Cheonggyecheon Stream and Han River Tour

Cruising down the Han River...
One of the many car/train bridges we passed under....

Daniel and I finally got around to taking the Han River Tour, after one failed attempt and endless summer heat that kept us away, and it was very enjoyable and relaxing. It was a short 1 hour cruise up and down the river where we got to see the tallest building in Seoul, the National Parliament Building, and other historic sights. While in the area, we also got to stroll down Cheonggyecheon Stream in downtown Seoul. It was once completely covered up to make way for buildings, but has now been rebuilt and made into one of the city's most beautiful park areas. We're still enjoying the wonderful fall weather here. If only winter would stay away!

Hiking

At the top with our Kentucky friend, Amanda.
The leaves are changing and is so nice here!
Viewo of Seoul in the background...
Ascending the peak in Suwon...
View of Dongtan and Suwon in the background...


Daniel and I have had several great hiking adventures lately. . . Mt. Gwanggyosan in Suwon and Mt. Dobongsan in Seoul. From the mountain in Suwon, we could see our neighborhood in Dongtan, which was cool. Mt. Dobongsan was a strenuous hike uphill the entire way, but the view of Seoul from the top was amazing! My legs are killing me now, though :(

We've had wonderful weather here and we're really enjoying the outdoors before the cold winter hits. We have another hiking trip planned to one of the tallest mountains in Korea. Its on November 6th with the Adventure Korea Tour group...can't wait!

Farmer's Music and Dance

Suwon Folk Village

Traditional wedding ceremony. The groom rides away on a horse, while the bride is carried away in the box...



On Saturday we took a much anticipated trip to the Folk Village in Suwon with some co-workers and friends. We've tried to go several times, but because of the rain we've had to wait it out. The folk village had lots of cool performances, exhibits, and craft makers. We had lots of fun taking pictures and enjoying the nice weather!

We have the next three days off for Choosok (Korean Thanksgiving) and are planning to head to Lotte World Amusement park again, hike around Seoul's Mountains, and relax!

Seoul Racetrack

I've been slow to post these pictures. A few weeks ago, Daniel, Lexi, Issac, and I went to the Seoul Racetrack and had a great time! The admission to get in was less than a dollar. This is the only legal form of gambling that Korean citizens are allowed to do, so it was a mad house! We didn't lose any money or make any, but then again we were only betting quarters and dollars.

Monsoon season has just begun here in Korea, so it doesn't look like we'll be able to head back to the track any time soon. Fall is supposed to be beautiful here with great weather. I can't wait for that! We're planning a hiking trip for September and starting to think about a winter vacation in Thailand...

Super Students!

This is a video I made for the second CDI April video competition. My summer intensive class, which met twice a week for four weeks, participated. They are my youngest students, ages 7-10 years old. All the CDI schools in Korea are competing, so hopefully we win! The best video gets a 50,000 won prize ($50 USD) for the teacher...cha-ching cha-ching!

Beijing and The GREAT Wall!

Daniel and I finally got to escape the hustle and bustle of Dongtan life for a 7 day vacation to Beijing, China. While there we stayed at a hutong hostel, which was over 300 years old. We visited Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City on Day 1, which were amazing to see! Its stuff you read about but never think you're actually going to see one day....
We also traveled to the Great Wall, which is about 3 hours outside of Beijing. We hiked 10km uphill and I was exhausted by the time it was all over! Wonderful views of the wall, both restored and unrestored sections.
We also got to see three shows in total, acrobatics, Kungfu, and a modern dance performance. Other highlights of our trip included eating Peking Duck, taking a rickshaw ride, and visiting the Summer Palace. Now it's back to work...

Hwaseong Fortress

For all you McMinnville people, pick up a copy of Wednesday's (July 21st) Southern Standard. Charlie Johnson did a piece on my experiences in Korea on the frontpage of the "Lifestyle" section!

A couple weeks ago, Daniel and I had the chance to visit the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon. What I was expecting was a small fort, but no...this thing is HUGE! We walked for about two miles and only covered about half of it. We also had the chance to do a little archery practice, which was fun although, I don't think I need to pick up archery as a hobby. Daniel however, hit the target most of the time. A very fun...but HOT day! I included a little background info. about the fort from UNESCO below:

"When the Choson emperor Chongjo moved his father's tomb to Suwon at the end of the 18th century, he surrounded it with strong defensive works, laid out according to the precepts of an influential military architect of the period, who brought together the latest developments in the field from both East and West. The massive walls, extending for nearly 6 km, still survive; they are pierced by four gates and equipped with bastions, artillery towers and other features."

4th of July FUN!

This year's 4th of July was AWESOME! It is the second one I've spent out of the country, the first being in Costa Rica, and it was by far the coolest. Kim, a fellow teacher from Florida, organized an intense weekend full of surprises.

It started Saturday night with baseball in the park. The rain and the hoard of soccer players playing a game around us only added to the fun! Next, on Sunday we all joined back together (about 30 people) for the "Dongtan Amazing Race." Kim came up with a list of 90 scavenger hunt items and the team who did/found the most won. I only have pics of Daniel's Team so far, but as you can see two of the items were to take a group picture with a random soccer team and have a Korean perform a magic trick for you. The winning team (which was neither Daniel nor I) was slapped in the face with an octopus, scoring themselves 1,000 points and the title. After a potluck, we got together for firework and more "Olympics Games" in the park. One of the best 4th of July's so far...

Seoul City Bus Tour

This weekend we got the chance to take the Seoul Bus Tour. For only 10,000 won (roughly $10) the bus toured us around to some of the most famous, ancient, incredible sights in the city. Here are some highlights from the trip!

Above: These women were incredible! They played the drums (along with various other instruments) while bending backwards, jumping, yelling, etc....AWESOME traditional performance at the Seoul Folk Village!

Changdeok Palace. Originally constructed in 1405 during the Joseon Dynasty.

Traditional kimchi pots and cooking hut.

Changing of the guards at Deoksugung Palace.

Guards at Deoksugung Palace which was built in the 1500s.

Busan and the beach!

Our three day trip to Busan (over Budda's birthday weekend) was plagued by continuous rain, but through it all...was a great trip! We took the KTX ("bullet") train for the 2 1/2 hour journey south on Friday morning. We arrived to sunshine and heat so decided to get in some beach time. After locating our tiny hotel, which had an even tinier sign in English, we hit the beach for our first (and unknowingly last) beach day. Gwangalli Beach was beautiful though the water wasn't the cleanest. We stayed on shore and played Frisbee mostly. For dinner was got to join up with some friends we've met who live in Seoul, Lexi and Iassac. That night there were fireworks on the beach :)

The rain started (and never stopped) on Saturday. We went to the Busan Aquarium, along with about a million other Korean kids and parents. For dinner we headed to the Jalgachi Fish Market, one of the biggest in Asia! It was AWESOME! We picked a live fish, they chopped its head off in front of us, and we went upstairs to the restaurant while they cooked it. YUMMY!!!

Sunday was mainly shopping and going to see "Robin Hood." Barely made in back in time for class on Monday morning. Wonderful trip to the beach, regardless of the rain...

The DMZ

This past weekend was BUSY! The weekend kicked off with a little birthday celebration for Daniel. The big 28! He got a new skateboard... i guess boys will be boys! Bright and early Saturday morning we woke up and headed to Seoul to meet up with the Adventure Korea group. From there we traveled about 2 1/2 hours to the 2nd Infiltration Tunnel of the DMZ, which is northeast of Seoul. We toured the tunnel, Communist Labor Party Building, bombed train station, and a few other small things.

The 2nd Tunnel was made by the North Koreans to invade South Korea, but was discoved on March 19th, 1975. The tunnel is 3.5 km long and is 50-160 meters below the ground. It can accommodate up to thirty thousand people and is large enough for tanks to pass through.

That night, AK held a bonfire in front of our hotel and we roasted marshmallows. Marshmallows are hard to come by here...so little treats like that make me miss home a bit :) On Sunday, we toured the White Horse Battle Field and then did a rice planting event. Later we had free time to explore the Odaemi Village area on double seater bikes, a small town of rice planters. It was a very fun trip overall, although I did get a killer sunburn that I'm just now starting to lose. This weekend we're headed to the beach at Busan!

Central Park

When we're not traveling around Korea, we usually spend our time in "Central Park." The park is only 2 short blocks from our house and it is amazing! There are three separate water displays, one of which does a show to music everyday (like at the Opryland Hotel). There are endless things to do in the park...badminton, tennis, volleyball, and basketball courts, soccer field, track, 2 skating rinks...just about anything you can thing of! It's GREAT!

The stream which runs the entire length of Central Park. Kids love to play in it in their undies ha!
One of the 3 water displays. A view of Dongtan apartments in the back.

One of the beautiful pagodas....

Golfing 9 holes....

This is a video Daniel made of us during the lesson. Marilyn is in front and me in back. The little guy kept running around correcting us the whole time! It was supposed to be serious, but I was laughing the whole time :) They told us to make good, "water noises" and the adjumma was so mean looking! The main points were to pick things up with your right hand, always hold your sleeves back from the table, and above all...smile and look calm!

Hadong Wild Tea Festival

So, this is a long overdue post about the Hadong Wild Tea Festival...sorry for the delay! As you know, on our Adventure Korea tour to Mt. Jirisan, we stopped over on Sunday in the beautiful, mountain town of Hadong. There they had an annual Wild Tea Festival. Out of the 80 AK members, 20 drew lucky numbers to get to participate in the tea serving ceremony. Marilyn, Daniel, and I happened to be part of the lucky 20. An old adjumma demonstrated the proper way to serve tea and we (along with help from a translator) spent the better part of 2 hours learning. Serving tea to family and friends is a tradition that dates back to thousands of years to the ancient dynasties of Korea.

According to Wikipedia, "The first historical record documenting the offering of tea to an ancestral god describes a rite in the year 661 in which a tea offering was made to the spirit of King Suro, the founder of the Geumgwan Gaya Kingdom (42-562). Records from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) show that tea offerings were made in Buddhist temples to the spirits of revered monks."

This is a good link explaining some of the origins, history, and process that we learned about that day: http://www.teamuse.com/article_020601.html

Women are still taught this custom and it is a integral part of Korean formal occasions. After learning the intricate process, we set off to perform our newly found talents in a "Tea Serving" competition. On a huge stage in the middle of the festival, we were brought up in groups of 4. They played music and we performed the ceremony with the help of some adjummas. At the end there was an awards ceremony for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Winners received prizes worth between $300-$100! Wouldn't you know it, but Daniel won 2nd and Mariyn won 1st!!! So, there prizes definitely paid for our trip a few times over. Daniel won a wonderful clay tea set including the kettle, cups, serving dishes, etc. Afterwards we had a bit of time to walk around the festival and check out all the crafts, food, and exhibits. Overall Adventure Korea was a very fun and enjoyable experience. So much so that we're heading to the DMZ with them this weekend...woohooo!!!

Pictures:
1. 3rd, 1st, and 2nd place "Tea Ceremony" WINNERS!
2. Me and one of the assistant ladies who told us what to do in case we forgot
3. At the end of the serving competition, waiting for everyone to finish
4. A booth at the festival where we practiced our new skills with some actual tea masters