Springtime Date with Fellow Teachers: Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Cherry Blossom Petals, and Mt. Hwangryeongsan Bongsudae in Gwangalli

THE RESTAURANT
This afternoon, after the school field trip, I joined two other teachers for lunch at Gwangalli. Stella, a new teacher this year, cheerfully drove us to a Vietnamese restaurant, where we enjoyed food (seafood fried rice and fresh spring rolls) the memory of which makes my mouth water. The atmosphere of the place was perfect, with high ceilings that encouraged breathing suffused with relaxation and contentment, and with sunlight pouring in from a wall made of glass on one side and warm ambient lighting on the other. 

Two of my beautiful fellow teachers before our meal was served

Spring roll ingredients. Those different sauces had the three of us continuously wrapping spring rolls all throughout the meal!

THE CONVERSATIONS
Not only was the food delicious, the company and conversations were also definitely well-seasoned. We talked about seemingly everything: from professional to personal lives, different cultural cuisines, our relationship statuses and dreams, this year's goals, next year's ambitions, thoughts on multicultural dating, marriages, and families, the two main government-sponsored English teaching programs in Korea (Fulbright and EPIK), traditional and contemporary Korean dating, including match-making companies, and the absolute beauty of springtime.

I am usually not one for dipping food in sauce and whatnot, but these were different...

THE MOUNTAIN TRIP
[aka Tour of 황령산 봉수대 (Mt. Hwangryeongsan Bongsudae, Beacon Mound]

After lunch, and at Stella's promptings, we decided to drive up to Mount Hwangryeongsan Bongsudae, where Stella said an incredible view awaited us. She was right! You could see the whole city of Busan with the 360 degree view afforded to us. As if the vista was not enough, there were hundreds of beautiful white and pink cherry blossom trees lining the roads we traveled on, and the paths we walked and hiked on. There were cherry blossom petals everywhere - swirling in the wind, caught in our hair, and landing randomly on our shoulders. It reminded me of winter, except the swirling snow were soft and colorful, and remained in your hand for as long as you were gentle enough to handle them.

Stella's role of photographer continues...

I climbed up here to get an even better view of the city!

I don't know who this man is, but I think he makes my photo more epic-looking by conveniently matching the surrounding area with his white jacket and looking pensively off into the distance

Sujin Teacher giving one of her wonderfully shy smiles

"[E]scape the hustle and bustle of the city for a while" = Check

The two of them were smart enough to have worn flats and tennis shoes today, while II, unfortunately, wore high-heeled, ankle-length boots 

This picture does absolutely no justice to the view

Paths lined with cherry blossom trees!

You can see the pink petals clearer here where they are contrasted with the green shrubs

Here we are at the end of our journey, and heading back to Stella's car

PRAYER FOR MY FELLOW TEACHERS
When we went back down, Stella's car was covered in pink petals. A light breeze blew a thin layer of these petals inside Stella's car as I opened the door and eased into my seat. It seemed like a grand but invisible wedding was being performed in our very midst.

Lord, thank you for this day. You showed me the beauty of things You have created, both large and small, and I praise Your name for each and every one of them! Thank You for the lives of my fellow teachers. I pray that You would empower them in their professions, nourish them in their current and future relationships, and guide their ambitions as You prosper their dreams!