Blue
I grabbed this photo while taking in Carnivale in Venice in 2007. Blue is my favorite color, so when I saw these two revelers, I knew I had to take this shot. The masks are not only beautiful, but also mysterious. I also liked how the texture of the material make the photo seem almost a little icy. (Incidentally, this is my wife’s all time favorite of my photos.)
Green
This photo is one I treasure. After the long hike up the top of these rice terraces, I looked out over the landscape and just had to pause at the beauty of the place. When I saw this farmer with his back to the view, going about his work, I had to wonder how he kept himself from looking back all the time to see what he had created.
Yellow
I love looking up to take photos! This is a simple photo taken from directly underneath The Eiffel Tower in Paris. At night, the tower lights up and puts on a great show. But not many people think to look up when walking right underneath!
White
I took this photo while waiting for a little friend who was enjoying her time on the Carousel. The movement of the whole apparatus, decorated with white lights for Christmas, really grabbed my attention. I couldn’t help getting this motion on camera by holding the shutter open.
Red
While living in Korea for two years, I saw a lot of gazebos, temples and pagodas. This one, however, really captured my imagination with its unique and secluded setting. I had to wait for a while for the rain to stop to get this shot, but it was worth it.
Thanks so much for taking the time to view these photos. I love photography and sharing with others the amazing scenes the world has to offer.
Nominations
Here are the 5 bloggers that I am nominating. If your name is not here and you think that it should be, no worries you can enter anyway. Just check out the link and make your own post. These are people who I greatly admire in both their photography skills and vision and find to be inspirational.
The 5 bloggers that I nominate that I think should participate in this contest are:
Big thanks to One Source Network for providing us with the Velbon UT 43D tripod as many of the shots in the post would not have been possible without it.
We have been puzzled by many things in Korea, but none has confused us so much as the Summer Camp preparations.
A long while before things got started, we noticed that many of our married/coupled friends had been sent to separate camps. This seemed a bit odd and we asked my co-teacher about it. She said that she had heard from the Office of Education that all known couples were intentionally split so the students would be more of a focus for teachers. (This is a bit crazy to us since we are in the classrooms for 12 hours per day, excluding meals.) Since I had not yet changed my last name, they didn’t realize we were married, so we were placed at the same camp. This was very frustrating to our friends and it’s completely against our culture. As foreigners, we know that we need to adapt to the Korean ways of life and we accept that. However, we felt like this was completely against our ways of life and it’s not good for couples to be separated for this long, especially newly weds, as most couples here are. Everyone raised a bit of a fuss about that and most couples were able to switch to the same camps.
After that, we had to jump through some Korean hoops.
We first were asked to attend a mandatory 5 hour prep meeting 2 months before the camp began. We were surprised, first by the amount of time they asked for, and then by the fact that the entire meeting was in Korean. All the foreign teachers left the meeting with about the same amount of information about camp that we came with.
We were given some books and told that we needed to prepare several lesson plans and e-mail them to our assigned Korean co-teacher by the following week. We’re use to writing lesson plans, so it was no problem. We were each also given a work book that corresponded to our “Conversation” book and told that we could use those worksheets with our lessons. That sounded pretty sweet. Until about a week later. I turned my lesson plans in 2 days in advance, but received a strange reply. My co-teacher needed the “worksheet file.” I wrote back, confused, and said that I didn’t have a file for the worksheets, but since we had the same books, maybe she could just use her own book. She replied that this wouldn’t work and she needed a file. I replied that I didn’t have a file because the worksheet didn’t have a CD, and perhaps she could just xerox any worksheets she needed from her own book. After many back-and-forths about this, she replied that she would expect the file by the following day (Saturday). I assured her that she would not receive it. Finally, after speaking to a couple other teachers, all foreign teachers were notified that we were expected to retype all of the worksheets from the pages we needed from the workbooks. (About 20 pages… many with large corresponding pictures that can’t be typed.) This was in mind to avoid violating copyright laws that would have been broken by xeroxing the worksheets. Memo to the Office of Education: Retyping someone else’s worksheets is still a copyright violation.
After many ups and downs about this from all the foreign teachers, most teachers found a way around it. I ended up photographing my worksheets and was assured they would be printed for the camp. Upon reaching camp, I found that my worksheets had not been printed, so they were promptly xeroxed by my co-teacher. Hmmm.
The next crazy thing came about while we were on vacation in China. Griffin received an e-mail and immediately started to laugh. He told me I had to read it because it was unbelievable. The Office of Education had decided that the students needed to spend as much time as possible with the foreign teachers, so we were being required to bunk with the students in their dorm rooms. We decided that this needed no reply from us. We knew that the other foreign teachers would not allow this to proceed. As we suspected, within the next 24 hours, both of our inboxes were flooded with replies to this requirement. Some gave reasons why this would not work, others simply stated that it was uncomfortable. Everyone flat out refused to do it. This requirement was rescinded with a couple of days.
We’ve often wondered why the Office of Education doesn’t have at least one foreign teacher they contact when they are thinking of sending out e-mails/requirements like those above. It seems they could save a lot of time and energy if someone told them it would never fly.
Once camp got started, everything sailed pretty smoothly. We love camps because the class sizes are around 16 students… down from our normal 36 students per class. With this number of students, it’s easier to teach, play and get to know the students over the course of the 3 week intensive camp.
The college campus where we stayed is new and really beautiful. We enjoyed getting to benefit from the electronics placed in the classrooms that made life easier and more complicated at the same time. The university that hosted us is home to students studying Science and Technology and the campus has only been around for about 3 years. Unfortunately, it is in the middle of nowhere, literally surrounded by rice fields. It was kind of nice to get away.
We enjoyed our students and found that teaching elementary students is much easier than middle schoolers. My camp students operate on much higher level of English than my regular middle school kids.
We were pretty surprised at the amount of information these kids are forced to take in in such a short amount of time. Each class studied several lessons per day on each of the the topics of vocabulary, conversation, listening and grammar. During only a 3 week period, the students learned an average of 500 vocabulary words! I won’t ask if they still remember!
We enjoy camp, but could do without the pre-camp “festivities.”
]]>And here is our video in case you missed it
The Consolation Prizes
When it comes to consolation prizes, 10 Magazine did not disappoint. They sent us home happy with a package including:
- ₩50,000 gift card to On The Border
- ₩20,000 gift card to Caffe Bene
- 2 Tickets to Miso: A Traditional Korean Musical worth ₩40,000 each
We went to On The Border that night and enjoyed some good Mexican food. It was not quite as good as our favorite Mexican restaurant, but free Mexican food in Korea is always a welcome treat and we even had enough left over for lunch the next day.
After On The Border we headed over to catch the 8PM showing of Miso. We had no idea what to expect, but were excited about the fun date night at no cost to us! We were quickly blown away by the professionalism and beauty or this amazing performance. The lighting was fantastic and the live music and coloful costumes all combined to leave us memorized for most of the show. All we could do was sit there and enjoy the beauty as the plot unfolded before our eyes. We were also glad that it was more of an instrumental musical than a vocal one and because of this the story relied more on acting and scene changes than speaking which we would have not understood. This was a huge plus and the reason we would not hesitate to recomend the show to anyone who is looking for a great date night idea in Seoul.
During one of the performances, Valerie was picked out of the audience and brought up on stage to perform a balancing act with the cast. She did an excellent job and even outperformed the Korean college student they had brought up to compete with her;-) When the show finished there was a short time to meet and take pictures with the cast, but by the time we got our camera, the time had ended. We think this may have been due to the world cup game being on, but are not sure if more time is normally allotted or not, so if you go, make sure to rush for the pictures afterward.
Valerie getting ready to balance the spinning wheel on stage at the performance of Miso.
Upon exiting the theater, we heard some chearing coming from down to the street and decided to walk over and investigate. It turned out to be thousands of fans watching and cheering for the Korean Red Devils to beat Greece in the world cup. The city had set up huge TVs in the square in front of City Hall for the event and the atmosphere was electrifying! We joined in the fun for a while and then headed out a little early to beat the crowds. This was definitely the most fun day we have had in Seoul and just want to again thank our family and friends and 10 Magazine for providing us with the opportunity.
More Information About Miso
For those interested, here are some pictures and more information about Miso.
A Poster with some of the cast we saw.
A Picture from their website of one of the drum scenes that was very enjoyable.
Another picture from their website. This one of a knife and sword dancing scene that was very fun to watch.
You can check out a plot summary from their website and more here.
NOTE: 10 Magazine, On The Border and Miso logo’s are all copyright their original owners and their depiction on this on this site in no way infers ownership to me. All pictures of Miso provided by the Miso website. No photography is allowed while viewing the production of Miso(I secretly took the one of Valerie with my iPhone before being caught, so maybe not as secretly as I had hopped;-)
]]>First, a quick lesson on how Koreans describe food. If the food is good, Koreans will say it tastes good. Makes sense. However, they have no phrase to say that food is not good. Instead, as a way to avoid insulting the cook, Koreans will state that the food “has no taste.” On a lighter note, one of Griffin’s co-teachers taught him the phrase, “Marchy chig ami da.” Which means, “this food is to die for.” It usually cracks up whoever he says this to. (Last night our Taekwondo instructor nearly choked to death on his food when Griffin said this to him. He could not stop laughing.)
First, and foremost, Korean food is sometimes very spicy. On one occasion, in particular, I tried a saucy pulled pork dish that was really delicious. I really enjoyed the sweet, yet, hot taste. However, I eventually had to abandon the effort as my eyes started to water and my nose started to run. I have not been able to bring myself to try it again.
Griffin had a similar experience with a dish called Heong-Uh (홍어). It’s a fermented fish with a recipe described to us like this: First, you catch the fish and skin it. Then you place it outside to dry for about a week. Then you put it in water to rehydrate. Then cut into pieces and serve. Notice I did not mention any cooking involved. So, basically, you are eating raw, rotten fish. Most Koreans we have surveyed about Heong-Uh report that they enjoy it… but only if they have had a lot of alcohol. As for us, the smell alone is enough to remind us not to try again.
We’ve also sampled plenty of other Korean cuisine that we would highly recommend. Galbi, a sweet marinated beef dish; Bulgogi, which is a beef dish that comes in a variety of seasonings; Sam gip Sar, which is a barbecued pork dish that you cook yourself and dress into lettuce wraps; and Sashimi, raw fish, are some of our favorites.
Check out our photos for a good look at some of the Korean foods we have enjoyed as well as shots of our school lunches.
]]>Upon entering the city, we were at a loss of words for how to describe the scenery. As our bus winded through the streets toward the festival, we could look nowhere but outside, waiting to go explore this magical time and space.
Once off the bus, we located a crowd gathered in the middle of the main rotary and caught a fun Taekwondo exhibition of black belted children. We were really envious!
Afterward, we met up with some other friends and headed up a nearby lookout mountain to check the view from the top. The lookout was incredible and a site we will never forget. We journeyed back down and spent some time just walking around the area to check out the other scenery. For that day, Jinhae was host to many food vendors and souvenir stands, along with thousands of people who came to visit.
After a fun day with friends and having spent time praising God for His beautiful creation, we boarded the bus home.
We visited several other nearby cities and took in the Cherry Blossom sites in our own city as well, and we find that we always enjoy our experiences the most when we are able to experience it all with people we care about.
If you ever get the chance to visit Korea in the Spring, make sure to check out the Cherry Blossom Festival in Jinhae.
Here is a quick video with some of our experiences in Jinhae. Enjoy!!
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As some of you may know from our previous posts, we are currently blue belts in Taekwondo(태권도). When we arrived in Korea and started to ask around about Taekwondo we were surprised to learn that in Korea, it is possible to become a black belt in one year! This was surprising to us due to the fact that in America it typically takes about three years to achieve black belt status. Once we joined our gym we figured out why it takes about a third of the time.
The secret is we go to class four to five nights a week. This is normal in Korea and we actually get a lower grade on attendance if we miss only two classes in a month and a half. In The States people usually attend class two or three nights a week max. This is one of the reasons for the time discrepancy. We have been taking lessons for about 6 months now and are five belts into our ten belt training, so we are half way there. Due to vacations and not coming five nights a week every week, we are guessing it will take us about a year and a half to achieve a black belt. Valerie and I are both so excited about this future achievement and mostly about being able to accomplish it together in the country where the sport originated! Thanks so much for following along on our journey as we work towards this goal together.
The other night I decided it would be fun to do a time lapse recording of our one hour class to share with all of you. Our typical class look like this:
5 mins– Jump rope
10 mins– Stretching, push-ups and sit-ups
10 mins– Form practice (repetitive stances, punching, kicking, blocking)
10 mins– Kicking/Punching paddle
20 mins– Poomsae practice (Specific moves in order. So far we know three forms and are learning the fourth.)
5 mins– Cool down stretching
Enjoy the video!
]]>This save us a lot of time and also some money due to the fact that we do not have to spend $2.00 or more on buses everyday. It costs us about $8 a week for gas and that includes going to get groceries and weekend rides to the beach or though the mountains. If we had to do it again we would probably spring for the 100-125cc scooter as we are unable to make long road trips on our bike. For 50cc scooters in Korea no insurance and no tags are required, so that’s why we chose that option.
We took a video to share our new, much faster, commute and it was shot at the peak of the Cherry blossom season, so the streets are lined with beautiful trees in full bloom. Enjoy!
]]>We are now blue belts!! This is the fifth level belt and means we only have another five to go to get a black belt!
You can check back every couple months to see our status update via the image bellow
Belt colors vary from gym to gym, and in our case these last few levels are increasingly difficult to attain. Each level consists of mastering new kicks, punches and blocks, as well as a new “Poomsae,” which is a choreographed routine employing all the learned movements. Since each level has it’s own poomsae, we are required to present each poomsae during the time of the belt test. The more we learn, the more difficult it can be to remember each level’s specific poomsae.
Our instructor continues to impress us. He is an excellent teacher and we are really enjoying our time with him. We hope to progress rapidly through the levels and reach Black Belt sometime in the Fall.
We Are Famous!
Recently, our photos were placed on a large banner outside out gym to advertise our “Foreigner Class.” It’s already getting a good response and our class size has grown from 4 to 8.
Here is how the banner making process went:
Monday: We mention to our instructor that we like the new banner outside (which is in all Korean) and that next time he makes a banner, if he would like, we can help him with some wording to advertise the foreigner class option.
Tuesday: When we walk into class our instructor asks us to stand in front of the wall so he can take a picture. We think this is maybe for himself or his family or something so we are glad to oblige. As an afterthought we ask what the pictures will be for and he tells us he will use them for a new banner! As you will see in the picture, we were not at all ready for pictures much less pictures to go on a giant banner, but oh well.
Our instructor asks us to think of a good phrase to to put on the sign to encourage other foreigners to join.
Wednesday: Valerie and I had a last minute date night and went for dinner and a movie instead of Taekwondo. We plan to recommend the phrase “Foreigner friendly classes available.” to our instructor the next day.
Thursday: We go to Taekwondo and mention our recommended phrase, but are not asked to write it down or anything. We assume all is well.
Friday: The new banner is revealed! We feel a a little responsible for the bad English on the banner, but of course we tell our instructor it is great. The English on the banner reads as follows:
Foreigner Recruitment – (so far so good)
From foreigner practice timely evening 8:30 minute – (OK. it gets the point gets across)
In order for “before the what to become the stately child, it will teach.” – (?)
Here’s the picture!
Our Taekwondo Gym with the banner proudly displayed;-)
Photo of Taekwondo instructor by Flickr user Diego Jose
]]>Korea does not use the 20/20 scale for vision acuity that I am used to and instead uses a 1.0 scale where 1.0 is the same as 20/20 and anything higher is better. When I was tested before the surgery, my vision was -4.75 in my right eye and -3.75 in my left eye. Since higher than 1.0 is good, you can imagine that these negative numbers are not so good.
Entrance to LASIK Center.
When I went in for surgery, my eyes were numbed using some drops. I was suited up and taken into a sterile room where Dr. Shin and several assistants were waiting for me. Not much was spoken in the room since there is a language barrier, but the words I needed to hear were, “Don’t Scare” and “You’re doing very well.” Also important was “look at the red light.” Since this is an all laser procedure, I was first asked to be very still while a laser created a “flap” in my cornea. At that time, my vision became very foggy and, I will admit, I was a little nervous. I was then taken to another table where the flap was folded over away from my eye and the laser surgery could begin. I was asked to “look at the red light” and “don’t scare” as a popping sound a burning smell started. First my right eye and then my left were subjected to the laser treatment that reshaped my cornea to allow for better focusing of light. One small glitch occurred as Dr. Shin noticed a small piece of dust had gotten under the flap of my left eye after the surgery was completed. I was taken back into the room and the dust was cleaned out using water and some special tools.
It was quite a strange experience, mostly in that I was actually able to see the tools as they touched my eyes.
Afterward, I was asked to rest for about 30 minutes and then my eyes were checked again by Dr. Shin. When I was allowed to go home, my eyes were extremely sensitive to light and, as the numbing medication wore off, were more than a little scratchy. It was quite a task to keep from rubbing them. I took a nap when I got home and when I woke up my vision was little blurry, and my eyes still a little sore, though getting better.
Two of the extremely nice staff members of Dr. Shin's LASIK clinic
By the next day, I was doing great. I headed back to Shinsagae to for my follow up appointment early the next morning and was amazed that I did not need my glasses or contacts anymore. Less than 24 hours later, my vision had improved to 1.2 or roughly, 20/16. By my followup appointment one week later, more improvement! My vision is now 1.5 or somewhere between 20/12 and 20/15.
The man who restored my vision to better than 20/20, Dr. Shin
I still see some halos around lights, but Dr. Shin assures me that it will go away over the next several weeks. All in all, I am totally amazed with the results.
Cafe S at Shinsegae Eye Clinic
If you have the opportunity to get LASIK, go for it! If you’re in Ulsan, I highly recommend Shinsagae for your Bright New World! If you’re in the U.S., you can fly to Korea and have the procedure done at roughly the same price as the procedure only in the states. So, you might as well get to visit Korea, too, right?
]]>For pictures from the trip, please check out our Flickr set here.
]]>Here is a video I put together of the first trip we took. This is part 1 of 2 and in this video we make a traditional Korean Mask and visit a traditional Korean Paper Factory. Enjoy!
For pictures from the trip, please check out our Flickr set here.
]]>In December we had two other home visits that we have not yet had the opportunity to tell you about. First, was an evening with Mrs. Chun, from Chungun Middle School. Mrs. Chun is one of the best English speakers in Korea! Having lived in the Boston area for more than a year, she is extremely easy to talk with. Also, I enjoy having her classes at school because they are always so advanced and well-behaved! We were thrilled when she invited us for a home visit. Our evening began with a restaurant near her home where were were served Galbi, a type of marinated ribs that we had never tried before. Mrs. Chun brought along her two sons, Harry and Alvin, as well as her niece, Shannon and nephew, Lucky. Her husband was not able to join us for dinner because of his work schedule. After dinner we took a short walk to Mrs. Chun’s home where were were treated to all kinds of fabulous desserts. Shannon showed off her English skills and we had fun looking at all the awards Mrs. Chun’s smart sons have received. Soon, Mr. Ahn, Mrs. Chun’s husband, was able to join us. He is such a kind man and we had fun talking with both of them. Afterward, they were kind enough to drive us all the way out to our Taekwondo class, and dropped us off with a cheesecake! Amazing. We were so excited to spend time getting to know this family.
Valerie and Griffin at Galbi Restaurant with Mrs. Chun and her niece Shannon
Valerie and Griffin at Mrs. Chun's House with Lucky, Alvin, Shannon and Harry
Next, we were invited to the home of Mr. Suh, one of Griffin’s co-teachers. Entering this home was a little different than the others we have visited. Right away we noticed some incredible paper-mache` figures depicting all kinds of scenes. These dolls are positioned all over the house and they are amazing. We were even more amazed to know that Mr. Suh’s wife, Mrs. Jeong hand makes these dolls as a hobby. Their son, Martin, is quite a gifted young man. His English is spot on and he speaks like an adult. He’s also very sweet and served as a wonderful translator for us. We were excited to be introduced to a traditional Korean game called, Yute. Martin and I defeated Griffin and Mr. Suh, so we were very happy with our win. We were served an amazing dinner that Mrs. Jeong had spent a lot of time preparing for us and we were so grateful for her time. After dinner we spent some time relaxing and talking. Mrs. Jeong showed us how to make Kimchi Chigae, our favorite Korean soup. She made it seem easy and even gave us all the ingredients but we still haven’t quite gotten the hang of it. We were given several gifts as we left: The complete Kimchi Chigae soup-making kit that Mrs. Jeong put together, A hand drawn Yute board and some Yute playing pieces, and a hand-painted Chinese scripted fan. (Which now hangs on our wall at home.) Then, the best surprise, we were invited back to the Suh’s home to learn to make her famous paper-mache` dolls. We are incredibly thankful for their time with us, their unique generosity, and for the extremely kind 2nd invitation. We are excited to tell you about the doll-making ventures next time!
Valerie and Griffin with Mr. Su, Mrs. Jeong and Martin
The Delicious meal Mrs. Jeong cooked for us!
Quick Video of some of the handmade dolls Mrs. Jeong makes
Recently, we also visited the home of Mr. Kang, from Chungun Middle School’s Admin Office. Toto, as he calls himself, speaks excellent English and has spent some time living abroad. Toto lives with his mother, Mrs. Cho, and the two of them were kind enough to invite us over for lunch. After a traditional Korean noodle dish, we took a drive out to Unheungsaji Temple in Ungchon. The temple site is really beautiful as it sits atop a mountain and has an excellent view. We spent some time looking around the temple where Toto spent much of his childhood, since he and his mother are devout Buddhists. Toto explained some of the traditional Buddhist customs and we also had the unique opportunity to speak with the resident Monk. (We also got to go inside the temple as well as the Monk’s home, which we have never experienced before.) We were able to talk with the Monk (Thanks to Toto as our translator) about the economy as well as some past prejudices in different parts of the world. After the drive back to our part of town, we had dinner with Toto before saying goodbye. I’m glad to get to see Toto every day in our school office and he is always a bright and cheerful face at school.
Valerie and Griffin with Mrs. Cho and Toto
Delicious noodle lunch Mrs. Cho made for us
Valerie and Griffin at Temple with Toto, Mrs. Cho and the monk.
It’s families like these that have made our stay in Korea one of the best times in our lives. We hope to return home with the same kindness in our hearts and willingness to open our homes to others if ever given the opportunity.
]]>We were able to meet the American teachers we were replacing, but only for a brief time before they headed home. So, we were left in Korea with only each other and did not know ANY of the language. Fortunately, our co-teachers showed us more kindness than we could have imagined.
Mr. Choi was the first to come to our aid. He is my official co-teacher and has been nothing short of a blessing to us. He took the time to get us checked into our hotel when we first arrived and he is the one who actually selected our apartment for us. To make things even more convenient for us, our apartment is located within walking distance of his own home. He is kind enough to give us rides home from school when we don’t have Korean lessons and frequently stops by to help us with any problems we are having in our apartment. (I.e., not speaking the same language as the Landlord, appliance instructions written in Korean, setting up accounts for utilities, etc.) We have been fortunate to spend time with Mr. Choi outside of school. He invited us hiking with him where we bottled fresh mountain water to take home. He and his beautiful wife have offered for us to visit their home at some point for dinner. He’s a fan of FRIENDS! We are privileged to call him our friend.
Valerie and Mr. Choi on our hike up the mountain for water.
Griffin and Mr. Choi resting at the top of the mountain.
Mr. Choi getting water from the spring at the top of the mountain.
Mr Shin has also been so wonderful to us. As soon as we arrived in Korea, Mr. Shin became our official tour guide. He has taken us many places around the country and offered us delicious Korean meals at some great restaurants, never allowing us to pay. (We have forced him and his wife to allow us to buy them dinner, only one time.) He is also a Christian and we have visited his church on occasion. He introduced us to our church home, which has led to many friendships and other opportunities. His wife studies English and speaks well, although she is very shy. She sometimes translates to her husband, the English teacher! Both are very kind to us and fun to hang out with!
Valerie and Griffin With Mr. Shin at Ki Rim Sa Temple near Gyongju, South Korea
Mr. Shin generously serving us a delicious lunch.
Mrs. Nam is Griffin’s co-teacher and everyday, except Wednesdays, he has “teacher time” when he and Mrs. Nam talk about many topics from movies to education to technology and even politics, most of all the differing culture and perspectives of our respective countries. This is one of the highlights of Griffin’s day at school. Griffin really enjoys learning about the Korean way of life and also comparing and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each culture and their different social, economical and educational systems, traditions and ideas. Afterward, he shares what he has learned with Valerie and day by day we become more knowledgable and interested in these wonderful people and their culture.
Mrs. Nam does such a great job of letting Griffin know about upcoming events and also helping translate or take care of many different things that he would otherwise be unable to do. After realizing Griffin was taking the bus to Valerie’s school three days a week for Korean class, Mrs. Nam generously offered to take Griffin and drop him off when she can. This has been a huge help and allows Griffin to arrive at the school ten to fifteen minutes earlier than would be possible with the bus. Mrs. Nam has become a great friend and has been very helpful in helping Valerie and Griffin learn more about Koreans and their culture than could ever been discovered in a culture guide, newspaper or TV program.
Griffin with Mrs. Nam. Griffin really enjoys talking about cultural, traditional and other differences between Koreans and other parts of the world.
A few months ago, we were all strangers to each other. We are proud to now call them friends.
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]]>The first couple videos a answers the question you may or may not have asked yourself:
Why Talk to People When You Can Use a Machine?
Watch to find out what it is!
Cool self pay and change machine that is small and apparently cheap enough for a small restaurant to buy.
The next couple videos are just new, cool or different ways to do things
Fastest hand dryer I have ever used in my life! Love it!
You’ll have to watch to find out;-)
Home Plus is the place we go most of the time to buy things for our house. It is four stories of food, clothing and household supplies. In this video we show you a commercial and some of the cool technology in use there.
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]]>Valerie and Griffin
This is a short, time lapse video of me and Valerie’s wedding ceremony. It is made up of over a thousand photos taken and compiled by my good friend and groomsman Mark Stephens. Thanks so much Mark!
This is a short, time lapse video of our wedding ceremony. It is made up of over a thousand photos taken and compiled by my good friend and groomsman, Mark Stephens.
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]]>]]>10. Fun, one sided conversations with our landlord, who only speaks Korean at 90 mph
9. The pastor at our church, who speaks 4 languages and says he constantly confuses them
8. The beauty of the sun shining on rice fields in late afternoon.
7. Cheap and usually mysterious street food
6. Even something as boring as going to the grocery store is an adventure because nothing is written in a language we can read
5. Learning the Korean language from a private tutor, for Free!
4. No one starts a sentence with the words “In these economic times…”
3. Going on weekend hikes with Mr. Choi to get water from a mountain top spring
2. Going on weekend adventures with Mr. Shin who is our unofficial Korean tour guide
1. The friendly, welcoming and amazingly generous people, especially our co-teachers and friends