Korea is really weird...I mean different #1

Countless times through out our travels around Korea Cathleen or I have said "That is just weird" or "What the heck is wrong with Korea?!". So, I wanted to start sharing a few of those things that have made our lives in Korea interesting to say the least. For the first one I thought I would talk about the traveling in Korea.

From the very beginning I knew that there was no way I would ever drive in Korea. Our most memorable rides in Taxis and Buses are Cathleen being just on the verge of throwing up, and me praying to God that we make it to the end without running over any slow pedestrians on the side walk. Although making Cathleen carsick is not really anything special, the driving here is definitely different than Portland.

We learned the rules of the road one night when a friend drove us home.  Beep Beep means look out I am coming, get out of my way, while BEEEEEEEP means get off the road you crazy. The great thing was he decided to show us what exactly they sound like as we drove through the commercial district of Gojang at 11 at night.

So yeah, Driving in Korea, it's.... different.

First real snowfall!

 

What a fabulous, fun day! The snow finally stuck. We enjoyed a walk through Lake Park. I told Jeremy to make a snow angel... and he did, haha! He also couldn't walk in someone else's path, he just had make his own. :D On our way home we had a snowball fight. What fun we had with that! You're probably thinking "Who won?"...... Jeremy did. He ended up throwing a snowball at me, and some of it ended up behind my glasses. I could only see with one eye for a short bit! :) All in good fun, though!

Christmas baking

Fudge

Chocolate crinkle cookies

Burnt Magic bars :)

Melting moments

Chocolate chips

Icebox cookies

Finished masterpiece!

Nutcracker and Zoo

This past week was the week of no 6th graders! Starting Wednesday, we no longer had 6th graders until March. It was so great because we had extra hours at the end of our day to just relax and work on book reports and diaries. It was a great second half of a week. :) This week, we of course have no 6th graders either, but we do have a few new classes to deal with. Jeremy has two new classes, which unfortunately make his Monday's now have 5 classes in a row, and his Wednesday's have 6 classes in a row. Poor guy. :( I have 3 new classes, but at most I have only 4 classes in a row. It's still okay because at least we don't have the 6th graders to deal with! :D Yippeee!

Saturday we went to the Nutcracker here in Ansan. It was a great experience to see a different version of the extremely well-known ballet performance. This one had a an extra dance that was specifically Korean. I must confess, I did get a little bored with the show. :( And, I know Jeremy was certainly bored, too. But, what a great husband he is to stick it out for his wife. :) We took a picture in front the (fake) Christmas tree. As we were trying to do this, there were some Korean kids who knew English, and they really wanted to talk to Jeremy. They talked a tad bit with him, but when we were trying to take the picture the kids kept getting in the way. They also stood and stared at us while we were getting our picture taken. It was a little awkward for me, but whatever. :) I should be used to getting stared at by now, haha! We went with two of our Korean class instructors. It was their first time seeing the Nutcracker as well as a ballet performance. I think they liked it, but I'm not sure. We also happened to go the same day that like every kid in Ansan also went. There were SO many kids there! They were good though, they weren't distracting one bit.

Coy pond with no Coy.

Was like 8 ft from him!

 

On Sunday, we went to the zoo again. The weather was great this time, though a tad chilly. We had fun seeing some of the animals again, some that we didn't see last time, and some that were actually lively this time. The price is very cheap, so even though we skipped some of the zoo, it's no big deal because we got to spend time with each other. When we were deciding to head back, Jeremy actually convinced me to take the chair lift down. I was obviously hesitant, but since it only cost 5,000 won each, I decided to go for it. It wasn't that bad! It was awesome to see such a view from the lift! Plus, the lift went slow enough that we really got to look around and see the scenery. Certainly beat walking back!! :) It was a wonderful Sunday with my husband.

Oh, and on the way to the zoo, I was watching this lady getting her music out, and guess what she had?!!?? She actually had a cassette player with like 3 tapes in her bag!! I had to laugh because almost all Koreans have some kind of 21st century technological device from iPods, to iPhones, to cell phones with T.V. And here this woman brings out a cassette player!! HAHAHAHA!! I should have taken a picture of her. :) We see some crazy things on the subway sometimes. How can you not when there are like a million people on the subway (exaggerating of course)!
We are doing great here, and every day is getting better. We hope you are enjoying our blog!

Aquarium and Temple

Foreign animals vs. Korean animals

Electric eel

Very shiny!

Bouquet of eels

Seahorse

A couple weekends ago, Jeremy wanted to go do something on Saturday. So, he got on the computer and started to search. He finally found us something to go do. There is an aquarium in Seoul. We headed to the aquarium, to some place we had never been. The aquarium is actually inside a VERY large mall. We circled a few times because we were a little lost, but we were also trying to find the Burger King so we could have lunch first. When we found the aquarium it looked kind of small from the outside, and the price of tickets seemed to be a little much for a small aquarium. But, once inside, I was wrong about the size. It's no Oregon Aquarium, but it was still pretty awesome! We took pictures of a few of the animals that probably we wouldn't see back home. They had a fish section where they made fish tanks out of ordinary house things. For example, a toilet, a kitchen sink, a refridgerator, etc. They even had a bed with an aquarium in the head board. There was also a tank of the fish that eat the dead skin off your hands and feet that you could try. We didn't because there were so many people around it, and the idea is just kind of weird. :) All in all, it was such a great trip!

After that, Jeremy didn't want to go home just yet because we were in a new place and he wanted to explore some. We walked out of the mall, and just started walking around the block. We ended up walking past the Trade Center where we think the G20 Summit was held. Out front there was a big silver ball that reflected the picture of every leader that attended the summit. It was pretty neat. We kept on walking around the block, and actually discovered a Buddhist Temple! It was so cool! There were many Koreans heading to it, too. Inside it was really beautiful, with all the old looking buildings and the greenery. We walked a little through the area a little leary about whether we should be in there or not. Along our walk was a giant statue of Buddha with a huge marble-looking floor for the Koreans to pray on. We watched a few people worship.There was also another building, I think the main building, that most of the Koreans were going into to pray/worship. Before they entered, they lit an incense and maybe a candle, and said some things. We were definitely feeling a little awkward, so we headed out back home.

Tid bits

Jeremy and I have been up to the same ol' same ol' around here. Last week was sort of crazy because the students had their big tests: the TOSEL (English profiency) and the DT (Diagnostics Test). We took over two of the homeroom teachers' classrooms for two days, and watched the students take tests. It was sort of relaxing because we didn't have to teach, or talk for that matter. It gave us time to grade the tests and work on the diaries and book reports. This is week is the beginning of the second half of the semester. Technically it doesn't start until Dec. 1, which is sort of dumb, but that's what the boss decided. Therefore, many of the students didn't buy their new books for homework and didn't do the homework. Great way to start the new second half. Oh well. We are also starting some new things with our classes as well. We are hoping that it will be better. The school took away the student workbook, so the students have less homework, but no opportunity to learn and practice vocabulary. So, this week feels like the beginning of the new school year where we have to teach, explain, and train the students to do new things. Kind of crazy, but hopefully in a short while it will be worth it.
We just found out that we have insurance, but we receive no insurance cards. So instead of showing proof of insurance to only pay up to 10,000 won, we now have to pay for the entire bill and the school will reimburse us. That's good and bad because it's lots of money up front out of pocket, but we will be reimbursed for all of it later. Sometimes I think this school is a little sketchy the way it does things. It took the school literally a week to get our washer/dryer fixed. Do you know how fast you can run out of clothes when you can't wash for a week?! It was madening, hahaha :) Oh well, that's what you get in a different country. :)
Last weekend we went to the aquarium, then ventured out in the district and found a temple. We have pictures of it all, and there is lots to tell. There will be another post about that experience, along with this last weekend. Hopefully we will be able to get you all up to date in our journey. :D Sorry to keep you all in the dark for the past few weeks. Starting Wednesday Dec. 1, we will no longer have 6th graders which opens up about 2 extra hours at the end of our work day. We are hoping to be able to keep on top of diaries, book reports, and our blog. So, until next time....

Seoul Lantern Festival