run by a language school where Korean speaking was not allowed.
The "Voices of Soul" is a choir made up of the handicapped and disabled residents from Holt's Ilsan facility. They are mostly adults, but some children. All have disabilities, some more dramatic than others. They memorized their music and performed very well. One of the residents even sang a solo for Ave Maria...it was very moving.
Two other choirs also gave performances--The Felice Childrens' Choir and the Namgalam Womens' Choir. Each of these choirs performed on their own, although the womens' choir's choice of music was questionable...it was a song about a cat and they meowed the entire song. It was just weird. The children wore the traditional hanboks...they were so cute. At the end of the evening, all three choirs came out and sang several songs together. It was fantastic. Although we could barely understand what they were singing, the music conveyed the meaning.
Afterwards, Molly Holt was beseiged by people asking for autographs. She graciously signed their programs. Many of the Holt choir's residents' families were in attendance and brought them bouquets of flowers after their performance. I think it's so strange that the "orphans" (the families have relinquished all rights to their children) have family living close by. I talked to Angela about it and she said that it's difficult for Koreans to have children with handicaps because people will judge them that they are not good people or were being punished, or they will be shunned. Also, because the parents have to work, often the children will be left home alone...and that is not good either. So, maybe having them live in the loving family environment at Ilsan is a better solution.
Thursday morning I met with reporters and their videographer at the Holt office. They report for a free daily newspaper "Focus." They also have a website and the story about the Holt Homecoming Program and several of the participants will be featured in the article. Two other adoptees, one from PA, and one from Belgium were also interviewed. Angela is on their board and suggested that they write this article in May because is it "Family Month" here in Korea.
I met my language exchange friend, YooSun and we went to the Seoul National Art Museum to see the Rodin exhibit. Rodin is one of her favorite artists...and I love art, so it was a perfect way to spend our time together. We rode the subway to the City Hall exit and found our way to the museum. The city hall area is built up and seems very much like a big city, until you turn the corner, and tucked away in the middle of the buildings is the art museum, which is big and modern, but surrounded by gorgeous gardens, and it backs up to a royal palace. The grounds have lush greenery, mature trees, and really fun art.
We stopped for lunch after Rodin, at an Italian restaurant. I can honestly say it was the worst pizza I've ever eaten, or tried to eat, in my life. We got a "set" which included at CHEK (supposed to be chef) salad, 1/2 and 1/2 pizza and a drink. The salad was fine, even with the strange yogurt dressing. The pizza was barely edible. The one side had bulgogi (bbq beef) which was tasty, but was topped with a sweet mustard (yuck). The other side was supposed to be pomodoro. I was picturing fresh tomatoes and garlic...uh...nope. The pomodoro side had salad on top (as you can see) and under that was mustard and mayonnaise smeared all over the top of the cheese, and then more of that under the cheese. Bleah! It was the worst. Neither of us could take more than a bite or two. YooSun commented to our server that the pomodoro was very strange, and she was told that it is their most popular. Obviously, this Italian restaurant is not frequented by Italians.
On Friday after school and tutoring, I met Kate at Cafe Huh. It is run by an organization that runs English academies and hires teachers to teach English. I think they also teach other languages. But at this Cafe, Korean is not to be spoken. It was a fun place with food and wine, and they did a nice wine tasting from many different countries, all for 10,000 won ($10). We met people from Scotland, UK, Ireland, NC, FL, and of course, Korea. As the food was mostly fingerfood and ran out quickly, we stopped for sushi on the way home. Yes, I eat sushi (some kinds). I got the tuna, crab, and spicy tuna roll. It was really yummy and fresh and was served with a salad (mostly cabbage), a cold soup with buckwheat noodles, sesame seeds and green onion, three pieces of sashimi (one was salmon and Kate got that), the others were tuna and a mild white fish (kinda chewy). Located in the Gangnam area, it is surrounded by street vendors and stores. It's a newer, more modern area of Seoul with big streets and wide sidewalks...lots of people...oh yeah, there are lots of people everywhere.
It's Saturday today and I have no plans but catching up on things and exploring some more. Have a great memorial weekend!
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