A time to breathe

Just pictures this week.

Ah, such a great view from our apartment.














Just hiking around the hills and ran into a temple. I wore my US Air Guitar t-shirt just in case someone wanted to challenge me to a dual. No takers.




















Lunch.















The innards of a temple in the hills.














This is the train out of our neighborhood up to Seoul.















If you look closely, you can see Jen through the subway window.















This is the view you see when exiting to Olympic Park. A perfect day!















Up close pic of Olympic artwork. At this point, we decided it would be a good idea to see all Olympic Park's. Beijing 2008?














A beautiful view!















We met up with Andrew, Jen's nephew, for an hour or so in Olympic Park. He seemed good and it was nice to see him.














This toilet's pinnacle of existence was August of 2000.

Busy, but not much new

Greetings everyone,

Well, we had fairly normal weekend to the effect that we didn't even take any pictures. The week before was filled with so many meetings that we didn't get home until late every night, so we felt pretty darn exhausted by the week.

Here's what we did-

Friday night, we went out for some Mexican food and then to an Irish pub for beers for a coworker's birthday. Jen and I cut out early and went home for some much needed rest. In the morning, we awoke and traveled up to Namhansanseoung for a quick hike with about 20 teachers and their families. Jen and I raced home afterwards to quickly clean up because we had somewhere to be by 5 PM back up in the city. We met JH and Kim (Cork's friends) in Gangam by 5 and they drove us to an area called Apgujeong. Here, we saw Seoul at its most prosperous. Endless super fancy shops and expensive everything. We ate some Japanese food and then walked around for a bit. We made it home by 10 PM.

We woke early because we had to make it all the way back up into the city for a 10 K funrun by 9 AM. The race was called the Terry Fox Run (click here). We enjoyed running along the Han River and supporting a worthy cause. Oh funny thing though...after the race they gave us some food like most races do; however, the food they gave us were cold bacon-double-cheesburgers. HA! So, I ate 2, of course. Anyway, afterwards we went to Dongdaemun market which is gargantuan. We ended up arriving home pretty late.

Other news, we bought 3 month memberships to the sauna facility in our building. Now, we can roast everyday!

Have a good week.

The DMZ and North Korea

Over the past weekend, we decided it was time to take the DMZ tour up to the North Korean border. While not a tourist attraction like the world's largest tomato, the tour to this region of the world brings about a stark sense of tragedy and somber reflection.

We began our Saturday morning at 4:30 AM to an underappreciated and often despised alarm clock. A bit of fresh coffee and toast in our bellies, we hurriedly lumbered down to the subway to meet Jessica, Hugo, Tommy and Susan. At 5:30 AM we caught the subway into the city; our destination the USO (United Service Organization) who graciously hosted the DMZ tour. You can't vist the DMZ on your own. You must have a tour take you. There are several companies that can take you up to the DMZ, but we found through a bit of research that the USO offers the best possible tour. We arrived at our destination about 7 AM to a slight rain and gray skies. I thought to myself earlier in the week that I would have preferred rain for such a journey. We boarded the bus about 7:30 AM for the short 1 hour 30 minute trip up to the North. The further north we traveled on the bus, the less populated the road was. In fact, there wasn't a soul on the four lane freeway as we approached the first garrison. A Korean soldier boarded our bus and checked our passports. Apparently, no Koreans are allowed on the tour and, even stranger, we were told that no Arabs were allowed either. What do Arabs have to do with this? I have no idea. I'm a little confused by that one.

So after we cleared the first guard post, we weaved in and out of barricades and spikey tire busters and such up to the JSA (Joint Security Area). Upon arrival, we were briefed by Uncle Sam on a bit of history of the area. Very interesting stuff. Seeing history brings an instant sense of understanding that just can't be learned through reading. Currently, there are 600 South Korean soldiers and 40 American soldiers. Not too long ago, a couple of years, the US agreed to allow ROK (Republic of Korea) to control the JSA under direction of the US. So, we after the brief, we boarded military busses up to the border. On the border, there were three UN buildings painted in their obligatory light blue color. In these shacks, on the literal border of the MDL (Military Demarcation Line), we were able to walk around the negotiation tables. On the other side of the table, you find yourself across the border and into North Korea. The feeling is chilling. The two soldiers in the picture below are South Koreans assigned to protect us. Outside the building are South Koreans and Americans making eyes with North soldiers.






























































It's not always (or ever) wise to judge another's culture, but when there are people starving and being tortured on one side of an arbitrary boundary, I can't help but be confused. I can see them, I can see their cities, they speak the same Korean language, they are ethnically the same, but had the horrible misfortune to wind up on the wrong side of a super-power dispute come 1953. This concept is really difficult to comprehend and the sadness is palpable across both borders.


Funny story about the picture below. This is an example of the crazy antics of the North. So, until recently, the flags below were miniatures blowing in the breeze of the room until President Bush visited. During his vist to the area, two North Korean soldiers snuck into the conference room and took hold of the South Korean and US flags. One soldier proceeded to blow his nose with the South Korean flag and the other buffed his shoes with the US flag. After they caught this on video tape, the South placed the flags on the wall under plastic.















In this picture, you can see a few North Korean guard towers. We were able to zoom in and see binoculars staring at us as we peered across the border. VERY creepy.















In these pictures, you are looking into North Korea. The brownish colored piece of concrete in the bottom of the pictures is the actual border. If you look closely at the last picture, you can see a North soldier standing guard just to the left of the front door.



















The next pictures are from a guard point where you are surrounded on three sides by North Korea. In the distance, you can see a town with a giant flag. This is called Propaganda Village by the South. The town is fake; no one lives there and the the building are hollow. The flag is immense, weighing in over 600 pounds. The town is also equipped with an enormous stereo system that blares communist propaganda across to the South.















Here's another view outpost.



































We feel fortunate to have seen part of the conflict between the North and South. We can't claim that we understand the conflict but feel a little bit better informed on the matter.

The upcoming weekend's forecast looks like hiking and the Terry Fox 10K run on Sunday. Should be fun. Have a good week.

The Sauna and Michael Knight

More exciting news, a 24-hour sauna and spa opened up today in our building! The place is very nice. So, the Korean sauna experience- I mentioned a little about this earlier- at the entrance, you separate into single-sex. You strip to your birthday suit and head into the baths. First, take a shower, then go into one of the four super hot-hot tubs. Then, there is a cold bath with jets to cool off, as well as a steam-room and a dry-sauna. Repeat as desired. After you feel pruned, then you can rinse off, don some sweats and meet the ladies in the common area. This new sauna in our building has one deluxe common area. There are multiple saunas, sleeping areas, a restaurant, a karoake zone, a stage for live music, an internet cafe, a room that produces fake snow, a small movie theater, and a massage room amongst other offerings. It's just about the most bizarre place you can imagine; yet it's so enjoyable. Oh...and we figured this all out because the owner picked Jen to be a VIP for the month and gave her a tour and free passes through September.

One of the great things about Korea are the awesome reruns on TV. I can watch Miami Vice, the A-Team, McGyver, Murder She Wrote, and Knight Rider! A couple of friends of ours happened upon this picture in a market in Insa-dong and bought it for us. Michael Knight now lives on our fridge.

Our first visitor

Whew...what a week.

So, since the last post (sorry about the bullet points), we have enjoyed much.

The week was dominated by Curriculum Nights. I had the auspicious honor of attending both events as part of my duties. Both nights went well and we believe the parents went home with a better idea of what their children were going to learn throughout the year.

To cut to the more fun information, we were psyched to see Cork! We were so exhausted from the week that we came home Friday night after the week and immediately passed out for a quick nap. We awoke to a call from Cork as he was on his way to see us. I met him down at the subway stop. After I introduced him to our place, he was impressed, we went out to see the neighborhood. We ate at a local Korean BBQ joint and enjoyed just chatting. Afterwards, we introduced him to E-Mart and walked down the riverwalk for an hour or more. The next morning, we were so tired, we slept in till 9 or so. We enjoyed a lazy George-Bensonesque morning sipping on coffee, calling family from home, and just breezin'. Next, we subbed up to school to show Cork what work looked like. It felt nice to have a family member see our workplace (see pics below). Later that night, Cork's buddy J.H. and his wife Kim picked us up for dinner. Dinner was awesome up near the Seohyeon Station or Samsung Plaza (apparently, Samsung and friends controls 1/3 of Korea's enormous economy..Park Place, Boardwalk, and Monopoly). After dinner, we drove out to a tea house. Interesting conversation aside, we drove by a beautiful lake on the way home that we must revisit.

The next morning, we awoke a bit earlier to roll on up to the city. We visited a huge palace (see below) called Gyeongbokgung. This was the royal seat of Korea's tumultuous past. I feel as though I have a better feel for Korea's history after the 2 hours of walking through this palace than from all the books I've read on the subject. We felt quite hungry after our tour and decided we must eat! We took a sub to the next stop for food only to realize that we could've walked there faster. This was Insa-dong and we were happy to see some restaurants. We found a delicious joint for tasty fried pork and a giant spicy pancake. After walking around the market for a bit, we realized it was time to leave and go to the Express Bus Terminal to drop Cork off for the airport. We did, we were sad, and here we are on Monday night. Until next week...











































"That's Mr. Cookie to you."




















Our soccer field has a nice view.

















Counseling myself in my office.
















Nice view from the High School.




















In front of my office.

















Cork contemplating Kindergarten.


















The view from Jen's room.

















Don't speak out of turn!




















Cork and Jen in the lower gym.

A nasty spider near our apartment.