Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Week 6
Monday, October 19, 2009
Naganupsong and Suncheon Bay
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Another Event at the Sports Complex!
Monday, October 12, 2009
This weekend we stayed in Yeosu to rest and explore our new home. We had a great weekend filled with watching College Football on our new monitor, eating fajitas and exploring Dolsan-do. On Sunday our co-worker Lahn took Anthony and I to Dolsan-do Island with her family. She has two sons who are 8 and 10 and her husband is incredibly nice and giving. They have helped Anthony and I a lot since we got here. The island was beautiful. We hiked up to a budhist hermatage with an amazing view and then ended up going on a hike to the top of the mountain. It was a really great experience. It took about 2 hours to finish the hike and we finished in a small sea village. We ate lunch and then headed to the beach. Anthony tried to teach Lahn's boys how to skip rocks and we just relaxed for a while. It was very cool outside and the water felt great! Lahn and I looked for shells while the boys played in the water! It was just a really nice day. They invited us to dinner that night and we walked in Yeosu-dong. Everything is really going great here. We are liking it more everyday. Tomorrow will be four weeks since we got here! It is crazy that time has gone by so fast already. We will keep updating as much as possible.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Seoul
On Saturday we got up and had bagels and coffee at noon and then went to the Changdeokgang Palace. It was SO cool. My first experience with an Asian palace was a great one. Within the palace walls is a secret garden and many beautiful buildings. Next we went to Insadong which turns into a pedestrian ave on Saturday and Sunday. It was by far my favorite neighborhood because off of the main road are these little alley ways that have vines lining the restaurant fronts and little birds cherping and hopping around. We went to a place called the Old Tea House and had green tea and rice cakes while listening to calming music. There is a natural spring that runs through Seoul and it has been constructed with walking trails, waterfalls and murals for the people to enjoy. While walking along it you wouldn't guess you were in the second largest city in the world, but then you look up and see dozens of high rises surrounding you. That is the coolest part about Seoul is that there are so many things to do that make the city seem small. For dinner on Saturday night we had Outback and it was AMAZING. A bloomin onion, alice springs chicken and Anthony's huge steak made for a filling meal and one that we will not have for a long time. It was a good day.
On Sunday Anthony was able to watch some of the A&M game and then we went to the fish market. I have never seen so much live seafood in one place! There were probably 500 stalls set up with fish, crab, lobster, 5 types of shrimp, clams, and anything else you can think of from the sea. All live and ready to be taken home to cook. Next we went to the Korean National Museum and saw artifacts and historical pieces from Korean as well as China, Vietman, and Japan. We finished the day back in Insadong with Indian food, which is way to hot for me as I discovered. So we resorted to street vendor food. It was a great alternative. We finished our great trip to Seoul at Top Cloud for drinks. It is a lot like the Rainbow Room in NYC, but more modern. Looking out over Seoul was a sight to see. It is such an enormous place. The candle light and jazz band created a really enjoyable atmosphere and I am sure that we will be back on our next trip.
Seoul is a city that people need to experience. The friendly Korean culture, the melting pot of people, museums and the dozens of different neighborhoods shape the city into one that is unlike any other place. While there you can forget that you are in Korea at all because it is so functional for Westerners and you see English speakers everywhere. We give it two thumbs up!