Springtime Activities

On a particularly warm spring day, we enjoyed a great time in the park. We took the time to be one with the locals and strip off the shoes and socks and run around in the fountains. Go Michael!

Another shot of us actually together with one of our arms NOT extended taking the "self-portrait."

Me in front of public art.

This was a temple entrance that we saw when on a hike on Cheongye Mountain (chon-gay). We had to get up at 5:30 to get started at 7:00 a.m. All this to avoid the literal herds of people coming at 9:00.

"I woke up at 5:30 and hiked to the top of a mountain."

Three mountain men.

In the afternoon, we went into Seoul to get first glimpses of the cherry blossoms. It's definitely helping the look of things here! Welcome, spring!

Seoul, seen from Namsan Tower, a landmark of the city.

Namsan Tower!

A Few Recent Adventures

We got to take a tour of a historic fortress called Hwasong Fortress.  I wanted to tell everyone that we visited the Great Wall of China, but I didn't think that would fly with most intelligent people.  

Enjoy the pictures!

The king's pond with a lookout post in the background.

This is a pulley that was used to move the heavy stones that comprise the entire fortress.
So we were forced into this photo by the zealous Korean tour guide.  She insisted on not 1 but 3 photos with these kind and tolerant guard guys.

A demonstration of ancient Korean fighting style.  

A giant statue of Buddha (we think) that overlooks the city of Suwon.

Lately, the weather has been warming up, and we're moving into the wet summer season.  Summer is hot, wet, and extremely humid, so this is the best time of the year, weather-wise.  We're enjoying the cherry blossoms and new leaves coming out.  Yay for springtime!

The Makings of a Great Literacy Program

Please note the student writing sample below. After being given the prompt, "I like to eat ____," my student was enthusiastic about writing a sentence that said, "I like to eat an extremely big pumpkin." Not bad for a 6-year -old ELL (English Language Learner) student! But, he got sidetracked. Had to get up and go to the bathroom (I'm pretty sure it was a #2), and when he came back, he had to hurry to finish. As you can see below, this was the result.

I wrote the word "pumpkin" in his personal dictionary for further reference.

Daily Life

Here are some images from our daily life. We have some friends coming and some going right now, so we're in a double transition!

This is our church that we attended in the fall and have been back to since we returned to Korea.

Left to Right: Pastor Casino, Jennie, Ernie, Pastor Moon, Guy I don't know

Some of our good friends here: Ernie and Jennie

Candid. :-)

Sunset in Bundang. The lovely color is due to what Michael calls "particulate matter" in the atmosphere, aka smog.

We found a hiking haven. We think we can be happy now!

Korean cemetery

These are my students. As you can see, birthdays are a big deal, due to the size of the banner. The lady on the right is my boss, Jennifer.

My students again. This is about as still as I can keep them. 2 seconds later they were wiggling! To quote a veteran kindergarten teacher, "They're lucky they're cute!"

Hand-washing saves lives--and so do gloves!

Michael and I visited a public "health" clinic for our mandatory health screening, as the capstone to our visas. It was simple: a urine drug test and a blood HIV test. But let me back up...

I distinctly remember my 6th-grade teacher telling us in a DARE class that he would always insist his needles be opened right in front of him to make sure that they were clean. For some reason this story has always stuck in my mind, and as we walked into the clinic, I told Michael that we needed to insist on getting a clean needle. We didn't realize that we would have to insist that the blood-drawing lady put on gloves!

But it was indeed that way. We watched her draw blood from other patients, gloveless, so when it came Michael's turn, he asked her to wear gloves. She went to wash her hands. "No, gloves, please. It's for you--for your safety!" he said. A confused look followed. He gestured the donning of gloves. With a sigh and a huff, she went to fetch some gloves, as though her time were being wasted. She came back, not with surgical gloves, but with food service gloves. Sigh.

My turn came, and did she change her gloves? No, she did not. I vowed that I would seize her personal bank account if I contracted HIV. Not likely, but we were both surprised that in a developed country such as Korea, basic hygiene like gloves would be ignored. "Unbelievable!" We said as we left. "Unbelievable!"

New Temporary Home

Thurday night ended up being the last night we had to sleep in what we affectionately now call the "Bordello;" i.e. Korean motel. We have inherited the apartment that belonged to the teachers we replaced at Kids' College, and as they moved out Friday night, we moved in. What a blessed change!

I took a few pictures, but please forgive the backlighting.

Here you have the entrance hallway. Cabinets and storage make up the entire left wall, bathroom is on the right.

Kitchen!

Here's the living room; it's a straight shot in from the doorway. We inherited all the furniture you see.

Here's the loft that we use as a bedroom. The staircase comes up to the left of the bed. Behind where I was standing is a desk and lamp. You can't quite stand up in the loft, but it's a fun place to sleep!

The little staircase that goes up to the loft. To the left is the kitchen and behind me is the living room.

And of course, how could I leave out the bathroom? No bidet on the toilet, so I suppose we'll always have to use toilet paper. ...We all have some sacrifices to make...sigh...

So that's the tour of our apartment! It's small, but I find it very comfortable. Unfortunately, we can't settle here because the man who owns the apartment no longer wants to rent it to foreigners (no prejudices, of course!), so we will move down to the 2nd floor in two weeks. The apartment will look exactly the same, but we'll have to haul all that stuff down there.

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!