Good Morning Vietnam

osxoLuckily we both love the smell of napalm in the morning. I'll try and throw some more movie quotes in here when applicable. After breakfast we started our journey around Ho Chi Minh City. We visited the HCMC Museum, Opera House, War Museum, Reunification Palace, City Hall and lots of side streets. The city is full of French Colonial architecture so the buildings look really nice and are brightly painted. The sky is cloudy yet it stays hot on the streets, but it's not so much the heat as the gosh darn humidity. Millions of mopeds crowd the roads and sidewalks so you've always got to be on the lookout when moving around. The cost of living is really low here so we fill up every meal and usually get away for under $10 total, which is nice. Tomorrow we'll go on another walkabout to walk along the Saigon River and hit any other sites we missed today. On the 1st we've got a tour booked for the Cu Chi Tunnels, a famous community that moved underground during the American War (what we call the Vietnam War). We're having a good time but the city is too hectic and congested so we're happy to only be here a few days.

Saigon!

We've made it to Vietnam! Our five hour flight from Seoul to Ho Chi Minh City only set us back 3 hours due to the time difference. We happened to meet a nice fellow in line at the airport, and we ended up traveling the whole way with him (even shared a taxi to our hotel) so that was fun.
Once we got settled, we grabbed some dinner and decided to have a relaxing and early night tonight. Big plans tomorrow: hoping to catch the sunrise over the Saigon River. We'll also check out the city in detail. Our initial opinion seems to be that it's quite crowded and hectic, but maybe that will just keep us hustling. Pics to follow!

What the future holds

Today (Christmas Eve) after work, we're going to meet with the other EPIK teachers for a potluck dinner and gift exchange. On Christmas day we don't have much to do during the day, maybe we'll catch a movie, like most Koreans, and then in the evening we'll go to the bar and have a gift exchange with all the foreigners in Wonju.

Wednesday Heather goes back to work and Brandon goes on an overnight field trip with his school teachers. Year end bonding sessions are popular with Korean companies and groups, usually it's just a mandatory all-night drinking session but since we've got public taxes to spend we get to go on an overnight trip. B goes Wed. to a ski resort (good thing he started learning last weekend) and H goes Thu. to a mountain lodge.

Friday after H gets home we'll double check our packing and get a good night's sleep so that we're prepared for the 6 o'clock shutte bus to Incheon Airport. We fly out at 10:35 on Korean Air and land at 2:10 in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). We'll be in HCMC for New Year's (not Tet) but we don't have a firm schedule because we want to be flexible and see everything we can. Our rough idea is to spend 4 days in and around HCMC and then take 2-3 days going up the Mekong into Cambodia. 2 days in Phnom Penh and then on to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. The Angkor Wat complex is a massive expansion of temples and jungle that we could end up spending a few days exploring, depending on how soon H gets bored with them. While it sounds like fun and games we are determined to visit the killing fields, land mine and war museums for a humbling reality check about what's happened in these countries over the past few decades. After two weeks on the tourist trail we'll fly away to sunny Phuket and Phi Phi to snorkel, sun bathe and just relax. Depending on how fast we turn red we'll head up to Bangkok a day or two before flying back to Korea at 1:40 (am) Jan 22. Well as long as that took to type/read believe us it took much longer to plan and put all the pieces in place. Here's hoping most things go smoothly!

Happy Holidays to y'all,

B&H

Election Day

Today was Election Day in Korea, which meant we had the day off. Koreans elect a new president every 5 years, and the one will take office in February.

There were 12 official candidates, but only about 2 main contenders. About a month ago, we noticed signs around town announcing the runners. In order to draw attention to the candidates, campaigners would stand on busy street corners during rush hour and do little dances. They would all wear matching outfits, and it was interesting to see.

The BBC website is reporting that Mr. Lee Myung-Bak will be named the president-elect, and that he was the winner in a landslide. The interesting thing is, that this man is accused of being involved in a scandal, and there's currently an investigation into his actions. He has promised that he will lead Korea's economy to a new level, and this is a big concern for Koreans. My friend noted that while she doesn't like him as a man, she thinks he will help Korea in the long run. All in all, it's still a unique experience for us!

A list of the candidates near our apartment. The big blank spot is where a picture of the new president-elect was (his was the only one torn down).

Skiing

On Sunday we had the opportunity to go to a local ski resort and get acquainted with the bunny hill. Of course someone we knew had a connection so we were able to ride the ski lift for half price. Brandon had never been on the slopes before so he really hated it at first, but once he had some confidence and an idea of what he was supposed to do he warmed up to the sport. We spent about six hours in the snow with Brandon's co-teacher and her husband before heading back home for some deep sleep.

Brandon's co-teacher and her husband helped us start to learn how to ski. Brandon must have been trying the hardest because he was too hot to wear a jacket most of the day.

After a rough beginning we picked up on some of the basics and Brandon was able to cool down enough to wear a jacket.

Good form.

The mini-hill of doom.

B in Action

Today Brandon took a camera to his school and captured some shots. His students were pretty shy in front of the lense, but he assures me they're not that way in class :)

Tonight we're hosting a trivia night at a local pub, so that should be interesting. Sunday we're going skiing with B's co-teacher!

The entrance to his middle school. It's brand new. There are 3 grades, with 11 homerooms each, and each homeroom can hold up to 40 kids. For now there are only 1st graders, but in March they will be 2nd graders and the new guys will move in.

Notice the "Cyber Computer Board." That's a huge touch-screen monitor! (We don't even have in-class computer projectors at my school).

Cookie Factory

Yesterday we went to H's co-teacher's new house to bake cookies. It was a unique opportunity for us as most Korean's live in apartment buildings and we've never really been in a real house!

Jasmine's two daughters were big helpers and we made, M&M cookies, chocolate cupcakes, and sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles. In all, we baked for over 4 hours, and the girls helped the whole time. It was a really great day for us!

Today we're meeting a group of foreigners to take in the basketball game. It should be fun.

Heather and Ye-din (she loved the puppy we brought for her)

Brandon and Sarah making cookies

The 3 Daesung teachers: H, Mrs. Pak, and Ms. Kim

Such a nice family!

Here & There

Winter is upon us in Wonju. The temps are dropping every day, and we've had snow three days so far. Lately, we've been busy with exercising at the gym together, B at his Taekwondo class, and H jogs around the middle school track across the street. We hope to be in Cambodia in a month, so we're training diligently!
B's school had final exams Mon-Thursday, so he didn't have much to do at school. H's school has them next week, so she'll be relaxing then. The next three weeks will be a bit out of order for our schools. Next week are the exams, the week after that, we'll have Wed. off due to the presidential election in Korea. After that is Christmas, but we only get the 25th off. Then our school wraps up for winter break at the end of that week! The semester has really flown by.
We've been hanging out with fellow foreigners lately, and it's fun sharing funny stories and such. We're not sure of our weekend plans yet, but we'll just play it by ear and see what happens.