Yeongwol (영월) & Body Exhibit

On Saturday we took a day trip with our friends Amy and Heath to a small town named Yeongwol. It was only about 40 miles from Wonju by car. We first toured a cave just outside the town called Gossi (고씨) Cave. It was fairly quiet there and as there are a few paths, we felt like real adventurers! We had all packed a picnic lunch, and drove along the large river until we came across a big group of rafters. We enjoyed our lunch down by the water and afterward followed the river for some time and stopped at some nice rock formations. We drove back to Wonju and finished our day with a nice shabu-shabu dinner (Jananese style meal with thinly sliced beef dipped in a hot pot of water, wrapped in a rice and lettuce ball).

Today we visited the "Mysterious Human Body" exhibit that was in Wonju. Since it was the last day in our city, we thought we better check it out. This is a world-renowned exhibit showing off the human body. It was a bit gruesome but also quite informational and fascinating.

Next week H's school has final exams, so she won't have many classes this week as the kids are preparing for their 12-subject, 3-day exam! B's finals don't start for another two weeks, so it's teaching as normal for him this week.

One of the cool formations inside the cave.

Amy, Heath, B and H down by the river (too bad we couldn't swim to the other side to investigate this cave, too!

Seondol rock formation located in the Seogang River.

The exhibit, the last shot I took before I was informed that photos were not allowed.

We grabbed pizza after the Human Body Exhibit: Dayle, B, Heath, Amy, H, and Hee-kyung.

Sunday day trip to Chungju (충주)

On Friday evening we helped our Kiwi friend Dayle celebrate his birthday. There was a good turnout of fellow teachers and we had a nice time eating dinner, having a beer and singing at a karaoke room. Yesterday we relaxed at home all day, so that we could rest up for our big day trip.

Today we took the bike to Chungju, a city 35 miles south of Wonju. It was a perfect day for a ride! We didn't go into the city proper, but opted to head to the biggest dam in Korea. We took a 3 hour tour on the man-made lake and took in some beautiful scenery. When we got back on land, we hopped on the bike and made it back to Wonju in an hour.

On Chungju Lake (taken by one of the boat's crew)

Amazing rock formations.

Someone fishing in the lake.

Back to Danyang & Big News!

This past Saturday we took our 1st big bike ride; we went back to Danyang but this time we took the smaller highways. The weather was perfect for a ride, and we stopped a few times along the way to take in some scenery. We eventually got to Danyang (2 and a half hours later) and stopped by the #1 scenic treasure in the city: Do-dam-sam-bong. This is a unique rock formation in the middle of the lake. It was an impressive site, but that's not all that was there. We hiked uphill 300 meters and were able to see a gigantic stone arch overlooking the river.

Next we took the bike into town and found Go-su-dong-gul, one of the most famous caves in Korea. There was a bit of a line (that's how we confirmed that it was indeed 'famous') but it was worth the wait. It was very humid in the cave, and our camera batteries died right before we exited the cave, so we knew then it was time to head home. We got back on highway 5 and rode it all the way to Wonju (this time it only took 1.5 hours!)

Today we got some great news: we've both been accepted to Sejong University's MBA Graduate program. This course would allow us to get our Master's in Business Administration in two years by taking night and weekend classes. If all goes as planned, we'll stay in our current city for 2 more years while traveling to Seoul 3 times a week for class. We still need to discuss the details with our schools, but the main thing is that we got accepted!!

We had a break in high temps and humidity for about a week, but it has returned with a vengeance. It should be an interesting summer session as neither of our schools have AC!

Some farmers smiling after I waved to them from the bike.

On our way to Danyang we stopped in Jecheon and found this peaceful stream. From all the inner-tubes we saw, it must be a zoo in the summer.

Danyang: Do-dam-sam-bong (we took our helmets off only for the pic)

Inside the Go-su Cave.

B-Boy & Martial Arts Show

Last Saturday we traveled to Suwon with our friends Heath and Amy to check out the International B-boy competition. We met up with our Korean friends Arnie and Jinny for one last time, as they're getting ready to move to New Zealand for at least a year. The six of us enjoyed the 3-hour show (Russia came in 1st, and Korea was 2nd) and grabbed a beer afterward.

In the morning, we thought we'd see what was happening in the city. We found out there was a traditional martial arts show in front of the main palace in town, so we watched the performance; it was pretty impressive.

This week we had a 4-day work week; today the 6th is Memorial Day in Korea. This is a strange time for Americans to be living in Korea, since there's a big movement to keep the FTA/American beef out of Korea, due to fears of mad cow. Unfortunately, many Koreans don't know the facts about mad cow disease and have whipped themselves into a frenzy based on rumors and plain lies. This is taking the form of some anti-American feelings, and they don't seem to be dying down yet. They've been rallying in some way for over a month, and the rallies and candlelight vigils seem to be happening more frequently. We're not in danger, but we're getting tired of the comments and such.

On a positive note, we'll be home for 4 weeks on July 27th! It's time for a well-deserved break, and we're looking forward to seeing friends and family.

B-boy in Suwon.

Hwaseong Fortress: Martial Arts Show.

Posing with the performers after the show.