Wednesday, October 22, 2008

seasons come...seasons go

Well...good news, the seasons come and seasons go in Korea just like they do back home!!! Deep down, I'm a beach bum at heart. I love summer time and a nice tan, but as I get older my skin becomes more and more pale, and I've even grown accustom to a daily sun screen. Though my love for the beach and summer bliss will never leave me; in recent years I've grown more and more found of a beautiful fall day. The city is not a perfect scene to take in all the natural beauty that autumn has to offer, but still a place to enjoy the mild and pleasant days and slightly crisp nights. Over the past weekend, Chris and I took advantage of the beauty in this season when we visited a temple in Bulguska!!!
We left around lunch time on Saturday and had a full day. We traveled about an hour away by car with Willy and Una. The mountain side view on our ride was absolutely gorgeous. We first stopped at Willys parents home in "Culture City." We didn't get to meet his parents, but this was the first Korean home that we have visited outside of the city. It was shocking for us that there were cows in the front yard, and this was not a large front yard, I'm talking the front yard that you might find in front of a garden home. You walk out of the door and there the cows are, and they weren't even the family's cows.


Next, we made our way to Bulguska Temple. The temple and courtyard were so tranquil, a nice and calming relief from the day to day hustle of a typical Korean city. We got some great pictures of the Asian architecture displayed at the temple and the simplicity of nature on an awesome autumn day. Though I can not agree with the ideology of the Buddhism religion I greatly respect the setting and atmosphere that a temple creates free from common distraction. After walking around and checking out the temple and the many different methods of worship, we made our way to the courtyard where we had a Korean style picnic and were able to sit, relax, and just enjoy the environment.

Onward we marched! Our next stop was a random turn of events. We had planned to visit a park where a concert was going on, but on our way there we noticed a hot air balloon in the distance. Willy managed to find the place just as the last balloon ride was about to go up. We made it just in time to pay and load. We took a ride in a hot air balloon just as the sun was setting over the city. There was a large lake and the view and experience were both spectacular. A hot air balloon is one of those things that I had always thought would be really cool, and let me tell you...it was!!!
Last, we finally made our way to the park, where we enjoyed a Korean concert. There were local artist preforming and the park itself was so unique. The park was built in honor of a Korean king and it was set up as an exact replica of his place. There were many traditional Korean style buildings surrounded by water, but the nicest thing about it was that we were there at night and the lighting was amazing. There were lights down on the water that shined up on the building so that it created a reflection of the beautiful architecture on the water.

The day was absolutely perfect. It really couldn't have been any better. It was so nice to just take a day and get away from the city to enjoy the beauty of scenic Korea.

Hugs, kisses, and lots of misses!!!

ps Please remember my family as we have recently experienced the loss of a loved one. Scott's mother passed away this past week. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Pics from Chris's b-day, the market and some new Korean friends.....























































Saturday, October 11, 2008

here comes the weekend

Last week Chris was sick, and this week I'm sick. I just have a cold, but a cold is much more complicated when you don't have a pharmacist that speaks English. Anyway, I think it's getting better. But unfortunately, we had to postpone our beach fishing trip like we had planed :(


Last night we met up with some friends and went out to dinner. Then we went to a PC room, which is just a huge room set up with all kinds of video games. I'm so bad at video games so this was mainly social for me, but Chris really enjoyed the PlayStation 3. Afterwards, we went to Latte Art, which I'm told that we have back in the states, but I've never been to one. It's a coffee shop where they make Lattes or Cappuccinos and they draw in the foam so that when you get your drink it looks like a piece of art. It was really neat, but I opted for tea because caffeine at night is not a good thing for me. I can't wait to go back during the day so that I can actually get my own Latte Art drink!!!


As far as other news, I received a package from Mom last week, and I finally got all the stuff put away. She sent me a number of essentials that I can't seem to find in Korea like: lemon-pepper season, protein bars, multi-vitamins, bronzer, and the winter clothes that I left at home because of the weight restraints on our flights over. Chris's Mom also included a birthday card with some pictures from over the summer when we went to Patti's. It was like Christmas to get everything at once like that. Thanks Moms, we love you both :)


That's about it for now. Already Friday, get excited!!!

Monday, October 6, 2008

BIRTHDAY WEEK

Sorry, I haven't had much time to write :(

Someone very special once introduced me to the idea of "Birthday Week." That's exactly what I would call this week. Chris came first. Then Mom's 50th followed up on the 6th, and Mamaw's 90th was the 7th.

Chris was actually sick on his birthday, so we didn't end up doing a whole lot. We had the day off of work; so we ate at our favorite restaurant. Then we made a trip to the open market where we bought some squid, which was amazing!!! I got Chris a new sweater that he can wear over tee shirts and polos during the fall, and I surprised him with a homeade New York Style Cheesecake. It actually turned out really well :) That was the extent of the actual birthday, but we did end up doing dinner with some friends on Sunday night, once Chris felt better. And we really enjoyed the Korean style meal! Maybe we're getting use to things over here.

Mom's 50th birthday was celebrated with a surprise party at the house!!! Since she had no clue she obviously didn't warn me about the audience that we would have for our birthday call. This wouldn't matter if I was simply calling, but because we use Skype, there's no way to hide the fact that I role out of bed and call mom immediately to make sure and catch her before bed time back home. Yes, imagine waking up, and five minutes later being greeted by your entire extended family whom you haven't seen in some time. Scott's brother, Steve ,who has a personality fitting for a brother of Scott ;) said, "You aren't getting your beauty rest over there, are you?" O the joy of never knowing who will be on the other end of the webcam!

Mamaw also bad a birthday this week, and it was a big one for her. She turned 90 years old on the 7th. The fam celebrated her birthday on Sunday. They all surprised her by showing up at church and donating some things in her name and then doing lunch afterwards at DOTS. Happy Birthday Mamaw!!!

Too bad I couldn't be home for the celebrations. Even though things are great over here it's special times like these that make me miss home and most of all, my friends and family. Miss you all greatly!!!!

Am :)

ps I promise to get some pics up soon!