SLIGHTLY FRANTIC

It’s 7:30 a.m. Monday, July 5, here in Seoul and we fly to Japan on Thursday. Some of our colleagues have left already. Time is running out and my head’s a whirl of blurry lists—all the things we’ve thought we might do plus those niggling jabs of necessities like distributing gifts, buying souvenirs, exchanging contact into, cleaning the apartment, laundry, packing … Ugh! Then there’s the list I made on Friday in my little yellow notebook: what I could write about in this blog—12 possibilities lined up immediately, and another 4 have presented themselves since.

This morning … this morning I must go to the post office, which I’ve finally located. Well, Nancy located it for me. I have a fistful of cards and a couple of letters to mail. If they go today I hope they’ll arrive before we’re back in Canada. I want to go to the Sookmyung campus and revisit the display about its history, this time making some notes. We’ve sworn to try and find a waffle café for lunch—or to go to A Twosome Place and order their scrambled egg set. I must buy some paper to wrap presents in. At 5:00 the university is hosting a farewell party for faculty and students. Afterwards I think some of us will drop into So Ho for a last chat and drink.

Oh, and some time today Peter has essays to mark and forms to fill in for the university. Perhaps I should wake him and start breakfast… but I think first I’ll browse our recent pictures for one that’s calming …

One of the outdoor exhibitions at the National Museum of Korea, two stone Buddhas from the Goryeo Period, 10th-11th centuries. (photo: Peter Harris)