And so it begins....

All good things have humble beginnings right? Einstein had a hard time tying his shoes in my defense. This is hopefully the first of many blog posts I hope to share. I have been pondering starting this blog for almost a year but I never seem to have enough time or the moment was never right. But thanks to recent events in my life I realized somethings never magically come together to BE the right time, you have to roll with it. Before I share any craftiness with you I want to share a recent trip I was lucky enough to take (another one of those never the right time things I just jumped on anyways!) to visit Korea.

A view of the mountains from the palace  in Seoul

Other than Mexico this was my first trip out of the country in my memorable history. I was prepared to be humbled by the experience and to take in as much of the culture as I could. I am very aware that I have the typical American mindset where I completely forget that other countries live differently from our own. I think my favorite cultural experiences were going to the markets and seeing all of the different novelties they held. (Sadly I have no photos of that, the downfall of having a DSLR is they are quite bulky and hard to carry). I also got to visit the National Museum in Seoul. Seeing their history from a native standpoint verses American texts books was interesting as well. Also they value things our culture hardly pays attention to; for example, pottery. They had a very extensive history of the kilns of the regions and the type of pottery they produce. Me being the typical American glazed right over that exhibit (pun intended!)

 Traditional armor and sword

 Masks of characters from a folk tale

 Golden Bodhisattvas

 Standing next to a bell from a Buddhist temple

Being one with the Samari...

But sadly my favorite experiences were the coffee, the food, and the fabric market! I could spend days at the fabric market! I might have to do an entire post on the goodies I got there. If it weren't a 13 hour painful flight I would be tempted to go back just to shop and eat!

Where is the most interesting place you have traveled?

What surprised you about the local culture?