Ski Bunnies

Our area is very mountainous, and there are several ski resorts around us (at least 4 within an hours' drive, and others a bit further away). In the past week, we've been skiiing 3 times! The first time, we had free lift tickets, so we only paid for ski rental. The past times, we've gotten a 30% lift discount so we've been saving a few bucks (15 each person each time). Phoenix Park seems to be the best in the area, and the past 2 times we've gone there. Our friend Vin has also come with (he's a boarding kind of guy).

Yesterday we were lucky as it had snowed the night before (at least 4 inches) so we had fresh snow on the slopes. It also snowed on and off throughout the day, so it was cool to ski with snow all around. We even progressed up to the intermediate hill, which was a bit freaky but something to be proud of tackling.
Today we're relaxing at home; tomorrow our friend Tara is coming for a visit! She has work in Beijing, which is only an hour and half by fligth away, so she's coming for 3 days! We'll show her a good time, and then it's back to school for us on Monday, the 3rd. We've basically been away from our school since the end of Dec, so it's going to be hard to get back into working again. We've had a great vacation, though, so we can't compain!

Our "new" car, a 1992 Hyundai Elantra.

B and I with our English pal Vin.

A few of the runs at Phoenix Park Ski Resort-they have close to 20 runs!

There was a ski competition on this course. It looked pretty cool!

Namdaemun, before and after

Seoul Day Trip

Yesterday we took the bus to Seoul for the day. On the way there, we got a call from the postman telling us that our box that we sent from Vietnam 6 weeks ago had arrived. We had feared it was gone for good.
We met up with an American graduate student who's at Sejong University, and also a professor at the school who's from MN. We met them both on our trip to China. The professor's wife is our travel agent. We chatted about the programs offered to foreigners at the uni, and B and I are now looking into getting our Master's degree while in Korea. That would mean we'd be here another 2.5 years, but to get our MA would be pretty nice. They also offer substantial discounts to foreigners, which is a big incentive why we'd like to get it now rather than in the States. If we get in, we'd begin classes Fall of 2008. But, nothing's for sure yet.
After our chat, we visited what's left of Namdaemun Gate, Korea's #1 Natl. Treasure. It's a 600 year old gate that had survived Korea's rough history of wars, only to be brought down by a vengeful arsonist on Monday night. The site is filled with mourners, some crying at such a terrible loss. They liken it to Americans losing the Statue of Liberty. It was a sad experience. We really loved that area, as the old gate was surrounded by new buildings. The area just doesn't look the same now.
For dinner, we met up with a friend that we met on the China trip. We had some tasty Korean food, and finished it off with ice cream. Then we caught the 9.30 bus back to Wonju. We're not sure what we'll do today, but it's pretty cold so we may just hang out, and go the gym at some point.

The "Birds Nest" the main stadium for the 2008 Olympics (that's the finished product)

Temple of Heaven; unique because it's round.

A parade at the Temple of Heaven.

Same parade.

First gate to the Forbidden City; Mao's huge portrait.

The Forbidden City gate by night.

The Great Wall of China: 3,000 in length!

A glorious view from the top!

B-Day Fun

I awoke on the 10th to find our apt. still had no hot water. As I didn't want to be stinky on my 24th, I walked down to the Korean Sauna and partook in a nice hot shower/bath combo. Of course I got a few pointed stares from the locals, but what was I to expect? (the only naked foreigner they've ever seen).
For lunch, we met with some good friends for duk-galbi, my fave Korean meal made up of pan fried chicken, rice noodles, cabbage, and other veggies. After lunch, we got some Baskin Robbins and chatted away. Next, we all headed to my house where we watched a movie, drank some of my home-made fruit soju, and had a nice time.
Today was my first day back at school, and our principal and PE teacher are retiring, so after school we had a huge dinner (54 people total). It's Korean custom to pore someone a drink, they drink it, and then they return the favor. I'm more popular than I thought as many teachers wanted to pore for me! It was a fun night, and I even hitched a ride with my principal and vice (tipsy with your bosses, it works in Korea).
We only teach this week and then we have 2 more weeks of "spring vacation." The new school year starts March 3rd, so we'll have all new kids and it should be fun. We've had a lot more vacation time this year at the public school, and that's one of the reasons we're talking about staying one more year at this job (nothing's for sure yet). Thanks for all the b-day wishes, they sure mean a lot when you're far from home.

China: Day by Day

Pre-Day 1 (Feb 5th)-Left Wonju in the evening for Seoul where we had to stay in a hotel so that we could make it to the airport on time.

Day 1 (Feb. 6th)- Awoke at 5am after a fitful nights' sleep and caught the shuttle bus. Arrived at the ICN airport with no passport or tickets and hoped our travel agent would show up (she did). Landed in Beijing around 11am and started our tour from there.
We had a group of about 20 people, mostly English teachers but also a Korean family (our travel agent's family. Her husband is a fellow Minnesotan who just happens to be a professor in Seoul, but more on that later).
The group ate a nice Chinese meal and then headed to Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. The tour moved way too fast but we got the general idea and took some nice shots of the area. Next we went to a tea house where we had a demonstration and then they wanted us to buy their goods (govt regulated tour stop; all tours are required to visit). After no one bought any tea, we moved on to an acrobatics show, which was incredible! The things they can do were unbelievable. After dinner, we went to our hotel to get settled in. Being that it was Lunar New Years Eve, B and I hit the streets looking for some night shots/excitement. All the locals were in the streets lighting fireworks (some of which reminded us of bombs) and having a grand time. We retired to our hotel around 11.15pm.

Day 2: The Great Wall
We headed to the most famous spot for foreigners in China. About 8 people from our group climbed to the top, including us, but we also ended up holding up the bus. We didn't feel too bad after we realized we were being ushered to more govt sponsored tourist traps (we encounted six in all). After the Wall, we visited the most famous Ming Tomb, where a famous emperor is buried. He was responsible for building the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, and his tomb was huge! For dinner we had "Peking Duck" which is THE food of Beijing. It was quite tasty. Next to our restaurant was the new stadium for the 2008 Olympics, so we got to drive around that and snap some shots. It was cool to go to the area where the Olypmics will be.

Day 3: Temple of Heaven
This temple is special because it's round, and this is odd in China. Not only did we see the temple, but there was a big Spring Festival performance going on, so we got to watch that as well. It was outside, though, and the wind was SO cold that it must have been horrible carrying those flags for so long. Next we moved on to the Summer Palace, which was re-designed 200 years ago by a powerful empress so there are some very interesting things there. The only problem: the complex is huge, and there were thousands of tourists there. We lost track of our group and spent precious time searching for them. Thus, we weren't able to enjoy it as much as we hoped. After dinner we headed to a kung-fu show. By then it was dark so B and I took a cab to Tianeman Square to get some night shots. The funny thing was that it was so brightly lit up it was as if we were in sunlight (almost).

Day 4: Last Day (Feb. 9th)
We awoke at 5am so that we could catch the sunrise from a park overlooking the city. A guy from our group also joined us, and he's full of information and we had a fun time chatting with him. We caught the sunrise and then headed to the Lama Temple, home to the biggest Buddha carved out of wood. This Buddha stands about 60 feet in the air, and is covered with a layer of gold. We had to rush back to our hotel so that we could check out by 10.30, and of course we had an incident. Our taxi was trying to merge right and another car was merging left and they bumped each other. Yes, we were involved in a car accident in Beijing. It wasn't serious, but our driver was seriously upset. We handed him some money and jumped in a different cab so we could make it on time. As it turns out, two lazy guys in our group didn't wake up until 10.30 anyway, so the whole group sat waiting for them on the bus!
The plane trip back was smooth, and our bus ride to Wonju was also uneventful. Our apt was at 15d C again, and we didn't think it would be a problem as it warms up quickly enough. We realized, however, that we're without hot water. We're hoping that the pipes will warm up b4 morning, as I don't want to take a cold birthday shower! We're meeting friends for a nice meal and bowling tomorrow, which will be fun.
Our trip was fun and informational and we wish we could have stayed longer.

PS- China does not allow blog or independent news sitess, so we were not able to blog while there.

Camp, Car, China, Gym

So many things to report today: We've got two days left of our English Camp. The kids really seem to be having a good time, and that naturally rubs off on us. Yesterday H taught the Macarena and B did an airport simulation. Today we both did simulations at the English Village; the post office and the hospital. Tomorrow B's in charge of teaching basketball while I'll be in charge of the mock supermarket. My co-teacher wanted me to bring her daughter along, who is two years younger than the other kids but just as good. The TV and newspaper crew showed up and of course ate her (and us) up in front of the cameras. My co said she would check the papers and cut out any pics of us.
We bought a car today! It's a 1992 Hyundai Elantra, with only about 60,000 miles on it (Korea's not a big country). It seems to run fine except for a loud exhaust, but at least the pedestrians get on the sidewalk when we're coming! We paid $300 for the car, but ended up forking over 6 months' worth of insurance at once ($500...ouch). We also found out that gas is over $6 a gallon, so not big roadtrips for us (unless we pick up hitchers).
We're trying to get to the gym on a regular basis now. We had one of those BMI-Body Mass Index reports done, and the results were not flattering. The Korean trainer made us a nice workout schedule, so we're trying to follow that strictly. He's tough in the gym, but a very nice guy. Apart from sore muscles, we're feeling better already!
February 6-10 is a National Holiday in Korea (Chinese or Lunar New Year). It sounded pretty cool to be able to celebrate the New Year in Beijing, so we got lucky and booked tickets today! We leave on the 6th and will get back the evening of the 9th. A very short trip, but it should be pretty amazing. It's a package tour, which is not something that we're used to, but the travel agent who recommended it is actually going as well and gave it to us at wholesale.
I'll try to get some of the car pics up soon.

Ice Festival

Today we took an hour long road trip with H's co-teacher and family to an Ice Festival in Jinbu. There were several ice-related events to partake in; we spent most of our time ice-fishing. The older child really loved it, and although we stood there for 2 hours and didn't catch a fish, she still walked away with a nice sized one thanks to a friendly old man who caught too many. On our way home, we stopped at a duck restaurant, and had a very nice meal. (They even let us cook our fish at the restaurant and we ate it after our meal).

We've got to get to bed early tonight as tomorrow we start our Winter English Camp with elementary school students. We'll do that all week, but it's just 4 hours each morning, so it won't be too rough.

B getting a free ride from Sarah.

Yedin chowing down on a warm fish snack.

Back in Korea

We left Siem Reap, Cambodia at 9pm on the 21st, and took a 40 minute flight to Bangkok. There we waited for 4 hours for our connecting to flight to Seoul, and landed in Korea around 9am. We were surprised to see that it was snowing! After a slight delay due to H's bag being misplaced, we made it on our bus back to Wonju with not a moment to spare and got home b4 1pm. We spent the day trying to stay warm as our apartment's heating timer got shut off sometime while we were away so our apt was 14D C when we got home!
The best surprise upon returning home was the nice pile of holiday letters from friends and family in the mailbox. They were so fun to read, and they are much appreciated! Thanks for thinking of us.
Tomorrow we have a winter camp meeting with all of our co-workers, but after that we can relax, as the camp doesn't start until the 28th. In the meantime, we'll try to get pics up. The files are quite large and we weren't able to get them up with slower internet connections. We're working on that now. Thanks for checking our site and keeping us aware of what's going on back home. We miss you all.

** Here's the link to photos I added to my Facebook profile:
http://uwrf.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054638&l=ee19d&id=184902869

Angkor Wat

We've been in Siem Reap for 3 days, and have been busy exploring the massive complex around Angkor Wat. We bought a 7 day pass, so we've been able to visit the big as well as the small and obscure places. In the past two days, we've been to 10 sites each day, including taking in a sunrise and sunset! The ruins are amazing, and it's incredible to think that this place was bustling with a million people back in the day while London's population was at about 50.000!

Today we're going to rent bikes and stay in the town proper, so as not to get "temple burnout". Tomorrow we'll be back in the action again. In order to get around to all the sites, we hire a tuk-tuk driver for the day. This is a cart attached to the back of a motorbike, and we pay $12 for an 8 hour day. The weather is still quite hot here, but we rest under the bid shade trees and gulp lots of water. We've got 3.5 more days of exploring, and then it's back to Korea. We hear it's quite cold there right now, so hopefully we'll bring a bit of warmth back with us!

Cambodia

It's been a while, we couldn't get this site to load when we were in the Mekong. Now we're in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. We arrived today by boat, and it's really hot here! The locals say it's about 35C today. We're getting our plans organized so tomorrow we can see the city.

We had a good time in Vietnam, but really were disheartened by how much some of the people took advantage of us. A little over-charging is expected in this part of the world, but the rates they wanted from us were incredible. It also didn't help that H was hit with a bad case of diarrhea twice. We learned some lessons along the way, so no major complaints. We're really excited to move ti Siem Riep and Angkor Wat within a few days! The world-famous temples are supposed to be amazing! Not sure about pics, but as soon as we get the chance, we'll post them. Thanks for thinking of us, all for now.

Magnuson's in the Mekong

We've been busy these past few days, and haven't been able to get any internet in our area.
On the 1st, we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels outside of HCMC; they were used by the Vietcong during the war. It was pretty interesting to see. On the 2nd, we left the big city and ventured to our first stop along the Mekong Delta. On the bus, we met a Vietnamese man who now lives in the US, and he invited us to visit his family's home. We dropped our stuff at the hotel, rented a motorbike, and went to his place. They have a little farm if you will, with cows, chickens, fish, fruits and veggies. We helped make our dinner (B caught a fish from the pond) and it was a really enjoyable time. On the way home we stopped by a local carnival.
Yesterday we drove around on the motorbike for most of the day($15 for 24 hours). We saw some cool things and luckily didn't get into an accident (their driving habits here are scary).
Today we took a boat tour in the morning, and by noon we were on the road to our new city, Vin Long. Tomorrow we hope to take in the floating market!
The weather's hot enough for us but the locals are all bundled up cuz it's their winter. We both look at each other and laugh!

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!