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...