Zoe turned 15 in mid-February when it was still quite frigid and spring felt very far away. Once again we trotted out our scarce birthday decorations and I travelled miles and spent a small fortune to get the ingredients necessary for a Stanton birthday cake with homemade buttercream frosting. Super sweet and always a reminder of home, this cake never fails to disappoint!
Like all of the months during our second year in Seoul, February flew by and before we knew it March had arrived and so had Daphne’s 18th birthday. Two of her closest friends from Maine, Charlotte and Emma, flew all the way to Seoul on her actual birthday (3/9) to surprise her…AND SHE WAS SURPRISED!! We kept Zoe in the dark as well and all the secret planning, white lies told to the school and stress was well worth their reaction. Daphne actually broke down in tears and still says it was the “best moment of her life”. We celebrated their arrival properly with champagne and birthday cake and then sent the weary travellers to bed.
For the next four days, Daphne showed Emma and Charlotte all around Seoul and penned her own blog post to capture this special time with her close friends who flew so very far to celebrate her 18th birthday. Here’s a picture of the girls at Gyeongbokgung Palace. Simply adorable!
When we returned from spring break, Daphne and Zoe’s SFS soccer season ramped up. A co-captain of the team, Daphne led her teammates and younger sister with confidence, kindness and stellar soccer skills the whole season, earning her the MVP award. The two sisters played together as defenders, almost never came off the field and supported each other both on and off the field. Zoe was the only underclassmen to start and she staunchly defended the team every game, helping the team win the conference title. Kenzie and Marina, some of Zoe’s closest friends also made the team so she really enjoyed her first HS Varsity season. Bill and I couldn’t get enough of watching these two in action despite the often frigid sideline temperatures.
Both girls got super cool varsity letter jackets at the end of the season and coincidently, they now both attend schools that have red as a school color. Here’s Daphne’s jacket which is covered with patches from tournaments in China and awards won during her two seasons at SFS.
At the senior day celebration, Coach Kneeshaw made very nice comments about Daphne’s leadership and close relationship with Zoe; as her parents, we were very touched, proud and will remember the moment forever. Despite also being the teacher of one of her most challenging subjects at SFS, Kneeshaw became one of Daphne’s favorite faculty members during her two years at SFS and the girls often imitated his thick British accent and wacky mannerisms. Bill and I were able to attend all home games and felt so lucky to finally watch two Stantons play on the same field at the same time…a first for us after years and years (15 yrs. in total we think, starting with Claire at age 10!) as soccer sideline parents!
Unfortunately, Daphne hurt her back and then her knee during the final game of the season and ended up in a cast for the next month. Here she is at the hospital waiting for an MRI and in the giant cast she wore for several weeks.
She was a good sport and even socialized with Kim Hyun Jung and her family when they came over for tea one day (photo above). We LOVE this Korean pop artist’s work and the manner in which she captures the convergence of traditional and modern values in her self-portrait works. Always dressed in a beautiful hanbok (traditional Korean dress), she depicts herself in everyday Seoul settings. Bill has a colleague at Citibank who is the artist’s brother-in-law and he introduced us to her art. Earlier in the year, this colleague even arranged for us to meet her and tour her studio There, we saw her sketches and learned how she painstakingly makes home-made hanji paper jeogoris (hanbok tops) and incorporates them into her paintings in a collage-like fashion. We hoped to commission a painting from her but the waiting list is years long and she’s far too busy teaching, painting and exhibiting. In fact, Kim Hyun Jung was recently named one of Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30 in Asia” and her art has been shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC and in Berlin, Germany so is a tad out of our price range. (I’m still in touch with her via Kakao and hold out a small glimmer of hope…) Her family did give us a gorgeous book full of her paintings and I’ve taken a photos of our favorites below. In the one on the left, she is working out at one of the many exercise parks found all over this city with her Starbucks cup and LV handbag close at hand. In the other, she’s pigging out on typically American and Korean fast food, all the while elegantly dressed in a traditional hanbok.
For the still curious, here’s a link to her website: http://kimhyunjung.kr.
Back to Daphne…we were sure she had torn her ACL since her knee remained swollen and she was quite immobile and uncomfortable for weeks. Amazingly, the cast came off and the swelling receded just enough for her to don her prom dress and heels by the third week of May. Even more amazing was the news in June from the UPenn doctor who had finally interpreted the MRI taken a month earlier…her knee had dislocated and then popped back in all at once on the field! So despite the horrific “popping” noises, swelling and pain, Daphne avoided surgery, did some rehab and joined the club soccer team at St. Lawrence University (SLU) this Fall. PHEW!! Here’s our baby Daph all grown up and looking gorgeous at her senior prom.
I managed to pass another semester of Korean language classes with my good friend and study-buddy Cristina. Here we are posing with our diplomas. 
Another nice group of people from all over the world…America, France (Cristina is to my right), Austria, Thailand, India, China, Japan, Ireland, Spain, and Indonesia this semester. Slowly, slowly my ability to communicate with those around me is improving which is so empowering and motivating!
A year ago, Claire introduced me to SofarSounds, a worldwide organization hosting and promoting small venue amateur music concerts. With Claire, I attended a show in a bike shop on Haight St. in S.F. and Bill and I have ventured to see Korean shows in Gangnam, Seoul. At the Gangnam show, we spoke with the concert organizers about hosting a show in our hanok since we thought if would be a memorable experience both for us and our guests. First we had to get the approval of our elderly Korean landlord, Mr. Song. We were quite sceptical that he’d be willing to open up his/our beautiful, almost museum- like, hanok house to the public but he agreed, helped me dress up the garden and even attended part of the show! The house and garden looked beautiful on this spring evening.
Coincidently Chris Semler, a close friend from Maine, was in Seoul for business this very same Saturday night. Chris has also attended SofarSounds shows in SF and his daughter Isabel, one of Claire’s closest friends, works part-time for the organization in SF, helping to identify artists, screen hosts, and promote. Prior to the show, Bill took Chris for a hike in our nearby mountains while I cooked and facilitated set up with the SofarSounds crew. We were allowed to invite 6 of our own friends to this otherwise public concert so Chris, was able to meet some of our French, Czech and Swiss friends and sample my version of Korean BBQ in our garden before the other guests arrived and the show started.
SofarSounds chose the artists and both seemed to fit the calm atmosphere of our hanok house. Their photographer (Azalia) and video team (What’s the Weather) provided these photos and excerpts below. The first artist Jung Mina writes her own songs and plays a traditional Korean stringed instrument called the gayageum though her style is more modern, Jazz bassanova-like than the traditional Korean music. She considers the gayageum her acoustic guitar. We loved this song and if you look closely you’ll get a glimpse of us in the crowd bobbing our heads along to the song.
The second artist was John OFA Rhee and his is an urban R&B singer-songwriter who has been influenced by the likes of Stevie Wonder, The Beatles and John Mayer. One of the songs he played was John Lennon’s “Imagine” which we could UNDERSTAND!! Gentle and about love, this song and the artist’s style are much more representative of popular Korean music than Jung Mina. We prefer her work to his. Do you?
All of the guests were thrilled to be inside a hanok house, many of them for the first time (?!) which shows just how far Korean construction has come in just a short time…from wooden hanoks to cement/glass skyscraper apartments in just 50 years; many younger Koreans like the SofarSounds guests only know life in a high-rise apartment. Although we couldn’t understand most of what the guests were saying, it was clearly evident that they too felt our home to be truly special. Our landlord Mr. Song quietly and humbly soaked up all the praise as he watched from a chair in the corner. By the end of the evening, our 50 yrs+ knees and backs wished we too had chairs on which to sit since traditional floor seating (closer to “ondol” (floor) heat source) can be mighty UNCOMFORTABLE!!
After two years here in Seoul, we’ve now come to love how pretty the city becomes before Buddha’s birthday in early May. For nearly a month before this important holiday all the Buddhist temples, and there are at least 20,000 in Korea and most of them in the greater Seoul area, hang strings of brightly colored lanterns. These vibrantly colored lanterns decorate the hiking trails leading to temples tucked into mountainsides like the ones below.
Temples all over Seoul too are decorated and especially Jogyesa, Seoul’s main temple and the center of Korean Buddhism which is located just a block from Bill’s office. Dropping by this temple around Buddha’s birthday or during any other Buddhist holiday is always a treat since the chanting performed by the monks and worshippers provides a soothing rhythmic break from the traffic nearby. As you can see below, Seoul’s busy avenues and modern construction is softened by these lanterns and other decorations. 
One Sunday afternoon in May, Bill and I walked over to Gilsangsa Temple, a large and famous temple in our Seongbukgong neighborhood. Here, the lanterns were stunning. The white ones seem to make Buddha’s birthday lanterns (balloons?) almost pop. The temples are equally magnificent at night though my photography doesn’t do them justice. 
Walking on the stream at this time of year too is lovely and when Zoe said she wanted to spend her last evening in Seoul…walking along its cool, clear water and stepping stones while staring up at Seoul’s city lights, it all made sense since this was one of our first family outings when we arrived two years ago.
Another spring weekend, Bill and I walked along the inner city fortress wall down to Dongdaemun, the old eastern gate into Seoul that today stands at the center of one of the city’s busiest shopping areas. The juxtaposition of these ancient walls and the modern city capture my attention every time I stroll here.
With a British friend Gail I decided to play hookey from Korean class one lovely spring day and we went out to Namhansanseong, a World Heritage site and the emergency capital city of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Situated 25 km southeast of Seoul, 500m above sea level and nestled into the ridges of the surrounding mountains, Namhansanseong is so green, untouched and a stunning contrast to the major city just to the north. We walked the entire 12.3 km perimeter of the fortress walls, up and down rather steep steps at times, chatting the entire time and even shared a picnic table with some Korean ladies who were also out on this nice spring day.
I particularly like the picture below in which both the old fortress wall and one of its gates/pagodas AND Seoul’s Lotte World Tower are visible in the distance. Lotte World Tower, Seoul’s newest landmark, only just completed in April 2017, is the 5th tallest building in the world with 123 floors, and huge underground mall (of course!). Bill and I plan to go up to observation deck soon, and while we’re there, visit the spa which we hear is QUITE NICE!
It wouldn’t be a hike in Seoul without seeing a large group of soldiers training….
On yet another day, I joined two other avid hikers, Karin and Sonia to go up Baekgundae, the highest peak in the nearby Bukhansan National Park. Karin is Norwegian, very tall, with never-ending legs than seem to float up the mountain compared to my “stumps” which struggle nearly each step of the way. Nevertheless she is a great leader who knows the trail well and she patiently waited for Sonia and I whenever we lagged behind. Even though I’d hiked the mountain before, the views atop this peak never disappoint!
During the hot summer months, Karin told us she often lays out a blanket and falls asleep on the large boulders featured below since they lie beside a cool tinkling creek. I’m not sure I could ever sit still long enough…let alone actually fall asleep like she does…but the idea is appealing and is perhaps a challenge for this alpha female!
More soldiers here too…I’m never quite sure if they are reassuring or disconcerting!
For those who are sick of hiking pictures and chatter, here’s a taste of another very popular activity in Seoul…dressing up in hanbok (not to be confused with the hanok in which we live or the hangeul (Korean character writing) all around us!) Before our girls left Seoul for good I had made them promise me that we would dress up in hanbok and walk around. I insisted Bill join the “fun” too. I’m lucky that he’s a kid at heart, has always loved Halloween and willing to follow my lead (“orders” perhaps?) even when the activity is not really how he’d like to spend a Saturday afternoon.
Shopping for one’s hanbok is quite fun as there are many different patterns, colors and accessories from which to choose.
Finally after many giggles and a little sweating in the warm room, we posed by the shop’s “stage” and here’s our official photo:
Next, we hit the streets of Bukchon and went to visit Changdaekgyung, considered Seoul’s second palace and home to the famous Secret Garden. Anyone dressed in hanbok is granted free admission to all palaces so we saved a whopping $20 by being “en costume”. A net-negative though since the rental is $20/apiece for 2 hours…oh well…it was well worth it as you can see from the photos below!! Unforgettable and a “must do” if you come to Seoul.
Directly after the hanbok rental return, we headed to place a lock on top of Namsan Mountain, another quintessentially Seoul experience. Daphne, Charlotte and Emma had done this in March and Daphne suggested that we do the same before our time together in Seoul ended. Getting up to the top of Namsan mountain required patience and perseverance since Daphne’s knee was still very swollen, sore and unhappy to continue walking after strolling around in hanbok earlier. Nevertheless, thanks to Seoul’s great public transportation, we arrived near the peak by bus, bought our lock and headed over to the gate/fence/bridge to find the one the three girls had signed earlier. Here’s a glimpse of this popular tourist attraction:
Looking at all the thousands of locks, I was sure it would be a “needle in the haystack” exercise, but Daph found the girls’ green lock with their names written in hangeul quite quickly and we hung ours next to it. This was another somewhat cheesey tradition but we all loved the outing and are glad our memories are sealed in Seoul this way.
A short two weeks (and a few exams) later and Daphne was walking across the stage at the Baccalauriet and graduation ceremonies.
We are so very very proud of her and know she’s really ready and excited for her next adventure at St. Lawrence. Although both Daphne and Zoe found many aspects of SFS lacking, both girls felt the school said “goodbye” particularly well since all of the year -end celebrations and personal notes they received from faculty and friends were meaningful and heartfelt. We all left SFS on a high note and are thankful for all the lessons learned both in and out of the classroom at this international school.
During the past two years, Daphne and Zoe have made some wonderful friends and we hope that through social media they will stay in touch no matter how they scatter across the globe. Both girls requested their final farewell families dinners be at B.L.T. in the JW Marriott in Dongdaemun. The enormous popovers served instead of bread are TO DIE FOR and keep us coming back over and over again. Oh yeah…the meat is pretty excellent too.
Fast forward to this Fall and we are happy to report that both Daphne and Zoe have settled in nicely at their respective new schools. We all stay in touch daily via Kakao Talk and the girls and I practice our Korean phrases and blast each other with the many crazy Korean emojis available on this social media app. Although physically now half way around the world from our 4 girls, Bill and I still feel connected to them and proud of their independence and ability to embrace all of life’s experiences. Here are a few shots of the girls at their new schools:
seoulfulsojourn.net 