A Few Snapshots

Basically a picture from everyday of our wonderful vacation.

Duluth Harbor, where we welcomed 3 old-time ships.

Fireworks show the next night in honor of the ships.

The middle sized ship setting off.

Up the North shore of MN, on Lake Superior.

The biggest ship (as seen from our day boat cruise).

High school friends Amanda (w/ daughter Lexi) and Anna

Good friends Tanya and John at Valleyfair.

B and I went to "America's Largest Water Park" Noah's Ark in WI.

Camping and river tubing with Todd and Manda.

Pool day with Mom, Gramma, and Emma.

Meeting up with HS friend Beth; had been 7 years since our last meeting!

Best friend and new mom Emily with husband Trent, new Gramma Tammy & lil Kaegan.

Mom's pup Hank with cute neighbor boy Dalton "Hi Header" (I love lil kid talk)

Long time pal Jvonne came to lunch with us right b4 our plane flew out for Korea!

Korea: Round 3

We've arrived safe and sound in Korea, and will start our 3rd year of teaching tomorrow. This time we brought our cat Chomps back with us, and he did very well on the plane rides. We got to Incheon Airport at 10pm last night, and missed the last direct bus back to Wonju by 2 hours. Instead of dealing with the hassle of finding a hotel with our cat and luggage, we took a taxi from East Seoul to Wonju. The driver assured us he would make the trip in 1 hour flat, which he did, but at one point we were going 102mph (scary). We got to our apartment at 2am and it just felt good to be home. Today we did some "housekeeping" such as grocery shopping, getting our internet back up and running again, and actual housekeeping!
We're very grateful that we were able to see as many family and friends as we did, we really made our visit last. Now it's back to the grind of work and, in a week and half, school! We'll be starting graduate school on September 6th in Seoul. We'll have night classes Tues and Weds, and all day Saturday. We'll keep you updated with that. Thanks to all of you who went out of your way to see us, it really meant a lot to us. Love from H, B & even Chomps!

Loving Every Minute

It's hard to believe that our vacation is half-way over, but we are enjoying every minute and making it count. We started our vacation at B's mom's house in Eau Claire. A few days after that we took the shuttle bus to the Mall of America where my mom picked us up and took us to Duluth. Three old-time ships sailed into the harbor there, and we got to watch from a look-out park. The next night they had a fireworks show so we went to the same place to enjoy those. We also spent a day on the lake, fishing, swimming, kayaking, and even bird-watching! H's sister Emma had a softball tourney one day, so we cheered her on. We also took a harbor cruise and got a quick historical run-down of Duluth.
After a week in Duluth, we headed south for Brainerd where we stayed with H's grandparents. We saw some family and old friends, but didn't get to stay long as we met up with Tanya and John in the cities on Friday. They took us to a cool Mexican restaurant and we enjoyed a few drinks while watching the opening ceremony for the Olympics. Saturday the four of us went to Valleyfair, the largest amusement park in Minnesota; fun was had by all! Sunday we headed back to Wisconsin where H's pal Tara came to visit. There was a also a small family barbeque so we got to see more family. In the evening we met up with Kurt and Brooke and were introduced to their 5-monht old baby Sophia. B, Kurt, and Justin had a night out at Water St. while the girls chatted away and watched the Olympics.
Tara left Monday AM for work and we had our 1st official relaxing day where we didn't leave the house at all. Now we're in the process of sorting our 900 photos from the last year in Korea and getting them into albums. So far our trip has been amazing, and we'll make sure to get the most of our final days in the US.

Bring on the fun....and food!

We're arrived safely in the USA. Our flight experience wasn't the greatest this time, probably the worst we've had so far. It started when we got to the airport and the woman at the ticket counter said, "you don't have an entry stamp to get back into Korea, go to Immigration." The line at immigration was at least 60 people deep, so I put on a puppy face and 4 minutes later a woman helped me and told me I could buy the re-entry stamp once I had gone thru security. So, B and I went thru and found the office. It took almost an hour to get the stamp, and we spent all the Korean Won that we had on us, and by the time we got to our gate, they were boarding. We did meet a guy in immigration who worked in the same small city that we worked last year (I thought he looked familiar). Then, in line for our Tokyo flight, we ran into some Canadian friends who we had met on our Chinese tour.
The ride from Korea to Tokyo was smooth, no problems. We even had individual TVs on the seat in front of us (we didn't really need it for the 2 hour flight though). Our layover in Japan was under 2 hours, so we just hung out there, but when we got on our plane, and settled in for our 11 hour flight, we realized quickly that our seats were in the last row of the plane....66! And, of course that's right by the bathrooms. So there were people coming and going the whole flight. To top it off, there was a young girl in front of us who kept opening the window shades to let the sun in. Not cool when you're trying to sleep!
Luckily we arrived in MN 30 minutes early and breezed thru customs. B's mom picked us up and we're now in Eau Claire WI at her house. We've already met up with B's grandma/pa Hohlfeld and cousin Tasha, and it was great to see them. Tomorrow we're headed to Duluth MN to see H's mom!!

A Party Like None Other

On Friday, Brandon celebrated his 26th Birthday. We had a tasty Chinese lunch with a friend and then in the evening met up with many of our friends for a big bash. The evening started off with a pork BBQ at one of our fave restaurants. Good thing we made reservations as there were 14 of us! Then we moved onto the tent bar, where we met up with hagwon teachers who finished work at 10pm. Our friend Megan, who works in Incheon (we met her last year on top of a mountain) even made it to Wonju! After a few hours at the tent, we moved onto U2, a western style bar and somehow we got talked into going to a dance club. It was a very interesting experience at least. To end the night, about 8 of us went to a karaoke room to sing it up. We ended out night when the sun came up. Two more of our pals are headed back to England and last night was our last time to see them, so we really made it count.

Today we're taking care of things at home as we have to leave our apt at 5.30am to catch the airport shuttle bus. Our flight leaves at 11am, and arrives in Tokyo at 1.30. Then at 3pm we'll be on the long flight back to MSP, putting us in the US 11am the 27th. Super exciting!!

The gang enjoying dinner.

Not looking a day over 24, I promise ;)

Taking up a good portion of the Tent Bar.

H, Alex, and B. He's from England but studied a year at UW-Eau Claire. Small world!

Korean BBQ & Congrats!

On Tuesday, to kick off our vacation, we went to my co-worker's house for a small BBQ. It was a great night to be outside, and since they have a house in a quiet neighborhood, it felt like a small getaway! Wednesday we took the bus an hour to Chuncheon, where we updated our alien registration information. Today, Thursday, is a rainy day, and has been raining constantly since about 6am. This may be our welcome to the 2008 monsoon season.
We heard very exciting news that my best friend Emily Museus and her husband Trent have welcomed a new baby boy into the world on July 23rd! 7lb, 10oz healthy baby boy. We're so happy for the family and can't wait to meet the lil guy!
Tomorrow is B's 26th birthday so we're having a party with some foreigners in town. On the agenda:a pork BBQ dinner, drinks at the tent bar, and maybe even some karaoke.
We leave Korea on Sunday the 27th at 11am for America, and arrive the 27th (American time) at 12.25pm, MSP. Can't wait to see everyone!

B, Yerrin, and her dad enjoying the BBQ.

Last Week of Classes

We've got one more day of classes, and are looking forward to our summer vacation! Korea is still suffering a heatwave, and the poor students are busy sweating (and not concentrating) all day long.

This week H prepared a karaoke-type lesson for the last class. Students could choose any song and sing to their classmates. Some students showed their dancing abilities as well. One class was awarded choco-pies as their class received the most stickers for speaking English this semester (200 actually). Tomorrow she'll do the same at her small rural school as well.

B has been entertaining his students with a Japanese animation (translated into English). He's got to go to school for a half-day on Monday, but it's only for a closing ceremony.

Today was also the last Korean language class for H. One member is heading back to England so we had a group photo. Granted, 3 students were absent as they will be traveling starting this weekend, but it was a good last class.

7th grade class 1-2. The class with the most stickers!!

A typical meal for us: meat mix with added veggies, spicy cucumbers, raw veggies, lettuce.

Korean language class members: Heath, Vin, Annie, Amy, H, Sonya, and our teacher.

School Day Trip

On Tuesday B's school began their 3-day exam period, which means that he has 3 half-days this week. To kick off the big event, all of his teachers gathered Tues. afternoon and headed 2 hours south-east to a town called Jung-seon. This place is 'famous' for its rail bikes. An extensive set of railroad tracks are in the area, and some are now being used for this fun, touristy thing. About 30 teachers ended up going on the trip.

After the rail bike, they headed to an old gold mine cave, and took a walking tour through that. Soon it was time for dinner, and B ate a spicy chicken stew type meal. All in all it was a good day for him.

Yesterday was my last extra high school class, and today is my last extra mother's class. All of the mothers want me to continue this class next semester, but I'll be way too busy with university. So, tonight after our class they're taking my co-teacher and I out for dinner. The menu is a surprise, but I'm sure it will be tasty.

This is the 2-seater rail bike (they're pushed together in this picture).

There were also 3-seater options, which all of the teachers rode. B was with a P.E. teacher and his Vice Principal.

This was inside the former gold-mine/cave.

Two weeks ago one of the English teachers had a house-warming party (he invited all 40 of the teachers over for dinner, and most of us came). This is my friend Gyung-un, me, and my co-teacher Jinny b4 the meal.

Hot & Humid

The weather here is becoming unbearable. Temps are in the high 80's everyday and the humidity never drops below 70%. Yesterday, it was 89 but felt like 107. Yuck.
On Friday (4th of July) we had an Independence Day/Going Away Party for 3 of our friends who are heading back home soon. It was potluck style, so we got to enjoy some great foods. It was nice to chat with friends, as we know we won't see them again for a long time.
Saturday B had his test for his 2nd degree black belt. Although he won't find out the results for a few weeks, he feels that it went well.
This week his school has finals so he'll get to come home early 3 days this week. I've got a full class schedule and hoping that I can keep the students focused enough to play a review game.

Rained Out

This past weekend we made plans to visit a really cool mountain and temple in southwest Korea. We were planning on renting a car with our friends Dayle and Hee-kyung, but unfortunately we awoke to rain on Saturday morning. It rained all day so our trip has been postponed for now.
Instead we went to the movies with some friends; we watched "Kung Fu Panda," an animation about a Chinese panda who becomes a kung fu master. It was a cute movie. We grabbed dinner at a Japanese place downtown after the movie. We were curious to see how authentic it was, and since our pals lived in Japan for over 2 years, we thought they'd be pretty good judges. They said that it was fairly authentic but definately had "Korean" influence.
Afterward Amy and I did a bit of shopping downtown while the boys headed to our place to hang out.
On Sunday we relaxed at home and did an E-mart run in the evening for groceries. Luckily we went late enough as all of our meat was half-off.
B just found out today that instead of his vacation starting July 26th, it now begins July 19th. They then asked if there's anyway we can change our plane tickets to match this change. Sometimes the Korean way of doing things is a little too unorganized for us (we told them there's no way). Now we've got a week together to hang out b4 coming to the States (maybe we'll get to take in our mountain and temple then!)

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.

Danyang (단양)

Last Saturday we hopped in the car with 2 friends and took a 1-hour road trip to the small city of Danyang. A huge river ran through this city many years ago, and now has several beautiful sights. Although we didn't even see half of them, the things we did see were great.

First we grabbed lunch in town, and then headed to the country where we took a tour of a famous, historical Korean movie set. It was fun to play with all of the props. There's also a cave on site so we walked/crawled through that (some parts had really low ceilings).

After that, we visited Gu-insa, a Buddhist temple. It's a special temple as it's a different sect of Buddhism, and it was cool to see of the differences. We made it back to the city at sundown, to see some parasailers flying above the river. There happened to be an azalea festival in town so we walked around the booths and ended up getting kebabs from some deaf Turkish men. Their faces sure lit up when we came back for seconds! As we were chowing down, we heard fireworks, and were able to take in a great fireworks display. Right after that, we heard some music and wandered onto a nationally televised Korean Concert. Our Korean friend told us that the singers were famous performers. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!

On Tuesday, H's school had a festival all day. I climbed a 400 meter mountain with the 1st graders (very tiring) and then they enjoyed various games throughout the day. We ended the afternoon with a talent show where one skit made fun of some teachers. I was glad to not have made it on the list, but after that they wanted some teachers to come up and sing. As singing is not my strong suit, I snuck out of the auditorium just in time!

The weather has gotten hot here recently, temps are in the high 70's already. The humidity is already coming on strong and we're not looking forward to the June/July months.

The 2 couples: Dayle (from New Zealand) and his wife Hee-Kyung (from Korea)

Dayle and B joking around on the set of the Korean drama.

At Gu-insa Temple.

Enjoying the fireworks display.

The 2nd & 3rd graders made a giant receiving line for us as we left the school to climb the mt.

Some parts were so steep that we had to pull ourselves up with a rope.

The first of the 260 students to make it to the peak.

Hiking & B-day Party

On Friday evening we met with most of the EPIK teachers for a group dinner; close to 30 turned up and it was a fun night.

Saturday morn B and 3 guy friends decided they would climb the 1300 meter mountain. It took them all day, so I had lunch with my Korean friend and then afterward went to her nephew's 1st birthday party. Korean 1st b-day parties differ from Western ones, as there is a big to-do with fun activities.

When people arrive, they guess what object the child will pick IE-pencil=scholar, $=wealth, a microphone=entertainer, and so on. When the baby selects one of the items, whoever guessed correctly gets their name put in a raffle. Three names were drawn, and those guests are brought up to the front of the room and given a nice gift.

Everyone enjoys a wonderful buffet, and then sings the baby the B-day song. Of course, everyone brings either money or gifts. When they get ready to leave, the guests are wished well by the family and given rice cakes and, in this case, some dishes with a "happy birthday" theme on them.

My Australian friend Amy and I were the only westerners at the fiesta, and when asked who had come the farthest to be at the event, we were almost ushered on stage to collect the $10 being given away. Luckily, the mother's cousin had come from south-west Korea, so he got the cash instead!

Dayle, Nick and Heath at the top of Chiaksan!

The family blowing out the candle!

Me with the fam: my friend Kyung-eun & her younger brother (holding their nephew), their older sister in the Korean dress along with her 6-year old daughter Hyo-Een.