Another busy week last week, with a lot of events and celebrating. One of Britts high school friends Katie came to visit on Wednesday. She is teaching in Japan, and is on holidays so she came to check out Korea. Wednesday was St Paddys day, so we dressed in our green and after work hit up Waegook Cook. I gave all my kids clover stickers for St. Paddys day, but they had no idea what I was talking about. By the end I was telling them it was a day to wear green, drink beer, and pretend your Irish. Thursday was Britts birthday. Katie, Britt and I enjoyed a delicious waffle breakfast at a cafe, followed by an afternoon downtown. After work we met up with some friends at a resturant called Table for supper and drinks. Since most people work through the week Friday was the big St Paddy celebration. The three of us represented Acadia style with our costumes. Shirts with Irish sayings, green finger nails, green headbands and stickers. We enjoyed green drinks at Waegook Cook, and met some new friends.

The weekend was a busy weekend as well. Saturday I made my way to Cheongdo to watch some bull fights. They have a big festival every year so a group from Gumi caught the train Saturday afternoon to check that out. It is not the same as Spanish bull fights where they fight until death. Here they just fight until one bull runs away, so it is much less violent. I had made a bet on a bull fight with some friends who were going to Seoul for the night. Needless to say I lost the bet, and ended up taking the train to Seoul that night to party. We arrived in Seoul late, so when we got there we enjoyed some Subway for supper, and went straight to the bar for drinks. I ended up partying all night until 5am, and catching the KTX train back to Gumi. I was home by 8am and enjoyed all Sunday sleeping.

This week is a much lower key week and weekend. We are starting to plan a Buddhist temple stay and a couple other activities around the area. Now that all the events are over I can get back to experiencing true Korean culture.

Another week down. The weeks really seem to fly by here. This week was fairly busy with activities. Monday we had a visit from Hyun. He works for the company as part of the reinforcement team. He is the original Moon Kkang member who picked us up at the airport when we arrived. Britt lost her cell phone, so he made a trip from Daegu to sort that out. We also had a lunch date with him since we lost a bet. Before we knew who Kim Yuna was, we bet she would NOT win the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. Now we know she is amazing and should of never bet against her, but at the time we had no idea. Monday was a regular work day. A new Jaeshi (detention) teacher was hired at our school. Surprise surprise she is Korean, so Britt and I are still the only foreigners. The new teacher does live in Gumi and speaks English, so it will be nice to get to know her. Tuesday was our weekly massage date and work. Tuesday after work we enjoyed a couple drinks at Waegook. It started snowing Tuesday night, and for what we consider a storm in Canada it was nothing. For Korea Tuesday night brought a significant snowfall (maybe 5cm). Many teachers were hoping for a snowday, but no such luck. Wednesday after work we went out with the staff for supper and wine. We tried a new Korean meal called Bossam, which is steamed pork. You traditional eat it by wrapping the pork in a green leaf with kimchi. It was good, but not my favorite Korean meal, although even at home I am not a big pork eater. Friday was Sumin's (my co-teacher) birthday, so Britt and I spent Friday afternoon walking around trying to find a gift for her. At work we surprised her with flowers, sparklers, cake, and balloons. She is in a major rut since she is now 34, not married, no children, lives at home, and no boyfriend. By Korean standards she is pretty much alone for life now. Here once you are pass the age of 30 it is very unlikely you will get married if you are not already. For her getting older if some what depressing so we wanted to make her feel special on her birthday. We were also quick to remind her that if she wants to be younger she just needs to come to Canada. Koreans believe you are 1 year old when you are born, so really in Canada she is only 33 not 34. Friday was another night out at Waegook. Saturday I enjoyed a me day, and I also crossed another thing off my Korean bucket list. I spend the afternoon reading at one of the cafes near my apartment, followed by an eventful trip to the jimjilbang (public bath house). This was my second go at the bath house experience, although this time I was in for the TRUE Korean experience. Most Korean go to bath houses with family or friends, and as part of bonding they wash (scrub) each other. When you walk into the bathing area you see people scrubbing each other from head to toe. Since I am a foreigner I cant say I have anyone to scrub me from head to toe. Nor would I want my friend doing that, but you can pay an older Korean lady to do it for you. So after about an hour of watching and taking notes I decided it was time. I went for it, I had a Korean lady scrub me from head to toe. When I say scrub I really mean scrub. After getting over the awkwardness of the situation I have to say it is extremely worth it. Once she was finished my skin felt amazing, no dead skin, no rough patches just smooth like a babies bottom! Felt good to get rid of the winter layer and have fresh skin for the spring. I think I will mentally prepare myself for a good scrub at the end of each season. Only in Korea! It's all part of living and experiencing their culture.
This week I also booked time off for another vacation. May I will be taking a trip to Taiwan for 5 days. Something to look forward to in the coming months.

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