Sunday and Monday have proved to be quite culturally interesting for us. We started Sunday off bright and early with a church service at a nearby Catholic church. Catholic women in Korea cover their head with lacy white scarves during the service. We did a lot of standing up and sitting down, when everyone else did. We did know one song, but as for the sermon it was all speculation. Mom, amazingly, recognized that the scripture was from Peter. We also knew one song that they sang, which was unexpected and nice.
After church we headed to the Gwangju Democratic Uprising Memorial Park. Gwangju was the center of the democratic movement in Korea, and on May 18 1980 there was, sadly, an uprising that killed 137 protesters and injured many more. This was the start of a move toward democratization of Korea. Today there is a fitting memorial park for the victims of the uprising. We toured the park and learned a lot about Korean history.
Next we moved on to a delicious vegetarian lunch downtown and did a little browsing on Art Street. We had a relaxing evening of soccer watching, necklace making, and card playing in our apartment.
Today I (Maria) had the day off. So, we all checked out Gwangju's big market where you can buy anything from furnature to clothes to seaweed to pig heads. It was, as always, shocking and interesting. We ate lunch together before Ethan had to run to work. Mom and I walked downtown a bit, then headed to the spa. It was just the relaxation mom needed after her travels. It relaxed her so much that she fell asleep on the couch immediately when we got home, and it is where she remains right now!
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