A Nice Vacation

My two best friends visited us for 10 days, and we had a blast. They got to experience a lot of interesting things, and fun was had by all. We visited Seoul this past weekend, and pics will follow soon. These are a few shots from around Tongyeong.

5-28: H, Emily, and Tara at a tasty restaurant!

5-29: Em & Tara with one of my classes.

5-30:The girls visit Hansando shrine.

5-31:We climb Mireuk Mountain in the early AM.

Jeju (재주), the Schmidt and the Museus

Our four day excursion to Jeju Island was just what we needed. We packed as much into every day as we could. Lots of waterfalls, palm trees and volcanic formations. It's hard to get tickets to and fro because travel agents buy all of them and then sell tour packages so we were forced to return early Sunday morning but all we had to do was kill the day in Busan and wait for the Tara and Emily to arrive. They walked out the gates at 9pm and we were off to Tongyeong. They're gradually getting the feel of the city, people, culture and time zone. Everyone wants to meet them so we're all getting a lot of free meals. This weekend we'll head to Seoul and the DMZ.

Briefly

Over the weekend we ventured up to Seoul, the four and half hours feel shorter every time, for the Birth of Buddha Lantern Parade. The parade was Sunday night so we spent Saturday and most of Sunday exploring. We met one of Brandon ex-coworkers for lunch and did some catching up. The parade was unlike any we've seen in terms of size and theme. For two hour solid lines of people marched down one of Seoul's main corridors carrying lanterns with larger lanterns on wheels interspersed amongst them. The monks and other marchers were all smiles and the street crowd cheered, clapped and occasionally got sucked into the parade.

We leave for Jeju Island bright and early Wednesday morning so we're busy packing and cleaning and won't get pictures on for at least a week (we had to take the night bus home so we got home at 4am Monday morning, cutting our prep ane recovery time short). The Schmidt girls have less than a week before they meet Asia and Heather may be just as excited as they are (Brandon doesn't get excited). If we get internet service while in Jeju we'll post and try to slip a pic or two on here.

Feel free to leave comments...

The group from "Hero" Taekwondo school. Some of the little guys were testing for their 3rd degree belts!


B and I awaiting our birg test. Notice the sea of white in the background!

Since the last time...

After our trip to the English Village Brandon got pretty sick, he missed a day of work and went to the hospital twice ($35 the first time, $15 the second [total: drugs and doctor visit]). They said he had bronchitis/acute tonsilitis but apparently that's what they tell everybody with a fever. The next weekend we tried to go to a Buttterfly festival a few hours away, but we made the mistake of going on Children's Day so we saw a few hundred thousand people and a dozen or so butterflies. We didn't stay long because the lines to the exhibits were huge and just trying to walk around took a lot of effort and patience.
Last weekend we devoted to Taekwondo and tested for Black Belts. Saturday we trained for three hours, making sure we knew our Poomse (choreographed movements) and sparred for a few minutes. Sunday we started at 10am with more review, then we had lunch and headed to Jinju where the testing was taking place for all of Gyeongnam province. We had to wait our turn amongst the other 6,000 people taking tests so we didn't get in until 5pm. It looked like an army of children in white uniforms. We'll get pictures on a little later. For the test the judges picked one of four Poomse and we had to do it, then we sparred with a partner for about 30 seconds just to prove that we were willing to kick and be kicked. We won't know for sure if we passed for a few weeks but our fingers are crossed. Neither of us really wants to go through that again, it was pretty nerve racking to wait seven hours in anticipation and you can believe we were the only foreigners around so all eyes were on us.
A few more days and then we'll be back in Seoul for Buddha's birthday, there will be a big lantern parade through the streets Sunday evening. A few days later and we'll take a trip down to Jeju-do for an island getaway. We'll be there four days and then come back to Busan to meet our friends Tara and Emily at the airport. They'll be here about 10 days and we'll do our best to give them as complete an overview of Korea as possible.
We've got just two months left before we come home. We'll stopover in Tokyo and look around the largest megalopolis in the world for a week. We've got a visit to Mt Fuji planned and expect to have a very memorable experience. We'll get back to MSP on July 18th and probably be stateside until September, when we'll come back here for another year. So anybody who didn't get the chance to come has another opportunity to expand their horizons. That's all for now, we'll get those pictures on ASAP.

Ansan English Village

This past weekend we traveled with B's school to an English Camp. We took 25 elementary-aged children, and the bus ride was a long 6.5 hour ride! Once we got to the camp, it was pretty interesting. We ended up being assigned 6 students to care for. Mine were older and quite well-behaved. B's, on the other hand, were a bit too rowdy for their own good. He spent the majority of the time keeping them out of trouble or apologizing for their mis-deeds. The older girls walked away with some good memories and learned some important things along the way.

We got home Sun at 10pm, and the next day B wasn't feeling well. Tonight (Wed.) he had afever of 102.8 so we figured it was time for a visit to the hospital. Roundtrip it took us an hour, and we learned that he has an acute case of tonsilitis, for which he received 2 shots and a bunch of pills. Total cost: $30, including the taxi rides. His temp has already dropped 2 degrees and it's only been an hour.

Here are a few shots from our Ansan Adventure!

B's boys working on a science experiment.

Amy, Lisa, Lucy, Lauren, H, Victorie, and Michelle.

B and Emily, his most playful student!

Jindo Sea Parting Festival.

Thursday, looking at the people from a bird's eye view!

Our nice new friend, Mr. Park and Brandon.

http://uwrf.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035704&l=df547&id=184902869

Sea Parting Festival

On Wed. and Thurs, we took vacation and headed to the west coast. There was a sea parting festival going on, and we thought we should check it out. It took us over 6 hours to get there, as the town is on an island and it quite small. We changed buses 3 times and finally made it there around 2pm. The festival itself was outside of town, so we hopped on a city bus and made it to the grounds around 4pm. Luckily for us, the actual parting occurred at 5pm, so we timed it perfectly. We grabbed some rubber boots and started marching across the sea from one island to the next. It was a really amazing experience and we're glad we had the chance to participate.
On Thursday, we ended up being shown around the whole island by a government official who works in Seoul but is from Jindo(the island). We were with him for over 5 hours, and he took us on a ferry boat cruise, out to lunch, a temple, a museum, and finally back to the Sea Parting Festival. We were very lucky to have met him, as we would not have been able to get to all those places without a car. He was a very friendly man and we learned lots of interesting things.
Saturday we had TKD for 2 hours. It's closely approaching our black belt test date, May 13, and our teacher is having Saturday classes for all the students to fine tune their skills.
Next weekend we're going with B's school to Seoul to visit an English Village. That should be fun.

The path leading to the temple.


One row of the famous wooden scripts.

The rarely decorated outer hall.

Daegu (대구) & Haeinsa (해인사)

Yesterday we visited the 3rd largest city in Korea: Daegu. We'd been there b4 but only to the famous amusement park there. H's school had a meeting there, so we hitched a free ride in the van. While the teachers were in the meeting, we checked out downtown. Unfortunately for us, the city is pretty spread out and we spent more time trying to get places than we did actually enjoying them. At 4pm we met up with our group again, and were pleasantly surprised when they decided to visit Haeinsa, a famous temple.
This temple is famous as it holds the "Koreana Tripitaka" the oldest Buddhist scripts in Korea. They have been preserved for at least a thousand years in their original storage place! Another interesting thing is that the temple had just finished holding a festival, so there were colorful banners everywhere! We'd never seen that at a temple before. It was a beautiful spring day and we had a great time. When we got home around 10pm we were greeted by our new camera that we won from the contest! It's pretty sweet!!
Yesterday was also an important day as Emily Schmidt and Trent Museus were married in Brainderd, MN. We're really sorry to have missed their special day. We wish them the best!

Weekend in Seoul

Last weekend we spent a wonderful weekend in Korea's capital, checking out a cherry blossom festival held in the heart of the business district. The weather was nice, and we had a lot of fun. I put about 40 pictures on my Facebook account, and if you want you can check out the link. We have no concrete plans for this weekend yet, but with the weather warming up we want to take advantage of it. We hear it's been snowing a lot back in the States, and are sad if it's caused any hardships (my sister is now playing softball indoors).

http://uwrf.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015745&l=f055a&id=184902869

On the steps leading to the tower.

Jinhae Cherry Blossoms

Last Sunday we visited Jinhae for the Cherry Blossom Festival. The day was overcast and it tried to rain, but that was ok for us as less people ventured out. The thing we didn't know was that a sand storm had come to Korea from China, and it was advised that people stay indoors. We did get a text message about this, but we can't understand Hangul. Oops. There were still enough people so that the area was crowded, so we must be ok.
There were two parts to the festival; first we climbed 365 stairs to a look-out tower, and then climbed the tower's stairs. We had a good view of all the beautiful trees. Next, we took a shuttle bus to the Naval Academy and got to walk around there a bit. It was a good time.
We plan on taking a night bus to Seoul this Friday after work. There's a cherry blossom festival in the middle of the city, so that should be pretty cool.

Winner!

B and I entered a contest a month ago. It was an internet-based contest for people who have nice shots taken in Korea. Well, of course we jumped all over this one! I put together a slide show, and set it to traditional Korean folk music, and I thought we had a pretty good chance of winning something!
It turns out that our show was one of 6 grand prize winners! Luckily for us, we are supposed to get a free digital camera out of the deal! We just found out today that we were winners, so more info on the camera will follow. But for now, here's the link if you want to see our slide show!

http://korea.net/event/event_20070330/ucc_contents_view.asp?seq=6&page=1&flag=1

A Full Weekend

We were quite busy this weekend. We travelled to two small towns, as each was holding a festival. The first town was Hadong, which has an amazing apricot blooming festival every year. It's held on a farm outside of town and the views were amazing. The weather was warm and we had a blast. Next we took an hour long bus ride to an even smaller town:Gurye. We visited Sansuyu Village, where trees with yellow buds are blooming. We saw some good things here as well, although a lot of people had their cars and were speeding by us. On Saturday night we stayed in a hotel in Gurye, and got up bright and early Sunday to visit a famous Korean Temple. Hwoemsa was quite a place and we had a good time here as well. Traffic was stop and go for about an hour getting back to Tongyeong, but now we're home and happy that we made the trip. I've posted about 50 pictures on a different website, and you can click the link below if you want a peak at them.
The next festival is the cherry blossom festival, which should also be a good time. The weather is warming up, and the forecast is saying 60 by the end of the week. Spring is here for us in Korea!
http://uwrf.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032731&l=2ec2f&id=184902869

With regret

We're sad to mark the passing of Brandon's cousin Rachael. She died at the age of 14 from astrocytomas of the brain stem and spinal column. She was much too young to have had to deal with such ailments but her courage and spirit were far beyond her years. Our thoughts are with her parents and brother in this time of sorrow. She'll be missed and fondly remembered.

Spring Rain

We haven't posted in a few weeks, but we really haven't done anything too exciting, either! Last weekend we got new glasses. We were amazed when the eye exam consisted of us looking thru a machine for 10 seconds and the machine judging our prescription for us. It was unbelievable (and free). That machine must be expensive, but totally worth the money. We had a more difficult time choosing frames, but ended up satisfied an hour later when our glasses were finished!
Yesterday we traveled to Busan for the day. We met up with our friend and her boyfriend, and saw the movie "The Pursuit of HappYness". It was a very good movie. We then ate lunch at TGI Friday's, which turned out to be spendy but tasty. The skies looked like it would rain, but it held off and we were able to walk around for a few hours.
Today the rain came, and came, and came. The wind joined in and it was pretty exciting for awhile. The temps are really warm lately and I'm not sure if this is normal or not. But, with weather these days, what's normal anymore?
March is the time when Korean school-children start new grades. So, our hagwons have been changing classes around to accommodate with new students. This week should be fun as we will most likely give out several western names to the newbies.
We hope everyone is doing well and look forward to seeing you in July :)

Feb. 18, 2007: Just arriving at Mount Seoraksan (in Northeast South Korea).


Hiking up to the waterfalls.

A different part of the mountain: we took a cable car up here. It was amazing!

B trying to tip over the rock. All of those little piles are good luck piles made by various people.

At the foot of the mountain stands a big Buddha!

Happy Lunar New Year! We're lucky as we get a 3-day weekend, so we decided to head up north. Last night (Friday) we stayed in Busan with H's boss at her in-law's house. Then this morning we went back to the eye doctor. H's eyes are returning to normal, so that's a good thing.
At 11.20AM, we boarded the bus for Sokcho. We roasted for 6.5 hours, and made it here with no incidents. We saw the East Sea, and were surprised to see barbed wire set up along the coast. This is to keep the North Korean's out. We found a really nice hotel and ate a good meal at a local restaurant.
Our first impressions of this city are quite good, and we can't wait to sight-see all day tomorrow and Monday!

Year of the Pig

One perk that comes with living in Asia is that you get to celebrate the Lunar New Year by skipping work. For our long weekend we're trekking to northernmost corner of South Korea to discover (ideally) snow covered mountains and temples. Mt. Seorak is purportedly the most dramatic mountain range in this country and we're hoping will be worth the 7 hour long trip up there. http://english.tour2korea.com/03Sightseeing/TravelSpot/travelspot_read.asp?oid=1822&konum=subm1_1&kosm=m3_6

Waiting for the ship to set sail, a nice man voluneered to snap a photo of us!

The beautiful sunrise, as seen on 2-11-07 on our way to Yokji-do.
The view of Yokji-do, an island town of 2,400 people.

One of the many awesome views! We were told that Korean movie stars come here for vacation, to get away from it all and enjoy nature.

A Good Weekend!

We had a very nice weekend; things started on Friday when my co-workers took me out for a nice dinner for my birthday. Saturday we ate my favorite meal: cream seafood spaghetti at the Italian restaurant in town. We walked around town for a bit, and when it started to sprinkle, we rented a movie and headed home.
Sunday we got up at 5am, as we had to be to the boat terminal by 6:30am. B, our friend Catherine, and I took a ship to an island about an hour from Tongyeong: Yokji-do. Another friend of ours just moved there, and she offered to show us around.
The island has 2,400 people, and has a really cool feel to it. Our friend seemed to know everyone we saw, and she's only been there a few months! She even borrowed a bottle opener from a restaurant, as she didn't have one.
The views were really amazing, and the sunshiny day was perfect. We had a great time, and by the time we got back on the boat at 4:30, we were all worn out! We slept well last night.
This weekend we're lucky as we get a 3-day weekend (Monday is the Solar New Year, and thus a holiday). We're still deciding where we'll go, but we may try to go up north to see some snow before it all melts!
Hope you enjoy the pictures, and thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!!!

Brandon, Roxy, and Arnie at school. Tina, B's youngest (and smallest) student.

Brandon & the kindergarteners. Roxy, Lauren, H, B, and Arnie at our fave bar.

There is an amazing new program called Google Earth that everyone should try. With it you can see satellite images of anywhere on Earth. The more developed the area is the closer you can zoom in. I think in most of America you can get to street level and with larger cities abroad to the same degree. It's unbelievable and it's free. You can find Heather and I by doing a search for Goseong, South Korea, we're the urban area directly south of Goseong. While you can't get to street level in Tongyeong you can get an idea of the city. We're at 34^50'18.95"N, 128^26'08.09"E. If you've been to places like Washington DC, Paris, Caracas or Tokyo you'll love this program.

On the other hand Brandon's kindergarten graduated yesterday so he has one less class everyday. We also had eye exams to see if we're eligible for eye surgery yesterday afternoon. Brandon's pupils are too big and Heather hadn't stopped wearing contacts long enough for her eyes to return to normal so they couldn't make a decision for her. Today, Sunday, we'll just hang out at home and play with Google Earth.

Nothing Much New

We've been laying low these past few weeks. The weather has been a bit chillier than we like, and H also came down with a cold/cough combo. We've hung out at home, watching movies and playing games. We're looking forward to mid-February, when we have a 3 day weekend. It's possible that we will get Lasik eye surgery that weekend. H's boss has an uncle who is a famous optometrist and known for his surgical skills. We still need to go in for the initial appointment, and hopefully will do that this weekend. Otherwise, just waiting for warmer weather so we can get out and explore more! Hope all is well with everyone.

The view from our apartment 1-13-06.
The kids lining up at the entrance to the amusement park in Daegu.

WEE!! Lucy goes down the hill!

B and H at the bottom of the hill!

Amusing Day

On Saturday, we took a class field trip with B's school; we went to an amusement park in Daegu. Daegu is the 3rd largest city in Korea with 2.5 million people. Our 2.5 hour ride on the school bus was a bit loud, and when we stepped off the bus we were greeted with cold air (it's north of Tongyeong). Once we got moving, though, we had a very nice day. There were 25 students with B's school, and about 40 from the TKD school (it was a mixed field trip). We started at the sledding hill, and went down the hill with no problems. I (H) did bump into a lady halfway down the hill, but she didn't yell at me too loudly!
Next we were surprised to learn that we were going to enjoy some of the big rides. We took the kids on 2 rollercoasters, the pirate ship (twice), and even the bumper cars. It was fun since we were able to have the track to ourselves for one ride, so many of the teachers and most of the students got to crash into each other. It was pretty fun. We were even surprised to see that they had the water flume ride operating. The line to go on that one was the longest: about 40 minutes to get wet...I don't understand it!
We got to Tongyeong at about 6.30 in the evening. It's been cold here lately, so we've been using the heat. This morning, however, we were sad to learn that the oil that heats our apartment AND our water was out. Luckily, $175 bux and a half hour later it was delivered by a friendly employee (we thought we would have to wait till at least Monday).

A

Our 1st tuk-tuk ride!! WEE!
One Big Buddha!
A few shots from the gounds of the Grand Palace.

Back in Korea

We have arrived safely in Korea with no glitches; everything went smoothly for us and we are unpacking our stuff now. This morning Min and her parents drove us to the (new) airport; it's only been in operation for 4 months and it's a pretty nice place. Our flight was only 4 and a half hours, and it sure flew by! When we arrived in Korea, we got our luggage, took a taxi to the bus terminal, and by 7.40pm we were on the bus to Tongyeong.
We'll get some pictures on as soon as we can.

Safe

Maybe you have heard of the bombs that went off last night in Bangkok. We are fine; we weren't in the wrong place at the wrong time. We were, however, in the area of the bombs. We were just getting off the Skytrain at about 7.15PM to see the Siam Square all lit up. I noticed that all these people were huddled around a small TV and asked Min what they were watching so intently. She listened for a few minutes and then said that we better get outta there; that bombs had just gone off very near our location. We hurried out of the area and back to Koa-San Rd. We never saw any bloodshed. The details were sketchy last night so we didn't even know if it would make the international news, but it did. It's very sad to hear of the loss of life on a normally festive night.
My internet time is running out; we will let you know when we arrive in Korea on the 2nd. Best wishes to everyone.