South Korea [Sept. 16-Nov. 10, 2007]

A visit to the Deoksugung Palace in Seoul with some church kids.
I love the contrast of the buildings.
We went to a Baroque art exhibit at the National Museum of Art.
It is a beautiful sanctuary within the city.
For Korean Thanksgiving, I found a layout of the "charye" table on the net to help us prepare for our celebration.
It took us days to eat all that food.
The way to a difficult hike on Chiak Mountain. Selected poems are displayed throughout the path.
Buddhist statues in front of the temple.

The team of hikers. Unfortunately, not everybody made it to the top.
At this point I was singing John Mayer's "Gravity" because the path was so steep! The singing helped morale but it made breathing difficult.
Finally at the top! This place is called Birobong, which means peak.
Mounds of stone were piled many years ago by the first climbers.
I fulfilled my dream of going to an international film festival. I spend a weekend in Busan to watch 6 films.
After the first movie, we had a discussion with the actors and director.
View of the cityscape from a small island.
Site of the 2005 Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting on Dongbaeksom Island of Busan.
This is the Nurimaru APEC house.
Busan's Haeundae Beach is behind me.
We met a random family on the subway who gave us an hour tour of the small island. They are the nicest strangers I've ever met!
Pusan Int'l Film Festival main center on the beach.
PIFF! I didn't see any famous celebrities although I probably wouldn't know who they were if I saw them anyway.
I went on an elementary school field trip to the country fields with my mom's friend. Here is our "uncle" teaching us how to dig up sweet potatoes.
We got to make our own ricecakes by first pounding rice with wooden hammers.
Then "uncle" put the huge piece of smashed rice onto some peanutty powder.
And then we enjoyed some very authentic home-made ricecakes.
Rice wine with Korean pancakes.
This is the church in my father's hometown where my parents got married.
On the bus ride home, I chuckled at this sign. It says "do not make a ddak, ddak, ddak sound when chewing gum."
A couple weeks ago, Wonju reached a population of 300,000. This is a big deal because the city is reaching a higher level of economic growth.
School festival! Boys who are acting shy but they're really not.
The students get a chance to have a "garage sale" so these girls are convincing me to buy this book. They are making better offers like true salesmen.
View of the festival from the school building.
There are many games and prizes. I tried the speed-chopstick game.
Teachers who love to speak English!
We (the teachers) performed two dance numbers for the students. They were very amused.
Hundreds of students who all have black hair and look the same at first glance. It's neat to see.
Break-dancing is extremely popular in Korea. Apparently the Koreans are really good at international competitions.
Teachers' dinner after the festival. Round 1: pork spring rolls
Round 2: beer bar
Round 3: karoake at a noraebang
My uncle's art work at the photo exhibition.
Relatives came to Baeron Seongji to visit Grandpa's grave for his 100-day death anniversary.
Autumn leaves.
Grandma is also happy to see autumn leaves.
The beginning of the Seoul weekend trip. Gyeongbokgung Palace was built in 1394 as the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty by King Taejo.
Inside hall of the main building.
A photo op at Gyeongbokgung Palace to commemorate my weekend sight-seeing around Seoul.
The National Folk Museum.
The many types of kimchi displayed in the museum.
I chatted with an Ecuadorian band called "Los Andes" in a subway station. It was a sublime experience to speak Spanish in a Korean setting.
The majestic Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul.
I met up with Andy from Atlanta at Namdaemun Market. My head hurt a little after walking through this congested street.
I went to Seoul National Museum (6th largest museum in the world) and it took me 2.5 hrs to see a third of it...so I didn't get to see it all.
Who knows what else will be in vending machines in 10 years?
I saw the Wonju Dongbu Promy basketball team play against the Ulsan team. Here we see tall dancing cheerleaders with platform shoes!
1st and 2nd graders belly dancing after the first quarter. No further comment is necessary.
A capella boy band at half time.
Wonju won against Ulsan 80 to 73! It was time for celebrating with karoake music in the background of course.

South Korea [Aug. 11-Sept. 15, 2007]

Family visit: my young cousins and me.
Aunts and grandmother.
Monthly service trip to the "Angel's House." It is a home for physically and mentally handicapped children.
Playground and dorms for the kids.
Teaching the kids how to say the "Our Father" in English.
Kids were very affectionate.
Volunteer team from church.
The infamous peace sign!
Beginning of the 7-day English Program in Korea (EPIK) orientation at Koryo University.
On our second day of orientation, we went to a folk village to see how people lived over a century ago.
Traditional house.
Drumming and dancing with ribbon hats.
The see-saw show was amazing! Flips, ribbons and large hoops were employed in the following acts.
Korean traditional tight rope-walking w/ a fan! This was very entertaining and impressive.
Korean EPIK teachers!
There was a wonderful concert of Korean traditional instruments such as the zither. I love that word!
We got to sing along to "Arirang," a famous Korean folk song. The variations were hard to follow.
We had a Korean craft class to make a jewelery box of Hanji. (www.doorihanji.co.kr)
EPIKers running around with their kites in their nice dress clothes.
A view of Koryo University, the largest boarding campus in Korea.
Nongshim Hall where our seminars took place.
Joe, a fellow EPIK teacher, is a very swell harmonica player! He keeps it handy wherever he goes. His rendition on "The Farmer in the Dell" is encore-worthy.
We practiced pouring drinks (Korean-style) on our last night of orientation.
The EPIK teachers of Gangwondo province had a second orientation immediately after the first on a beachside resort on the East coast. We are showcasing the banner.
My room at the second orientation in Yangyang.
"Catherine Teacher" and "Anna Teacher."
Rows of fish/squid boats. It smelled fishy of course.
It was a windy, rainy day so this is my attempt to escape the nausea inside the boat. It would also explain why I look a bit loopy.
Nearing the port in Sokcho.
We took a field trip to the Thomas Edison Museum and this is a picture of the first lightbulb. It was quite random to see several of his first inventions in a Korean museum.
First time I've ever seen so many gramophones in my life.
Evening walk at the beach on the East coast of South Korea.
Swimming at 6:30am to wake us up.
Teacher friends!
Waiting in anticipation for the final event in the hotel lobby.
Orientation farewell dinner was grand! I got my fix of much-needed spaghetti.
Korean fan dance called buchaechum.
Grandmother's godmother who is singing and showing off her new jacket.
I convinced my grandmother that Korean Bugles taste better if you eat them off your fingers.
Lanterns made by children at the Hanji festival of Wonju.
Pyongwon Middle School: my workplace for the next year. I teach about 800 students a week.
1st graders on the top floor and 3rd graders on the bottom floor. Seniority is everywhere.
My first dinner with the teachers of my office, where sharing alcohol is a must! They love speaking English with me and are certainly more eager to learn than the students.