Sept 2008: Chuseok

A temple at Haeinsa (해인사), a Buddhist temple near Daegu.

Me and Glorya quenching our thirst at a spring in Heinsa.

One of many rows of the 81,258 woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana, housed in the Janggyeon Panjeon at Haeinsa. It's believed that this hall was renovated in 1457 (which means it was build earlier than that). The hall uses only ancient and natural preservation techniques, and the wooden blocks have remained free of mildew and rot for centuries! Actually, the blocks were moved to a modern building in the 1970s, but they started to mildew, so were promptly returned to their original home here at Haeinsa.

Leaving the Janggyeon Panjeon.

Me, Glorya, and Glorya's uncle Eul-ji (을지), who served as our guide.

Me and Glorya outside Haeinsa.

Me, Glorya, and Glorya's aunt at their family's burial ground on Chuseok (Thanksgiving). We brought food to offer to their ancestors, and had a little picnic there.

Later that weekend, we went into the city for some urban adventures. These were taken at a "Doctor Fish" cafe, where fish nibble dead skin off your feet! Yes, it tickles.

Glorya, getting her feet cleaned~

You can't see my feet, but there are Doctor Fish all over them, too!

Putting some final touches on pictures we took in a photo booth in the mall. This thing was way cooler than the photo booth at the roller-skating rink! But also much more difficult to use, and it didn't help that all the instructions were in Japanese! It was an adventure in an of itself.

A bakery dedicated to my bun!

June 2008: A Visit

I returned home in March 2008, and went back for a short visit in June to see if I wanted to go back for a second year. This trip didn't produce many pictures, but here are a few:

Hiking around a couple days after I arrived.

And, of course, some water lilies: although I do believe the pictures I took at Bainbridge Gardens were much better (see below: yeah, they're good ones).

Feb 2008: A Winter Adventure

If I recall, this little road trip was over Lunar New Year weekend, when most teachers had a full week off. So, they were all in Thailand, Cambodia, and the like. I, having merely a long weekend, finally read The Brothers Karamazov (during hours-long visits to Starbucks), caught up on much-needed sleep, and went on this road trip with Sanchez.

Me, standing on a frozen lake for the second time in my life (the first time had been a few weeks earlier). We just don't get this kind of weather in the PNW!

An overlook at a couple pools: would-be swimming holes if it were a little warmer, I think! On the way back, this was all covered in snow (see below).

Finally, the waterfall! As you can see, it had started snowing by this time, so our entire hike back out was in the snow. Not exactly the vacation our friends were having in SE Asia. :)

Sanchez, ready to go fishing.

The overlook on our way back.

On the way out.

We found a nice, cozy restaurant somewhere down the road. They let us eat inside, unlike this unfortunate Chindo.

Dec 2007: Christmas

Wow, this was a long time ago! Two of my students at the time, Ellie and Luna, brought be the best Christmas present I could have asked for: a plastic Christmas tree! (I made kimchi with Ellie's family a few entries back.) I saw both Ellie and Luna when I went back to Korea the next year, but have since lost their contact info.

They were great: funny, sarcastic, and independent. Luna always said she wanted to marry for love (she did, and had a baby about a year ago), but Ellie would only consider tall, handsome, rich men (she was single every time I saw her). Ellie looked on Luna's romantic notions with disdain: Ellie is a true Korean.

This picture was taken at Suzanne's Christmas party. Nice earmuffs, huh? I got those for Suzanne.

And, as we all know, I got a little dog for myself, which soon became Heidi's, and then my parents': Humeong!

Dusting off the cobwebs

Having recently returned from a visit to Korea (and not wanting to write my paper that is due Monday), I decided to brush the cobwebs off my blog. I got a real kick out of a draft I started when I returned to Korea in August of 2008 to teach in the public schools.

In this entry, I was relating that I was the only foreign teacher at these schools, and I had a lot of downtime at work that year: although I was required to be at work 8 hours a day, I only taught for about 4 of those hours. The rest were spent in cultural exchange, which covered quite a range of topics, including but by no means limited to:

What do students do during recess in the United States?

My friend told me I should get plastic surgery to make my eyes bigger. (A very common procedure for Korean women)

Is it true that you can ride the bus for free in some parts of Seattle?

Do you like kimchi?

Yes...

OH!! Really?? (all teachers exchange impressed and thoughtful looks)

What is your favorite Korean food?

Um...probably budae-jjigae.

OH!! haha, budae-jjigae! (I don't think they expected me to answer....)

Can you read the Korean alphabet?

Yes....

OH!! Really?? Woooow, you are a linguistic genius!

(I tried to point out to them that our entire conversation was in English, which demonstrates their language proficiency, not mine.)

All Korean food is very healthy, and will make you thin and beautiful.

Since, as mentioned, I am practicing the art of procrastination, I'm going to spend some time now so going through old pictures from last year to see if there are any worth posting on this blog. Not that anybody is still reading it after over two years of neglect....