We Have Returned!

On Saturday, the 23rd, we left Washington to resume our adventures in Korea. After a 13-hour travel ordeal, we arrived in Seoul on Sunday, the 24th. By the time we hit the sack Sunday night, we had officially been up for 24 hours. Korea is 17 hours ahead of Pacific time, so we gained a day as we traveled. Traveling that far west is basically an endless day.

This week, we're staying in a Korean motel as we wait for the other teachers to move out of our apartment. It is quite the experience. Apparently, Korea really doesn't have hotels the same way the US does. Thus, we are staying in a type of love motel. It is a skanky, brothel-esque, pay-by-the-hour operation, and earplugs have definitely helped at night. Use your imagination, and you have our living quarters for the week. We are really looking forward to moving into our apartment!

Today we visited our school and met some of our students. There's a lot to sort through and prepare for next week when we begin teaching. It's certainly a happy place that cares about its students. I think everyone there feels taken care of. We'll be working hard, but it will be good work to be doing. Once we get settled this weekend, I'll put up some pictures. See you soon!

The Sun Was Shining, But Don't be Fooled!

After a few weeks in California, we went up to Washington to visit the other half of our family. Washington has become a place to which many Californians like to move to get more house for their money, but I will say to them all: the winters really are as bad as you have heard. We've been here three weeks, and it it has been sunny 3 days in total. All the rest of the days it has been not only overcast, but rainy. Seasonal Affective Disorder is real, I tell you!

Anyway, the best thing about Washington have been our friends and family. It's been so refreshing to see the friends and family members we love so much! Enjoy the beautiful pictures of Washington; there's a reason why it's green!

We went down to Seattle to get our Korean visas; here is the famous Seattle Monorail.

A frozen Heart Lake with the mist rolling in on Mount Erie

More mist on Mount Erie

My step-dad, Ben, and our dog, Chelsey--she's the best dog in the world!

Hello, there.

This was taken on the third sunny day of our stay. Mount Baker is in the background; Fidalgo Bay in the foreground.

Pictures of the countryside near my parents' house. I was also experimenting with some "door photos."

The plan now is to leave Washington and head to Korea on the 24th of February, so all our loyal fans will be able to resume their vicarious cultural experience at that time.

You've Gotta See These!

We went to Ano Nuevo State Park in Santa Cruz and had a unique opportunity to see elephant seals during breeding season. They come to this beach by the hundreds (we saw more than 700 seals) to give birth, breed, and go back to sea. Just to help you appreciate how big these animals are, here are a few fast facts:
~full grown males can be up to 15 feet long and can weigh 5,000 pounds
~babies are born at about 70 pounds, and in 4 weeks grow to be almost 300 pounds
~one male "owns" a harem of females and must be prepared to defend his position at all times against others that might want to challenge him. In other words, they fight a lot!

We got to come within 25 feet of these guys, so it was pretty interesting.

This is a young male. He has nothing to do because he's not old enough or big enough to fight off another male for the rights to all the sex, I mean, breeding.

Mama and newborn baby.

They know how to live--lay around on the sand and sleep.

This guy is just letting others know that he is boss and owns all the women.

Here is another young male who doesn't stand a chance, but is wishing he did.

We highly recommend this tour if you're ever down in Santa Cruz in January. We learned a lot and got to see some really interesting wildlife!

Plans--Tentatively

Well, we've done a bit of traveling around in the last few weeks, but we are on the last leg of our US travels, assuming that all goes as intended. So now we find ourselves in NW Washington, with our Korean work visa process in Step 2 of about 4. What's the plan, you might ask.

Overall, the plan is to be issued a Korean work visa in time to return to Korea by mid-February. At the end of February, we'll begin work at a Kindergarten school, which is a one-year contract. We'll be replacing some friends of ours who have been working there for 2 years, as they are ready to move back to the States.

While we wait for those details to fall into place, we're visiting friends and family in Washington. Hopefully, we'll see many of you soon!

Amazing California

Here are a few pictures from our time in California. The weather here is hovering around 55 degrees. We've been to the ocean, Point Reyes Lighthouse, and some parks around Vacaville. It's been awesome!

Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes Lighthouse
I LOVE THE OCEAN!!!!

Merry Christmas from California!

Sorry for the infrequent updates of late! We've had a fairly eventful December, the events of which have landed us in California for a few weeks. Keeping in mind that this blog is an Internet publication, I'll refrain from the details, but the bottom line is that we ended our contracts at the school that we worked for this fall and have entered into a new contract at another school (still in Korea). Because there's a bit of a time lapse before we begin our new contract, we decided to come back to the States for Christmas (and just in time!), and we'll be here for the month of January.

It has been so great to be back in California! We arrived on Thursday the 20th, after an uneventful flight across the ocean. We got to stop over in Japan on our way here, so now I can say that I've been to Japan, too, although the airport hardly counts. Our flight from Korea to Japan was especially comfortable. We flew in the upper deck of a 747--a totally new experience! The plane was already huge, and it felt even huger (thanks, great English, I know) being on the top deck of a plane. Our connecting flight to San Francisco was more cramped, so we were grateful to get off the plane after 8 hours. I'm still working on the finesse to get upgraded to business class...I tried, but no luck this time.

We've been enjoying sunny California so far. Don't worry, Washington people, we'll be up that way after the holidays to pay a visit. We plan to return to Korea sometime in February. So that's the Hanes update. I'll post pictures if I can get it together! We'll see most of you soon!

Thanksgiving and First Snow!

Despite being away from our families, we had a great Thanksgiving. We celebrated with some new friends we met a couple of weeks ago, as well as with some people who were new to us. When everyone is away from home, you know that you just need to take them in so all can celebrate. We were particularly blessed because one person who ate with us was a "friend of a friend." We'd never met him, and I know that he felt welcome because he told the guy who brought him that we were "the nicest people he'd ever met." I believe that Jesus worked through us this weekend to show this man Christ's hospitality. That's worth being in Korea to me!

Take a look below at the meal we accomplished with two stove burners and a toaster oven! Pictured are two new friends: Jennie (L) and Maritza (R).
Here are some visions of the first snow in Anyang. It's averaging about 25 degrees at night and 40 in the daytime. This snowstorm arrived with thunder and lightning, too!
Below: you can see where the market food comes from! This man is loading cabbages on to his wheelbarrow.

This is a family gravesite. You can see these all over the hillsides when you hike through the woods.



That's all! Thanks for the phone calls and packages we've received. It's a special feeling to feel "thought of." We love you!