Bangkok

We've made it to Thailand! There were no problems and we met up with Min at the airport. We're really enjoying it here; there's lots to see and do. Everything is cheap here, so that's kinda fun, too. The coolest thing I (H) bought was a fresh fruit smoothy for about 70 cents. We've seen many historical sites as well, including an Ancient city that was mostly destroyed by the Burmese army a few hundred years ago.
Tonight is New Year's Eve so we'll have to ring in the new year in Bangkok! It will be hard to go back to the cold weather; it's been in the upper 80's-low 90's here all week.
Hope everyone has a very Happy New Year!!!

Flight Info

This is our last night at our place for a few nights! We leave Tongyeong tomorrow evening, when we begin our journey to Thailand! We'll leave here on a 7:30pm bus for Busan. We plan on crashing at a cheap motel near the bus terminal. Then on Thursday morn, i.e. 6am, we'll catch a taxi to take us to the airport. Our flight flies out at 8:30am on 12-28. We are flying Thai Airways, flight TG 651 from Busan to Bangkok. Our expected arrival time is 12:20pm Thai time (2 hours behind Korea time).
Our return flight is scheduled to leave from Bangkok on Jan 2, at 11:50am. We get into Korea at 18:45. This is flight TG 654 (Thai Airways).
We are anxious and excited to get the show on the road! The local weather on Xmas and today was unseasonably warm, mid 50's and sunny. They say that tomorrow it's gonna drop way down and keep dropping for the rest of the week. That's all we know for now. If we don't get a chance to post before January, Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Unexpected Test

Tonight at Taekwondo we were surprised to learn that we would be testing for the 6th chapter this evening. We had about 15 minutes to practice, and then we did our test with the other students watching. Normally all the students participate together, but since we won't be there to take the test on its normal date, we had to go alone. We have an Xmas party for H's work the night of the test, so our instructor was nice and let us test early. We think we did well, and hopefully the next time we go to class we will be red belts!
This week has really gone by slowly, but tomorrow's Friday! Saturday will be a busy day since we will both be participating in holiday programs. It doesn't seem like the Christmas season this year, as there is no snow and we're away from family. It really snuck up on us!

Change of Plans!

On Saturday, we visited Tongdosa, one of the three most important temples in Korea. It's said to hold important relics from Buddha. We took a bus from Tongyeong to Unyang, which was 2.5 hours long. Then we caught a city bus to the temple, which was about a 3o minute ride. The weather was brisk but we were dressed accordingly and had no problems. It even tried snowing once we got to the temple, but gave up quickly and the sun peaked out not long after that. We had a nice time and enjoyed the fresh air.
The ride home was less than desirable, as we ended up on a wrong bus and took an extra hour to get home. But, one bump in our transportation plan in 5 months isn't too bad, so no complaints here.
We're getting excited for our Thailand trip. We just learned today that we will be staying longer than originally planned! Instead of a rushed 3 days, we will have a solid 5 days in the Bangkok area. We now leave the morning of Dec. 28th, and get to Thailand at 12.20pm (no time change necessary). Our flight home doesn't leave until Jan. 2 at noon! We are so pumped, and are now researching more attractions to visit! B has found an ancient city that he's pumped about. I'm looking forward to seeing my friend the most! The warm weather won't be bad, either.
Both of our schools have Holiday programs on Saturday afternoon. We then have Sunday and Christmas Monday off; we may try to take in one more Korean temple in 2006! Hopefully everyone is doing well, we miss you.

Holidays

We bought a small white Christmas tree! It came furnished with cute lights and a few ornaments. The two kids are Jane and Sue, sisters who are also H's students.
Today (12-14), I had a party with one of adult classes. We went to a noray-bong, AKA karaoke room. They are very popular here and are everywhere. The woman on the left, Sandra, just opened one, so we went to wish her well and sing a few ballads.

Brown Belts

We passed our test last Thursday, and are now brown belts! This is exciting; we are moving right along. Our instructor told us that we will be testing for the black belt in March. I guess there are 4,000 students who meet together, and all test for the black belt. We have been learning "chapters", and we are on the 6th chapter now. There are 8 in total. When we get to the test, there will be a panel of judges, and 10 students are in a group together. The judges decide which chapter we must perform; they can choose any chapter between 4 and 8. Our instructor said they almost always choose 8, as it's the most difficult to do! After we perform that, we must do a sparring portion. Girls spar with girls, and boys with boys. You spar with someone who is the same height as you. According to our instructor, we only have to spar for 20 seconds! However, if you don't do any moves, you must begin again. So, basically, we have to go out kicking for 20 seconds. The test is 80% our chapter performance, and 20% our sparring ability.
Both our schools are doing holiday shows on December 23rd, and everyone is busy getting ready for them. It should be cute, however B's school has a lot planned. His may turn into a 2-day show! The temps are steadily falling, but the sun is usually out in the morning and afternoon.

Weekend Photos

Friday night at our place: L-R Anna, Alice, Lauren, Arnie, Jeff, B, and Roxy.



Heather with the birthday girl: her mom is B's director and her dad is our TKD instructor. Brandon with his medal after finishing the 5K.
Michelle's wedding. It's common to take large family photos, and then friends pose with the couple.

Busy Weekend!

Our weekend started Friday night with a party at our house. In all there were 10 people; mostly co-workers. B did meet a fellow foreigner from Indiana, and he also came. We had pizza, snacks, beer, fruit soju, and Jenga! Our last guest left about 3am! Saturday we walked to town and bought a present for B's director's daughter (her father is our TKD instructor). It was her 1st birthday party, one of the biggest birthdays celebrated in Korea (the other is the 60th bday). This was our 1st such party, and it was a good experience. The food was plentiful and tasty, and the festivities were interesting.
This morning we awoke early and headed to our 5K race. This was a first for both of us, and it was a very good time. It was a bit chilly today, but once we got going we were sweating. This marathon is a big deal, and a famous Korean actor even started the morning with an appearance. We didn't win the race, but we weren't dead last either! It took us exactly 35 minutes to run 3.1 miles. For not practicing at all, this is a decent time for us! After the race, we booked it home, showered, and changed into our "dress up" clothes yet again. One of my co-workers got married at 2pm, and we were able to see the ceremony. It was our second Korean wedding, and it was enjoyable.
One sidenote: 2 American guys introduced themselves to us. They are in the Army and stationed in Daegu. One of them, Marty, informed us that he was from Sioux Falls, SD! Wow, what a small world! He's been in Korea for 2.5 years and really likes it here. He's upset since he's being transfered in a few months. Well, I asked him how he did, and it turns out that he won the 10K!! That was pretty cool. I'm sure there was an award show, but we didn't have time to watch it.

A Wonderful Day in Tongyeong

Yesterday Brandon and I met up with our friends Arnie and Roxy. We started the day by renting two tandem bikes; we rode them down the boardwalk along the water. The view was amazing and the sun was shining so it was a great time. We stopped at a place along the path and had a nice lunch, too. After we returned the bikes, we drove to a Buddhist temple on Mireuksan (the mountain we climbed a few months ago). It was very peaceful there, and also beautiful. Next we headed to Gala Park, which overlooks many of the islands of Tongyeong. The view was incredible! We then headed back into town where we met up with our friend Alice. We all ate a light dinner and walked around window shopping.
Luckily we did all of our outdoor adventures yesterday; today it's rainy and cold. We have plenty of housework to do around here, so we won't get bored!
Also, it's official: We are going to Thailand at the end of December! We will be visiting my friend Min, who studied in the USA for a year when I was in high school. It's quite warm in Thailand, in the 80's, so that will be a plus also! We will be there for 4 days, but don't have any of the other details worked out yet! It will surely be a great Christmas present though!

A view from the bike trail that we took.

Arnie, Brandon, Roxy and Heather! We rode tandem bikes and had a picnic along the boardwalk.

Jinju

On Saturday, we visited Jinju, a town of about 350,000 people. It's about an hour from Tongyeong. We had been to this city one previous time for the Lamp Festival, but everything was crowded at that time and we didn't get to take it in. Yesterday it was pretty much deserted, and quite peaceful. The castle and its grounds are on a hill overlooking the city on one side, and the river on the other. The trees were beautifully colored and it was a great experience. There is also a huge history museum, but once we saw the size of it up close, we knew that we would not have time to conquer all of it in an hour. So, we firugre that we will be back in the future to walk through that.
Today we are going to get some grocery shopping done, and just relax a bit. It's hard to believe that we've been here 4 months already; time is really flying by!

1) B and H b y the big bell inside the Castle Park-Jinju.
2) Entrance to the Castle.
3) H and B down on the river bank.

TKD Festival

Last weekend we watched the Tongyeong Taekwondo Festival. Students from 15 or so TKD schools competed individually all day long. The youngest kids were about 6 or 7, and the oldest were high school students. There were many spectators, as TKD is a native Korean sport. We snapped a few photos in the process!
In the first photo you can see many floral arrangements. Whenever there is a grand-opening or a big event, friends and family bring flowers and/or plants to show support. The whole stage was lined with them!

Fall Photos

1 & 2-Halloween w/ the kindergarten class.
3- B and H at the harb farm.

4 &5- At the park (name unknown)

Halloween & Fieldtrip

On the 31st, both of our schools celebrated Halloween. As the holiday is not normally celebrated in Korea, the schools were the only places partying. Some students dressed up, and there was candy to be had by all!
Saturday we took a fieldtrip with H's school; it was for the kindergartener's and their parents only. We had a two hour bus ride to a famous park, which was peaceful and beautiful. Next, we visited an herb farm. We were treated to an herb lunch, we made herbal soap, and even an herbal candle! It was really a beautiful place and the colorful leaves only added to the scene! There was a pond at the farm, and of course one of the students managed to fall in. Other than that, there were no problems and everyone had a nice time.
We had a rainstorm today, but after it quit the weather was quite comfortable. There are no big plans for us that we know of right now. TKD is still going well, and we are working on getting our brown belts soon!

A few classroom pics

H's kindergarten class:the girls singing a song for the class.
B's class: a little cutie.
H's favorite Tues/Thurs class. Notice that the boy on the right is picking his nose.
B's class: good work buddy!

Our teacher explaining something important.
Since we are one of the lowest belt colors, we stood toward the back.

Blue Belts

It's official: we passed our Taekwondo test and have moved up to the level of blue. The next section we are learning is a big step up in the difficulty area, so our next test should be interesting.
There's nothing exciting happening this week, although we are getting ready for Sunday as we will be attending a wedding. It will be an interesting event I am sure.
The weather is starting to get chilly; it seemed like it just changed overnight, but the cold is definitely on its way in.
Next week for Halloween our schools will be having little parties, so we are still searching for costumes. I will be sure to add pictures!

Chuseok Meaning

A few weeks ago Korea celebrated Chuseok, which is their Thanksgiving holiday. It differs from the American holiday in many ways. First, the big part of the holiday centers around giving thanks to ancestors who are thought to have provided the harvest for the year. Family members visit the graves of ancestors, providing food for the spirit to eat. This ceremony lasts as long as the family deems appropriate. Many of the ancestors are buried in the mountains, so families travel long distances sometimes just to reach the grave. When we were in Andong, we traveled on a fairly rural road in order to get to a famous shrine. We saw dozens of cars parked on the side of the road, and many people carrying large dishes and heading up the hills and mountains.
After the family has given thanks to their ancestors, they bring the uneaten food to a home and everyone partakes in eating a huge traditional meal. This is the same concept of Americans chowing on turkey and yams, but they have different foods. The preperation for the meal can be quite time consuming, and I have been told by all women here that many suffer from "Chuseok Syndrome." They dislike preparing for the holiday as it takes a lot of time. There are also many traditional Korean movies on TV, and many people relax and watch movies.
We have a friend who actually ate so much during Chuseok that she made herself sick and had to go to the hospital. The food is just so amazing that people eat as much as they can. I (H) had the opportunity to eat some leftovers at my director's house, and I can see how they overeat! The foods were quite tasty!

Lazy weekend

We're taking the weekend off to relax in peace and quiet. Nothing exciting from the last two or three days to report. The temperature only gets up to the mid-70s so it's almost too cold for shorts... almost. But since the sky is usually clear we get plenty of sunlight to keep warm. Did I mention it doesn't snow in Tongyeong? The rest of the country does get snow so we'll be able to see it at our leisure. Next week we'll test for blue belts in Taekwondo. That's all for now

B+H