Whoops...

I just finished writing this week's blog and then erased it by accident...darn it.

So, here are the highlights-

• Hard at work at school
• Had a more mellow weekend at Namdaemun Market, swimming at school, BBQ fish at Ori, bowling!, and found Walmart
• Cork is coming Friday!
• We may see Andrew soon
• Bought tickets to Busan, southern Korea - will try to take a ferry to Fukuoka, Japan during holiday

Here's a few pics-

This is the Olympic Park in Seoul.

The Olympic Torch is inside the structure.

That is the Seoul Tower in the distance. The view from Olympic Park.

Some hardcore rollerbladers cruising around the park. They really flew.

This is Namdaemun Gate. It's in the middle of the city and near a big market.

Here's a random shot of the school pool. Pretty nice, eh?

And here is a shot of our kitchen from the living area.

It just gets better...

Another very eventful week has passed for us and we are still happier than ever. Some say to us, "wait until the honeymoon of Korea is over." We are still waiting.

Last week was tough. I can't sugarcoat it. Monday was parent-teacher day, so we met most of the parents at KIS. Our enrollment is over 600; so that's a lot of people. The event went well and we just keep rolling on and adjusting to the tilts and angles and bumps as they come. I am impressed with the KIS admin and their ability to roll with the punches. A brand-new facility poses huge obstacles for us; but we seem to take them as they come without too much fuss or drama. Well...Maybe a little drama...but not bad!

So, Wednesday was out first day of school...for real. The simple things like bus drop-offs and traffic flow through the 3 buildings made for challenges, but by Friday most issues were ironed out. Jennifer's class could not be cuter. I would post pics but that's just not ok these days. Take my word for it. So far, I have visited all 26 of my MS and ES classes and enjoyed every minute of it. Okay...so I haven't mastered going from 8th grade to Kindergarten in a span of 10 minutes. That will take much time. So far, I've been talking about what it feels like to be new to a school. I asked for a favor of the kids: to say 'hi' to the new person. I explained that I am new too. So, now I have over 400 kids saying 'hi' to me as I walk the halls, lunchroom, and schoolyard. "HI, MR. KREMBS!"

After the short week, (felt long due to the newness. We have to put every ounce we can muster into our days at this point.) we spent a quiet and early Friday night at home. Why??? Well, Saturday we wanted to summit the highest peak in Seoul! We arose at 6 am for a 7 am departure up the subway to the north. Two hours later, we found ourselves on the road to the trail. Outdoor outfitters abound, we trudged on up the steep road to the trail. Then, we began our assent.

The hike lasted about 4-5 hours of busy pandemonium up a very steep mountain. We enjoyed the experience and can't wait to go back. The trail began in the Forrest and ended at the top of Bukhansan Peak, a rocky crag about 800 meters above Seoul. The view was spectacular and the last bit of hike was not easy. In fact, we struggled to make it up the last rocky piece, as the trail turned to cables and carved-out rock steps (much like the hike up Half-Dome in Yosemite Natl Park in CA.) There was a point where we were not certain if we could go on, but two guys helped us out and encouraged us to proceed to the top. Toma and Martin were their names. It turned out they were both deaf, but could read and speak English, German and Korean. Ohh...did I mention that they communicated through reading lips in different languages. Honestly, we would have never made it to the top without them. They just keep telling us that we would make it and it wasn't too bad. They climbed ahead and cleared out the path for Jen to climb up. And, at the top, they bought all of us Bukhansan pins for our backpacks. Their kindness and generosity were are still are truly humbling.

After making our way down, we parted with Valerie, Susan and Tommy because we had a dinner date with Eun Ju and Robin at their home. We made it back down just in time to the Samsung Plaza station to walk to their place. We enjoyed an awesome Korean meal of bacon, onions, kimchee, bean-paste, mushrooms and much more. The food was tasty! After dinner, they took us to a Korean sauna/spa. The sauna/spas are single-sex to begin with. So, Hugo, Robin and myself (the ladies, Jen, Eun Ju, Jesika, and Tina to the ladies section) spent about 45 minutes hanging out in the pools, saunas, and steam room (yes, OD, they have steam-rooms!). After that, we met the ladies down in the coed area which includes massage, 4 different saunas, food, etc...

So, Sunday, we woke up late and had a laaaaaazy day. But not too lazy. We went to the Olympic Park which was beautiful and full of life.

Today, we had the Grand Opening Ceremony for Korea International School's new campus. This was interesting because we got to hob-nob with the mayor and governor of our area and town. Dignitaries, fireworks, and speeches capped off our day.

Now, it's time to look toward Tuesday.

A few pictures to illustrate-


Trying to look tough before the hike up Bukhansan. It's no use; I can't help but smile. (Me, Valerie, and Tommy)






















Lunch time on the mountain. A Korean family invited us to eat with them. We obliged...and shared peanut butter and jelly. I think we came out ahead on the deal.


















We are starting to get high! The city is below.

















The beginning of the steep part.






















Me, Martin, Jen, and Toma at the top of Bukhansan. We are still in awe of their kindness.

















On our way back down the mtn. Valerie, Tommy, Susan, Jennifer and I. (Say Kimchee!)

Second Week

Things are still going fabulously for us. We really like our neighborhood because it is much calmer and quieter than your average Seoul suburb. We have discovered this place called E-Mart, which has everything and more. In fact, it has all the things that we were told we couldn't get in Korea. We can get anything here. Now, I'm not sure why we stocked up on the things that we did in Seattle. Oh well. You live and then you learn.

Last week we met all the returning teachers to KIS. It felt good to see all the teachers together and meet those we will work with throughout the years. The facility is so new that there are clear many kinks to work out. However, I think those kinks do not compare to how wonderful the school is. We can't wait to show our future visitors the facility. Cork will be here in two weeks and we can't wait! I think we will go fro a dip in the pool tomorrow afternoon. You know...make sure it's safe for the kids...

This past weekend was awesome. Friday, there was a wine and cheese social at school followed up by a gathering at a local Irish pub. That was a good opportunity to meet those we hadn't yet. Saturday, we wandered up the subway to school for some extra work. We ate at a Thai restaurant near the sub stop and walked the 20 minute walk up to school. We really need to take more pictures of school to post here. Maybe this week. That night, we ate some Vietnamese food and made it an early night. We had plans for a hike Sunday morning. The hike was awesome! Koreans love their nature like I've never seen before. Scroll down to see the pics. Buddhist temples up the trail mixed with nice panoramic views made for a great day.

Tomorrow is teacher-parent day. So, I better get to bed. Wish us luck!

Oh yeah...and we have been sweating for about 20,120 minutes so far. It is muggy hot; but August is supposed to be the worst month for that. So, it will pass. I kind of like it in a way.

Checking out the map















Here's a Buddhist temple hidden in the trees















Spectacular!















This is a walled fortress 6 miles in circumference.



















Susan and Tommy taking a breather from the hot sun.















Looking good, sweetheart.















Who's that cheesey dude? Looks like you missed the high-school senior of the year award...oh, well. At least there are the air-guitar championships coming soon.




















This is an average street in the suburbs















Whoa...Nerds!
















This is the view from out apt. The shot is through a screen...that's why it looks funny. But you get the idea.

Welcome to Korea...or Yong-in, Jukjeon.

We are safe, sound and happy here in Korea. Our flights were uneventful and easy going. Our first few days have been filled with trying to gain some bearings of where we are. So far, everyone at school and on the street have been very helpful and kind to us. Not many people speak English in our neighborhood and we have yet to see another whitey. We are pretty far south of Seoul in a new suburb called Yong-in Juekjon. It's very nice and quite calm. Our apartment is absolutely wonderful and much larger than our last place. It's so hightech that we don't know we are doing. There are cameras at the door so that we can see who's knocking, there are dimmed lights with a remote control, a special Kimche refrigerator, an oven (aparrently rare), a washer and dryer, dishwasher, sanitizer (have no idea what it is), a bidet in the toilet, two bathrooms- one with a tub, tons of storage, A/C, and we are on the 17th floor so the view isn't bad. We have yet to make it up to the city of Seoul, but plan to this weekend. There is a sub station a few blocks from our place--it's the last stop on the Bundang Line. All the new teachers are very nice, too, which helps enormously. So, it's a little late at night, so I'll just attach a couple of pics to help and we will elaborate later.


Here's Jen at school.

Here's the view from the roof of our apartment.

Here's an area near downtown.

Here's a Temple in a market called Insa-dong.

This is a restored river that runs through downtown.

How lucky are we? I don't even want to say...