Off the Grid and the Walt Disney Family Museum

Today I was invited to a cool event in front of the Walt Disney Family Museum with my friend Becca and her co-workers. It was a food based festival where booths and trucks were set up around the field in front of the Walt Disney Family Museum. 

The food was from around the world. They even had Shwarma :). 

There were many ice cream and popsicle stands, and some trucks had Indian food, Vietamese food and Barbeque!

I finally tried Creme brûlée. It was delicious. 

After we ate, and chatted about movies on the grass, we headed to the Walt Disney Family Museum.

I read a book called How to Be Like Walt a while ago, which I bought at this museum, and it was so inspirational. Walt Disney had many challenges, financial, professional and even emotional, but his optimisim got him through everything. It's what makes Mickey Mouse. 

One of my favorite quotes from Walt Disney at the museum is, "If you live right, things happen right." 

My favorite exhibit was the Disneyland one. It had a minature version of the park:

Including the castle: 

And Space Mountain: 

They even had a poster for the New York World's Fair featured in Tomorrowland. 

I met some really cool people, ate good food and was once again inspired. 

All in all, a great day ^_^

  

 

Experience

As my last day here approaches, I'm in a cloud of nostalgia. 

I've learned a lot during my experience here in Chuncheon. 

I've accepted some of my flaws, and broadened my perspective. 

Maybe I'm just a bit braver with all the adventures I have had while living away from home and managing my own life. 

I still have a lot to learn, but looking back, I can honestly say that I will leave here with new perspective. 

One thing I told myself when I left for South Korea, was that I would never forget who I am. 

I haven't forgotten. 

I have some good memories of places and people.

I faced three really big fears. 

I shared ideas with people all over the world. 

I saw some beautiful sights: mountains, temples, parks and islands. 

I learned more about myself. My strengths and weaknesses. 

I took some risks. 

I visited places on my bucket list. 

I started a new story. 

I made some difficult decisions.

I met so many amazing people from all walks of life: travelers, wanderers, explorers, artists, teachers, students and survivors. 

I'm grateful for this experience: the good and the bad. 

As Kingdom Hearts says: "There are many worlds, but they share the same sky. One sky, one destiny." 

Some of these people I will see again, and some I may never see again. 

But every encounter is a precious moment, and I will never forget the people that I have met on this journey. 

Of course, it's not over yet, and life can surprise you, but for now, as I move to a new chapter, I will treasure these memories, and take comfort that my story has been connected to many others. 

The S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibit

Today, I went to the S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibit in Itaewon, South Korea. 

More details on my experience here: 

http://crystallizedheart.blogspot.kr/2015/05/station.html

Captain America is my favorite Avenger, so I was pretty excited about this, and the fact that Cap's shield would be there: 

They sold some awesome Marvel merchandise as well :) 

After the exhibit, we went to Sinbad's Kitchen and I had Shawarma ^_^ 

All in all, it was an Epic day! ^_^

A Teacher's Day Surprise

Yesterday, my boss took all the teachers out for lunch at a cool cafe away in the mountains. It was a very scenic place, with a little bridge and really cool looking tables set up outside. 

It also had a fountain in front of the tables:

The indoor area was really rustic and nice. They had big sofas and tables. 

We ate some Korean dishes that I had never tried before, including a snail dish with noodles that wasn't too bad. They also served traditional Dunkas and Bibimbap that was delicious. 

But that was just lunch. We headed somewhere else for desert. 

This charming bread factory had a nice view, and the garden gave the area a traditional and European atmosphere. It was really nice! 

I loved the vintage displays, especially the tea cups, and I had to do a Belle photo op

The bakery inside was really cool, and you could watch them bake the bread, cakes and tarts. 

The inside was an interesting mix of modern and vintage styles: 

All in all, it was a great start to a Friday, and my first ever Teacher's Day.  

The Hello Kitty Cafe

I saw this cafe at a different location, but it closed down before I could visit :( About four months later, my friend found it again, and I was so excited!

In Jeju, there was a place called Hello Kitty Island. I didn't go, but one of the fellow travelers at the hostel did, and she said it was really cute, and there are lots of opportunities to take pictures. 

This was the same idea, but in cafe form. And it was a larger building, and newly decorated. 

The first thing you notice about this cafe, besides the giant red bow, is the pink.

Pink is everywhere!

Next you notice the giant Hello Kitty dolls 0_0

Then they have food in Hello Kitty shapes, and Hello Kitty cups ^_^

They even do detailed Lattes!

Right next door is a gift shop. 

My favorites were the Hanbok Hello Kitties. 

There was a lot of Hello Kitty goodies from cameras to socks to 1,000 dollar music boxes. There was also a giant Hello Kitty doll, but due to the pink, the pictures I took came out really weird. 

It was hot, so I ordered a frozen yougurt with strawberry topping!

It came in this cute cup ^_^

All in all the cafe visit was a success, and I'm really glad my friend found this place again. 

Seoul Friendship Fair- City Hall

Today was a mini vacation and a cool buffet! 

The Seoul Friedndship Fair took place outside City Hall and it had many booths with food and crafts from all over the world! 

A giant stage was setup, facing a big green field, with a globe to mark the entrance. 

Tents were lined up, each representing a different country. The entrance to the festival started with a craft area, where tents, photo spots and traditionally dressed people walked around. 

 

Vietnam had a booth with beautiful shoes and dresses. 

This alligator was very welcoming for the Arab Emirates booth. 

The Kyrgyz Republic had a beautiful craft booth. 

The French booth didn't have any crafts, but they were advertising Petite France and The Little Prince :)

They had cute decorations close to the booths. 

The Library was having a huge book sale! I managed to resist the call. 

This little Elephant was outside the Lego booth where people were building Lego projects. 

We were looking for the food, and we finally found it across the grassy field. 

More tents! 

We had some food from Bangladesh, and then we food the food booth for India, and we had delicious Curry and Nan bread with Mango juice! 

We also found the French food both, and had Nutella Bana Grapes with a delicious French Cider. 

I even found Hibiscus juice! 

It was a fun festival and there was a little more to do. 

The charity event was a game where you tried to throw the coins into the bowl in the center of a sea of coins! I almost made it. The coin hit the rim :(

And the kids were playing with plastic bread. 

There was a nice walkway nearby with a pretty view. 

The Friendship Festival was a sucess, and we got there before the crowds increased. 

All in all a great day ^_^