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Guest Blogger: Phyllis Groundhog from April Fool, Phyllis on her world tour, written by Susanna Leonard Hill
AnNyungHaSayo or Hello from South Korea! I arrived on Thursday right on time to go with the family on an outing on this beautiful sunny and 70 degree weather. We went to the Olympic Park in Seoul, where the 1988 summer Olympics were held. |
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This is Anna, a 4th grader, and Isaac, a 1st grader. Can you spot the American flag? |
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This is the Olympic torch flame that never runs out. |
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My relaxing ride through the park. |
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A breathtaking view! I wish I could jump in. Do groundhogs swim? |
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I learned all about taekwondo from this dude, Isaac. Watch out, Susanna, for my new moves! |
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I felt like royalty as I visited Gyeongbokgung Palace. This was built in 1355 during the Joseon Dynasty. |
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Just as we arrived, there was a Changing of the Guard ceremony. By the way, you can call me, Princess Phyllis. However, the Korean language doesn’t have an /f/ sound. I’ll be Princess Pillis here. |
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This is scary guard #1. I’m glad I’m on the other side of him. Just look at that dragon! Yikes! |
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This is scary guard #2. Maybe I should get a hat like that. |
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Here are all the scary guards marching with a drum and some kind of horn. |
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After an hour at the palace, we went to my favorite place, the Seoul Zoo! |
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I was so excited to see my relatives. However, they only speak Korean. AnNyung! (hi) |
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We ended the LONG day at a Korean BBQ. The smell of kalbi, shorts ribs marinated in a sweet sauce, smelled delicious. I just needed to stay away from the spicy, red kimchi. (cabbage) As you can see, this table is just my size. Traditional Koreans sit on the floor, as the heating system is in the floor. |
I’ve had a busy time. The rest of the weekend is rainy and cold, low 50s. I guess I’ll be staying in. If you want to read Tina’s book review of me, click here to go to her educational blog. I need to rest now for my long trip back to the states.
35 comments
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April 21, 2012 at 5:11 am
Susanna Leonard Hill
Oh, wow! Tina! What an amazing visit Phyllis had with you! She got to see and learn and experience so much! I am jealous 🙂 I love the scary guards, and the Olympic park and flame, and that neat buggy you pedal which I can’t remember what they’re called! Thank you so very much for hosting Phyllis and for putting up this wonderful post with all these great pictures!!!!
April 21, 2012 at 5:18 am
tinamcho
Glad you liked the post, Susanna! It was great fun!
April 21, 2012 at 5:41 am
Cathy Ballou Mealey
What a fun adventure in South Korea! And great photos too. Anna and Issac are adorable and were such great tour guides for Phyllis!
April 21, 2012 at 5:46 am
tinamcho
Thanks, Cathy! We had so much fun hosting her.
April 21, 2012 at 5:42 am
Cathy Ballou Mealey
Anna and Issac were such wonderful tour guides for Phyllis! Siles all around and great photos too!
April 21, 2012 at 5:58 am
Beth Stilborn
This is wonderful, Tina! What an absolutely spectacular visit Phyllis (excuse me, Pillis) had with you — and what a lot of great things we got to see.
Thankyou!
April 21, 2012 at 6:24 am
tinamcho
Very funny, Beth! Thanks for reading the post!
April 21, 2012 at 6:24 am
Diane Kress Hower
Tina, I loved the tour and the tour guides!
April 21, 2012 at 6:25 am
tinamcho
Glad you liked it, Diane. Thanks for reading!
April 21, 2012 at 6:58 am
Mirka Breen
‘Pillis’ is really going places, and she has lovely guides.
April 21, 2012 at 10:40 am
Julie
Wow Phyllis! All the way to South Korea! You really are quite the world traveler. I’m sure no other groundhog is as well-traveled as you. Fantastic tour!
April 21, 2012 at 6:56 pm
julie rowan zoch
Thanks Tina and family! My daughter Olivia will be jealous (out studying, I’ll show her later) – she tried twice to get a language scholarship to Korea (seriously think she was turned down because of her peanut allergy!) and contents herself with the Korean Club at school! A big K-Pop fan she sings in Korean all the time! What are Phyllis’ relatives in Korea called? Thaks for all the great photos – esp. the guards – yikes!
April 21, 2012 at 7:08 pm
tinamcho
That’s neat about Olivia. Where do you live that has a Korean Club? The kids & I are trying to learn the language. Phyllis’ relatives at the zoo were prairie dogs.
April 21, 2012 at 7:23 pm
julie rowan zoch
We don’t need a zoo for prairie dogs in Fort Collins, but they do carry a form of the plague here, so people are told to be careful about their pets. We also have fox and raccoons in the neighborhood – squirrels are a given (our German visitors are always taking pictures of what they call darling and we call pests!). Liv has 2 Korean friends at school who started the club, but the other members are all American. Good luck learning, I understand it’s not easy, but do take lessons. I didn’t while learning German and am missing huge chunks of grammar!
April 21, 2012 at 8:02 pm
barbarabockman
Tina, what a fun way to tell people about a new picture book heroine. Loved the pictures. What cute kids you have. Thanks for the tour of the Olympic park and the palace.
April 21, 2012 at 8:24 pm
tinamcho
Thanks, Barbara, for reading the post!
April 22, 2012 at 5:51 am
Kirsten Larson
Phyllis is definitely traveling to all the places I’d love to see. It looks like you and your family were fantastic guides. What fun!
April 22, 2012 at 5:52 am
tinamcho
Thanks, Kirsten. It truly was lots of fun!
April 22, 2012 at 8:15 am
Joanna
What wonderful tour guides and photos. Phyllis didn’t seemed phased by the guards, which I would have been! Korean groundhogs. YEAH! And Phyllis, you missed out on not trying the kimchi!!
April 22, 2012 at 2:49 pm
tinamcho
So you must like kimchi, Joanna! It’s too spicy for me. But my husband loves it. Thanks for stopping by!
April 22, 2012 at 8:47 am
Elizabeth Stevens Omlor
Tina! AnNyungHaSayo! What a great post! You are so funny and witty! I might have the opportunity to go to South Korea in the next few years and would love to meet up. You can introduce me to those scary guards! 🙂
April 22, 2012 at 2:50 pm
tinamcho
Thanks, Elizabeth. Sure, I’d love to meet you.
April 22, 2012 at 9:57 am
patientdreamer
Loved this post of Phyllis in South Korea. would love to visit there one day. I am so jealous….lol. Lovely pictures and lovely family to. Thanks Tina.
April 22, 2012 at 2:51 pm
tinamcho
Thanks, Diane! Yes, you should visit some day. One of my friends just went to NZ, and her photos were so beautiful! She toured the glacier area.
April 22, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Brenda
What a wonderful way for us to see Korea. Thanks, Tina. 🙂
April 22, 2012 at 4:28 pm
tinamcho
Yes, I wanted to show lots of culture! Thanks for reading the post.
April 23, 2012 at 5:52 pm
evelynchristensen
What a delightfully fun way to share a bit of Korea with Pillis and with us! Thank you, Tina. And what a great way to give Susanna’s book some publicity. The activity reminds me of one a teacher had her class do with Flat Stanley–sending him via regular post to friends all over the US. Each of us wrote about his visit to our town/state and sent a letter with pictures back to the class.
April 23, 2012 at 7:36 pm
tinamcho
Thanks, Ev, for reading the post. You’re right. It’s kind of like Flat Stanley.
April 24, 2012 at 3:45 am
Penny Klostermann
First, your children are absolutely darling. I can’t imagine the fun they had during Phyllis’s visit 🙂 Reading about the kalbi made me hungry! You did a wonderful job of hosting Phyllis!
April 24, 2012 at 4:24 am
tinamcho
Thanks for the kudos, Penny! It was fun. Have you tasted kalbi?
April 25, 2012 at 5:44 am
Hannah Holt
Wow! So much fun: a palace, a zoo, the Olympics, martial arts… Phyllis got to do it all in South Korea. Makes me wish I could be mailed around the world, too.
April 25, 2012 at 6:04 am
tinamcho
You’re right, Hannah, that would be fun to be mailed around the world! Thanks for stopping by!
April 30, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Pamela Courtney
Tina, this was an amazing post. What an excellent tour guide y’all were for Phyllis. I loved your explanaions of the dynasty build in the 1300’s and the language lessons. Another favorite picture was the transportation y’all used to travel through the park. I’ve always wanted ot ride in one. Lots of fun sites and beautiful pictures. Great job, Tina!
April 30, 2012 at 9:10 pm
tinamcho
Thanks so much, Pamela!