Chuseok

From last Wednesday September 18th we have had time off from university due to the national holiday Chuseok which this year was celebrated on the Thursday September 19th. The Koreans have translated this into English as Thanks Giving Day. Traditionally family members all meet up on this day and celebrate it together. They are thankful for the year's harvest and share their abundance of their harvest with friends and family. Fresh food is made on the day followed by a Charye which is an ancestor memorial service.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to Mi Joo's family home for the Friday. I was greeted with a mountain of food. Her parents and brother are extremely nice and welcoming, it was really nice to be in a family environment again and see the family bond between them, however it did make me miss my family and long for Christmas.
After lunch we all drove up to Gyeongju which is a traditional city and where the above photograph was taken. Gyeongju used to be capital of the Silla dynasty. There were many Buddhist temples and tombs for the various kings and their families who reigned during the Silla dynasty. The tombs look like large hills.
That evening we had supper in a restaurant and had lots of pork barbecue.
I stayed over at Mi Joo's house and had breakfast there the next day, I was given spicy soup, meat and rice, I found this quite hard to stomach at 9am especially as I am not a breakfast person at all. A cup of tea suits me just fine. However I was polite and ate it all, as in Korea to be offered food is a large gesture of generosity and friendliness and it would rude to decline this.
Over the two days I learnt more about the cultural differences.
For example Mi Joo's brother told me he thought I was very confident because I looked people in the eye when I was talking to them and he envied this I was then informed that Koreans do not have such strong eye contact as they are worried that eye contact will be seen as intimidating. I also learnt that during a meal a younger person should always pour a drink for the older person starting with the oldest. Which isn't too dissimilar in my family, especially in Czech where my grandfather will always be served the food first as it shows respect.
I then had a fun weekend with my friends from my halls, we had a few drinks around the lake and had a small bonfire.
It is Monday again and I am back to work at university and had an interview for a teaching English position so fingers crossed I get it! Some pocket money would be useful!