Drinking and Partying

Hello friends!


First off, I'm sorry. I've been really lazy lately. More than normal. So, um. yeah. It's not like we haven't done anything. We've done some things, certainly, but well...Ok.

So, in recent news, we've been working at our summer camps which is glorious! We only have to work until noon and we get paid the same. And, more often than not, we also get lunch. Usually pizza or fried chicken. And they give us breakfast-bread and muffins and honey butter. YUM! There is, of course, the problem of weight gain. During our winter camp I gained about 10 pounds; Of course I think it was coupled with learning how to make eggnog from scratch, but you know, I'm still trying to be careful. I only eat the muffin top in stead of the whole thing. :)

Great. So, what else have we been doing that has kept us away from the most read blog on the internet? Partying. Really, I feel like this past month has been constant events or parties. We've hosted a few parties, gone out for a few parties and just ended up chilling with friends until the wee hours of the morning. I think there are quite a few people who really do relish that lifestyle..but for us-we're just tired the next day and then have to take all week to recover. Although, obviously it hasn't stopped us...hmm, well, at least it's fun. However, this weekend has been somewhat mellow. After staying out until 3 on Friday, we opted to say in and watch Trueblood all day saturday and today we're going to watch musicals at a friends house.

But, I digress. Whenever you read anything about Seoul, it's referenced as a city that is awake 24 hours a day. I suppose there are other cities that are also equally caffeinated (or in the case of Seoul, drunk) but there's something more accessible to being up all night here.

One night we were just sitting at a convenience store, drinking on their patio and when we finally looked at our watch we realized it was 2am.
Another night, we were hanging out in our apartment with friends when we got the urge to go singing. We found a singing room and stayed there until 3am.
For a friends birthday we wanted to go dancing and just ended up bar hopping until 4am.

You might be saying, "Well, you could do that in any city! (not if your in Boston) So why is Seoul any different?" And while I can't speak with any real authority as I haven't partied in all the cities of the world, I can speak to the difference in Seoul to some other American cities.

1. You can drink on the street.
It's not that you see many people walking around with cans of alcohol or bottles of soju. (Unless they're foreigners-and then you can almost guarantee they're carrying booze) It's more the fact that all the convenience stores sell alcohol and almost every single one has a little table out front where you can drink it. So instead of spending 5 bucks for a drink at the bar, you can start out cheaper at the corner store.

2. Alcohol is cheap.
Ok. in all honesty, I don't mean tequila and whiskey are cheap, but beer and soju are cheap. A bottle of soju costs a dollar and Korean beer is really affordable too. Also, there's lots of bars that have cheap drink specials. There's a few that have $2 tequila shots or buckets of beverage. MM! But my favorite place has a 5 dollar cover and ladies drink FREE! Yes. FREE. This is remarkable. And wonderful considering that Jamie and I are a couple. Much cheaper for our shared income and because I'm usually there with my husband and wearing a wedding ring I don't have to spend my evening fending off drunk GIs. (well..)

3. Plenty of places to sleep
While you could certainly sleep on a park bench, you could also spend 6 dollars and sleep in the Jimjabang (Korean sauna) or you could spend $30 and sleep in a love motel.

4. Transportation is Cheap.
So, the subway stops running at midnight. (I KNOW, right?!) But you can take a taxi cab! We take about a 45 minute taxi ride and it costs us between 16 and 22 dollars. wow! And, you don't need to tip here. (although we do)


OK. so, all that being said, we don't party that often. This month has been strange for us. It's happened because we don't realize how late it is. The streets never get quiet, the buses never stop running, and the stores never close. Wow. This means, of course, that there is a fair amount of English Teachers that are here, right out of college, who party all the time-call out sick because of hangovers and spend all their money on partying. We don't do that. This month has just been...summertime I guess.

Anyway, we miss you all. We'd love to be partying with you.

Interesting things about Korea.
This addition focuses on drinking.

Speed:
Koreans drink FAST. I mean, like 5 shots in five minutes-and it's not just the 20somethings. All ages. I think Americans settle into one establishment and get big glasses or beer or a mixed beverage. Koreans will visit many places in a night and eat and drink at each one. So they drink fast and continuously while they're in one place but have some time while they transition. Also, the beverage of choice is Soju.


Age:
As I mentioned above, everyone drinks, not just the young people. In fact, if you are the oldest-or the highest authority-in a group, it's customary for you to take a shot with each member of the group. Jamie watched his principal take a shot with every teacher in a group-almost 20 people!


Customs and Politeness:
We're still trying to learn all this-it's all new. I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting.

• It's rude to take your shot facing an elder. Turn your head to the side to take the shot.
• People (elders usually) will give you their own shot glass, you take a shot with it and then hand it back to them so they can take a shot with it.
• It's rude to fill your own glass. If you need a refill, fill someone else's and they'll do the same for you.
• Don't top off. Wait until the glass is empty.
  
• When filling a glass pour with two hands and when getting your glass filled hold your glass with two hands.
• If someone older or of a higher authority comes to have a shot with you, stand up.
  

Quick Update

Hello! It has been a while since the last posting, so we'll do our best to catch up. We haven't embarked on any major adventures in the past month, but we've been keeping ourselves busy nonetheless!
One of the most exciting things is our new air conditioner - please take a look at the pictures, the thing is literally as tall as a refrigerator and has two parts. Well, we're excited about it now, we'll see how excited we are once we see our electric bill for the month! That being said, we feel that since we spent so little on heating this year, we can splurge a bit and life of chilly bliss this summer. Seriously, we could keep a penguin in our room...maybe even a shopping penguin!

Lets see...what else is new in the lives of Jamie and Shannon? Well, we've discovered a couple of board game cafes in the city. Word is that these were really popular in Seoul a few years back, but most places have gone under. The two we have visited are pretty amazing. You pay an hourly fee per person and are free to use all the board games they have, and they have a pretty great collection. They even have a board game "menu", but it is in Korean so not much help to us, but we like the idea nonetheless. Of course you can get snacks and beverages too.

OH and how could I forget World Cup soccer! We thoroughly enjoyed being in a country that actually cares about soccer during the tournament, and it was also really cool to have two teams to root for. We managed to catch almost all of the South Korean games and the USA games (with the exception of the two that were aired at 3:30AM our time). We did stay up for the USA Ghana game, which was also at 3:30, and ended up going to bed at about 6:00AM. We had a little foreigner fan club going for each of the games and I really developed an appreciation for the sport, I can't remember ever really liking soccer until this World Cup!

Wait a second, it really HAS been a while since our last post! We did go on a little trip during Buddha's Birthday weekend. This was around May 21st (Buddha's B-day) I'll recount the week, it was pretty exciting! First off, there was a lantern festival in downtown Seoul. It was probably the longest parade I've ever seen. There were thousands of people just marching with lanterns, alongside groups of dancers, huge paper floats (including animatronic fire-breathing peacocks!), and some international Buddhist communities. Amazingly we managed to snag front row seats, too!

We then made a trip to an island called Muido in the east sea, near the country's major airport. We had intended on staying the weekend, but we forgot to bring enough cash to get us through the entire time (no credit cards or ATMs!). We weren't too disappointed, as the sea retreats a couple kilometers at low tide leaving a massive mudflat for a view. Not that appealing, actually! We did enjoy the daytrip, though, and we were accompanied by some of Shannon's Korean co-teachers and we had a nice time hanging out with them.

We decided to count our losses and just head back down to the coastal city we were a little more familiar with, Pusan. This was our second time visiting Pusan and this time we opted for an ocean side motel (still super cheap). We got in a solid beach day and had some beautiful weather. There were probably more westerners at the beach than Koreans, and it was very easy to tell them apart. Most westerners were sunbathing while most Koreans were hiding under umbrellas and were fully clothed. Our guess is that, while it was a beautiful day, it wasn't technically summer yet and therefore most Koreans were not opting for summer wear. Culturally, there are many different things that fit with each season, so our guess was that beach clothing may be one of them. But who knows!

While in Pusan we found our way to a Westerner owned bar that was having a trivia night! As a trivia fan, I was quite excited and we actually had a really fun time hanging out with other foreigners there. Shannon managed to get us invited to go sailing the following day, but accidentally gave the guy her number instead of mine (she'd left her phone back in Seoul). But that is OK, the following day we had our own adventure in store. After downing a delicious meal of Japanese style kebabs, we went to a two man play called "Stones from His Pockets". We ended up being the only two people in the audience! Instead of just buying us a drink and saying ,"Sorry, its crazy to do a show for two people", they went on with it anyways! Let me tell you, there is a lot of pressure being the only people in an audience. You are solely responsible for all audience reactions, laughing, sighing, heckling. It was pretty intense. A really good show though, and we actually bumped into one of the actors a few weeks later in Seoul. While he agreed the experience had been awkward, he said it was actually one of their best performances so I guess we must been a pretty good audience after all.

So that was our Buddha B-day weekend. Since then we have also: gone to a music festival in the foreigner/ Army base area (very much fun), celebrated several birthdays (also in the foreigner area - we also found a Western country style bar called the Grand Ole' Opry where they encourage line dancing!), attended a two day international breakdancing competition, and had a very nice 4th of July barbeque.

OK, I know. We've been busy after all.

And what is coming up on our radars, you ask? Well, both of our schools are just finishing up their finals for the semester...but there is still two more weeks of school left (strange, I know). We will both be working at district English summer camps (we'll be at different ones, though). We know the drill however, as these camps will be very similar to camps we ran in Winter. We know our staff and the setup down pat, and its honestly a pretty sweet deal. We only teach till about noon each day and then we are home free. So three weeks of half days! Word is though, that this will be during monsoon season and its also been getting mighty hot/humid around here.

What's after camp, you ask? Well we have a little bit of time off before school starts (a little more than a week), so we may be heading off to Japan! Our itinerary is currently a blank slate, though, so if you've got suggestions let us know!

AND, for your viewing pleasure, Shannon and Jamie (mostly Shannon) have been busy putting their creative skills to use. Check out our videos! Most are for teaching purposes, but all are pretty funny/cute. Our real video camera died, though, so forgive the camera quality.

Interesting things about Korea:

Samguk Kimbap (this one's in video form!)

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos

Wine Train

Hello friends!

Have we got an adventure to tell you about!

Last Saturday, while Jamie was working, I embarked on a journey to explore Korean Wines. From Seoul Station there is a “wine train” that travels south to Yeongdong. The days adventures would include unlimited wine, Lunch and a tour or a winery. I should have remembered that we are in Korea and you always get more than you bargained for.

We arrived at Seoul Station for our 9am departure and after a 10 minute panic attack concerning our missing travel companions and debates about how we could keep the train from leaving, they arrived and we boarded the train for departure.

The wine train is really just a commuter train that has been outfitted with four cars for wine and ginseng. The ginseng cars, where we were sitting, were slightly cheaper but with no less of an itinerary. Both cars have little sofas for 2 people, set up facing each other with a table set with wine glasses between. The main difference between the wine and ginseng cars is that the wine ones were posh and velvety and ours was cloth and denimy. Oh, and had pictures of happy little ginseng people and they had pictures of wine (bor-ring).

So, almost as soon as we left the station they brought us little platters of food and shortly thereafter gave us our first sample of wine. We were given small samples of four wines, three were competing for the category of “sweet like a candy” and one dry. All were red. After our first round of samples they came and filled our glasses with our favorite. Just as our glasses were filled, our host came in to play games with us! We played competitive versions of rock, paper scissors; balloon volleyball, both in pairs and in groups of six and a fun game that challenged our comprehension of Korean numbers. Each game ended with a prize but no one in our group won. Not for lack of effort, mind you, but because we were always two steps behind-not understanding Korean and all.

Anyway, after our organized entertainment we sipped wine, enjoyed the beautiful scenery and played word games that drew the attention of, well, everyone. But don’t worry, nothing dirty. Just the classic alphabet category game.

We arrived at our destination around 11:45 and were shuffled into a gorgeous, huge and sunlight filled patio of the Winery. We had a delicious buffet with about 20 different food options, coffee, tea, dessert and, of course, wine. After lunch we were split into our train car groups and given our winery tour. Unfortunately, the tour was in Korean so we were forced to entertain ourselves. Which we dutifully did by taking pictures of the paintings, pretending to lift wine casks and going on imaginary rides in the golf cart. You know. All the things adults do. Regardless of our inattention, at the end of the tour we were given a wine foot soak and taught how to make the awesome princess leia style hats out of towels(reference in the pictures). After our foot soak we were taught to make Wine Balls that we could take home and use to recreate the foot bath experience with our loved ones and friends.

I bought a bottle of wine before we were sent back to the busses. Almost immediately upon getting onto the bus everyone fell asleep and we woke up 40 minutes later at the Ginseng Museum. Again, we were taught a fun craft, this one being a ginseng sachel (we have no idea what it’s for) and while the tour was lost on us, most of the museum had English explainations. Here’s what I learned about Ginseng.

1. It takes one year for ginseng to grow a leg. So, if you have a ginseng with 5 legs, that ginseng is, at least, 5 years old.

2. Ginseng can cure EVERYTHING. Headaches, cramps, AIDS (potentially), diabetes and many many other things. (I’m skeptical about this point)

3. There are many folk tales about Ginseng in Korean Culture. Let me tell you one:

There was once a young boy who lived with his father in a small village. One day the father got very ill. The doctor said the father would die unless the boy found some wild mountain ginseng. That day the boy went to the mountains to find some ginseng. He searched for hours but was unsuccessful. Not wanting to give up, he slept in the mountains to begin his search again in the morning. That night he had a dream. A voice told him to go to the other side of the mountain. There he would find a cave with 12 bodies in it. He must cut off the left leg of the 12^th body and feed it to his father.

The boy awoke and immediately set out to find the cave. When he finally arrived he went to the 12^th body and cut off it’s leg. As he was leaving the body got up and began to chase him. The body chased him all the way home. When he got there, he grabbed a knife and attacked and killed the body. He then made a soup of the leg and fed it to his father. The next morning when they boy went into the kitchen he found a huge ginseng with it’s left leg missing. Shortly afterward, the boy's father got well.

Yeah. So, after the ginseng museum we were taken to the town and the ginseng market. I have never seen so much ginseng in my life. Where does it all come from? What do you do with it? I hope to have answers to these questions in the future, but I can tell you that Fried Ginseng=yummy.

On our way back to the train we detoured past (and into) a really creepy cave with mildewing bottles and casks of wine. This is the only time I was really sad about not being able to understand what was going on. Regardless of the creepy cave there was a beautiful orchard with gorgeous flowering trees that we briefly frolicked in before our ride back to the train.

We got on the train around 6:45, drank some more wine, were serenaded by an acoustic guitar, got fed some snacks and played some more games. When we finally arrived back in Seoul we decided the best way to end our day was with some beer so we booked it to the nearest restaurant for a cold brew and reminisces of the days adventure.

Exciting things about Korea:

Wine!

Korea has wineries! I had no idea! Most Korean wines, as mentioned above are very sweet.

Bars:

Bars in Korea are called “Hofs.” In many ways these are just like bars in the states but there are some sublte differences. One being that the beer and soju is super cheap. For this reason, you must order some sort of food when you are there. However, because everyone shares food in Korea, you only need to order one dish. But be careful not to accidentally order silk worm larvae. You may be surprised.

Public Drunkeness and Vomiting (WARNING, MAY BE A LITTLE GROSS):

Is not illegal. You see many many many people stumbling drunk and being helped by their friends. Also, in all of Korea you can wander around with open containers of alcohol. However, you do not see many Koreans wandering with beer (although plenty of westerners), because it is sort of a faux pa to eat or drink anything when your walking - we rarely see people even walking with coffee. Anyway, with this being a huge drinking culture and public drunkenness being OK there's often vomit on the streets (not lots, but more than i've seen at home).

Anyway, why this tangent? Well, as we were getting back on the wine train a woman was throwing up and her throw-up was pink. And I realized that ALL the puke I have seen in Korea is Pink or Red. Why? I'm guessing becuase of kimchi and red pepper sauce.

School Follow up!

Hi friends across the globe,

Jamie's cousin Michelle sent us some questions about your last post so we thought it would make sense to answer then here.

You started your job in the middle of a school year?

Yes. We started our job in the middle of the school year. This was a little difficult for us. We were the new teachers so the students had the upper hand in that respect.

Is the rainbow thing literal, like their actual rainbows have more detail, or artistic?

So, there's some debate here as to whether or not I've been wrong all my life. I was taught (or so I think) to remember the rainbow colors with the phrase ROY.G.BV. Now, as I have never seen the word written, I always pictured it as ROY.G.BV. It may have been ROY.G.BIV and I've been oblivious all my life. Jamie has no clue, I've asked him and he said he'd never even heard of that mnemonic device. So, first and foremost, can someone tell me the U.S. Rainbow has 6 or 7 colors? The actual rainbows look exactly the same (well, we assume - we haven't seen any yet).

How do they deal with the little kids who really always need to be babysat? If the teachers moved around, the kids would be left unsupervised.

The elementary school the system is a little different and is similar to most schools in the states. The class has a homeroom teacher who stays with the class most of the day. There are also some subject teachers who will teach the kids (aside from the homeroom teacher), but we think there is some sort of class trade off involving the homeroom teacher.

Do they prep for science day, like a science fair, or just show up and get kits or something?

(Shannon's School) They just show up and the science teachers have things prepared for them. My science day did water rockets, airplanes and lots of painting. I think there were other things too, but those were the ones that were happening outside and that I could see. However, If the students so the rocketship or the airplane they have to pay for the supplies.

(Jamie's School) The students who were involved in the water rocket activity had all built their rockets from kits. They took 1 liter soda bottles and attached nose pieces and fins with what appeared to be electrical tape. Some of them were really great! Additionally, in the Fall semester the high school does a model project with regular fire propelled rockets. Very fun to watch!

Do the parents have to pay for the 3-day trip?

I don't know. I'll ask. But we guess that they do.

I actually thought you were teaching college kids or other adult learners, for some reason. Do you teach both?

We have both had classes with adults, but only one per week and organized through the school. For example, Jamie is teaching a parents English class for an hour on mondays, and last semester I taught a teachers English class for an hour on Thursdays.

Exciting things about Korea:

Breakfast:

People certainly eat breakfast in Korea, but breakfast is the same as dinner. Rice and Kimchi. The do have a special hangover breakfast. It's this sausage soup with lots of pig bits in it. And sausage. Well, it's pretty unique. There's a picture of it included in the school slide show. Watch for it!

Yogurt Delivery

There are these ladies that deliver tiny little bottles of yogurt. They're like the old milkman, I guess. Anyway, they wear cream colored clothes and push matching carts. My head teacher has one delivered to her every day. I think it's so funny that this lady has to walk around a deliver 4 ounces of yogurt. I mean, I'm sure you can buy whole packages of the little yogurts, but it also adorable to see her carrying one to deliver.

Pets

People have lots of small dogs as pets. If the dog is white and fluffy, some people will dye some part of it a super bright color like pink or green. This fashion statement is not limited to young dog owners nor is it a rare occurrence.

School Time

Hello friends across the globe,

I'm sitting at home for my random "discretionary holiday" and realized we had yet to explain the school system in Korea. Last semester we were just learning how things go and now that we're a month into the school year we seem to have a better (but not great) understanding of the Middle School System-at the very least we seem to understand our two schools.

So, the school year goes from March to February. The students get a month off in August and then another month in January. They come BACK to school for one week in February when they have Graduation ceremonies and then have the rest of February off for Spring Break. Strange, i know. It certainly was annoying for our trip to Thailand as it got cut short by a week. Ah well.

BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.

So, March 2nd we arrived back at school and started the School year with the new students. Middle and high school are both three years here-as I think it is in some schools in the states. Middle school is 7th, 8th and 9th (the age range is the same) and high school is 10th, 11th and 12th. When they are referencing a grade in either middle or high school they get called 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade. This was super shocking to me. When I first met my co-teachers they kept saying "oh the 1st graders are so exctied to meet you" and I kept smiling and saying "yes, I'm excitied to meet them too" and In my head I'm thinking "WHAT?!" All was clarified when I asked "so, what age is 1st grade here?" Anyway, School starts in March and goes until December.

DAYS OFF and FUN SCHOOL THINGS:

I've already mentioned the major vacations but there's (obviously) very different days off in Korea than their are in the US. (you know, being a different county and having different holidays.) My favorite, so far, is Children's Day. YES! they have a children's day! How many times I asked as a child "Why don't we get a children's day" and being told...well, you all know the answer. Anyway, I come to korea and they have a children's day AND we get the day off from school. It's like a teachers day too! (which they do have and I'll get presents on) Anyway, we also have Buddha's Birthday off (both are in May). I think that's all the big holidays in the Spring Semester. They don't get days off for Easter because, although there are many Christians, it's not a christian country like the U.S. claims not to be.

Also, from talking to my other friends at middle schools, it seems every school has a Science Day where all the students spend all day doing science experienments and getting judged, and then there's an Art's day which is the same thing but for Art. And they also go on a three day field trip somewhere. The whole school. Every year. And, the third graders get a special trip at the end of the year. (I'm gonna try to get in on that.)

TEACHERS and CLASSROOMS:

Every teacher is in two departments. The department of the subject they teach and then a second deparment where their office is that is related to some sort of school function. So for example, I am in the English department AND the Club Activities department. Teachers do work for both departments. So my desk is with the Club Activities Department and their are teachers from various subjects. In my office there are 7 of us: two korean teacher, one music teacher, one chinese teacher, and three English Teachers. Jamie is "in the Research Department", but we don't actually have any responsibilities within the these departments.

So, teachers have offices', not classrooms, from where their base of operation is. Infact, for the most part, the students stay in their homerooms or classrooms and the teachers go to them. The exceptions are things that are location related like music, art, dance or science, but even those teachers don't live in their classroom. The students have homerooms and homeroom teachers, but the teachers go to the classroom. The classroom space pretty much belongs to the students. It's super interesting.

STUDENTS in the SCHOOL:

My first week in the school was shocking. Students literally seem to rule the school. The best example is recess. Students have lunch/recess from 11:30-12:30. they can do whatever they want whenever. They go to lunch anytime during that hour and then go outside anytime they want. They can aimlessly wander the halls, play out in the yard where there is no teacher assigned to control them (although there are teachers assigned in the lunch room) they hang out in their homerooms playing on the computers, they hang out of the windows screaming (literally). It's pretty hilarious. However, once the bell rings, they're in the classroom. In fact, there is no warning bell to end lunch (there is at Jamie's school, though). The bell that rings at the end of lunch is the bell to START class and I have never had a class be late. I think that's pretty impressive. Anyway, one day I'll get a video of it for you to see.

CLEANING

Every day students have to clean. I think it's a great idea and important for them to do (especially because they're super annoying about throwing wrappers or banana peels on the ground) but like most teenagers, they don't really clean very well. It's mildly painful to have to supervise them as it's like pulling teeth to get them to even notice the dust, but I really like that everyday for 20 minutes the students spend time cleaning the School.

OK. that's enough time thinking about school on my day off. Please let me know if I should elaborate on more things.

Exciting things about Korea:

The Rainbow

The Korean Rainbow has 7 colors. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

I've met people who tell me the Western Rainbow also has 7 colors, but it's news to me.

Easter

Yes, they color eggs for Christmas but the eggs are given out at church. There is no easter bunny, no peeps, no cadbury creme eggs, no chocolate rabbits. It's a solemn holiday-as it should be. I'm sure it will change ultimately.

The Produce Truck

Just like the Ice Cream Truck but with produce. Twice a week this guy with a super loud bell pulls into our apartment complex. He sells various food stuffs: eggs, produce, rice-wine, bread and other kitchen goodies. It's great. Actually, there's trucks like this everywhere. Usually they just park on the side of the road and sell one product. I've seen them selling: tangerines, crab, flowers, apples, and grapefruit. If they're driving by, people just flag them down.

Yellow Dust/ Yellow Sand/ Asian Dust

All the same thing and known locally as "hwan-sa", this is a major springtime phenomenon that plagues east Asia this part of the year. Winds that blow down from the north of China toss up tons of dust from the Gobi dessert. This dust is then carried thousands of miles to the Koreas and Japan, carrying pollutants and even microbes (yes! microbes!) into the lungs of millions of folks. When it is bad, the sky is actually a hazy yellowy-orange color and you'll see most Koreans sporting face masks. We had a pretty bad bout of it a couple weeks ago and we didn't really notice it too much, but soon after many people seemed to get sick over the next week (nothing serious though). Anyways, kind of a bummer to finally make it out of winter to be greeted by decreased air-quality, but apparently it gets better by summer (just in time for the rainy season)!

Thailand! Part one.

Hello Friends Across the Globe!

As many of you know, we've recently been in Thailand for our honeymoon and yes, yes it was amazing. We had an incredible time and liked Thailand so much that we're really like to visit again. We're toying with the idea of spending some months there when we're finally finished teaching in Korea.
But enough about that. I know you're dying to hear about our adventures so we won't keep you waiting any longer.

I'm going to explain the adventure in a few parts. First is simply a listing of the things we did. it will be slightly boring, but will help me to remember what we did when i come back to make the stories "jump from the screen." ha! Ok. let the listing begin!


Night 1: Arrival
We arrived at the airport at 11pm and found our shuttle to be transported to the "Green Queen Resort."

Day 1:
Explored resort area and then took our first taxi cab ride into the city to find our new digs in the touristy part of town, Banglamphu. Checked into the New Merry V Guesthouse (NOT the Merry V Guesthouse) and set out to explore. We found a walking tour in our travelers bible (AKA the lonely planet) and set out. Partway through we stumbled upon free bangkok bikes and we borrowed two to continue our journey at a cruising speed of 7mph. Finished up back at our hotel and went to get dinner and massage. Shannon got a foot massage and jamie a neck and shoulder.

Day 2: Monday. Bike Tour, ABC Bike Company
Up early to get to the bike company. they piled all 12 of us on bikes and we headed out through bangkok. down tiny little allies with one room apartments, green streets with overhanging balconies, quick stop in the shoe making district, through the market, down a highway, onto a boat and across to the jungle island. Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and then back.
Afterward? What else, drinks and massage.

Day 3: Tuesday
Siloam Cooking Class. Started with a trip to the market, a short lesson on spices in thai cooking and then back to the school for our 5(!) course cooking lesson. Oh man. we were stuffed.

Afterward we headed back to the hotel, took a short nap and then got taken for a ride in a tuktuk. Literally. We visited the standing buddha, the sitting buddha, a travel agency and a thai fashion store (the last two being against our wishes). Afterward it was back to our corner of bangkok for another foot massage.

Day 4: Wednesday Flight of the Gibbon
Up to meet our 6:30 am bus to be taken to the jungle for our jungle zipline adventure.
Um. awesome.
we did the full "adventure" version, so we stayed in the jungle, toured the open zoo both during the day and at night, slept in a 5 star tent (air conditioning and electricity) was given a HUGE dinner and then we to sleep

Day 5: Thursday: Flight of the Gibbon Part two
Woke up early, rode on a elephant, did a ropes adventure course (awesome) and was put on the bus back to bangkok. Arrived in bangkok, headed straight for the train station and hopped an overnight train to Trang in the south of thailand.

Day 6: Friday: Trang
Stranded with no money in trang. We had $30 and an ATM card that didn't work. Stayed at a 5 dollar hotel, ate a 5 dollar dinner, panicked, walked around and called the bank that night to settle the situation.

Day 7: Saturday: Lao Liang aka Paradise!
We took the van to the ferry to the long boat and by 2pm we were eating lunch in the paradise of lao liang. We unpacked and lounged, we ate, we swam, we drank, we relaxed.

Day 8-12: Sunday to Thursday: Lao Liang
Our days we mostly like this:
wake up at sunrise. Eat breakfast. Snorkel OR Kayak OR Rockclimb. Eat lunch. Siesta and drinks until 3. Snorkel and Swim. Eat Dinner. Chat with fellow travellers at the bar. Sleep.
Repeat.

Day 12: Thursday: Lao Liang to Bangkok
We took the long boat, to the ferry to the van to the overnight first class bus that took us back to bangkok.

Day 13: Friday: Bangkok
Arrived back in banglamphu by 6am. slept until 9 (because the bus, albeit first class didn't' cut it). Woke up, ate and headed over to Wat Pho temple to see the 46meter reclining Buddha. Wandered the temple, got a temple thai massage, headed back for dinner shopped a bit and then got another massage before bed.

Day 14: Departure.
6am airport shuttle. Walk through the front door of home at 9pm. le sigh.

Interesting things about Thailand:

Driving:
The driving is by no means as scary as it is in Korea, HOWEVER, people drive on the left with made us chant (outloud) when crossing the street: look to the right. look to the right. look to the right. No car accidents.

Massage:
As you may have guessed, there's lots of massage in thailand. our most expensive one was $15 for an hour. In our time in thailand our combined massage total was 10. Awesome. We would have gotten more but the masseuse on the island wasn't around.


Our adventures continue next time.

Busan!

Hello Friends Around the Globe!

I know- it's been a long time. I know- I made a new years resolution. Would you believe me if i told you nothing has happened? Yeah. You shouldn't. So. Things that have happened include: winter camp, a trip to Busan, New Years (obviously), record snowfall, jimjabangs and and Dr. Fish. Instead of making an epic entry i'll sum up with the one that encompasses most of the aforementioned adventures.

Busan!

We finally made it down to the seaside city of Busan. We both loved it. Unfortunately we did not get to meet up with some acquaintances we have there as plans changed last minute but we did end up having a lovely time.

KTX and Haotel Motel

So we set out early (kind-of) tuesday morning on the KTX highspeed train. We sped to Busan in our first class seats in three hours at a high speed of 158MPH. It was lovely. Upon arrival we wandered aimlessly looking of the LoveMotel of distinction (according to our Lonley Planet) and finally found it after seeking out the help of a Bakery store owner and buying pastries that looked deceptively like apple (redbean). Anyway, after check in and settle in, we headed out to find a JimJaBang. And find one we did!

Hurshimchang spa and beer garden

The Hurshimchang, aka "the grand spa" was a lovely way to start our evening. The spa part (gender seperated) had 16 hottubs, waterfall showers, outdoor tubs, small swimming pools, champagne (we're not certain) spas and general lovelyness. the ceilings were glass domed and there were fountains and plants and statutues everywhere. There were only two drawbacks to the spa. 1) for shannon, being on the womens side, it meant that there were many children in the small pool so i couldnt' get a "cool down" dunk. 2) it was seperated by gender so when our meet-up time came around and we both wanted to stay longer we couldn't converse and renegotiate. we both walked out saying: "could have stayed another hour!" Regardless, before our forray into waterworld, we did meet up in the common area where we sweated it out in the 88 celcius sauna. (190 for all you farenheit people) and then we visited Dr. Fish. This little gem a of treatment consists of putting your feet in tubs filled with tiny little fish that eat off the dead skin. Awesome you ask? Yes, we say. Tickle you want to know? Of course, we reply. Anyway, it was great and there's a couple of places in Seoul where we can have it done too.

After the spa we went to the

Brewery!

After our relaxing 4 hours at the spa we stepped outside, circled the building and stumbled upon a German Brewery! Yay! We love beer! Let me tell you why this place was great.

1) they brew their own beer (not to shabby either)

2) the waitstaff was wearing versions of Leiderhosen and German(esqe) Dresses

3) there was an expat band playing a combination of korean and american pop songs.

4) The crowd there (mostly korean) was super exciting and upbeat.

5) We love beer.

anyway, after our dinner and entertainment we headed back to our hotel for a little rest and relaxation.

Day Two Beach Walk and More Beer

The next day we woke up early (cough) to go for a hike. However, not having woken up early enough and taking time to eat our Not Quite Apple pastry we decided, instead, to take an Ocean View Walk. We checked our handy dandy tourist map and headed out to the less popular Taejongdae Beach. Successfully navigating both subway and bus we arrived to gloomy (but comfortable) weather and began our 2 mile stroll. We visited Pebble Beach and marveled at the makeshift resturant on the rocks. We perused the temple and listened to the recorded prayers. We admired the observatory and as it began to rain we decided to take the tram the rest of the way. As we tried to buy the tickets for the tram we quickly discovered that we couldn't understand the machine as it was in Korean. Trying to look as confused as possible didnt' work in soliciting any help becuase at that moment the Tram (very full) arrived and people started to get on. HOWEVER, because it was beginning to rain the line was super long and the tram was super full. We decided to continue in the rain on foot. And continue on we did. However, we no longer stopped at the sights but strolled past them pointing and waving. We ended our walk with dinner in town and upon looking through our book found yet another brewery. We timed our dinner perfectly with the passing bus and rode back downtown to our next stop- Unlimited Beer for only $12!

Dojima Brewery

Needless to say-we drank a lot (but not as much as the ladies next to us who got one of those HUGE 4 foot tall pitchers with a little spicket) and then went back to our Haotel.

Day Three Beomeosa Temple and Hea-undae Beach

Waking up earlier than the previous day we headed out for Beomeosa Temple up in the mountains (founded 678AD. We had originally planned on taking a nice long hike but Jamie had sprained his ankle the day before in the rain (BEFORE the drinking). The Temple was beautiful and it was the first place we visited in Korea where you couldn't see one apartment building. We tromped around (respectfully) for a while and then hopped back on the subway to visit the most popular beach in Busan.

Hae-undae beach

It was lovely. There were lots of college students playing team building games, there was a beautiful seaside/cliffside boardwalk and of course lots of seagulls. We climbed around on the rocks, admired the views, rested under the lovely shade trees and then slowly made our way back to the subway to catch the train back to seoul.

We made it back to the big city just in time for the last trains and got home and in bed by 12:30am.

As I mentioned before, our trip to Busan was a joy. The city has such a different feel from Seoul. Seoul has 9 subway lines, busan has 3. Seoul is highrise apartment building central, in Busan you can see the sky. Seoul makes you feel underdressed when you take the garbage out, Busan feels more slightly more normal. Not that we don't love Seoul, but it's such a Huge city and as the Second largest city in Korea I expected Busan to be more similar but the difference was a suprise and a joy. Although I shouldn't have been shocked. Seoul have 10.4 million people and Busan 3.6. quite a population difference. Regardless, we can't wait to go back.

Exciting things about Korea:

Record Snow Fall:

We got record snow fall in Seoul on January 4th. Infact, they hadn't had that much snow since 1937. We got 10 Inches. It was certainly a lot at one time but it was almost all gone within a week. Of course, as i'm trudging to work i'm thinking "wow, winter has finally come. I've got to get prepared for the next few months." Then when i arrive at school my co-teachers are saying "wow! this never happens! what a freak snow storm!" Anyway, with the snow fall not being a common occurrence, there were no snowplows and in fact the next day I saw the military with shovels clearing out fire hydrants and telephone poles. They brought in construction trucks to clear away the snow in some areas (although not near us). Anyway, like i said, in roughly a week, it was mostly gone (having melted, not having been removed).

Design Capital of the World.

As some of you may have seen, Seoul has been designated one of the top 30 places to visit in 2010. In fact, we're number 3. (and you've got a place to stay! come over). Why? You might ask. Because this lovely commercial center has been designated the Design Capital of the world. Here's the Mayor's take on the situation: "With Seoul's designation as World Design Capital 2010, the city will be able to breath creative energy into the design industry and reinvent itself into a globally recognized city of design and collaborate with other cities in the world to communicate with design. Seoul will send out the message that design is the power to change the world for the better." Anyway, there you have it. come on over.

2018 Olympics

Yep. that's right. we're planning ahead. Korea is trying to host the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Know who just when skiing there? Jamie. Who's gonna say be able to say (if the olypmics are here of course) that he scooped it out for the olympiads? Jamie, that's who. Anyway, because they're trying to get the olympics here they're doing tons of competitions in Korea. For those of you that love x-games there was recently an international snowboarding competition in Downtown Seoul that Jamie and I saw. It was super fun and really neat!