A Random Sample

We're still alive, we promise!!! We've just been kind of excessively dull the last couple of weeks. School has been busier as we wrap up the semester (although, technically they are quarters, but luckily I'm not all that technical). However, I know that our tens of readers have been sitting around on Saturday nights wondering "What are Alison and Sam doing at this moment?" and I hate to leave people wondering, so I thought I'd give just a random sample of our lives over the past few weeks and at this very moment.

1. Teacher's Day
May 15 was "Teacher's Day" here in Korea, and we all got a few random presents. Like foot spray and cake. I didn't receive anything terribly exciting (besides the cake, that was delicious). A few flowers and candies and a note that said "Happy Teachers Day. Congratulations on your day. I lost my essay." At least it rhymed. Our office also got us the most ginormous corsages I have ever seen in my life. Here Sam and I are able to have the prom moment we never shared together:



2. Cable
We finally got cable and internet in my apartment. Sam was smart enough to bring his router, so we are able to share one connection which works out pretty well for the most part. Having cable means that we now get lots of random English programming. It's pretty hit or miss and, sadly, it means I no longer have the Armed Forces Network. I can now watch Bones or seriously old episodes of Law and Order... but I am really missing Judge Judy and being caught up on the global armed forces scene. On Style, one of the channels that often shows programs in English, is showing American Idol episodes, but is about 3 months behind. I watched the top 16 girls (or something, I wasn't really counting) do 80's songs tonight, but now knowing who the winner is takes some of the fun out of it. How do you feel about our newest Idol?


3. A Few Neighborhood Shots
In our neighborhood all of the sidewalks are lined with these short picket fences which I hadn't really noticed until the flowers bloomed out of control:



Here is a night view of our walk home. It's really a very nice walk to and from school. The trees have filled in even more now so it's very pretty. You might notice the cars on the left... parked actually ON the sidewalk.

Walking here in Seoul requires a level of physical alertness that strolling the streets of Denton or East Dallas did not. Not only do you have to contend with other pedestrians and cyclers but delivery drivers on motorcycles (why wait in traffic when you have the sidewalks??) and... cars. There are some spots that I really do wonder how they get them there... or rather, how they will ever get out! But parking is at such a premium here people really do take whatever they can get. It just means you have to look out for people throwing it in reverse or veering onto the sidewalk in front of you.


4. New Korean Friends
This weekend we were able to meet up with one of the most random connections we have. One of Sam's parent's neighbor's co-worker's cousins (seriously) lives in Seoul and is close to our age. He will be leaving to study in Dallas in July so we decided to meet up and hang out. It turned out to be a really fun day. We met up with Kyu and his girlfriend Soo in Myungdong and ate at the very famous Myungdong Kalguksu restaurant (a delicious version of chicken noodle soup). Then we went to a palace, walked around Dongdaemun market for awhile, walked down the stream and finished up with a galbi dinner. It was really interesting to see the city with a couple of "locals" and both Kyu and Soo really impressed us with their English abilities. Here's a picture from the palace, a place we will definitely return to at a later date:

Hope you all had a lovely Labor Day weekend!
Edit: Obviously I meant Memorial Day... ummm yeah... I guess I'm not "American" anymore oops :)

Sindo, Sido, and Modo

This weekend was another long one for Sam and I, and being the glamorous types that we are, we decided to go island hopping. So, one very long subway ride, a bus ride, a ferry ride, and a thirty minute wait for another bus ride we were finally all set to enjoy the undeveloped island string of Sindo, Sido, and Modo. They are the first 3 islands pictured below from right to left. As usual, the rest of the pictures can be found on our picture page (link to the left).

Sam on the ferry out to Sindo.

We met up with Jordan and Lizzy at our minbak (v. small motel) and then headed off to find a seafood dinner. The ajashi (older man) minbak owner had recommended this place to Jordan and Lizzy the night before... and it did not disappoint!

1st course... yes, that's baby octopus at the bottom... delicious!

I'm not entirely sure what all of the rest was, but it was excellent.

Round 2! The server popped down this huge plate of sashimi in front of us, plus mussel soup, fresh cucumbers, shrimp, sweet corn, edemame and dried figs.

At this point we thought that our feasting was over, but then they brought out the spicy soup made from the parts of the fish not used in the sashimi. Stuffed!

The tides come in and go out each day revealing mud flats all over the islands. These are excellent areas to hunt for mollusks... or dock your boat.
Later at the minbak, we played a fierce round of spades.... I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time! The minbak owner made us the best pajeon (green onion pancake) ever and then later brought in fresh lobster that ajashi had caught! Double stuffed!

The next day we rented bikes and headed over to Sido and Modo to do some hiking along the beach and visit the sculpture park. The beach was mostly rocky, and Sam seemed to really enjoy climbing all over everything. He only scared me half to death a few times by trying to get the highest point without actually considering how to get down. Such the mountain man!


Hunting for mollusks. We really enjoyed being able to use the word "mollusk" excessively over the weekend... because, when do you really get to use that word ever?Here we are at the top of the big hill.
We ended up coming back with Jordan and Lizzy today so that we wouldn't have to rush back for school tomorrow. Overall, it was really nice to get out of the city and explore a bit in the fresh air.

I did learn a couple of lessons, though. 1. If you are going to be climbing all over rocks you should probably wear something besides khaki shorts. 2. I have not ridden a bike since I was 12 and couldn't really judge where my seat/handle bars should have been... Sam is now under strict instructions that if he witnesses me doing something that I haven't done in more than a decade incorrectly (especially if it will render me unable to sit comfortably the next day) he should tell me immediately! 3. I really really like Korea.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend, too!

Google Maps

The little blue balloons are markers. Click on them to read more about what they are marking. They show some of the important places around Seoul that we visit often. I will add more as time goes on and let you know when I do so.

I recommend clicking on "View Larger Map" below the map.  You will be able to see better.

View Larger Map

Updated Daily Routine and our weekend plans

Now that we have been here for 2 1/2 months, my routine has changed. Alison and I have both set goals to get into better shape. Part of this means waking up early to beat what will eventually be rather warm and muggy afternoons. I also have my reasons for waking up early. I can wake up early, around 8:35 to be exact, and listen to the Cardinals radio broadcasts. It really works out well, it gets me up out of bed. I have some breakfast and then go exercise around 10 or so and make it back to listen to the end of the game. After the game is over, I usually play some video games, watch a movie or I can watch any of the old baseball games from the current season. The radio broadcast subscription for live games cost me $15, but to watch the archived games is free! I start getting ready for school around 2, and we try to be out the door before 2:30 to make it to work by 2:45. We are usually on our way home by ten, which means were getting home around 10:15. Sometimes I will eat something when I get home, others I won't. Evenings are much like the mornings. I'll do some crunches, lunges, or pushups while watching a movie, baseball game or play some video games. On this new schedule I am trying to get to bed by 1am. The weekends usually consist of some sort of sightseeing or adventure on Sat or Sun, not usually both. The other day is spent shopping, tidying up the apartment and general relaxing. We have started taking Korean lessons on sunday or 1.5 hours. They are free and provided by a church. They are really trying to get you to come to their english service. I am sure we will oblige every so often. Then it starts all over again on monday.

This weekend we are going to what are referred to as the west sea isles. They are a small chain of small islands off the shore to the north west of Seoul. We will stay in cozy rooms with yos(mats on the floor) for sleeping. Each room sleeps four people and costs around 30,000 won. It should be a nice weekend outside the city.

Buddha-Fest

How should a city celebrate the birth of the Buddha? By having a giant street party, obviously! I wasn't feeling well at all on Saturday morning and actually sent Sam and Jordan ahead, but after an hour I realized I was missing out on something that, in all likelihood, I would never get to experience again. So, I dragged myself out of bed and over to Insadong. Sam was sweet enough to give me his seat at the "lantern making for foreigners" event, opting instead to be our event photographer. He got some amazing shots of all of the goings on of the festival, so you should check out our picture page for all of the good stuff. Here are a few shots from the lantern making process:

First, you twist the paper to make the leaves.

Then, you paste the leaves onto the lantern.

Always maintaining intense focus!

Tada! Two hours later you have a beautiful paper lantern.

After crafting that beauty we headed over to Jogyesa temple, which was fully decked out with lanterns. Almost every lantern has a wish attached to it, for peace, for health, for prosperity. It was a really neat experience to have all of those hopes above our head, and it was beautiful to see:

Sam was a trooper hauling our lanterns around all day long!

The entire day it threatened to rain, and we were all pretty exhausted, so we parked ourselves in the "foreigner's" section of the parade seating and were able to have a front row seat for both the Hi Seoul parade and the Lotus Lantern Parade. The Lotus Lantern Parade was really the first time we have seen so many people being friendly and outgoing at one time that it made us feel a bit warm and fuzzy inside... even though it was drizzly, windy, and chilly outside!