Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 52 of 58

Performers at Namsan Hanok Village

Sunday, February 28th

Learning Moment: Seoul, Korea

Yesterday was quite a day in Seoul. Apparently, the first new moon of the year is an important one in Korean culture. There were numerous festivals to celebrate the occasion.

We ended up at Namsan park, with a lot of other people, to watch traditional crafts and entertainment. The gentleman in the white suit above walks (and jumps and bounces and does comedy) on the hire wire/rope that is behind him.

The Bukcheong: A Korean Lion Dance

Later, there were lion dances that featured the bukcheong, an interesting variation on the Chinese Lion dance that turns up in varying forms all over Asia. The Korean lion is shaggier than most, which I happen to like.

The grass teepee behind the lion is filled with written wishes that would be burned. The smoke then lifts your wishes to the gods.

What will the next year bring?

If anyone was looking for answers today, the fire responded with a resounding question mark.

This is only fair, I guess. No one really wants to know what the next year will be like, do they?

We ended our night with traditional dance.

Again, I was invited on-stage to drum, so I received another set of drum sticks.

So far, I've been to four dance shows. Three have pulled up audience members. All three times I was selected.

I don't mind...

More spectacular colors...

Bringing in the New Year with The Bangles

Last night, we welcomed in the New Year with the Bangles (and 3000+ others) at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki.

While the crowd warmed up slowly, the band didn't.
The girls opened with "Hazy Shade of Winter" - my personal favorite Bangles song - and "Manic Monday".

They then rocked through a tight 75 minute set full of hits.

After a pause for the New Year's countdown, we got to "Walk Like an Egyptian". A little light prodding from the audience then brought Susanna (pictured in this shot I took last night), Vickie, and Debbie back out for "Eternal Flame" to end the show.

The Bangles were, I have to say, excellent. They had a lot of energy. The rhythm was tight. And the harmonies were, well, Bangle-esque. I mean, you can only compare the Bangles harmonies to the Bangles... right?

When I was putting together a band a few years ago, I made of list of the 'perfect parts' - sort of a Frankenband if you will. Near the top of the list was 'Bangle-esque Harmonies'.

Back to last night, though: We received two free bottles of champagne - which was probably one too many - but we walked them off with a journey to Waikiki Denny's.

A tropical downpour opened up while we were eating, making the walk look like a bad decision. Fortunately, it stopped just as we stepped out of the restaurant (with Denny's, I use that term loosely - the less said about the bacon and sausage there, the better).

We then had a nice walk up the beach and were back to our room at 3am.

It was a great night and a memorable way to kick off the new year.

Hope you all had a great night!

What Did I Do All Year?

It seems like a good time to ask that question, right?

• Spent January and Febuary in India, Singapore and Bali. Taught, watched classical dance, ate great food and spent time with good friends.
• Was certified in DISC Profiling at Ken Blanchards in San Diego. Totally abused the champagne brunch at the Hotel Del Coronado with Angie, Tomo and John.
• Was certified in Six Thinking Hats in Phoenix. Visited Taliesen and Sedona.
• Taught in beautiful Tucson. Hiked the desert country.
• Was certified in Leadership Challenge at Sonoma Learning Systems in Sonoma, California with Brent and Ken. Drank a little wine.
• Taught a number of sessions in Yokohama, Japan. Sang some karaoke with Haemi-chan.
• Started my Masters in Adult Education. Completed 5 out of 13 courses by the end of the year.
• Worked with Nancy Duarte (author of Slideology).
• Went to Los Cabos. Spotted whales, coyotes, and Ryan Seacrest. Released baby turtles to the wild.
• Worked towards certification in High Tech Speaking.

Turns out, this was (in the words of Tori Amos) a "Pretty Good Year".

One Must Tear Off One's Own Head..

It's a doll revolution...

Elvis Costello + The Bangles is a good thing.
I'm rocking to "Doll Revolution" right now.

We're heading over to Honolulu right after Christmas to celebrate the New Year with Susanna and the Peterson Sisters - a little Manic Monday and Walking like an Egyptian while we avoid the Hazy Shade of Winter in Waikiki at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort.

Really, I can't think of three bands that would be more fun (emphasis on the word fun) to ring out the old year with...

*image courtesy of www.thebangles.com