Weekend Report

This weekend was very eventful, both in the states and here in Korea. My little sister, Hayley, went to her senior prom on Friday. She's the blonde one in the pic, for those of you who don't know :) I got to help her pick out her dress while I was still in the U.S. She chose a beautiful gown, with an empire waist and light beading. She looks gorgeous in blue. Her date, Nik, looked very handsome as well. They went to Murfreesboro for dinner with their other friends, Callie and Josh. Her and Callie have been best friends since kindergarten. Wish I could have been there to see them off!


Daniel and I got to visit Lotte World this past Sunday. Lotte World is the second largest indoor/outdoor amusement park in the world. We got there at 11:30am and didn't leave until 10pm...and we still didn't ride everything! It was soooo much fun! Our Canadian friend, Marilyn, joined in later in the afternoon. The pictures are courtesy of her! Everyone there had on funny Mickey Mouse ears...even the guys! It was hilarious to see grown men in pink polka dot headbands :) Maybe you can tell in the pictures haha!

School, work, and life in Korea continues to go well. Daniel and I are constantly feeling a little down with sinus problems. The weather is so up and down here, that its really messing with us. No complaints though on those nice 65 degree days...its just the next 45 degree day that's a bummer. We are planning lots of trips with a tour group called Adventure Korea. We head to Mt. Jiri for hiking and a Wild Tea Festival this weekend, and a DMZ trip is scheduled for Daniel's Birthday weekend, May 15-16th!

Cakes and Babies!

Another new bundle of joy has arrived, Miss Linda Ovella Ford. Our friends, Steven and Robin Ford, just welcomed their first little one. She weighed 7lbs 15 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. She has the most beautiful black hair I have ever seen. Can't wait to hold her come next March!!! I put a few pictures of the happy family...pre and post baby. Robin did a great job with the baby's room. She is an art major, so she did lots of stenciling and created an outdoor theme.

On a different note, this week has been busy as usual. Meetings at work, homework to grade, classes. The weather is getting nicer though, so that makes the bike ride in more enjoyable. Oh, last night I learned to bake a cake on the stove top. Kim, a master chef, taught all us girls how to make cake using a tuna can, tiny cake pan, and pot. We put the pot on low heat and then placed the pan on top of the tuna can in the pot. So it was kinda like a dutch oven. Nice! We made carrot cake with cream cheese icing....fron scratch!!! All in a TINY kitchen!

Daniel and I are gearing up to head to Lotte World this weekend. Lotte World is a medium sized amusement park located in Seoul. Ever since we passed it on the subway, Daniel has been dying to go! Should be fun!

Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival

On Saturday, we braced the hoards of Koreans and foreigners alike to attend the Cherry Blossom Festival in the Yeouido area of Seoul. It was a great day! Sunshine, cotton candy, pink blossoms everywhere....nice to finally feel some spring weather! The streets around the National Assembly building were lined with cherry trees that were all in full bloom. Just strolling around, checking out the booths (like glassblowing, kite making, etc) was relaxing and fun. We did get yelled at by an old lady (adjumma) for picking a couple of the blossoms. She told us, "They are for everyone." However, when we looked around everyone had a branch or two...even the Koreans. So we just got bullied, I think. It happens! We ate dinner at a fabulous restaurant in Gangnam where all the food was on conveyor belts and you just picked the plate up as it went along. Really fun! It's been a wonderful weekend....I don't want it to end!

The Dongtan Menace. . .

As promised, here is the video Sean made a couple weeks back...it's hilarious! We went for badminton in the park and had a great time! Mr. Competitive (a.k.a. Daniel Walker) kept everyone laughing! Let it buffer for a while, sit back, and enjoy haha!

Going to Gangnam

This weekend, Daniel and I made our second trip into Seoul. This time, we had no trouble! We caught a bus that got us to Gangnam Station (downtown Seoul) in 30 minutes. We wandered the main street checking out book stores, clothing shops, and whatever else looked interesting. We also saw, "Clash of the Titans," at the theater. I wasn't too impressed, but Daniel loved it. On the bus ride back, Daniel kicked my butt on some iphone Monopoly :( So time flew this weekend.

In Gangnam, we stumbled upon a cool market. Vendors were selling lots of the korean staple foods (fish, octopus, pork, peppers, rice) fresh and cheap. Whole pig heads, buckets of red peppers, and live octopus were just a few of the interesting things we saw! I have yet to try live octopus, but if it's anything like the bugs...I'm out!

Acting Day!

Every other week, we have Acting Day! This is the one day where the kids get to perform their skits in front of the video camera and class. They are in front of a blue screen so the background and music can always change to fit the script. They are supposed to memorize their lines at home, although most don't. However, my Tue/Thurs. class is AMAZING! They are only about 8-10 years old, but they are soooo smart! I only have 5 students in the class, which makes it go so much smoother. Here they are performing a script about making bread and helping others. There is a bit of lag time, sorry :(

By the way, I changed the settings to allow anyone to be able to leave a comment. I didn't know I could do that before, but now you'll all invited to share!

Cooper Davis Bingham

April Fool's holds a new significance to my family...the birthday of Cooper Davis Bingham. My 1st (and favorite ha) cousin Chasity had her little bundle of joy on Thursday, April 1st. Cooper weighed 8lbs. 14 oz. and is 19 inches long. He is a cutie! In the one picture, he is wearing his turtle bath robe that mom and I got him for his baby shower! Adorable! The other is us from pre-baby times, going to the CMA Fest! I can't wait to see baby Cooper next April Fool's!

Sunny Day in Dongtan!

Happy Easter! Sunday was a very sunny day in Dongtan! Since we got here, it has been snowing, raining, and windy. It was so nice to have a warm weather day. It was about 60 degrees yesterday and clear skies through most of the day. We took advantage of the sunshine by playing some badminton with everyone. So armed with rackets, a couple cheap birdies, and an ipod with speakers, we had one intense game of badminton. Mind you, I have never played a serious badminton game in my LIFE! This was so much fun. Alex, Sean, Kim, Daniel, and I really worked out all of our work tension. Afterward we had dinner at a wonderful Korean restaurant. A perfect day!

The first picture is of two of the huge "Metapolis" buildings. Metapolis is a ongoing construction project in Dongtan. The idea is to have these 4 magnificent buildings as commercial/office space. You can't see the bottom of the buildings, but surrounding them is a super nice outdoor shopping and park area. Metapolis won't be complete for another five years, though :(

Dongtan is such a new city that the majority of the building have been built within the last five years. I've talked to several English teachers who have been here for awhile and they all say that Dongtan use to be fields and rice patties.

The other pictures are of us playing. Kim is the blonde haired girl. She is from Florida and actually lived in Mongolia for two years with the Peace Corps. She has a plan to live on all seven continents. This includes doing a Fulbright in Egypt and her next stop, teaching English in Romania.

Alex is the Asian girl. It's funny because everyone always thinks she's Korean. Her parents are actually Chinese though, and she was born and raised in Boston. She has learned to say, "Sorry I'm not Korean and can't speak Korean," very well at this point due to so much confusion here ha!

Sean is from Maine. He is my co-worker at CDI April, along with Alex. He teaches the little monsters their ABCs. He actually made a video from yesterday that I hope to post soon! I hope the sunshine continues!

Our 5'x7' Bathroom

Many have asked about the bathroom situation here in Korea. Yes, it's a lot different than back home! I've posted a picture in hopes of explaining. First of all, our bathroom is about 5'x7'. That includes a toilet, shower, sink and medicine cabinet. The toilet is pretty normal. Sink, yeah. Shower, NO! The shower is connected to the sink and has a cord connecting it to the wall. So you turn a little faucet on the sink, and the shower comes on. But, don't forget to turn of that part of the faucet.

It makes for a funny morning laugh though, when Daniel forgets, then you hear a girly squeal coming from the bathroom when he pounds himself in the back with cold water!

All in all, it has its good points and bad points. There is no heat in the bathroom, which makes for extremely cold tile floors. I don't mind the shower so much though and since it saves on space, I'm all about it in this tiny apartment!

National Museum of Korea

I have yet to write on our first adventure to Seoul since we've been here. So here goes...two weekends ago Daniel and I decided to depart on an seemingly exciting adventure to Seoul, the magnificient capital. Since the weather is still so horrible here (cold and constant drizzle), we wanted to check out a couple museums. Well, after walking 1 hour to the next town to catch the subway, then riding the subway for 2 hours...we were exhausted. We spent a total of 4 hours at the museum, barely more than it took us to get there. The way back only took 2 1/2 hours, but needless to say, next time I am going to Seoul with one of my more experience co-workers! Apparently catching a bus would have got us there in 30 mintues!

The National Museum of Korea was awesome though! Well worth the hassle. It was a great introduction to Korean history for me and highlighted the country's most interesting artifacts. Among the three floors of exhibits, we saw memorial caskets, 20 ft. Buddha statues, ceramics, jewelry, paintings, and calligraphy.

Pictures:

1.) Ten-Story Pagoda from the Gyeongcheonsa Temple (National Tresure No. 86)

2.) Stone Carved Temple Stone

3.) Gilt-Bronze Maitreya in Meditation (National Tresure No. 83)

4.) Us in front of the "Reflection Pond" at the NMOK.

5.) Daniel standing with a traditional soldier from the Baekje Period