Day Four: Seoul Family Day

    What can we say?  We started out our day in Seoul knowing that the day would hold further adventures and new experiences - both mathematical and artistic, of course. Little did we know exactly what the day would hold for us.........If you'd like to know, keep reading!
   Today, Saturday, was officially set aside as Family Day at the conference.  Children of conference participants and local families were all invited to participate in activities that sought not only to make mathematics fun, but also to encourage children to look at art and mathematics as intricately entwined.
     Hundreds of parents, children,  local high school students, and educators gathered throughout the day to erect domes, make origami models, and create polyhedral structures.  We had the opportunity to attend two performing arts sessions - a short film festival and a mime-matics show. Yes, it's not just about the visual arts and mathematics!
      As some of you may know, Pope Francis has been in Seoul for the dedication of a Korean martyr.  We had the opportunity to "hear" him speak to the throngs of people and view him via cell phones that were freely shared with neighbors, such as ourselves.
     We didn't mention in our previous blog that we walked for quite some time (possibly 2 hours) last night, attempting to locate a restaurant that was recommended.  Although somewhat frustrated with our failure to find it, we were reassured that it wasn't our lack of map skills that was at fault.     Even the local police officers (and many other locals) were not able to help.  Well, what a difference a day makes! We found it today and had lunch there! Victory. We just might be looking for some green tea ice cream when we return home.
       Our after dinner hour adventure ended up being our biggest challenge yet.  After the conference, we decided that a ride in the cable car up Namsan mountain in the center of the city to visit the Seoul Tower would be a perfect way to end the evening.  Three subway transfers later, we arrived in over-populated Myeong-dong, the center for shopping and teen night life in Seoul.  A short taxi ride up the hill left us at the cable car station - only to find a line that formed half way down the hill.  After waiting in the ticket line for about 15 minutes, we realized that we didn't want to waste our time in South Korea standing around. To the left we saw a path that led to the tower.  Why not?  Let's climb the mountain - after all, there are stairs and paths. Lots and lots of stairs, we found, but unfortunately we didn't take the time to count them.  We were concentrating too hard on the 1200m vertical assent. Take a look! We made it.  Feeling proud of ourselves for our endurance and physical stamina (pictures never lie), we took in the astounding views of the tower. 
    Another fun-filled day of learning and adventure here in Seoul.  I think we passed the wellness test.
 

Another digital slideshow by Smilebox