Snow!

After all the hype about snow across the US and especially in the Pacific NW, this little snowfall isn't much to brag about, but we woke up on our first day of the long weekend to an impressive snow flurry.  It's snowed off and on all weekend, and it's been just beautiful!  The winter here has been sunny and very cold, but we've had very little snow, so it was fun to enjoy the beauty.  It also slowed down the general public, which is a nice change from their usual frantic, frenetic way of life.

Michael and I walk along this waterway to work everyday.  The stepping stones are designed for people to be able to cross the river.  It's exciting when the river is flowing fast.

Fun times!

Wrapping it Up

To those with whom we talk regularly, you probably know as well as we do that our time in Korea will be coming to its completion in 5 weeks.  Wow!  I just realized that I need to get camera crazy as we are out and about for the last portion of our time here.  Here are some pics of a day trip we took when we went to the East Sea (or Sea of Japan, depending on your perspective...).

It was a beautiful day.  Clear, blue skies and the temperature was milder and less biting than the dry, freezing temperatures we'd been enduring in Seoul.

I've never seen a real one of these fish before--what is it?  A blowfish or puffer fish.  I'm not really sure.  They were kind of nifty.

Michael and Jimmy, daring the waves to get bigger.  The waves were about 15 feet high, often higher.  I loved watching them crash into the beach!

Watch out, here comes a big one!

An absolutely gorgeous day!  We enjoyed some great seafood and were able to see a nationally famous fish market.  It abounded with dried fish products, which I didn't really enjoy, but it was interesting, and we got to see many sea creatures that I would have never thought of eating. :-)

Interesting Tidbits

Cultural and language exchange is always interesting.  Here's a quick post to entertain you...

A conversation with my boss 

(now my boss is enough material for a book, so I won't go into that, but you may get a taste of my daily, hourly need to rip out my hair when you read this)

Boss: Ah, Eryn, some parents...some parents in your class have a little problem.  They think your class is too loose.  Yes, it's too loose.

Me: Hm.  I'm confused.  What does "too loose" mean?

Boss:  Ah!  Yes!  I mean, of course, not tight.

This is when, mentally, I either retreat to my happy place or run screaming.

Fan Death

This is a widely accepted urban myth that a fan, when running in a non-ventilated room (i.e no window open) will push or suck oxygen away from the breather thereby eventually killing him or her.  All fans in Korea have timers just in case you should unwittingly fall asleep and fail to supervise your fan.  I am not kidding.

More poorly translated t-shirts!

My favorite crime against English  occurred when Michael and I saw a couple walking down the street with matching jackets that read on the back, "SPECIAL EDUCATION 08."

Enough said!

Reruns

During our vacation, we went to the Korean National Museum, which was a really interesting trip, made even better because it was free. :-) The museum was huge, so we did not finish it the first time, and we took the opportunity the other day to go and finish it. I remembered to take a few photos this time.Here is the main exhibit area. The exhibits are off to the right and left of this central corridor.

The main entrance to the museum has a panoramic view of Seoul, as you can see. Michael and I both agree that one of the exhibits in this museum is in the architecture itself.

This is an example of Chinese art. This horse was apparently made between the years 400 and 900. We thought he looked cool.

Cool horse #2

This is a crown worn by Korean royalty. In "recent" history, Korea was ruled by three different kingdoms: the Joseon, Baekjae, and the Shilla. This is a crown from the Shilla kingdom. Gold, of course!

This odd clay thing is no fallacy--it is the real deal: a tomb. Any man would die to be buried in this thing!

And here is the tallest pagoda in Korea (I think... my facts are getting muddled). Anyway, it is really tall. I apologize for the fact that I am blurry.

We have really enjoyed this museum. We got to learn a lot about the cultural and economic exchanges between China, Korea, Japan, and all the other Asian nations over the past several thousand years. It makes me wish I had learned more about Asian history in school. It's really ancient! We have nothing like it.

In other news, if you can believe it, Michael and I will be finished with our contracts in a mere 8 weeks. A big "Hallelujah!" is usually my reaction every time I think about this fact. That, and a big, goofy smile. We are so excited to get back home. Korea has been very challenging for us, but in the end, there has been far more good than bad that has resulted from our decision to embark on this journey. Michael and I have now something unique in the present economy: opportunity.

Our general plan is to move to California. I know this will cause weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth for some of you, but we believe that although the economy is less than ideal, the Bay Area or Sacramento area will offer us a lot of good choices (and good weather). Other specifics are in process, but we've got some exciting ideas in motion, and are really optimistic about 2009, despite the challenges of moving, settling, and looking for jobs.

We hope that 2009 is going well for you far and that no one has screwed up this year only 4 days into it. :-) Just kidding. Happy New Year!

International Christmas

We thought we'd be a bit bummed this Christmas, as we spent it away from our families, but it was such a unique experience that we didn't really have the opportunity to feel too lonely. On Christmas day, we went over to the home of our friends, Jimmy and Sarah, for Christmas dinner. A few people we had not met before were there, as well a girl named Dong Jun, who is a teacher from China living here in Korea. We met her on Thanksgiving. Here are my co-worker Allie, me, Dong Jun, and Sarah.

Dong Jun brought the ingredients to make home-made dumplings for part of our dinner. Here are some of them, made by many of us who were at the party.

Show this picture to Grandma Joe! This is Michael rolling out the skins for the dumplings. It was fun to make the dumplings because Chinese dumplings are a tradition in Michael's family on Christmas day.

Dong Jun and Michael rolling out the dough. She made the dough and the filling from scratch. They were really good!

We also met some girls from South Africa at our dinner. They were really fun to talk to and get acquainted with, and they brought some traditional South African food. So it really was an international Christmas. We had people for dinner from Korea, China, South Africa, and America. We had a great time!