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.

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!!!