May 1
In Korea the birthday of Buddha is celebrated according to the Lunisolar calendar. This day is called Seokga tansinil, meaning “the day of Buddha’s birthday” or Bucheonim osin nal meaning “the day when Buddha arrived”. Lotus lanterns cover temples throughout the month which are often flooded down the street (As they are in Sanbon).
His birth was in 623BC. The date varies from year to year, as to when the birthday is celebrated. This year in Korea it is celebrated on May 2.
Downtown Sanbon
Mar 31
We got invited to a co-worker’s son’s first birthday party. The first birthday is highly celebrated. Traditionally the child is given money or things to promote a successful future. Presents include things like pens and books, often text books. In Korea it is also tradition for the parents to give their guests a gift… we could not attend due to class schedules, but he gave us a gift anyway. This guy actually works for a different school, but his office is in the same building. He’s one of the few people that actually talks to us “foreigners” and makes an effort to be nice and engage in conversation.
Koreans count their ages differently. They count the moment of conception as “birth” and so by the time you are born… you are 1 year old. But then to make matters even more strange, everyone’s technical birthday is on the lunar New Year. They don’t celebrate individual birthdays after their “first” birthday… which is why they make such a big deal out of the first one. So basically by the time you turn 1 year old… in Korean age you are 3. So just by moving to Korea I aged 2 years!!! When people tell you their ages… you assume they’re talking Korean age, because that is how they give ages here… but if they were in the States, they’d be 2 years younger. Weird.
That is his son on the front of the gift... cute kid
It was really nice of him to invite us. I would have liked to attend, because it would have been interesting to see inside an actual Korean home… and to meet some new people. I’m sure some of them would have spoken English. Hopefully another opportunity will arise.
If the box wasn’t cute enough… inside was some natural soap made in France.
It smells like rosemary
To thank him, Seth and I went and got his son a birthday present. It’s this cute stuffed animal tiger… very soft and cuddly. 
Feb 24
The past few days it has been extremely cold and windy. Thank goodness Spring is just around the corner. I can’t wait to try out my badminton equipment.
Finally, I found a comfy blanket to curl up with on the couch. Yay! E-mart had some on sale… and I found one that was just like one I had back home. It’s silly to think that a blanket could make me soo happy, but it does.
Seth went with our coworker to a PC room and played some weird Attack computer game. They died a bunch and had to have the PC kid use Korean Logins for them… otherwise they couldn’t have played. But both of them said it was fun… and the PC rooms always give out free coffee and have comfy chairs. 
Today is Fat Tuesday… and not a mardi gras bead in sight. I guess it’s not exactly a Korean holiday. If we feel better, tonight Seth and I may go out to see if anything is going on. I’ll be thinking of last year around this time… Robbie Gras! My friend’s birthday party was mardi gras themed, soo much fun. (Happy Birthday to Kristen, Robbie, Tara and Alishia… all happen close together)
