Gone to Pottery
Current mood: creative

My roommate, Kim, arranged a pottery workshop for about a dozen Korean and foreign teachers for our Saturday afternoon. With the energy of a toddler on speed, she rounded us up and directed us through the subway connections. It was an interesting experience. One of the artists met us in the street and took us into the showroom. It was in an adobe hut with pieces of pottery built right into the facade of the building. After checking out what a real artist can do, we were lead into a back room of the studio next door. It had a very low ceiling and one long table. She showed us (speaking only in Korean) how to make a few simple pieces. The Korean teachers that were with us translated a few sentences, so we had a rough idea of what was going on. They made sure to translate when the artist told us that small children were able to master the type of ceramics that we were about to create.

I made a fairly decent sized soup bowl. I carved my initials into the bottom, as well as the year. The artist then carved "SLP" into the bottom, the name of my school. In the center of the bowl, inside, I had a Korean teacher carve the Hangul characters that make up my name. It's complicated. I'm glad that I don't have to sign my name in Korean!

Adam and I were the first two finished, so the artist lead us out of the back room into an area with a potter's wheel. She showed us how to make a vase, then sat me down and let me give it a go. She had to assist me a bit, as it was my first time ever atempting to use a wheel, but my little vase turned out ok! I'm excited to see my bowl when it is fired and delivered to SLP.

After, four of us went to a Turkish restaurant called "Kebapistan." I hadn't had falafel, or any sort of ethnic food besides Korean since I arrived. The restaurant was packed with foreigners like ourselves, and it was one of the best meals I've had since I arrived.