Derrick and I

Sparkler Happy Birthday

Britt's Birthday Speech

Cake with chop sticks

Birthday at work

Canada wins gold

Birthday Celebrations

This weekend was full of Birthday celebrations. It started Friday before leaving school. I enjoyed some chocolate cake with my co-workers. The cakes here are decorated with amazing detail; I felt bad ruining the master piece by cutting it. Friday night after work we headed to Waegook Cook for birthday drinks. Derrick and Sugi (bar owners) take such good care of all the foreigners here. They really go out of their way to make everyone feel special on big days! They sent out invites, ordered a cake, drinks, food, and sparklers. Sparklers have become the new favorite here with Britt and I. No matter the event, or if we know the person or not we take part in the sparkler ceremony. Britt also gave a beautiful birthday speech on Friday night, and arranged for a little flip cup event. I have to say my Acadia crew has mastered flip cup, but the crew here needs some practice. A lot of people were playing for the first time. I cant even begin to think of a university life without flip cup tournaments. Friday after Waegook Cook, I attempted to make my way to Corona. Lets just say I knew it was time to tap out and take myself home. Playing flip cup with wine wasn't a great idea.
Saturday I spent the day recovering. The first day of 24 was not looking like a good one, you know its bad when you can't even enjoy McDonald's at 3:30pm. By supper time I was feeling a little better. Tim, Eric, Britt and I went to supper at The Table, followed by a movie (Dear John). Towards the end of the night we made our way to Waegook to enjoy my cake that didn't manage to get cut the night before.
Sunday was a much better day, and since it was still my birthday in Canada Britt said I could have another day of birthday events. By covering all time zones I managed to drag birthday events out all weekend long. Today we took it easy, enjoyed the afternoon downtown with lunch, followed by coffee at a little cafe. All in all a GREAT birthday weekend, especially for being away from family and friends.
Tomorrow is back to work, and our same old weekly routine. Wednesday we have a night out with our boss and co-workers which I am sure will be interesting to say the least. Friday is my Korean partners birthday, and next week it's Britts birthday. March is a crazy month for birthdays and celebrating. We are also planning another weekend visit to Seoul mid March, so I am sure more adventures lie ahead. I have been starting to get the travel bug these days too, so if anyone has suggestions on "must see/ must dos" in Asia please pass them along. All is well here, and thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes from home!

The end of another month. Two months in Korea have gone bye so quick it is hard to believe. Things here are good, we are settled in and have met some great people. This week was the same as all the others. Work Monday to Friday and party hard Friday night. This week we also added in a big party night on Wednesday just for fun. I will not be making that a habit, Thursday at work was painful, and I only work at 4pm. Its been a big Olympic week for both Canada and Korea so we have been keeping up on that. The time difference is awful, but I will say we have been enjoying all the games, even if they are on at 8am and in Korean. The Korean commentary makes it kind of funny, all you here is gibberish followed by SLAPSHOT, or Sidney Crosby. An 8am hockey game doesn't have the same vibe as 8pm, but none the less we have enjoyed a few beers and pizza while watching the games. Kim Yuna (Korea's Super Star) won the predicted gold medal in figure skating which was a big deal here in Korea. It wouldn't surprise me if they make a "Kim Yuna Day." All of my students love giving me the Korean updates on the Olympics and the standings. Although they all seem to think Korea is doing better than Canada, which is not true. I will admit we were tied in medals and standings at one point but Canada has really picked up its game lately. Korea has dominated in speed skating events so they are always bringing that up. It is almost like they are brainwashed here to think Korea is #1, when really there is a lot of things Korea lacks. My kids are dumb enough to pick English names such as Vegetable, Moon Fill, or Salad, but they are smart enough to know that when Canada lost to USA in mens hockey that it was a big deal and very funny. I got a lot of "Hahaha teacher Canada vs USA 5-3." and " Canada ice hockey very bad" I make sure to remind them that its not over yet, and that Canada can still win the gold. The gold medal game is on Monday at 5am, it's going to be a VERY early morning, but regardless of the distance and time difference we will be watching.

Under Water Tunnel

Dr. Fish

The "Resting" Room (aka Wedding Hall)

Bank Closed Until 6pm

Valentines Dinner by the Han River

Han River

Traditional Korean Village

Traditional Kitchen

Kimchi Pots

Traditional Village

Time Capsule

Korean Hanbok

Tribute to Fallen Soliders

War Memorial

Korean Bell

Buddha

National Museum of Korea
Reflection Pond

Cheonggyecheon Stream

Supper by the stream

View of Seoul from the tower top

N Seoul Tower

Seoul

This weekend was great! Britt and I ventured to Seoul early Saturday morning. We caught the train at 6:15am from Gumi and arrived in Seoul around 10am. Since we were up early enough to catch McDonald's breakfast when we got to Seoul we had a treat before checking into our room. We dropped our bags and headed out for a jam packed day of sight seeing and shopping. Saturday we spend wandering around a few markets and shops in the area. We found some western stores, and probably spent a good hour in Forever 21. Later in the day we took a bus tour to the N. Seoul Tower. It was nice to see a high top view of the city. Saturday evening Britt and I ventured to the Cheonggyecheon stream for a few pictures and supper. After supper we ventured to Itaewon to meet up with some friends from Gumi. Itaewon is the area near the USA army base in Seoul. Walking down the streets in Itaewon you see more westerners than Koreans and hear more English than any other language. I really didn't feel as if I were a minority or living in a foreign country in Itaewon. We enjoyed the night with friends, a few drinks and a couple of clubs.

Sunday was another busy day of sight seeing. We spent the first part of the morning wandering the streets of Seoul. We had turned the wrong way when we got off the subway, and ended up walking for a good hour before finally asking the police to point us in the right direction. When we finally ended up in the place we wanted to be, we hopped on the bus tour and headed to the National Museum of Korea. I have to say it was nice to see, but not the most exciting place to visit. If I only had one day in Seoul I would not waste my time there. My favorite part was the Buddha section, which I took many pictures I was not suppose to be taking. After we headed to the Korean War Memorial, which was one of the highlights of the trip for me. It is very well put together and educational. Some of the history dates way back, but there is huge section on the Korean War between the South and the North which is still ongoing, and very interesting to learn about. We decided to make the most of our sight seeing day, so we hit up the traditional Korean village for a quick trip before calling it quits. The village is similar to Kings Landing, an old village you can walk around and look in old Korean style houses. There is also a time capsule, that was buried in 1994, and will be opened in 400 years time. Sunday was the official Lunar New Year so many kids were dressed in traditional Korean Hanbok's, playing traditional games and out with their families. Sunday night Britt and I decided we would celebrate the Lunar New Year and Valentines Day. I have to say it was the best Valentines to date. We went for a nice candle lit supper along the Han River, enjoyed a glass of wine, live music, fireworks, roses, and to end the night chocolates in bed.

Monday was our last day in Seoul so we planned to wake up early to get all of our palace sight seeing in. We got up, checked out and headed to find a bank machine to get some money for the day. After trying 30 different banks and ATMs, turns out that our bank decided it would switch systems during the holiday weekend. We had no luck with getting cash, so we decided we would head to the second stop on our list the COEX mall. People told us that we might be able to use our debits in stores, but when we got there we also had no luck with that. We found a bank machine that had a sign saying the system would be back up and running at 6pm. For 6 hours we lounged around the mall trying to waste time. We had read about "resting" spots all over the mall so we decided we would find somewhere to rest for a while. We found a room that looked like it was for resting, so Britt and I slept for a good hour. The room turned out to be part of a wedding chapel, but no one kicked us out and it was a good "rest" are for us to waste time. When 6 o'clock finally arrived we made our mall purchases, and headed to the mall aquarium. The aquarium was a success. It has lots of cool things to see, and I even got to try my Dr. Fish. This is where you have small fish eat the hard/ dry skin off you. Normally Dr. Fish would be for your feet, but at the aquarium I did my hands. At first I was a little freaked out, having fish eat your skin is a very weird feeling, but once I adjusted I was fine. The aquarium was the end to the trip, we didn't get to see any of the palaces we had planned, but I'm sure we will make another trip back. All in all a great weekend, and very nice to see another part of South Korea (one which is very westernized).

This week has been more random than others. Monday night after work Britt and I had mentioned we were going for pizza. When Mr. Moon caught wind of our plans he decided that he would take the staff out for snacks and drinks as a bonding activity. So the 4 teachers, branch manager, and Mr. Moon (company owner) all headed to The Beer Gallery for snacks and drinks. I am sure we ordered one of everything on the menu, and sampled many types of beer. Lets just say that we are all fully bonded, and I now know much more than I ever wished to know about certain people. Mr. Moon also decided that since Britt and I has never been to a karaoke bar in Korea that we needed to give it a try as well. Karaoke bars are very popular here, and are on every street corner. The concept is the same as at home (sing the song with the words), but the set up is very different. Each group gets there own room, with a couch and table. It is like a VIP lounge at a bar. You pick your songs and sing the night away; also Koreans do not like to finish a song, they sing one course and move on. Britt and I mostly enjoyed the talent/ lack there of from our co-workers, but we did preform some old school Backstreet Boys for them. Today we also received a gift from Mr. Moon, we assume it is in honor of the Lunar New Year which is this coming weekend, but we are unsure. He gave us a lifetime supply of seaweed paper (sushi wraps). I am not sure what I am suppose to do with it, but it is the thought that counts. I must say the packaging it came in was very nice. This weekend Britt and I make our way to the big city of Seoul. We are excited and have a jammed pack travel itinerary so be sure to check back for updates of our journey. For all you 1986 babies this is our year, the year of the Tiger. Happy Lunar New Year!

I fairly quiet week here in Gumi. Other than work, we didn't do anything too exciting. Wednesday after work we met up with a friend for supper and a couple of drinks. Friday was another night out at Waegook Cook as usual. Last night Britt and I had supper with a couple of friends, and a glass of wine. I had an early night, but Britt was a trooper and partied into the morning hours. Since there is a 13 hour time difference, we wont get Super Bowl Sunday. Instead we will have Super Bowl Monday at 8am with breakfast instead of beer and wings. We have been planning our trip to Seoul, so we purchased our train tickets this week as well. We are heading to the big city next weekend for the Lunar New Year. We are excited to see the sights, and people watch. Seoul is the capital of South Korea, and one of the largest cities in the world. We will only be there for 3 days, but we plan to see and do as much as we can in that time period. Now that we are settled in, we plan to start traveling more. By mid March I hope to have all the majors spots in South Korea completed. I also booked vacation days for the Korean Thanksgiving in September. Looks like we will be heading to Thailand for that week, so that is another trip planning project and something to look forward to.