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 :)