Springing along

This weekend I was back in Yeouido for the cherry blossom festival and relaxing by the river.

There is a nice long street where the sidewalks are lined with trees so we walked along with the crowds and enjoyed the view. So so pretty.

After the blossoms we ended up by the busy part of the river where people were picnicking and flying kites and lounging. It was a really gorgeous day and it was nice to just throw a blanket down and take a nap in the sun. I didn't end up renting a bike like I really wanted because there weren't any close by and we got there later in the day than intended but I'm determined to do it soon! I miss riding a bike and it's flat enough by the river that I won't even have to trick my calves into agreeing to something they're not prepared to do. 

So Saturday was busy and pretty and began with Mexican for lunch and ended with Greek for dinner. Oh and a side trip to What the Book? which I was all too pleased to squeeze in. I'm on an Agatha Christie binge and What the Book? has a bunch of her books used, or at least they did until I found the stash...

Sunday I refused to even set an alarm and slept in late. I stayed in my pajamas and browsed online and bookmarked a handful of items from stores back home that my mom is awesomely going to bring for me when she comes to visit next week(!!!). Then I went to see Paul which was less funny than I was expecting but still funnier than most of the movies that claim to be comedies. My nerdiness doesn't extend so much into sci-fi so I think some of the references may have been lost on me but overall I enjoyed it. Sundays have sort of become movie nights around here so I'm hoping next week will either be Hanna or Jane Eyre.

This weekend's events also solidified my decision to spring for a new camera. My Canon PowerShot has been a trooper but five years on I think I'm ready for something that will help me take the kind of pictures I really really want to take. I'm not sure if I'm going to buy one here or order it from home but there are at least two Nikon DSLRs  that I'm considering so I need to sit down and decide about that. When my week of vacation comes up at the end of June I'm 99% sure that my boyfriend and I are going to China and I would love to have something new to shoot with for that trip. Any tips, camera techy people?

Trivia of the Day:  Seoul National University (SNU), colloquially known in Korean as Seoul-dae (서울대), is a national research university in Seoul, Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University was the first national university in South Korea, and served as a model for the many national and public universities in the country. Seoul National University has been recognized for its leading role in Korean academia, and entry into the university is viewed as a ticket to success. Throughout its history, Seoul National University has been regarded as the most eminent of all post-secondary educational institutions in South Korea. It is regarded as the most renowned university by the general public and recruits top-notch high school students.

SNU graduates dominate South Korea's academics, government, politics and business. Between 2003 and 2009, more students who graduated from science high schools and received presidential scholarships matriculated at Seoul National University than at eight other leading universities combined. The concentration of SNU graduates in legal, official, and political circles is particularly high. Two-thirds of South Korean judges are SNU graduates, although the country's judicial appointment system is based solely on open competitive examinations. On the political side, four out of seven presidential candidates in 2002 were SNU graduates. The school is also often criticized by some South Koreans for being elitist and bureaucratic.