Korea: Day Twelve report
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Day Twelve
At the time of writing this, the three of us are having difficulty seeing the screen through puffy tear-filled eyes. It has been a most emotional night. Brett was in tears, Louise was in tears….let’s face it, everyone was in tears. Of course we’re all tired but there is more to it than that. The tour has come to an end and everyone is sad. Life will become normal again and who would choose that if you were experiencing the extraordinary?!
We have been through the photos and chosen what we want to upload for the day. Even Louise puts up little resistance to the many photos that are not really quality-right because they all remind us of a wonderful night or a part of the day’s story that we don’t want to forget. (I hope you have realized that you can download the photos to your heart’s content.) Louise is the practical voice on our team. She is grounded more than Brett and I, and keeps us on the straight and narrow.
At breakfast today, there were whisperings and sudden silences. Louise has her finger on the pulse of the choir and she is very inquisitive so she usually knows everything. Today, even she is out of the loop on some matters!
We were late getting to the National Museum of Korea. There were buses galore already parked in the parking lot and when we got to the major square of the building, there were many groups queuing to get in. Entry to the museum is free but you must have a ticket to get in. It seems a daft situation till you realize that one building can hold only so many people. Given that the population of Seoul is similar to that of Australia, you realize that there needs to be some control of entry or the place could be overrun and just sink into the ground! The booking system however is not very clear and while we thought we’d booked, it appears that we were not listed. The woman behind the little screened booth said it was not a problem and she sorted it out, but it took some time and there were many disgruntled people in the line behind us before we were through.
We booked for the Children’s Museum as well because I thought some of the younger singers might prefer that and indeed, they did! Belinda, Zoe, Hazuki, Misty and I went in the opposite direction to the others and had a fabulous time! Entry is timed, which we hadn’t realized, so with Mi Kyung, we ran from one end of the building to the other so as not to miss out. This is a BIG building! I was trying to describe it to the choristers before we left home and said that it was like four football stadiums joined together, one on top of the other. You’ll have to look at the photos to get some idea of size.
In the Children’s Museum, everything is geared for Primary students so it is all hands on. My team enjoyed trying to make a Korean newspaper on computers, but I moved them along because you can play on computers any time. Instead they tried to build Korean temples from blocks of wood. The design was up on the wall for reference and Belinda quickly put the yellow one together, but even working as a team, they were unable to master the red one. They searched for carved musicians on an intricate incense burner, tried on headpieces that were meant for kings and queens, created an arch out of clear plastic blocks, and tried to piece together a broken pottery vessel. The pieces were magnetic and the best bit was exploding the pot again by pushing a little button!
In the meantime, the others had delved into Korean history. Sarah was introduced to a famous painter from the Joseon period and she has become a big fan of his work. I don’t know if she found any of his originals to inspect. Kira and Liz were accosted by a small media team who were interviewing visitors to the museum. They wanted to ask questions and tape the responses. Brett quickly involved some of the seniors and Sarah was one of those, so perhaps she had no time.
We met at noon in the gift shop. There are some beautiful things to purchase. Beth found a gorgeous white wrap over dress with a red poppy design. It was not all that expensive but unfortunately it was too large for her. Sarah found a fleece top with a hood and there were busy saleswomen while WVYC was in the area!
The plan was to repeat the picnic lunch from yesterday and then go for a bike ride along the Han river. Mr Hong drove us to a nearby family park and everyone spent a happy hour exploring the area after their sandwich and fruit. Just as we got back onto the bus it began to rain. It had been overcast all day so it was decided to scrap the bike ride and go back to Insadong. I was happy with that because my concern had been that had we shopped on Saturday morning, the choristers would not have time to repack their suitcases. When we leave the hotel on Saturday morning it will be with cases in tow and once their stowed in the bottom of the bus, we won’t see them again till we reach the airport. By shopping today we gave everyone a chance to lesson the load on their backpacks.
There was a convoy of limousines in Insadong that created great excitement. Two motorcycles and two police cars in front were follwed by three official looking limousines, then two police cars and two more motor cycles. Given how narrow the single lane through the market is, it was amazing that they were able to get through the area with that size of entourage without sending people flying! Shopkeepers came out of their shops to watch the parade and people collected along the street as well. We’d seen one female with a fair number of ‘minders’ in the three-storied craft market area but we have no idea who she was.
The choristers back on the bus were excited about finding the right gifts for the right people. Brendan C had been searching for key rings apparently and was successful at Insadong. Amanda found not one but two rings for herself. Belinda found something for her grandmother and Marissa had quite a list for her family that she was able to complete. Everyone was happy. Then Louise asked me what I’d bought for my husband… oh dear!
We came back to hotel for packing and gift wrapping and sewing on of leaves… that needs some explanation! We needed some way to show our appreciation to Dae Young for all that he had done for us, so it was decided that every one of us would write a brief thank you message on a gum leaf-shaped piece of heavy tissue paper. Each chorister was asked to buy a small item for either Dae Young, his wife or his son, Jun. These were to be wrapped in gold or silver paper, tied with pink, purple or leaf green ribbon and the gum leaves were sewn by hand on to the ribbon and the lot presented in a large basket. Kylie did the sewing, bless her and the end result was fantastic. More about that later.
Our final Korean dinner was a Korean hot coal barbeque in a restaurant just forty paces from the hotel. We’d told Dae Young what we needed and once again, he found the exact thing. We’d invited Hee Churl, Hyun Chul, and Cheung-eun to join us. We were escorted to the second floor and we had the entire space to ourselves. This was important because this is not just dinner, this was an EVENT!
Brett started the evening off with the presentation of awards to the choristers. During the trip, he and Louise spend hours discussing each individual and, depending on the stories that develop, they work out an award for every single person. For example, Georgia was convinced that she was sharing a room with Erin. Then someone said, “Who’s Erin? We have no Erin in the choir.” But Georgia was convinced that Erin was in her family. It turned out to be Kira, and Georgia sheepishly said “Oh! Oops!” But from that point on, Kira was called “Erin” to the delight of her friends. So Kira got the ERIN award. Everyone looked forward to their award and there was much laughter and celebration and great stories. Dae Young received the EVERYTHING award because we appreciated everything he has done and his award also stated that he was now a lifetime member of WVYC. Mi Kyung got the POPULAR award because it was her favourite song and also because the choristers vied to have her as their supervising adult when in family groups.
The meal was delicious. The choristers enjoyed being able to cook their own meat and there wasn’t a scrap left on any burner when we were done. In fact several extra orders had to be made. The men from WVKCC commented on how well our singers could handle their chopsticks and that pleased us.
Then it was my time to hold the floor and we began the process of trying to adequately thank everyone for the best tour in which I have ever participated. What can you say? You had to be there to experience this segment of the night. The video was running so if you’re interested, it could shown at the Show and Tell night. Needless to say it was a truly emotional time for everyone concerned. Dae Young was overwhelmed with his basket and the basket of flowers for his wife, but Mi Young fell apart when the choristers began singing L-O-V-E, the pop song by Nat King Cole. Choristers hit upon the idea after realizing that when you called her mobile, instead of a ring tone, you heard this song played. They had rehearsed and with the staff showing the arm shapes of the letters and the singing….it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it! There was not a dry eye in the place.
Then the choristers gave gifts to the staff and Shannon made thank you speeches to each of them which were well thought out and delivered. Once again, the tissues were required as the staff were deeply touched by the choristers words and gifts.
We have run out of time to tell you more, so you’ll have to excuse us. We have a plane to catch.
Love from all
Alpha et al