Ahhh, Hawaii. And it's only the beginning...

And finally, the moment Michael and I have been waiting for... Kaua'i.  Since we are experiencing jet lag, our first morning was an early one, but I was excited to get some great light for these photos of the beach.  We've been here 2 days, and both of them have been equally wonderful.

The beach, a 5 minute walk from our condo.

Poipu beach, known for being sunny.  No complaints!

Michael is very happy.

Later in the day, we took a drive to Waimea Canyon.  The second biggest canyon in the Pacific--#1 is the Grand Canyon.  We enjoyed the blue, blue ocean and the golden fields as we drove.

An amazing waterfall that we hiked to.  I found the view was better from across the canyon because when we hiked to the top of it, I couldn't actually see the waterfall, just hear it.

It's warm, the air is clean and sweet, and we're not in winter clothes.  Whoo-hoo!

Waimea Canyon

More to come!

Last Days in Korea

The last days before we left Korea, we decided to leave our apartment early and stay with our friend, Ernie.  We were able to sleep in, relax, take some walks, and spend time with our friends.  They gave us a little goodbye party.  On Saturday, we were genuinely sad to leave them.  We'll miss our friends in Korea a lot.

Jimmy Kim and Sarah Ahn were our Korean mom and dad (not replacing our real parents by any means!).  They've always taken time to help us, show us the best parts of Korea, and have been the warmest, most welcoming, friendliest Koreans we met.  It was hard to say goodbye, and here's a picture of us before we had to say goodbye for the last time. :-(

Here I am already feeling relaxed on one of our favorite hikes.  In the summer, this little valley is green and alive with beautiful fields of rice, corn, and various greens.  I like it even in winter.

This lady had arranged her turnips in an amazing cylinder.    I don't like turnips, but this arrangement tempted me to buy some!

I've never been to a country in which I've seen cabbage and garlic in such copious amounts.  Earlier this year, this truck was equally full of garlic.  Koreans are quite healthy--I wonder why!

Ernie has a great view of a middle school, so we got to watch a few P.E. classes go on throughout the day.  They look so cute in their purple uniforms. 

Huge school, huh?  There are 5 stories.

An interesting art park that Michael visited.

Chinatown in Korea

Michael and I had two opportunities to visit two different Chinatowns that are in Korea.  We really enjoyed these two trips--we got to eat good food and see some different sights than we usually saw in Seoul.

Sarah Ahn and me at the Ansan Museum of Modern Art (part of our Chinatown day).

This bamboo and steel sculpture was called "The Family."  You can see how big it was with me in the foreground.

The meat market!  In Korea, when a new company or big endeavor is begun, the participants will order and cook a pig.  It's especially good luck if the pig head is smiling like this one.

We hadn't ever seen a wooden chopping block for meat before.

Fresh produce market.  The town we visited, Ansan, is an industrial town, and we were pleased to see that the prices were a lot lower there than in Seoul because people simply can't afford higher prices.  You can see that the coconuts are 2000 won, now about $1.60.

On a different day, we went to a town called Incheon (pronounced Inchon).  During the Korean war, the Chinese and the North Korean armies had nearly succeeded in taking over the whole Korean peninsula.  General MacArthur and his armies executed a brave and risky landing in Incheon, while their battleships shot mortars into Seoul, successfully driving the Northern armies back up north.  Here is the harbor today.

When we visited Incheon, it was Lunar New Year.  Here is a table full of food prepared for the family's ancestors.

Red lanterns were strung everywhere.  Red is a color symbolizing good luck.

The End of a Chapter--turn the page!

I began this blog when Michael and I began our adventure in Korea about 15 months ago.  We are now eagerly awaiting our return to the States (which happens in 6 days) and the beginning of a new phase in life.  We've come to learn a few things about ourselves and life in the past year and a bit, and we often shake our heads, still surprised that we went to Korea at all.  "How did we get here?" we often ask each other.  But we've never regretted our decision, even though many of you have heard us groan and gnash our teeth over certain aspects of our lives here.

I'm still deciding what to do with this blog when we come home.  I may continue it or I may not. Blogs still verge on being uncomfortably close to a narcissism I don't really want in my life.  However, should I discontinue it, I will still find a way to update the family and other loved ones with photos and anecdotes.

Anyway, after we refresh ourselves in Hawaii :-

) we'll be home for fun times and visiting, so get ready, friends!  Don't be too busy!

Stay tuned for a few more pictures, and then I'll see you in the flesh.  Yay!

                     China still remains the highlight of our time in Asia.  We just loved it there...