Wisdom and teeth

Wisdom and teeth, do they go together? We all have these large wisdom teeth. We all get them removed. Are we less smart after that? It seems that right after we have them removed we certainly are so swollen that we resemble chipmunks on steroids. Are they smart? I guess we'll never know....... What an ordeal to go through. Poor Zoe!

My new great-niece

I am not sure if this is the right term for it but this is my nephew's daughter Sienna. Isn't she adorable.....!

Morning mist

This morning I drove from Cobourg to Bancroft on the very early hours of the day. It was cold and there was much fog hanging over the fields and water. It was so beautiful!

 

 

More Seoul markets

On Monday, the majority of the group left for the US and I spent the day exploring the  Gyeongbuk palace and some more markets. The palace is one of 5 palaces in Seoul and is just beautiful. On the grounds of the palace is also the Korean National Folklore museum, an amazing tower and building. It is interesting to see these old buildings against the backdrop of modern high rises! Kids like it too :)

One of the markets I went to was Dongdaemun, a wholesale market and not a tourist destination. I enjoyed it though, it made me feel I discovered a much more true Korean area. How about the pig snout....?

 

Korean history

 

On Sunday we visited a Korean folklore village outside of Seoul. It was very interesting to see how people lived. The setting was beautiful. There was so much to see. There were traditional dances and a tightrope dancer. We even saw a  traditional wedding. Take a look.

Later in the day we went to Insadong, a fun market area. It seemed that time hadn't moved for this lady selling nuts!

Sunday September 9, 2012

How funny, in Canada it is still Saterday!

Today we are going on a tour in the area. I can't wait. We worked hard the past few days so a little R&R is well deserved (or so I think ;).

On Friday, the sessions were organized by the Korean Association of Institutional Review Boards. At night I was able to skip out to a little market area. I found several stores with millions of yards of ribbon. My friend Carmi would have been so delighted to roam around there!!  We were treated like royalty for helping them with their conference. Yesterday we went to a beautiful spa and had a massage..... (I know, we DID work hard!).

After that we went to a traditional Korean restaurant. The number of dishes are astounding. The little dishes are called kimchi and they are little condiments in a variety of flavours.

Work in Seoul.....

Yesterday we spent the entire day at St Mary's Catholic Hospital who were hosting the first Asian education meeting on research ethcis using an education program that originated at the University of Miami. It is a group I am closely affiliated with and it was very interesting to hear how clinical research education in Asia is managed and regulated. The hospital is privately owned and is very beautiful both inside and outside. Korea does have a universal health care system. It fascinates me to see and hear these different settings.
In the evening we walked through the grocery store attached to the hotel. Check out the melons. Don't they look like Easter eggs? Such attention for detail!

DMZ

Yesterday was my 1 day of no scheduled work so I went on a tour to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This area marks the dividing line between North and South Korea. There is a line with 2 km on either side that serves as the buffer zone. In the centre is the "Freedom House", the only place where peace talks or discussions of violations of the cease fire can occur. Technically the war is still on, although there are little to no hostile activities. It was very fascinating. A woman on our tour had defected from North Korea to South Korea and told us many stories of the situation there. It makes you realize that we have it pretty good! The fence with all the little strings attached is a wishing wall, wishing for unification. The area is heavily guarded by UN and specially trained Korean forces.

Arrival Seoul

Well! I just arrived after a long trip. It was raining hard and with no umbrella I got soaked walking to the hotel. A nice young woman gave me her umbrella and walked me to my hotel. What a lovely welcome!