Cherry Blossom Festival

Every year, my particular borough of Daejeon holds a Cherry Blossom Festival that lasts for an entire week.  Cherry blossom trees only show their blossoms for a week or two before they shed them, so there is only a small window of opportunity when one can really enjoy their splendor. 

I was told that in the past there had been several activities associated with the Cherry Blossom Festival, but because of budget cuts, there wasn’t necessarily a Cherry Blossom Festival this year as much as there were just Cherry Blossoms, which was fine by me.

I decided to invite some friends to my apartment for a potluck.  I made roasted eggplant glazed in a miso sauce, a sautéed tofu zucchini stack with herbs, and a summer salad with a homemade balsamic/strawberry puree dressing.  Daniel brought pesto pasta, Kate brought a creamy chicken casserole, Daeun brought tteokgalbi, Dana brought kimbap, and Liz mostly just brought champagne and wine, as is her wont as far as our potlucks go.

After eating and getting a little buzzed, we decided to walk along the river close to my house.  I thought there were a lot of cherry blossom trees lining the river, but I guess there actually weren’t.  Daeun suggested we instead go to a park where there were sure to be a lot of cherry blossom trees.  The park had a pathway that was lined with cherry blossom trees.   There were, of course, many couples hand-in-hand strolling up and down the path.  There were also families and groups of teenagers, including many of my students.  I really can’t go anywhere in my area of the city without running into at least one or two of my students, so I really wasn’t too surprised. 

“Joshy, your friends?!”

“Yes, these are my friends.”

After walking up and down the pathway, Daeun had to leave to meet a friend, while Dana had already left by that point in order to meet a co-worker.  

The four of us remaining decided to get some coffee together, and then return to my apartment.  We watched a ridiculous documentary of a group of young Korean men and women who traveled to Europe to help spread Korean cuisine.  It was really funny to see how awkwardly the young Koreans in the show interacted with the Europeans, and how the Europeans reacted to bibimbap (a staple of Korean cuisine).  Then Liz left, and then Kate, Daniel, and I hung out listening to music, drinking, and talking until the wee hours of the morning.

It doesn't sound like much, but this was one of the greatest days I've had in Korea, spent with some of my best friends here.