Smokin Baby

I bought this cell phone dongle (I use it on my keychain) from Bandi & Luni's Bookstore last weekend. I thought his expression was hilarious, much like Stewie from the Family Guy. Korea has the best little trinkets.
In the same trip, we found an awesome cafe near Gwanghwamun called "Au Bon Pain". We had clam chowder in a bread bowl! A definite rarity in Korea. It reminded me of the old Tim Horton's commercials where the office guy proclaims at the end of his story, "And then I ate the bowl!". Well we ate our bowls and then some! We'd make the hour trip into Seoul just for that place!

Batman Begins

Grand Department Store

Our once sunny skies have now turned into the gray rainy days that come to Korea in June/July. And Craig's computer has found itself in the hands of Yongsan workers for up to a month (there are hardware problems - and the parts have to be shipped from Canada in order to be covered under warranty). Therefore, we are without a DVD player for awhile and since we got rid of our TV in December, we're without any at-home movie/TV enterainment for the wettest month of the year.

To cope, we have been going to DVD bongs (which we should have been going to more often), watch Korean movies on VCD (most storylines are horrible, but show life in Korea well), and just last weekend, Craig and I went back to Grand Department Store to watch Batman Begins. I'm usually not a fan of the '2hour+' movie, but I was entertained from beginning to end. And Clara's right (I will let her site explain). The only difference though was having to smell the processed squid snacks that the Koreans eat along with their movie popcorn and jumbo coke.

On a side note, I have found that Rick Mercer has started his own blog. I'm delighted in finding this site. It humanizes the Canadian who has made me laugh for over 10 years now.

Jelly Shoes

Look! Proof of how popular these shoes are. Craig and I were walking through the subway station when an indoor shoe shop set this stand out. The women attacked this stand as if these were the only Jelly Shoes left in Korea. I'm amazed at the power of the Jelly Shoe.

Buy the Way

After a big meal with Brett and Laura on Saturday night, we decided to go out for drinks. It's that hot and humid time of year in Korea when all the convenient stores set plastic chairs and tables outside their shop. Coming from Canada, I sometimes forget how accessible alcohol is in other countries. We just bought a few large "Prime" beers and a bottle of Korean rice wine from the store, sat, shared stories and enjoyed the night life. And even though I've lived here for 10 months now, I still was shocked as we watched the high school aged kids come out of their private school classes at 11:00pm on a Saturday night.

The 80's are here

Summer is here and some of my student's new clothes and toys have made me stop, stare and think, "didn't I have a pair of those when I was 8?" Jelly shoes are big right now. At least half of the girls in my classes wear them and brag about them (but it's not just girls; I've seen woman of all ages wear them here). I was shocked and horrified when I had two boys in my class wear black sweatshirts with the arms ripped off (sweatshirt tanks) paired with tight, black, tapered jeans. It was like re-watching old episodes of "Full House" or "Saved by the Bell". I just cringed. Now, I know these are from the early 90's, but Pogs have made a comeback (a start?) in Korea. All my kids have them, trade them. Last, but not least, I have come across kids who have snap bracelets. And not just any snap bracelet - a neon yellow snap bracelet - in it's true late 80's/early 90's colour.
It's like I'm reliving my childhood... in Korea. Please tell me this is only in Korea and not in Canada. Please tell me that jelly shoes and tight,black jeans on men have not filtrated back into the North American fashion scene.....

Ostrich Farm

It's been a busy week - Open Drama for the parents, report cards, monthly tests, etc, etc..... our week ended with a Saturday kindergarten field trip to an ostrich farm about 2 hours south of Ilsan. The four of us were a little upset when the trip was first planned - it's never fun working 6 full days straight, especially when the 6th day is with 30 kids and their parents. But when the day arrived, we were quite excited to be spending the day outside of the city (and with no real responsibility - the parents took care of the kids; we were just there for 'show'). I can honestly say it was worth going on a Saturday. We all had a great time. My pictures show what we did that day.
I would have Craig's pictures (ostrich and drama) posted as well, but lately Craig's computer has been giving him problems. Luckily, it's still under warranty; unfortunately the only day he can take it in is on Saturday, and we were at the Ostrich farm. ;) I'll post his pictures and video clip a.s.a.p.

Smoking is a cure-all miracle drug!

Or at least according to the Chinese government. I had no idea that smoking is "a cure-all for diseases and ailments -- from Parkinson's to ulcers. In fact, smoking can even make you smarter and happier...". Time to light up!

Here's an article on how some Canadian docs are trying to fight this lunacy.

Maybe this explains why these guys lit up while climbing Seoraksan.

Gyeongbok Palace - Warrior Country

Dave McNally, an editor of Warrior Country, used some of my pics for one of the articles! Warrior Country is a weekly online publication for the US troops stationed in Korea. Kinda cool to see the pics elsewhere other than on this blog :) Click here to download the PDF. The article is on page 4.

Dave is an avid Flickr user living in Korea with his wife and child. He posts lots of great photos of Korea.

Memorial Day Weekend

It's Memorial Day Weekend in Korea. The long weekend is in remembrance for the soliders who have died in battle. First time this year that we've had a holiday attached to the weekend. Brett, Laura, Craig and I took advantage of everyone leaving Seoul on vacation - we decided to hike the mountain that is in all those pictures I have of Gyeongbukgung Palace (btw, here's some newly posted pictures of the Palace). It was overcast, but it didn't ruin our view of the city.

Along with the hike this weekend, we've enjoyed trying different bars and restuarants in the Ilsan area, as well as dusting off our bowling skills at a local alley. And yes, the velcro bowling shoes are just as ugly in Korea.

On a happy note, Craig and I received confirmation that our offical last day of teaching is August 29th. We have bought our ferry tickets to Tianjin, China for August 30th, the start of our Trans Siberian trip home. Only 11 weeks (55 teaching days) left - not that I'm counting. ;) I'm a happy girl.

Seoraksan

The last weekend in May, Craig and I made the 4 hour journey by bus to the east coast of Korea to check out Seoraksan National Park. We decided to go before this long weekend, which is the start of the tourist season, to save us from waiting in long lines to hike up the mountains. The weather was a little cloudy, but it didn't ruin our stay. The most refreshing part was seeing a group of mountains, not a group of apartments, the whole weekend. Check out Craig's/Mary's photos.

If you have a few minutes, you can download a clip of the park.

Our 15 Minutes....

It's hard to believe 4 months have past since this photo was taken