One Camp Down, One to Go

   On the 8th and 9th we went to a ski resort just outside Wonju with H's school for an "English Ski Camp" with 20 of the 8th grade students. We spent a few hours in the morning going over ski terms and such, and after lunch we hit the slopes. B was in charge of helping the beginners learn how to ski, and after an hour, everyone was skiing away. We took a break for dinner, and then went back for round 2: night skiing. The weather was mild so everyone had a great time. 

  Saturday was our last uni class for the semester! We've still got a group paper that's due tomorrow, but other than that, we've officially made it through our 1st semester of grad school! That evening we celebrated our friend Jaime's B-day at  roasted duck restaurant. Today we're busy finishing our paper, and tomorrow we start our 2-week long elementary camp. 

8th graders posing for a picture.

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Oak Valley Ski Resort: 30 mins from our home. 

B giving the students a lesson. 

A few the SSMBA gals and I, last day of class. 

Celebrating Jaime's B-day with roasted garlic duck!

Skating in Seoul

    We're still going into Seoul for university classes; our last day of class will be this Saturday the 7th though! Last Saturday after class we went to City Hall, where they've erected two ice-skating rinks for the public. We met up with H's high school friend Sara and her husband Jon, who now teach in the south-west part of Korea. 

   First we bought our tickets (3 hour wait) then we walked along the Cheon-gay Stream, which was decorated with lovely lights. After walking around a touristy area to find postcards for a friend, we found a dduk-galbi restaurant and enjoyed our favorite meal. After dinner we ducked into Cold Stone Creamery for a nice ice cream treat. On our way back to City Hall, the lights were lit up along the stream, making for a gorgeous view. 

   Sara and I got our skates (total cost $1) and finally hit the ice at 8:30pm. We didn't realize they would allow so many people on the ice, so after about 20 minutes we had had our fill and left the rink. B and I had to head to the terminal to catch our bus, but what a great time we had!!

The Cheong-gay Stream by day. 

A few hours later.

Sara & I pausing for a quick pic.

Happy New Year!!

     First, we want to wish our family and friends a very Happy New Year!  This year we rang in 2009 on the East Coast of Korea with a group of our friends.

  On Wednesday, we rented a big van and 10 of took a 3 hour road trip to Sokcho, a small city on the east coast of Korea. This was our 4th time visiting this city; it's just so beautiful with the ocean on one side and rugged mountains on the other. 

  Upon getting into town, we went to our favorite restaurant that serves a pork and veggie mix (we've only been able to find this restaurant in Sokcho). After lunch, we found a hotel that would take all 10 of us for a reasonable price. Then we loaded back in the van and took off for Seorak Mountain (a 20 minute drive outside of the city).  the park was pretty crowded; we bought our tickets for the cable car knowing that there was an hour long wait. To pass the time, we walked to the 15 foot high Buddha statue and checked out a temple surrounded by mountains.

  At 4:30pm we took the cable car to the top of the mountain. We were surprised to hear a lot of Thai and Chinese being spoken-we weren't the only foreigners on the top of the mountain! The wind was pretty chilly but the views were so amazing. The sun was just setting so we the skyline was really colorful.

  When we got down from the mountain it was dark so we headed back into Sokcho for some dinner. We went to a decent all you can eat Korean buffet; fast and simple. Then we headed back to the hotel and we all piled into our room for drinks and games.  Soon it was almost midnight so we bundled up and went outside to count down to 2009. Just after we finished counting down, we were surprised to see some fireworks in the sky (we didn't know that there would be any). 

  The next morning (Jan 1) we woke up before 7am so that we could walk down to the beach and catch the 1st sunrise of 2009. Koreans do this every year, and we had even heard that there would be a few sunrise festivals (we went to Sokcho because we thought there would be no festival). But we were wrong: there were hundreds of people on the beach at 7am. So we tried to get a decent place to stand and waited. There was a small patch of clouds that was blocking the sun, so we waited until almost 8am to see it peak out from behind the clouds. Everyone was celebrating and they released hundreds of balloons to say Happy New Year. 

  After a quick nap, we took the scenic route back to Wonju, and got in at about 3pm, just in time to return the van before its deadline. We had a wonderful time bringing in 2009~ and wish everyone a very Happy New Year~

Our road-trip friends along the east coast of Korea.

Eating at our fave restaurant.

Snow-capped temple with Mt. Seorak in the background.

The view from the cable car.

Jenga~~

So many people waiting for the sunrise...

Happy New Year Sunrise, complete with balloons.

Merry Christmas!

Yesterday we had the day off for Christmas. We briefly chatted with family back home via MSN, and then headed to a party hosted by some friends. In all over 20 people made it, so it was nice to eat and chat; we even did a Secret Santa gift exchange! We were thinking a lot about our family and friends back home, and were quite grateful to receive some very nice cards and pictures! Thanks again guys!!

Today it was back to work for us (last day for H, B still has to go in on Mon and Tues next week). H did a fun craft project where the kids made snowmen out of toilet paper rolls. They really had a blast with it! 

We're still going to university; our last class is January 12th. We're also staying busy doing Winer English Camps for 3 weeks, starting Jan 5th and getting done on the 23rd. We're hoping to leave for Malaysia/Singapore on the 26th of January and will be gone for 3 well deserved weeks!! (A friend will watch Chomps). 

This Sunday our Korean friend has told us she'll take us to a star observatory in the mountains, so we're hoping for good weather this Sunday!!  We're also planning on going to the East Coast for New Year's. Koreans love to watch the sun rise on January 1st as kind of a good way to bring in the new year, so we figure we'll try it this year also (luckily we don't have uni that day).  Finally, we're planning on meeting up with H's high school friend who lives in south-west korea for ice skating in Seoul next weekend! We've got all sorts of fun planned for the coming days!!

Christmas Day!

Part of the food spread for lunch.

H drew Seamus-here he is enjoying his Chinese alcohol!!

H's 7th graders posing with their snowmen.

H's 8th graders made a "Happy New Year" card & presented it in class (they also made me a hat/headband)

Frozen Solid

     We started last weekend at a going away party for some friends who are headed back home.  Saturday morn we had class in Seoul, and after grabbing some lunch nearby, returned to find our hot water not working. We thought we'd wait until Sunday morn, just in case they were doing regular maintanence, but it turns out that they were frozen solid. Three repairmen and 3 hours later, our hot water was back on. This happened last year also, but this year it was more severe. 

    B and his buddy went skiing Sunday night, and when he returned, he found our veranda partially flooded (a different pipe's drain had frozen shut). This pipe carries the 15 stories' dirty laundry water outside so luckily it was 11pm and not many were doing their laundry. On Monday I waited for a different repair man to come and fix it, and by the time he left, my school told me not to bother coming in (since the kids have finals and leave at 12:30 anyway). Monday we went in for our Ethics class, and last night we started our Marketing Management class. The professor is very interesting so it should be good. But, we have our 1st quiz this Saturday already...

   Today (Wed) we didn't go to school since we had a meeting regarding our Winter English camp. Since we both have finals at our middle schools, we were able to relax after the meeting. We're now getting ready to go into Seoul for class. B4 class, we'll be listening to a lecture from a man who was an aid worker in North Korea for some months. it should be interesting. Also, today is Emma's Sweet 16 ~ So happy B-day lil sis  :)

Dayle, H, Jaime and Thomas (T and I work at the same school).

Jo and I~Her and her boyfriend are going back home this week.

Sunday morning~ steaming our frozen pipes.

Turkey Day

Although we weren't able to celebrate Thanksgiving until Saturday, we had a very nice meal. About 20 or so Americans gathered at a friend's house and did a pot-luck style dinner. We brought apple pie (store bought) and broccoli salad (home-made). It was a wonderful meal and we were also able to meet some new people.

the night b4 there was a big EPIK meeting to discuss our winter English Camp schedule. After the meeting we were treated to a nice dinner.

Saturday we had class in Seoul and then of course made it back in time for the dinner.

Yesterday (the 2nd) H's school had a basketball game in a different city so some of the teachers went to cheer on the players. Their athletic system is much different than back home as there's usually only one school per city that has a particular sport. So, my school has a b-ball team, another school has a soccer team, and B's school has a judo team. For the most part, the athletes don't attend regular classes but instead practice 24/7. For example, i've only seen the b-ball players in my class once in a whole semester. Our team won last night so the teachers, players, and parents all had a nice meal of barbequed duck. It was a fun evening.

In 6 days we'll start our second class in Seoul....our schedules will be very busy running there so often. Luckily, however, we've decided to go to Malaysia for our winter break for sure. Since the won is very weak now, we considered staying in Korea all winter. 

Most of the EPIK teachers in our city enjoying a nice meal.

The Thanksgiving spread.

About half of the group chatting b4 dinner.

Chomps in his fave napping spot.

B-ball

   Last Friday a big group of us went to watch the pro basketball team in our city. It turns out that they don't usually get a group of 18 foreigners to fill the seats, so they treated us to a number of goodies. Some of us got free water bottles; one of us got a signed ball, and we all got a slice of pizza from Domino's. We cheered our team on to an easy victory. After the game, we headed to the Pub to wish our friend Hank a safe trip back to Canada. B and I left early since we had to get up for our 1st class of the new term on Saturday.

  We started our Business Ethics course at 10 on Saturday; our professor is a fellow Minnesotan (and our travel agent's husband). The class has gotten off to a good start and promises to be interesting. We take this one Mondays and Saturdays. Our 2nd class will be Marketing Mgmt., but that one won't start until Dec. 9th. When it does start, we will take it 3-4 times a week for 4 weeks. It will be the most intense class we've ever done. 

 After class on Saturday we went to Costco, where we loaded up on some fun foreign foods. Back in Wonju, we went to our friend Sean's 25th b-day party. We ended up staying out until the wee hours of the night, so on Sunday we took it easy.

  This week is flying by, and on Friday we'll attend a wine and cheese party at our friend Emma's house. Then, after class on Saturday, we'll head back to Wonju to partake in a Thanksgiving dinner with some fellow ex-pat's.  We really wish we could celebrate back home with our families. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!! 

Cheering the Wonju team to victory.

One of the 2 foreigners on the team: Reggie Okosa. His guard wanted him to keep walking but he stopped to sign a few more autographs for the kids instead.

Fun Weekend

On Friday night we had some friends over to play Catch Phrase (my fave board game of all time). I made some fruit soju and everyone had a good time. Then on Saturday we went into Seoul to meet up with some of our Sejong classmates. In all about 40 past and presents students turned up. We enjoyed chatting with our friends; we hadn't seen most of them in over a month. Today we did a bit of shopping in Seoul before coming back home and had a relaxing evening. 

One of our classes starts this Saturday already; it's our business ethics class and the professor is a fellow Minnesotan whose wife is our travel agent. Our other class, Marketing Mgmt, doesn't start until December, and will be an intensive, 4-week class. For now we're enjoying our last 5 days of relaxing time at home. 

Enjoying our break

We're half-way through our 3-week break from grad school, and have been making the most out of it. On Tues night there was another Promy Basketball game (we were the winners). On Friday, H's rural school took yearbook pictures (in Korea they only get yearbooks when they're graduating from that school) so it was fun to partake in some of the photos! After school, Amy and Heath came over as the girls got all dolled up for a 70's themed birthday party for one of our friends. Amy did my hair/makeup, and I even had a dress to wear! The night was really a blast.

Saturday 7 girls went to Emma's house for a full day of Pride and Prejudice viewing. The BBC version lasts 6 hours, so our whole day was spent watching and chatting. It was interesting; the 6 that stayed the whole time were from different countries: Australia, England, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, and the US. We finished the night at a nice Korean restaurant. The boys, meanwhile, enjoyed a game night of their own.

Today we may just relax at home with Chomps. This Thursday there's a national test for students; B's been told he doesn't need to come to school that day while H is still waiting for word!

9th graders at H's rural school (17 in the whole class).

The leaves are at peak color right now!

Amy & I after she made me beautimous!! 

The girls all dolled up for 70's theme party.

Halloween

Happy (late) Halloween & Happy Election Day to everyone. Halloween was fun for H- her rural school kids dressed up and went trick-or-treating at the school. That evening B and I and a few friends dressed up in costumes and went to watch the Dongbu Promy basketball game (the pro team in our city). We were the winners AND we found out that our mugs were featured on ESPN a few times! We're stars now  ;)

 We're really enjoying our 3 week break from grad school. We get to come home every night after work and just hang out. Chomps seems to be enjoying the extra company, also. We'll start back up for term 2 on November 22nd, but for now we're enjoying our down time.

Today H's school has their PE test; so the students have to do the mile run, push-ups, sit-ups, sit and reach, the 50 meter run, and long jump. The kids aren't looking forward to it at all. Nothing else happening here at the moment. Hope everyone is enjoying their fall and doing well.

8th graders all dressed up for Halloween!

Nick, Dayle, H, B and Heath at the basketball game.

My co-teacher's kids came to trick-or-treat and stayed to play with Chomps.

Chomps curled up a lil ball.

Fall Leaves

   Yesterday we had class as usual in Seoul, but after class met up with a guy who gave us some of his used books. He's given us books before, so it was nice to chat with him for a bit (and now we have some really good reads waiting for us on our shelf). We're getting closer to our final exams; only one full week of classes left and then it's go-time on the 28th and 29th! We're looking forward to a tiny break in between this term and next (maybe 3 weeks).

  Today we took a break from studying and took the bike for a short ride into the country. The rice fields and leaves were so vibrant with colors; it was really nice to see. The temperature was just perfect, too, but we know the cold will be here soon.

  Nothing else too exciting going on right now, just staying busy with work and school. 

Hanging out next to some rice fields.

An elderly couple gathering their harvest.

Love the colorful leaves!!

Hot-Air Balloon Fest

  On Saturday we had our second statistics exam. It was a lot more difficult than the last one, but luckily we were allowed a "cheat sheet" so hopefully that helped us. After class we took a bus 2 hours south-east to Daejeon, Korea's 3rd-largest city. They were holding an International Hot Air Balloon Festival that we really wanted to see.

  We got into the city around 7pm, and after a bit of confusion, found the festival grounds. The balloons were set up right along the Gap River in the middle of the city, and it was quite impressive. We got dropped off on one side of the river, took some photos from afar, and then walked across the floating bridge to get an up-close view. They were lighting them up one by one, and in the dark it looked really cool.

  After awhile we got hungry and found this restaurant that over-looked the whole festival. The food was good and the view was great. We got back to the fest just in time to catch a few fireworks being set off.  A bit after 10 we started walking to find a hotel, but ended up jumping in a cab 45 mins later (we weren't in the 'hotel part' of town). Sunday morn we got up and headed back to the festival grounds, where they happened to be giving free balloon rides. We waited in line for 45 mins and took advantage of the short trek in the balloon (basically up 20ft and then back down again) but it was still really fun.

  There's a Costco in Daejeon, so we went there again to pick up a few things. We found cereal, bagels, and tortillas.

  This week we've got no tests for Uni, but in 2 weeks we have final exams for both classes. It's crazy how time flies.  Hope everyone is well :D

PS- I've posted 60 pics of our fall experiences on my facebook acct, so click here  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2073230&l=2f50b&id=184902869

 

Hot air balloons by night.

The beautiful daejeon Landscape.

In line for the big ride.

Up, up, and away!!

Foundation Day & Festivals

Friday, October 3rd was Korea's Foundation Day, so we didn't have class. We headed an hour and a half south-east to Chungju, where there was an Internatl Martial Arts Festival happening. There were 30 countries in this fairly small city to show off their native countries dances. We were able to see Brazil, Australia's Aboriginies, Korea's Taekyun, New Zealand and Kenya. It was really nice to see the traditional dress of all the countries. Our friend Amy came with us, and it was a really good time.

   Saturday morn we headed into Seoul for class, and when we finished at 4pm, we headed to the financial district to take in a Fireworks Show. It was a competition between Hong Kong and Korea, with each show lasting 25 minutes. There were tons of people, and it was a bit overwhelming. We went with Heath and Amy, and it was a good time. We all spent the night in Seoul and on Sunday morn we got up and went to Costco (similiar to Sam's Club) where we stocked up on Western food! We were happy to find the following foods: bacon, salami, sour cream, muffins, tortilla chips, American brand granola bars and crackers!!

   This week we're busy with classes; our final exams will be at the end of October for this term, so there are lots of things to get ready for. Luckily we'll get a 3 week break in between this term and next (we really need a break).

   This Saturday we have a statistics midterm, and after that we're going to head to Daejon (2 hours south east of Seoul) for a hot air balloon festival. It should be really cool, so stay posted for pics from that!! For now, enjoy some pics from last weekend:

Rice is almost ready to be harvested, and it has turned a bright green color.

This was our view on the way to Chungju.

Korean Martial Art Tae-kyun (similar to Taekwondo)

An aboriginal tribe from Australia.

This is in Seoul's financial district Yeoido (you can see that tall building to the left: that's the 63 Building, the tallest in korea).

Hong Kong did their show for 25 minutes, and Korea went right after.

The crowds of people were ridiculous: this is a major road that has been completely stopped due to pedestrians (and motorists) stopping and taking pics in the middle of the road.