Pressure!

Last Thursday (11/10/11), 4th years (equivalent to high school seniors) took their college entrance exam.  I've read that more than 80% of the 4th years attend university.  This test determines where they will go to university and what they will do with their life.  That is a huge weight on one's shoulders!  Fourth years spend months preparing for this test.

Earlier this year, I "tutored" a 4th year for 30 minutes twice a week over the phone.  We basically had a conversation in English to help him with his speaking skills.  We stopped talking in September so that he could concentrate on studying for this test.  I'm sure he did very well because he's very smart!  :)

I have come across the following videos that you might find interesting.  I sure did!  The first one I stole from a friend who posted it on Facebook.  The second one was a recommended video since I watched the first one.  (I hope that makes sense!)

11/11/11 (Pepero Day)

In the United States, November 11th is a special day.  It's Veterans' Day.  We remember those who died for our country and honor those who have served and are still serving.  So, if any of you are Veterans and are reading this post -- THANK YOU!

In Korea, November 11th is also a special day.  It's called Pepero Day.  Pepero Day is a day similar to Valentine's Day in the U.S.  A company called Lotte made up the day to make money (that's the quick explanation).  Pepero is a non-salted pretzel-like stick coated in chocolate.  If you stand up five of the sticks next to each other, they resemble the date 11/11.

Zach and I got a few boxes of Pepero from our students.  I took some pictures so you can see what I'm talking about....

On anther note with it being 11/11/11 -- I stole this news article that a friend posted on Facebook.

Number priority for some Korean mums is "111111"

Expecting mothers in South Korea have inundated hospitals with requests for a Caesarean section delivery on November 11 to secure the unique life-long identity number of "111111" for their children.

The Korean Resident Registration Number, an identification number for all residents in Korea, is composed of 13 numbers with the first six numbers corresponding to the date of birth.

The number of appointments for c-section births on November 11 was 20 per cent higher this year than previous years. Expecting mothers who are due even a week after the date have scheduled to give birth on November 11, Seoul Newspaper said.

"There's always people with due dates in January who want to deliver on the first of the month, but this seems more unusual - trying to set delivery so they can have the ID number 111111," a staffer at a maternity clinic was quoted as saying.

November 11 is known as Pepero Day, or Sweetest Day, in South Korea and is similar to Valentine's Day. It was named after the Korean snack Pepero, because the date 11/11 resembles five sticks of Pepero.

- Reuters

Seoul in Autumn

Zach and I had November 4th off work so we had a long weekend!  We took the opportunity to, once again, go to Seoul.  We only had one thing on our agenda and that was to take pictures for our Christmas cards.  After that, we were just going to spend the whole weekend relaxing and enjoying Seoul.

We started our weekend by going to Namsangol Hanok Village to take pictures.  When we arrived we noticed that there was a competition going on.  So, we decided to stay and watch for a few minutes.

That evening we decided to be low-key so we posted up at the Starbucks down the street from our hotel.  Before going back to our room, we thought we would walk around for a bit.  To our surprise, it was opening night of the Seoul Lantern Festival and it was just two blocks from our hotel!

The next day, Zach went to a Baduk/Go club (a game he plays) and I set out to enjoy some of the palaces and whatever else I could find.  The first one I went to was Gyeonghuigung Palace.  The fall leaves were so vibrant!  Near the entrance to the palace was the Seoul Museum of Art which happened to have the Seoul Photo Festival.

Then, I walked to Gyeongbokgung Palace.  On my way there, I saw people dancing in the street.

After that, I went to Deoksugung Palace.  Again, the trees were so beautiful!

On my way to meet up with Zach, I stopped to check out the Gyeongbuk Smile Apple Festival.

After a wonderful day of sightseeing, Zach and I spent the evening at a bar across from the Seoul Lantern Festival and people-watched!

It was just another wonderful weekend in Seoul!