Beaches, Kites and Heroines

Things here in Korea are beginning to slow down..if that is possible. I have officially past my four month anniversary and all in all, it has been a blast. Spring is arriving at record speed here, and the sunny weather has me itching to travel around the country side. I went to Busan this past weekend and spend a great day at the beach. Our local foreigner Rugby team played a tournament at a beach just north of Haeundae. The sun was shining, the ocean blue and spirits were high ( and flowing..as'spirits' tend to do). Our team won second in the league and the boys celebrated with a cold dip in the Sea (too cold for this Weguk, but it looked fun). I apologize for the lack of photos since my camera was forgotten at home. I guess it will just have to stay locked in my memory bank, along with the countless other moments I have experienced here.
While at the beach I bought a kite ( my first ever) and had some fun attempting to fly it along the beach. With a little help from a friendly Ajemma, I managed to get it flying...always the helpful Ajemmas.
Yesterday was a national holiday in Korea - celebration of the beginning of their independence movement in 1919. The story is quite incredible. A sixteen year old girl began the movement that eventually freed Korea from the Japanese in 1945. She designed the symbol that we see today on the Korean flag and made thousands of copies. To avoid being caught she hid her flags under the floor and when she had enough, she delivered them to Koreans all across the country, handing them out at markets. The story has a sad ending, as she was captured by the Japanese and tortured horribly until her death, as were thousands of others who believed in her dream. However, she impacted Koreans greatly - and so they celebrate her courage and dream of an independent Korea.
This country has such a vast history, however, as with this holiday, I am reminded of how recent some of Korea's history is.
Ok...enough with the history lesson.
Will chat later - miss you all ( Congrats to Cindy and Graydon on their new home!)
Love Colleen