Andong Maskdance Festival, Part 3: Myanmar tree bark sunblock and pineapple with doughnuts for breakfast

And here's the second day of our Andong Maskdance Festival trip!  We decided to go back and hit up the festival again.  I wasn't sure there'd be much more to do, but we had a full day and enjoyed every minute of it.  Also, there was a much better breakfast to be had there than the ramyen* from the jimjilbang*.  I had pineapple on a stick and Korean doughnuts filled with red bean paste.  It's so good, guys, I wish I could share some with you.

Kyla liked my aviators and how reflective they are.

On the way back to the Maskdance festival, we noticed lots of these large spiders.  Yes, that's my hand, and yes, I did touch it, just to say I did.

This was the large mask kite.  I thought there should have been some ceremony for its unfurling, but there were just a few camera men and us watching.

We found many, many large international masks to take pictures with.  This is Holly and I with the mask from Thailand.

Here are Kyla and Holly with the Native North American mask.  We were pretty sure this guy was from Canada, like Kyla.  She was pretty excited.

The Little Prince is rather popular here.  I've seen stationary and journals with his picture on them.  Here he is appropriately masked for the festival.  (Shrek was there, too, with a mask.)

I was enthralled by this lengthy choreographed Taekwondo performance.  These kids did so well!  I was very impressed by their energy and their excellence.  I could have watched them for hours.

Guess who else has a mask?  My hero!  I don't know why he's making the duck lips, though.  Oh, Korea...

This was a station where you could write messages on pieces of crepe paper and leave them in the breeze.  I'm not sure why, but I like the concept.

Andong Maskdance Festival, y'all!

I'm starting to worry about taking pictures again when I get back home to the States.  Will I be able to restrain the new reflex to make the peace sign?  Only time will tell.

There were walls of masks made by other people.  We were able to pick them up and play with them.  Holly and I make a lovely couple, no?

On our way out, we met an interpreter from Mannam International.  She took us back to their booth where we talked with other volunteers.  They are always so nice, these Mannam people.  They asked us about ourselves, gave us free temporary tattoos, took pictures with us and of us, and they had us write our names on this large map to show where we are from.

Holly put Colorado on the map.

Kyla's from Ontario.

Awesome possum!

"When lights unite, there is victory."  Mannam International rocks face.

These were some of the Korean foods for sale on the way out.  I'm pretty sure that's a shark fin sticking out of that one package above the others.  I do my very best to be a good guest in this hospitable country that has been so welcoming to me, but, I gotta say.  That kinda weirds me out.

And this reminded me of Puerto Rico.  "Yes, I'd like some pig on a spit for the road, please."

Here at the end, I'd like to highly recommend this event to anyone who's in Korea near the beginning of October.  It was so nice and refreshing to get outside of Seoul, and we had a great time meeting people and goofing off at the festival.  This was an excellent vacation, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  Also, on a more personal note, it was wonderful getting to know Kyla and Holly better, too.

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Ramyen - Koraen ramen noodles: These things are SO much better than their American counterparts and there are so many different varieties!  A popular food, ramyen often has an entire aisle devoted to it in the supermarkets, and there is always some for sale in every convenience store.  I find them particularly delicious when an egg is mixed into the broth, egg drop style.  Yum!

Jimjilbang - A Korean bath house