We took the first scooter tour of the spring. Cassie, Austin, Emily and I went to Gapyeong. It wasn't too far, just around 15 miles or so from Namyangju. In any event, the weather was balmy, the company was good and the food tasty.

We stopped for a quick break at a rest stop with a quirky art collection.

That's some fine craftsmanship.

We passed a dam, which created a long lake. It was still frozen solid although the temperature was around 55 F or 13 C. The air temperature dropped noticeably when we passed the dam into the valley.

After several hours of scootering, we needed nourishment. We chose the classiest option, an old boat converted into a restaurant.

Cassie modeling for the Sunset Crusie:


Donkas, or fried pork cutlet with sweet barbecue sauce. Served with seaweed rice, pickled radish, pickles and salad with thousand island style dressing.


Seafood rice with mussels, shrimp, abalone, sesame seeds and seaweed.

All in all, it wasn't a bad way to spend Korean independence day.

We took a nice Sunday hike last weekend. The weather was crisp and clear, perfect for a 4 hour climb. We hiked Chonma Mountain. The trail is about 4 or 5 miles and leads over the peak from Hopyeong to Masok.

James and Austin climbing some rock face:

Getting closer, with a view toward Hopyeong:


A steep and never ending stair case... Koreans treat their hiking trails well.


A breather at the helipad a couple hundred meters before the peak:


At the top of Namyangju:

The kindergarten students earn points by behaving in class and reading books. Once every 6 weeks or so, they can cash in their points at the Reading Town Market Place. It's a popular place to be.

Here's Mike dealing some snacks:

And Cassie working the books. That guy picked up a lot of loot.

Yoseph had the most points. He scored a crayon set, juice, snacks and stickers.

Little Stella got some stickers and Home Run Balls (chocolate snacks). She was making a deposit to use her points next time.

Socks Socks Socks

Korea has great socks! Since most places make you take your shoes off to enter (including my school) people can't get away with wearing holey socks! So there is a sock vendor on ever corner of the subway system. Most socks cost only about $1, so I am in sock heaven.
Here are a few I picked up yesterday
I really like monster socks...but they have so many! I'll keep you posted because summertime is some serious socktime!

Seoul National Museum

We went to check out the National Museum of Seoul yesterday. It is a monster of a place, palatial in size and scope. They trace the history of Korea back to the stone ages.

We spend two and a half hours checking out one third of the place. Plan a full 6 hours to see everything. You can see everything more comfortably in two days.





The museum is at Ichon station (line 1 or 4) exit 2. Admission is free.

More information: http://www.museum.go.kr/main/index/index002.jsp

Eating raw octopus with fresh wasabi:

Walking through a cemetery toward Kyomizu-dera:

At Kyomizu-dera:



After a quick bus ride, we went to Nanzen-ji:

Monk's living quarters and zen rock garden at Nanzen-ji:




Octopus on a stick at the Nishiki market:


Austin being sucked into a black hole at the Fushimi Inari Shinto Shrine:


The shrine is famous for its' 10,000 red gates. They're dedicated to the god of rice and business, Inari.




At Kinkaku-ji, the world famous golden temple:


Prayer and wish cards:


Eating rail-road style sushi. About $1.30 a plate and free green tea.


Pour your own beer machine at the sushi restaurant.


Eel over odong noodles:

More photos are at the link in the next post if anyone is interested.

Kyoto, Japan 2012!

Tommy Lee Jones - The Boss, a photo by locomocos on Flickr.

Take a look at our Japan photos! There are a lot, so if you just click on the set, (japan 2012) you can pick the thumbnails you want to see!

We had a great time! We first stopped at Kyomizu-dera where we saw a wonderful shrine and cemetary.
Then we were off to Nanzen-ji where we jumped in front of the big wooden gate!
One of the most impressive places was the Fushimi Inari Tisha gate in Nara. It had 1000 redish gates and was really cool! We finished up our trip going to the Golden Temple and a few more zen gardens.
We ate sushi, miso, donburi, and tempura!
What a wonderful trip for just 2 days!

The Long Winter

We're off to Kyoto, Japan tomorrow for 3 nights and 2 days of site-seeing. We will be staying in a hostel with 3 more of our buddies. I hope we will have a fabulous trip, and I can't wait to bring back some great photos.

On a different note, I have been training for a transition into kindergarten. Anthony and I have both been teaching elementary school, while only dabbling in kindy. But as our year in Korea came to a close, we decided we liked it here, and resigned our contracts. The only difference is that now I will be teaching 6-7 year olds all day, for a year program. Cross your fingers!
Recently, our school has been losing students. We used to have more than 200 students and the kindergarten program was the money maker. But in March, 2 classes of students will graduate, and we will be left with only one class of 11 kids. MY class! The kindergarten program is all day, everyday, for a year (our other classes are on a 3 month cycle, and parents only have to pay monthly - no contracts).

The area we live in is pretty new. Apparently it has only been about 15 years ago that this was all farmland. Now, there are giant apartment buildings EVERYWHERE. It's a little awe inspiring (especially when looking at construction times). But with more growth, there has been more and more competition for English Academies (private after school programs). What used to be the only English school in the area for 6 years, is now one of 50. So lots of competition, and lots of fickle parents.

So in March, I will be starting kindergarten. Let's hope it lasts for a whole year! And as much as I like teaching elementary students, Anthony suggested a change in pace for us, seeing as how we live, work, eat, sleep, and vacation together. He says 24 hours a day for a year is enough.

I think it's just because he doesn't like watching Star Trek after work.