Good byes

Our “good bye” meals and events have been going on for a couple of weeks.  It’s such a blessing to have developed some very special relationships over the last year.  The Bakers’ dinner was the first one, and since then Michael and I had dinner with Professor Kim and his wife and Professor Nam .  They picked our  favorite food  – the spicy soup with pig back bones.  Professor Nam then hosted us at his family’s coffee shop.  The business was originally run by their daughter, but she got married and had a baby and now Prof. Nam’s wife is busy there while they are trying to sell it.  The wife kept sending out desserts!  Michael was really enjoying it (and he had already ordered a smoothie for his drink).  We had sweet toasted bread (hard to describe), waffles with whipped cream, chocolate brownie, and a couple of kinds of soft serve ice cream with various toppings.  Prof. Nam has a great sense of humor and was keeping Michael laughing.  Prof. Kim’s wife headed to Seattle June 15, and he went there in early July after spending some time in China.  I also had a chance to take the two professors out for a final lunch.  We had duck bulgogi. 

We also were hosted for dinner at a nice buffet by Professor Kim Yoon-Tae and his wife.  I wasn’t sure how well the communication would be, but their English was good enough to get us through the night and for some good laughs.  They had us up to their apartment after dinner (restaurant is in same building).  I recently met an Ulsan undergraduate student who is a graduate student at AU.  We met him and his girlfriend and had a good dinner of grilled meat wrapped in lettuce.  Michael and I hope to see the student in Auburn.  We also met with a Vietnamese Korean language classmate of mine and her cousin, a math professor who lives in the same building.

After the service on our last day at church, we were asked to come to the front for prayer.   I said a few words of thanks, and then several people gathered around us with many speaking a prayer.  Michael and I both had tears in our eyes.  A lovely surprised was that many people had written a message in a book for us.  Young Mi organized it and included pictures of the boys from the sleepover.  I am so glad we had a church family in Ulsan this year, and it was a good experience to see a different style of worship – we are one body in Jesus Christ no matter the music, etc.!!

A very special evening was our final dinner with my English practice students.   We had dinner at one of our favorite Western restaurants (Michael picked).  They brought a cake and also gave me a nice bag (from a hiking outfitter; they know I hike regularly).  They had also written me individual “good bye” notes.  They have made me feel so special, and they are fond of Michael.  One gal, Hyo Jin, had not met him yet, and she was so sweet.  She sat by him at dinner and basically said she is very shy but wants to talk to him.  They came up with the idea of bowling afterwards, which was a lot of fun and also a lot of laughs.  I hugged each one of them when the night ended.

Michael’s last hurrah at school was a water park for the day and then a hot dog cookout at the school grounds.  Parents were invited to the cook out, so it was our final chance to say thanks and good-bye to teachers and friends.   Most of Michael’s friends have Facebook accounts, so I have told him he can keep up with them using it – but not wasting too much time on it!

Our final dinner is with Professor Jang and his wife on Monday night, July 9.  He will give us a ride to the KTX station Tuesday so we can stay overnight in Busan.  Our flight from there is at 7:15 Wed. morning – an hour to Seoul and then 15 hours or so to Atlanta.   So, good bye from Korea!!  See you in the States soon.

Japan

We left for Japan the day after Michael got out of school.  It’s a two hour flight to Tokyo, but it is still time consuming to get there as we start with a short walk, then taxi, then bus to airport, then wait for flight, then high speed train into the city, then connect to loop train that goes around city … and finally a taxi from the station since I knew Michael was worn out and getting tired of pulling the suitcase.   Once checked in, we took the subway to the Tokyo Tower.  The city goes on and on and on!!

We got a good night sleep and then started Saturday at fish market.  It’s a wholesaler market, so there’s not really much to see, but we followed the tour book recommendation and had sushi at a small on-site restaurant.  There were several choices.  We stood in line for about 20 minutes and then were ushered into a place with about 10 stools.  The sushi was delicious.  Michael likes tuna the best.  Next we walked to a lovely garden/park.  From there we could take a 40 minute boat ride up a river that has many bridges.  The ride ends at Asakusa, a neighborhood with a well-known temple and also a lot of little stalls with souvenirs and local sweets.  We had some street food too.  Next was a subway to Akihabara, the electronics area.  Michael found a several-floor game place that had a car driving simulation.  He drove several times.  Next up was Ginza,the fancy shopping district.  We ate some good food from department store basement – so many choices!  Then we went to Harajuku, the teenager area with some interestingly-dressed girls.  Each neighborhood has its own vibe/feel, which I wanted Michael to experience.   We finished the evening looking at the night lights of Tokyo in a municipal building that has an observation are on the 45^th floor.  Our hotel was in Shinjuku, a very busy area at night.

After the long day Saturday, we basically went to one area Sunday, Uedo, which has a large park including a zoo.  We spent a couple hours at the zoo and also walking around the park and nearby neighborhood.  We found a place for more car simulation, so Michael spent some time doing that. 

Monday we headed south to the Hakone area, gateway to Mt. Fuji.  We used our rail passes for the first time to go by high speed train.  The weather was too cloudy to see Mt. Fuji, but we enjoyed a cable car ride up part of a mountain and then a rope way ride.  After a 30 minute boat ride, we were able to take a nice walk through some very old and tall cedar trees.  This whole mountain area was bigger than I expected and not crowded at all.  There were pockets here and there with some hotels, lodges, etc.  Lots of places were closed (probably because of Monday), but I was still a little surprised it was so quiet on a summer day.  After our walk, we grabbed some food at Seven Eleven.  Convenience stores in Japan have a lot of deli-like items.  Michael had spaghetti; they pop it in the microwave oven.  We then headed by bus to our hotel.  The Fujiya Hotel was a gem on the trip.  I found it online and got a foreigner special - $133 for the night, the age of the hotel.   The room was large and ceilings maybe 20 feet.  There are hot springs in the area, and the hotel had onsite spa.  It felt good after walking so much during the day.  There was a hotel museum with interesting facts about it being used by the Allied forces after WWII.  Helen Keller and John Lennon had both stayed there.  There was a nice garden area.  Michael used the indoor swimming pool and was given a free rental suit to wear.  It must be very hard to keep up the place.  We had a nice and relaxing morning and lingered over the buffet breakfast before heading by high speed train to Kyoto.

Kyoto is a favorite tourist spot in Japan, and it was easy to see why.  There are lots of shrines (Shinto) and temples (Buddhist), which now are like big green spaces.  It is very easy to get around because the city is on a N-S and E-W grid and lots of English.  There are shopping areas and the Gion area is the main area in the country that has geishas and geisha trainees, maikos.  I took a walking tour that told a lot and showed places like the “tea houses” where the private parties occur and the “dorms” where the maiko live.  We walked through a good food market and ate raw fish on a stick and some other items.  The city is fairly flat, so it was ideal for biking.  Lots of locals ride bikes for transporation, and there are bike parking areas all over.  Michael and I rented bikes for two days.  We got around to some of the sites and rode by the river.  Our favorite was to get on some side streets – they all go one way because they are fairly narrow.  People’s homes are on these streets, and there are small businesses too.  Japan is very clean, and these streets were spotless.  We joked that we were “looking for some atmosphere.”  There were many bakeries, several using the French word, boulangerie.   We went to the Kyoto Tower too.

We took a day trip to Hiroshima.  Typical one day tours to the city go to two places including the Peace Museum and Peace Park area.  The building that remains standing, A Bomb Dome, is a stark reminder of the 1945 bombing.  The whole area is a real tribute to peace, and there are several features that are very moving.  The mayor writes a letter anytime a nuclear test is conducted, and copies of all these letters are displayed.  Some of the pictures in the museum are gruesome, especially burns people suffered.   The second place is Miyajima, a lovely nearby island accessed by a ferry.  There are a shrine and temple here, both with some interesting features.  We had arranged a guide for the day, and she added a lot of information and details.  Plus, we didn’t have to figure out transportation once!  We ate the local food, okonomiyaki, which had a thin pancake, lots of cooked cabbage and other veggies, very flat fried egg, and a dark sauce.  I had local oysters added to mine.  The guide said it doesn’t look good but tastes good, and she was right.  There were also lots of Japanese maple-leaf shaped baked goods with a  variety of fillings.  I like the sweet red beans, but Michael preferred cream or chocolate.

The weather was cloudy and fairly cool during the whole trip.  Chance of rain was about 80% everyday, but we were very fortunate that there wasn’t actually a lot of rain.  A few times it poured for 15 minutes or so, but we were inside or could take cover.  It was a lot easier to bike and walk around without the sun being out.  We arrived back to a sunny day in Korea.  

My favorite summer time thing to eat lately is patbingsu – shaved ice with sweet red beans.  There are lots of variations, but I like some fruit added.   Most have some sweetened condensed milk, which mixes with the ice.  It turns out the dessert is very popular in Japan as well, and there are just as many variations.

Michael's latest activities

Michael has had several fun and sometimes challenging activities lately.  HFS attended a Sports Day in Busan where four schools competed in track and field events.  I don’t think the kids knew exactly what they were getting into, and they hadn’t done any specific training.  Michael threw a shot put, ran 100, 200, and 800 meters, a leg of a relay, and hurdled.   He was entered in the 400 meter but told me he had to stop because his head hurt.  I told him that was very smart.  Sometimes I would say “you shouldn’t quit,” but it was also fairly warm and HFS managed not to have a water supply right away.  He was exhausted when he got home, BUT they were all thrilled HFS won the meet.

Last week was International Week at school.  The first two days were learning more about Korea, and I think the favorite part was making bibimbap.  The vegetable chopping is the main work involved.  They also made masks.  Wednesday was “home country” day with the kids working in teams to make a poster and individually to decorate a large, flat cut out paper doll.  Michael was assigned to the U.S. team based on his passport, but he made a Polynesian boy (maybe from Hawaii?).   It was very cute.  He cut and paste pictures of fabric from the internet and also put cut out flip flops on the feet.  The shirt and shorts did not match but were certainly colorful.  Thursday they worked in teams and made a poster about a random country assigned to them.  Friday was a sports competition with them split among four teams.  They had international food (with parents invited) to end the day.

Saturday he spent the day and overnight with a Korean family from church.  Michael is between the ages of Jerry and John (English names; we don’t know their Korean names).  We met them at 10:00 and then parted ways.  (I took the train to a nearby small city for a hike at a mountain that is known for Buddhist relics.)  They did archery in the morning and then had lunch at the family’s home.  The afternoon was bike riding and badminton by the river.  The boys walked from their home for pork cutlets for dinner.  Back at home, they played some board games including Monopoly, where in the Korean version the properties are cities.  Michael told me one of the boys was like me: he bought everything he landed on.   Then they watched a movie … and picked up a pizza nearby to eat while viewing.  I guess growing boys like to eat.   (The tall apartment buildings and high population density make for a convenient lifestyle with restaurants, grocery, etc. within walking distance.  It’s one thing about Korea I will miss.)  They slept on pads on the floor – to bed at 1:00 a.m. and up about 10:00 a.m.  Church doesn’t start until noon, so they had plenty of time to get ready.  Michael made scrambled eggs for them for breakfast.  They also had a rice dish.  Michael said it’s the best sleepover he has had here and called it “his kind.”  I think all the activities during the day were a bonus, but he really liked the board games.  He and I were both glad he slept so late; sometimes he is up very early at sleepovers.

This week Michael will leave for school Wednesday and not return home until Friday evening.  The upper grades are going on a “residential.”  They will stay in a small dorm-like facility in a place that is like a state park.  The teachers have lots of outdoor events and activities planned.  The kids are all very excited.  (I will go to Busan for overnight Wednesday and do a couple of things still on my list.)   The last day of school is June 28 – a water park all day and then cookout at the school grounds when they return.  (We leave June 29 for Japan trip.)  I don’t know how the teachers get the kids to focus on the regular days that are in these last couple of weeks.

Michael has really thrived here in so many ways.  He is so independent with taking taxi on his own sometimes and stopping downtown for something on shopping list.  We had a dinner last week at the Bakers’ apartment at the foreigner compound  – 10 of us.  Ralph said a few things about all the friends gathered around the table, and he and Ros were especially kind to compliment Michael for what a help he has been to me with getting back and forth to school on his own and also our bus and train traveling adventures.   The dinner was fun and international: South African hosts and guests from England, Canada, US,  Philipines, and Iran.  I don’t cook here, but I took BR ice cream cake, which all of us like.

Student friends

I am so thankful to have said “sure” when some students approached me in the fall about meeting for English speaking practice.  They have become friends.  It’s ironic I thought I was saying yes to helping them, but I feel completely like I have been on the receiving end of the relationship.  At a recent meeting, we played the Korean version of Clue.  It was very funny because they spoke in English (as is intended when we meet), but I had to keep reminding them “in Korean” for weapons, rooms, etc. because I could read these words but didn’t know what they were.  How likely is it that my Korean language class was going to teach me “Mrs. Green in the conservatory with poison?!” 

As the semester comes to a close, they have made sure I have tried different kinds of Korean food.  We were out recently for a variety of gimbap.  Gimbap is a common snack and lunch item, and lots of people make it for a picnic, for example.  It contains rice and other items rolled in seaweed sheet (like Japanese California rolls).  I’ve had 참치(tuna) inside, but a sliced pork cutlet was new.  We ate octopus (cooked a certain way; that makes 3 ways I have eaten it …. luckily none raw yet), and today we had cold noodles, very popular in the summer.    The dish has crushed ice and it’s sort of tomato flavored liquid.  There was a slice of pork and a slice of hard boiled egg on top.  It’s kind of plain, really.  Hwi Rang made a comment about wearing a white shirt but then having to be concerned with a stain … and right then Hyo Jin noticed the stain I had managed to get on my white shirt!!  One interesting thing is that when I told someone I had cold noodles for lunch, they asked “at the restaurant next to McDonald’s?”  Yes, that was the place.  Most Korean restaurants are highly specialized, so you really have to decide what kind of food you want to eat and then choose a place that serves it.

Perhaps the most fun of all has been Baskin Robbins “size up” day.  On any month with a 31^st, one pays for a certain size and then gets the next biggest size.  (It took me a minute when they told me about the 31^st … get it, BR 31 flavors?!)  They wondered if I wanted to get individual servings, but I said, “No… let’s have it Korean style.”  So six of us split a half gallon … it sat in the middle of the table and we all dug in with our spoons.  They each selected a flavor (the employee weighs it), so there was a good mix.  It is fun to look around the room and see people sharing large sizes.  We’ll have to adjust at home and not eat from serving bowls and plates, unless it’s just Michael and me!

They are starting finals, so our plan is to meet for dinner next Thursday when all of them are finished. 

Yeosu Expo Part 1

The Yeosu Expo 2012 is being held under the World Expo umbrella organization.  Yeosu is a city and the name of a peninsula area in southern Korea and west of Ulsan.   The theme is “Living Ocean and Coast.”  Michael and I left on a Wed. morning and came back late Sat. night.  I wrote an article for FLiK, the foreigner compound magazine, which I copied to "Part 2" of blog.  But some other details are that we took two intercity buses as part of getting near Yeosu for about 3 ¼ hours of bus time.  We stayed at Namhae island, accessible by bridges.  Namhae is beautiful: mountainous, rural (many rice fields) and not crowded.  We took a couple of taxis for sightseeing Wednesday.  Our first stop was the Garlic Museum (a main agricultural product).  We were the only ones there, not even staff (it was a national holiday), so we called a taxi (luckily the hotel gave us a taxi business card) and just said “Garlic Museum” in Korean.  Then we went to a well-known spot with a walk way to rocks by the sea and terraced farming.  It’s common to see this area in picture highlights of Korea.  Finally, we went to dinner at the Hilton resort.  The pockets of houses, restaurants, etc. are so spread out that even though we could read our map and figure out the restaurant guide, it seemed like a risk to head somewhere not knowing for sure if it was still open, etc.  The Hilton is near the place we stayed, the Namhae Sports Park Hotel.  The sports park hotel has large grounds and soccer and baseball fields and seems to house teams for spring training and might hold a soccer camp, but it’s not clear either of these has happened recently.  This place was memorable!  I booked there with the help of a Korean because it had the benefit that we could walk to the ferry terminal where we could go back and forth to the Expo.  But we think we were the only ones there the first night.  It was clean, and the people working were very kind.  The second night 3 tour buses of Koreans going to the Expo stayed there (but the place was still very quiet).  There was a menu downstairs that said there was Korean breakfast, but there was never any sign of life except for the tour bus people eating a buffet.  So, we ate all three meals at the expo!

The ferry terminal people and the men working on the ferry were very nice, especially to Michael.  The terminal seems to have been spiffed up for the expo.  Our plan had been to be at the expo TH and FRI, but there were still a couple things we wanted to do.  So we went back SAT for the morning.  Michael had seen 6 of the 7 Korean business pavilions; how could we leave without #7?!  We had split up on Friday, and he concentrated on those pavilions while I spent most of my time at the international pavilions.  At the FRI evening concert, Michael bought me a pad to sit on.  It took a minute for us to understand, but the elderly couple near us asked how much it cost and then gave Michael the money to go buy two for them.  They were very gracious and the woman offered us a treat she had in her bag, but we passed when we saw it looked like dried octopus.  So, finally we are heading out of the expo SAT on the 12:50 ferry.  But there was an engine problem so we just sat there about 90 minutes.  There were not many people leaving that time of day, but one guy spoke English well and translated any updates.  I said, “Koreans ought to be very good at fixing a broken ship.”  And so were off to Namhae and then to the bus station and then to Masan, where we transferred buses.  We had heard of a supposedly great Mexican restaurant in Masan, so we went by taxi to the drop off spot.  Then at a convenience store in our broken Korean we asked the location.  In true gracious Korean style, the person walked us through a couple side streets right to it.  It turned out to be about the worst Mexican we have ever had, but we didn’t care that much.  It’s all part of the adventure.  We got in a taxi to head back to the bus station, and as is common in Korea, there are two bus stations in town.  We thought we communicated which one by including in Korean that “we go to Ulsan.”  We could tell we were going the wrong way.  So a couple more times we said “we go to Ulsan.”  Finally, the driver had us write it down: 울산.  “Ahh, Ulsan,” he said, and then we got going to the right terminal.   We had put our bags in a locker (good experience for Michael to figure that out) and for some reason I had the idea that a bus was leaving at 8:00 (no good reason), and we had lost time with the mixed up taxi.  So right about 8:00 we bought our tickets and thought the ticket seller was indicating to hurry to make the bus.  We got outside and there was no bus.  I went inside and asked “Ulsan. What time?”  8:30 (all in Korean – we are pretty good with numbers for time and money.)  So I went back out and told Michael.  We laughed, and I said “Let’s go get an ice cream.”  We were glad to get home after a really great time at the Expo.

Yeosu Expo Part 2

What are the odds you and your family would be living away from your home country and within several hours of a World Expo venue?  Were you in Shanghai in 2010?  Are you going to Belgium in 2017?  No?  Then consider taking advantage of the good fortune of being in Korea and head to Yeosu Expo 2012.  Michael and I spent a few days there and had a fantastic time.  The setting near the water is beautiful, and the size and layout of the site make for ease of finding places and getting around.  Things to do and see revolve around the theme, “The Living Ocean and Coast,” that the Expo is an international event, and that the host city is in Korea.

There are eight or so pavilions dedicated to the ocean theme and include theme, climate and environment, robot, and marine-related pavilions.   Can you picture yourself in the future in a module type home in the sea?  Do you know all the potential uses of algae and seaweed?  The pavilions are set up so that a fairly large group enters at one time and then “the show” gets underway.  Average time inside is 15 to 20 minutes.  There is also a kids’ pavilion to help keep younger children engaged and busy.

Yeosu is a world expo.  Nearly 100 countries are represented in the four-part International Pavilion.  It is interesting to observe both the information and scenes highlighted by each country and also the various approaches to set up and display.  Some use high-tech movies; some show traditional art; some use many words, and some use few words.  The international pavilions are a good place to find a snack or meal.  Several countries have restaurants that are visible and separate from the viewing are of the pavilion (e.g., Germany and Romania).  Other countries have food available, but it’s not so visible (e.g., Peru and Australia).  We liked the Singapore curry. 

Cultural shows are scheduled throughout the day.  Each country has a national day during the expo.  The country delegation is welcomed at 10:00 in Expo Hall, and a cultural performance starts about 10:20.  We saw dancers from Bangladesh and a Democratic Republic of Congo fashion show.  It is worth the time and effort to see Expo Hall.  It is likely to serve Yeosu well in the future as a performance center.  There is a “today’s cultural events” schedule for each day, available online or at an on-site information center. 

The floating stage in front of the “Big O” is the largest outdoor performance venue.  We saw “Ocean Blast Fever,” a Broadway show that combined elements of marching band, dance, and drums.  The big shows like this one appear to be scheduled for about a week.  There is a regular 2:00 “Blooming Ocean” show with music and water features.  We were mesmerized by the water shooting up so high.  Each evening ends with “The Big O Show,” a crowd pleaser with lights, water, and fire.  We were surprised by how quickly seats filled up for the bigger shows; arriving early and saving seats for your group is recommended.

Korea is highlighted at the expo in many ways.  Korea has its own pavilion that includes an overhead dome … consider lying down for the best view!  The local governments’ pavilion is an easy walk-through.   The International Organizations’ Pavilion has a ship-building area and also a World Expo history area.  Michael’s favorite part of the Expo was the Korean Business pavilions (Hyundai, SK, etc.), all separate structures but in the same area.  He saw all seven of them and rated them all as at least good and a couple as awesome.

We recommend planning transportation to the entrance gates.  There is a large bus area and also a gate that is practically at the KTX exit.  If driving your own car, check ahead of time for parking information, etc.  Getting to the site at opening time is very helpful for seeing the most popular pavilions without spending too much time waiting in line.  The Expo website is very useful, and there is always someone at FLiK to help make a hotel reservation or give other advice.

By the end of our time at Yeosu we observed, “There is something for everyone!”  Oh … and amid all the fun, you and your family just might learn something.  After a few pavilions Michael said, “I don’t think people realize how important the ocean is or how we need to take care of it.”  That’s exactly what the Expo planners had in mind!

Day Trips

We have gotten pretty good at getting ourselves around the area.  We recently took the slow train to the Busan International Motor Show.  The country side and then good views of the sea were so pretty.  It only took 50 minutes, which is probably faster than by car.  There is saying here about there never being traffic jams with trains and subways.  I was open to however long Michael wanted to stay, which turned out to be 2 ½ hours or so.  There was lots of fairly loud music and very pretty young ladies modeling with the cars.  Our favorite part turned out to be the buses.  There were some glitzy interiors, and the driver’s console looked like a fancy car.  I headed to Busan on my own a week or so later and went to the Sand Festival at Haeundae Beach (Michael was at a sleepover).  Shortly after the festival, the million (well, it looks like a million) umbrellas go up for the summer.  There are a LOT of festivals in Korea.  Every weekend seems to bring an opportunity to celebrate something.

An even more adventurous trip was to Pohang.  We have been joking about seeing the “Hands of Harmony,” two large statues of hands facing each other; one is in the sea.  We took the intercity bus to Pohang (1 ½ hours), then a local bus from the bus station (30 minutes) to the outskirts of town and then another bus (20 minutes).  We said it’s a good thing we think ½ the fun is getting there.  Pohang is home to one of the world’s largest steel factories, and it is huge and not so pretty.  But I told Michael some place has to have it or the rest of us couldn’t drive cars or fly in airplanes.  The grounds where the hands are was quite nice.  There is a lighthouse museum and also a building with an observation deck.  We weren’t there a long time before we headed back.  The mid-point bus stop is in the midst of a small harbor and the street has at least 10 crab restaurants.  They all basically have the same menu and a large plastic crab above the entrance.  Michael was a bit leery (we have seen some pretty funky seafood at fish markets), but then a door opened to one place and it was full of people.  I said, “Come on.  I guarantee you will like crab.  It’s like shrimp; everyone likes it.”  I was right!!  (I don’t guarantee often, but so far I have always been correct J).  The people were so nice to us too … showing us that I was using the tool the wrong way, for example.  The rice is served mixed with various crab innards and served in the crab’s back shell.  It was a great meal and experience.

Hong Kong

Michael and I took a trip to Hong Kong last week - 5 full days. We arrived after midnight Sunday and then departed after midnight on Friday, so our airport experience must have been atypical. It was so quiet that time of night! Overall, we especially liked the Chinese influence and having a chance to ride bikes a few times. It was also very easy to get around because everything is in English. We used every mode of transportation available.

The weather was hot and humid, and there was some rain, but we easily adjusted our plans and still had a good time. We stayed on HK island at a Holiday Inn Express. It was close to subway and in a busy area of town. There are crowds of people everywhere. The staff in the breakfast restaurant were noticeably kind and efficient... even to the guy who was loudly trying to get a cheese omelet even though it is nowhere on the menu. It was a good lesson. I am pretty sure he was American! There were six choices. We had the western selection, eggs, hash brown, bacon, fruit, and toast, but we also tried "Chinese" which was a very thin rice based soup and mandu buns (which Michael later ordered a la carte) and one "local," which was ramen-based soup with very good sliced beef.

The first day we took the tram/cable car to Victoria Peak - the #1 tourist attraction. It is accessed from Central subway, which was three down from where we were in Causeway. The peak provides a view of the whole island and across the harbor to Kowloon peninsula and also outlying islands. At the top, we got outside and took a shaded walk around - 90 minutes or so. We were practically alone. We had some views during the walk but mostly just enjoyed the stroll. Lunch was at a lovely restaurant (not in the big tourist trap where the tram arrives). I did not know what to expect on costs, but food and transportation were very reasonable. Next up was the "escaltors," an area of town with a series of escaltors in a steep area of town. There is only one set, so in the morning until 10:00, it's one way down for people to get to work; the rest of the day they go up. There is a lot to see from them, and we found ourselves back there a few times. We then took a one hour harbor cruise, which was a good way to relax. We tracked down a Chinese diner near our hotel (in Frommer's) and liked it. At this place and another diner-type place, all the silverware, chopsticks, etc. are in a drawer under the table. We thought that was pretty cool.

Our second day we took a ferry to an outlying island, Cheung Chau, where there are no cars. It's accessible only by ferry. We rented bikes and made our way around. It's a small island, so we couldn't really go far, but very quickly we were away from the pier and downtown and people. There were a lot of bikes locked up near the pier, so people either had come downtown or took the ferry to HK island. There were also a lot of fishing boats in the small harbor. We had a delicious lunch with a view of the water. Michael had garlic shrimp and I had scallops with broccoli... and it was a lot of fresh broccoli. In Korea, it's hard to get a big serving of vegs. like that. I remarked that the restaurant down the way (they all were basically the same) had about 20 people and several who looked foreign. I said "it must be the tour guide book recommendation," and it was. I am sure the food was basically the same, and Michael said he was glad we had not eaten there. It's a good lesson to read the guides but not to make some of our own choices. When we got back to HK island, we took a taxi to Aberdeen, a harbor on the opposite side of the island - we went through a tunnel. We took a sampan boat ride, a small boat that took us through the boats in the harbor. There was everything from big yachts to big fishing boats to very small beat up boats. We wandered around a bit and decided to eat. There were some American fast food places nearby, but we picked the crowded Chinese diner. It was good. At even the small places there are English language menus. It's got to be partly the British connection historically and also that there are a lot of tourists. We figured out a public bus to take back.

Our third day was spent in Kowloon, the peninsula opposite HK island. We got there by a short ferry ride. It was raining in the morning, so we opted for indoor choice of art/history museum. Later we spent a little time in the space museum. We had lunch at a Chinese diner again (our last one). It was tiny. We were seated at a small table along with a guy who was already there. When he left, they seated two people there. They had signs that said "no photos," so we respected that. But it was very interesting. They had an extensive menu (like the other places) and pictures, so Michael could pick out what I had ordered the night before. Afterwards, we walked around and found a bakery that had warm egg tarts. One of my students told me to try one, and I told Michael I had to find one. Of course, we then started noticing them everywhere. There were a lot of bakeries but hardly any coffee shops. We are accustomed to both in Korea. Next we took a subway to an area of the "new territories" and rented bikes. We rode alongside a river. It was fairly hot because it was afternoon, but we were glad the rain had cleared off. That night we were in the escalator area looking for dinner, and Michael picked a British place. He has shepard's pie (with tasty fresh brussel sprouts for a side), and I had a salad with Scottish smoked salmon. The apple crumble for dessert was Michael's good pick.

Thursday we went to another outlying island, Lantau. It is very large and had Disney and some other major tourist attractions. It's accessisble by subway, but we took the ferry. We never left the small village where the ferry arrives. (There are buses that go to other attractions.) We rented bikes and also did a walk that was all cement path including steps. The signs indicated other villages at the end, but this time of year it was too hot to go far. The path was part of the Olympic torch trail, indicated by several signs. This village also had a lot of bikes at the pier and a pretty beach. We ate lunch water-side - very good Chinese food and filling. They had a bike style that allowed a person to be a rider, and Michael really wanted to rent one of those at the end of the day ... so I "let" him ride me around for an hour.

Our last day it was rainy, but we had a day planned on HK island that was ok for rain. It was light rain and cooled things off a bit. We started with foot massages (very good option on rainy day). Then we went to "the" place for dim sum. I wasn't sure I wanted to go to "the" place, but it was a great choice. Maxim's is located in City Hall. It's very spacious, white table clothes, and chandeliers. It is one of the last places that pushes carts around and from which we could choose. It was great fun and the food was fantastic. I told Michael "no problem" if we didn't like something. We could make another selection. The only negative is that there are only two of us. A group of 5 or 6 would make for a lot more variety. Next we went to a museum of a early 1900s Chinese revolutionary - another place where expectations were exceeded. The setting is a beautiful restored mansion, and the story of the man was very interesting. Next up in the neighborhood was a small temple in the heart of the city - very smoky with lots of incense coils. We didn't stay long, but it was a chance to see a Chinese temple compared to Korean. Then we took a city slow tram that makes a loop. It's a good way to sit down and relax and also see a lot. We sat on the second floor (all the buses have two levels). We made our way back to our hotel, and by this time opted for a Big Mac (Michael) and ice cream (Kim). I had found lotus leaf wraps at a street stall where they are handmade in view of customers. I also ate a couple of those. We rested in our hotel for a bit, and then left about 11:00 p.m. by subway and high speed train to the airport. It was a bit rough having a 3 hour flight in the middle of the night, but we caught the bus at Busan airport (and were happy to feel the cool morning air) and were in our beds by 8:15. I slept a few hours and woke Michael up about 2:00 so he would be able to go to sleep that night.

We are very thankful to have had the opportunity to make the trip and that things went so well and smoothly. The next couple of weeks we have work and school but will make a day trip or two. Michael's school has taken a trip today for a sports day in Busan. He was excited. He took a taxi to school because they had to be there early. He had to tell the driver in Korean where to take him. Monday is Buddha's birthday holiday for both of us, and June 6 is another holiday. I teach on M and W, so both of these give me the day off. I have only 5 more class days... hard to believe!! Love to anyone still reading :).

At/around home lately

We had a couple of weeks of small but fun things. We celebrated a birthday with a friend who is also one of Michael's teacher, Corleen. She and Ros have had a regular Friday dinner plan for a long time, and I have gone with them several times. Michael joined us for the "party" at the Moroccan restaurant. He likes that Corleen jokes around a lot, and she was more than willing to wear the little crown I bought. All 4 of us blew the paper horns. The next FRI night outing was to a Turkish restaurant. I was so happy to eat some hummus, and the rest of the meal was very good too. We were at the foreigner grocery store recently and saw a can of jack fruit. Ros masde the connection for us to the very large brown spikey-bumped item sometimes seen at markets. It's pretty good. We checked online; it actually grows form the trunk of the tree.

Soon after, we were at the foreigner compound for Croatian night. Several families prepared what turned out to be a delicious feast, and the room was decorated with posters. They had a contest to pronounce Croatian idioms and sent us home with a bag of tourist information. There were appetizers and dinner had a seafood table, meat table, and later dessert table. There were 10 or so items at each table. I didn't know exactly where Croatia is, but I do now!

I had lunch with some of the English language practice students. They took me to a guk bap place (soup with rice). They know I am a regular at another place. So we went to "my" place next. I prepared a rating sheet and we had a lot of laughs. Prof. Kim took me out recently for octopus - luckily, cooked vs. alive. It is a very spicy dish, but I liked it. They bring scissors to the table for us to cut the especially large pieces. I haven't been able to talk Michael into it.

Michael and I took a whale watching excursion ... 3 hour boat ride but no whales. It was a lovely day, but we both thought the singer on board was a bit too much in the morning. It was very loud too. So, at this point in our trip the top 3 bad/funny things are: whale watching, fishing trip in Jejudo, and overnight boat ride to Japan. Even though all three have water and boats involved, we actually usually like boat rides.

Michael played in the school talent show. It was in the evening and very well attended by families. He did well. I didn't even know he had been practicing diligently. One of the teachers told me. He chose "Drops of Jupiter." The audience was very enthusiastic, which made for encouraged kids. Michael said he was glad he did it (I had pressured him :) ). He could tell it was more fun to participate than just to watch.

On a recent Saturday, a Korean woman at church invited a group of us (mostly foreigners) for lunch. It was very kind of her, and her two sons seemed very pleased to have us there. Someone observed later that it would not be unusual for the boys to disappear to play computer games or study in their rooms. Michael didn't go because he had school work to finish because he was about to miss a week of school for our trip to Hong Kong. We are getting to know some other people at church. At a recent lunch afterwards (at the usual Indian restaurant), Grace (from Phillipines and recently married to a teacher at Michael's school)and Tim (Hungarian exchange student at university), and Barbara (Korean) joined Michael and me and the Bakers (South African teachers and friends). Have I mentioned how blessed we have been with relationships??!!

Cherry blossoms

(Blogger has a new format ... ugh. I have paragraph breaks in my draft, but when I post, they are not there... I'll work on it! My friend, Jennifer M, read the post and told me to try

... and it worked! Who would guess you need programming code to use blog software!?)

Spring finally really came. Michael thinks it is funny how much I ooh and aah over the cherry blossoms. He had a two week break after Easter, and our travel plans took us from south to north, so we saw maximum blooming in Jeju Island and then Seoul. Upon our return to Ulsan, the azaleas are peaking.

Jeju is a very relaxing place. We visited there in August, and it sure was easier this time because we knew where/how to take bus to airport and also Jeju bus to hotel. Reading Korean and speaking a little helps too. We stayed in the same guest house as last time. It's quiet and we both slept great. The breakfast in the morning is decent. We saw the news the morning NK had their failed rocket launch, so at least we were up to date on that. The worst part of the trip was a 1 hour fishing expedition. What a long hour!!! I keep joking it was the best. It was my idea to go - based on one of my students telling me about it. It was cold and wet, the sea was rough in a fairly small fishing boat, and... we didn't catch anything! The others all appeared to be couples - what a date!!

The real best plan was a day at U-do, a small island off Jeju. We took a bus, which took us on and off the main road and through the main streets of towns where the streets were lined with cherry blossoms. Then we took a short ferry ride. First we rented bikes and rode around the island. It is about a 15K around the main road, which was not busy at all. There were two beach areas and lots of farming plots with rock fences between areas. There is one high spot on the island with old and new lighthouses, which provided me a brief, hard walk. Michael stayed in the ... small electric golf cart/car. He really liked that. We had rented it after lunch and made the around-the-island trip again. The prices of everything were lower than I expected - e.g., 7,200 won for RT ferry, 10,000 won for the 2 bikes for 2 hours. It was a very fun day.

We regrouped in Ulsan for a couple of days and went to church, did our laundry (remember, no dryers, so it takes a couple days for things to be ready to wear), and I taught a 2 hour class. (One of my one hour days was canceled for national holiday of parliament elections). Then we headed to Seoul. It was easier this time too because of our prior experience there. We had unusually warm and good weather the first 3 full days. We were all over the place. I didn't know if I could go up one more flight of subway stairs! We saw three shows, Nanta, Jump, and Miso. The first two are very funny long-running performances here. We got a big laugh out of part where, in English, the actors say onion and then carrot and then a guy says "melon" when it's actually a cabbage. The funny part is that cabbage was three syllables; Koreans tend to pronounce the "e" at the end. We are not laughing at them!! We understand the word and syllable structure that make it hard for them not to say "e." It's also heard in "orange." Miso is more serious and has traditional dancing and beautiful costumes. We rode bikes by the Han River and in a big park. At Olympic Park we rented a bike/jallopy - I am sure it has a name - where Michael had the steering wheel and we sat next to each other and both pedaled. I think that was his favorite. We had Thai for dinner one night and also went to Vatos Urban Tacos. Korean-Americans have opened it based on popular food trucks in Austin and LA. It was a bit strange to be surrounded by so many Americans and foreigners. Michael said you can tell the workers are Korean-American because of how they pronounced mango .... just like an American! Koreans tend to say it with ah sound. The restaurant was very good. We tried the highly recommended kimchi fries, which is fries at the bottom topped with pulled pork, kimchi, salsa, and sour cream. We had a couple of kinds of tacos. The seasoned meats are the key to the delicious menu. Michael had a Subway sandwich one night when we tired and it was late ... just like home!! Some places here are Koreanized (e.g., Pizza Hut), but this sandwich looked just like U.S.

On the last day it was cool and raining, which was ok because we took a DMZ tour and, though quite cold and wet, were in and out of bus most of tour. We went to the Joint Security Area, which not all tours get to do. I took a recommendation to sign up for the USO tour, and I am glad I did. The US military hosted us, and at one point we had NK on three sides. We also went to a meeting room that is officially divided in the middle, so on one side of the table we were technically in NK. The room is first-come, first-served, so sometimes a group has to wait for the other side to clear out. There had been no NK tours the 100 days following death of Kim II, but we were told tours had resumed and been frequent lately. There are NK guards visible at the top of "their side" of this area where a few buildings are just theres. Our US hosts did a great job. We were told more than once not to point or otherwise communicate or try to engage any NK personnel. The release form included "death" as something for which we would not hold anyone responsible.

So, we are back to school and work. It's midterm week, so I gave my test Monday but then Wed. class time did not meet. I also did not meet with students for English language practice. I look forward to seeing them next week and catching up after our travels.

RE: my mom She is home and progressing slowly. Her spirits seem very good. Please continue to pray. It is a long road for her and for my dad.

Spring is coming

"Spring is coming," Hwi Rang, ond of the English language practice students, has observed over the past few weeks. It's gotten to be a little joke among our group. And it really seems to be true now. There are flowers in bloom and trees starting to bloom and temperatures have reached 60+ a couple of times. Cherry blossoms should be quite beautiful in the next couple of weeks. I have set aside long underwear!

Very good news about my mom: She came home from the care facility on Saturday. She'd been there more than 100 days and also a few weeks of hospital time. She sounds very positive and healthy. She will have home health care, especially continuing OT and PT. She is using a walker and wheel chair too, so she still has a lot of progress to make. But she and my dad feel like they are moving in the right direction. They live in a large retirement community, and these people give each other a lot of support and encouragment. Please keep her in your prayers.

I was pleased to welcome some Auburn people to campus a couple weeks ago. An engineering professor and two people from international office were here (it was spring break at AU). I attended a meeting with COB dean and a few faculty and then was at a dinner with 8 of us. It was nice that the Ulsan people joked about which side of the dinner table I should sit on - but the numbers worked 4 and 4 if I was on the AU side. Professor Jang was there and two deans I know - one COB and the other from the international office here. I hope Ulsan Univ. and AU can some momentum going in the relationship.

We have been in the routine of school and work. Michael is enjoying some building they are doing - a "city" with health and safety as part of the theme. He also goes to after school building club on Fridays. Christian club is on Wednesdays. (He made a profession of faith in late February, so it will add to our great memories of Korea that it was here he was able to embrace Jesus Christ as the way and the truth and the life and the only way a sinner comes to the Father.) I have just 7 students in a section of Intermediate Accounting I, and 2 of them are French. I have class Mon and Wed 4 to 6 and 4 to 5. I am still meeting with students to practice English. Two of them have been with it since the beginning, and I am especially fond of them. The group is funny. Last time we had a word to put into a sentence and then the next person took over the story. They can get kind of crazy (e.g., they are not shy about mentioning alcohol and drinking and one guy manages to bring in a monster sometimes), so if the story ended sweetly, we clapped and said, "Yay, happy ending." I took an overnight trip to Daejeon recently and met up with a professor friend and her husband who were visiting their son. It was very fun to see Anne here. Michael stayed overnight with our friends, the Bakers, and had a dinner that sounded fit for a king (especially compared to what I manage in our apartment) and game playing. He had just a 5 minute walk to school in the morning.

Michael had a TH and FRI off recently, so we took an overnight ferry to Fukuoka, Japan from Busan. We left WED evening after I taught. It was a bit of a rough night because the boat is fairly loud until 11 p.m. or so when it actually leaves Busan. Then by 6:00 the intercom is announcing things though disembarking is not until 7:30. The return trip was a 3 hour ride on the fast boat. Fukuoka was a good destination for our first trip to Japan. We knew how to say hello (like Spanish ... depends on the time of the day, so it was actually three different words) and thank you. It definitely felt like going backwards in ability to communicate. It took a day or so to adjust to how expensive it is - taxis and buses were 3X or so the cost in Korea. We stayed at a Japanese chain hotel that we have used in Korea. The rooms were exactly the same, but the breakfast was much better in Japan. There were more vegetables and more variety. We had good maps, and information desk people at train and bus terminals spoke English.

We went to a tower, a nice park in town, and a temple with a very large wood carved Buddha. The canal-side was nice for walking. A day trip on a high speed train took us to Kumamoto, a good place to see castle remains. There were pictures there of other castle remains in Japan, so we could see how the styles were basically the same, 5 levels, for example. We ate ramen that is well-kwown and popular. It has no resemblance to the stuff that's sold in cellophane and hot water added!! The noodles were fresh, there were lots of green onions, and the broth was milky looking and pork-based. It was delicious. We also ate at a cute Mexican restaurant; we haven't had Mexican food at all in Korea. We ordered a second serving of guacamole. We also got a good picture of Michael with hat and kind cook/server.

In Korea we expect food to be everywhere, but we had a different feeling in Japan. So when we set out in the morning, we picked up a ham and cheese sandwich first. Our other impressions were that Japan is very clean (almost no litter anywhere), bike riders are common and even ride with umbrellas if it is raining, people queue well (e..g, at train station, there are directions for lining up ... in Korea it's more of a free for all), driving was on the left side of road. Overall, given Fukuoka and Ulsan are about the same population, Ulsan seems to be lit up more, has taller buildings, and more traditional type markets and alleyways to be found. Fukuoka seemed "genteel" in comparison (at least that's the word that comes to my mind). We are planning a return trip to other areas of Japan after school and work are over.

As far as at "home" in Ulsan, people continue to be so kind to us. A recent weekend had us with 3 invitations. Saturday, the head of the sports center on campus gave us a tour and treated us to lunch. He is a professor in business too, and I had met him a few times. He said he wanted to meet Michael. I guess I had been talking about Michael! That evening Professor Kim and his wife took us to a restaurant where we grilled our own clams at the table - set price for "all you care to eat." There were also shrimp, which Michael preferred, and it turns out Michael likes mussels. It was a lot of fun. Michael and Prof. Kim were the ones to go get more raw items and bring them back to the table. Then Sunday afternoon, my friend, Jenny, from Korean class in the fall, had us to her apartment for snacks and desserts. She didn't tell us, but it was her birthday. We met her husband and other people from their HHI-related project. We felt very welcome, enjoyed the food, and oohed and ahhed about their "fancy" apartment on the 20th flooor. Jenny and I met at the park recently (near our apartment) and walked and then had lunch at a small brunch restaurant Michael and I discovered ... we split an omelet and french toast. I really like the Korean way of sharing food!

I talked to Vaiema in Samoa a couple days ago. Everyone is well, and Little Paulo just turned one year old. He is the son of Apaula, Paulo's youngest sister.

I am marking seven years this week since coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ. This week we remember the death of Jesus and celebrate his triumphant resurrection on Easter. We feel part of the church universal in our small English-language service on Sunday. There are people from all over the world with Jesus Christ the common denominator. God bless you and your loved ones.

노래방 - Singing Room

Yes, we have now had the very Korean experience to go to a singing room (pronounced No Ray Bahng). Last Saturday we first went to a DVD room and watched the first Harry Potter movie. Michael read all the books over about 6 weeks, and now we plan to make our way through the movies. It's a private room with three-seat or so big couch (legs can stretch out ... what is that called??! ... chaise?). It was $12 US each, which seemed reasonable. We grabbed a quick sandwich in the basement of Hyundai Department Store - a kebob place owned and run by a Turkish man - and then went to the singing room about 5:30 (not the prime time, we could tell). It's private - no glass or anything for anyone to see in. There were two couches and a love seat and room for dancing (if one chose!). The lights were flashing and the music was loud. It was funny that the background video looked like a home movie taken in Paris. Maybe they only want to pay copyright for the music. It took Michael a couple of songs to get into it. We only did about 5 songs - Born in the USA, Hey Jude, and a couple others. The young lady working brought us a soft serve ice cream about 10 minutes into our session ... maybe it's standard. It was about $15 US, which struck me as kind of high for 30 minutes or so. But maybe it's an hourly charge, and if we had other friends, it wouldn't seem so high. I wanted to be able to say I had done it, so that goal has been accomplished. Michael would actually like to go back on his own.

I have also been making my way through sweet potato items. I had a latte, which is delicious. It's mashed sweet potato basically mixed into the steaming hot milk and so like a mild flavor in the milk. Next on the list is pizza, which we will try Monday. I am meeting for English practice 4 afternoons a week right now with up to 7students. 3 are from the fall and asked me a couple weeks ago to do this meeting over brek. We are going out as a group for the pizza. They are looking forward to meeting Michael. We will also try bulgogi pizza - it ought to seem fairly "normal" because it is basically spicy beef.

Michael received a very good report card. The middle of the school year was technically in January, so the reports and teacher-parent meetings were in Feb. I was especially glad to see all the behavior/character items marked "always." I had not met his new math teacher, Mr. MacFarlane, so it was nice to meet him and tell him how much Michael has enjoyed math since he started with them in Jan. He is South African. Michael also has him for P.E. right now, and they played/learned about rugby this week.

I have enjoyed some Friday late afternoon/evening socializing with two of the teachers, Ros (also church friend) and Corleen. They go every Friday and invited me along too. Usually it's a bit of shopping/errands - last couple of times it's been for baby stuff because Ros' daughter and her baby are visiting. We walked around a bit last night and found a place to have grilled duck. A few nights ago we celebrated Ros' birthday at their apartment. They made mac and cheese, chicken taco meat, and a salad. They also picked up Samosas from the Indian restaurant that is our regular Sunday place. Michael ate two Samosas and a lot of mac and cheese. I was going to get a cake, but she had already made cupcakes. So I picked up Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. It was a big hit. It's all ice cream, and there were six kinds - basically they were in separate wedges. I think most of us managed to try all six. It's good we are accustomed to Korean-style sharing. Corleen was there too and also Barbara, a Korean teacher assistant who goes to church with us. At some point we all put on the bow that had been wrapped around the cake. Marick, the baby, is great entertainment, of course. It was a very nice evening. Michael said it was one of the best birthday parties he has attended.

I was glad to meet my work goal of finishing a research paper over break. I am ready to submit it to a journal Monday. Then I will spend next week getting ready to start the semester. My first teaching day is March 5. Prof. Kim will be back from States via China early next week. It will be good to see him. Also, the other instructors who have offices near mine will be around again and occasional lunch companions. I have been very productive the last 6 weeks, but it will be nice to have more interaction at work. The weather is giving hints of Spring too ... just small ones, but highs are staying in mid 40s and higher.

The latest I have heard about my mom is that she has had a few setbacks but that they are continuing to work with her, especially PT. The only sure foundation for whatever life brings us is Jesus Christ and God's word. Please keep my parents in your prayers and also that Michael and I will be faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ in our sphere of influence.

50th Birthday

Yes, it's my 50th birthday. First, a good update on my mom. She is feeling much better and emotionally and mentally is "back," in the term of my family. She has a way to go physically but is glad to be off IV nutrition and some medicine. She needs strength and stamina to make progress in PT and OT, but it sounds like things are moving in a good direction. She seems to be in good hands in the care center. I continue to pray for her spiritual well-being and my dad too. John Piper has a very good short essay "Don't Waste Your Cancer," which could apply to any serious physical challenge. All of us should spend time thinking about eternity and where we think we will spend it and why.

So ... 50! My first BD present was from Ros and Ralph, friends from church and teachers at Michael's school. It's a Beth Moore book on John, the Beloved Disciple. I was so pleased. I have read a few things by her but had not heard of this book. I started it immediately.

Friday I had asked a few students and the office workers (young gals who look like students!) to go out for lunch. The students are from English language practice. They sort of needed to be there to help us all communicate. I knew it would make the day more festive for me, but I didn't tell them it was my birthday until we were at lunch because I didn't want them to do anything. Two of them disappeared. I thought they were outside talking on their phones. They returned with a lovely Paris Baguette cake sweet potato cheese cake with candles lit. They sang in Korean and English. We had lunch at a very good Western restaurant near campus. Then later when I was toiling away on my research in my office (running a bunch of regressions) the 3 students came by with a box. It is a Univ. of Ulsan pink sweatshirt with a hood. They know I have been dressing warmly and wearing Michael's school sweatshirt. The pink one is great. There was a also pencil case and small credit card/cash holder. These are the students I got to know the best - partly because they came to the sessions regularly and also because their English is pretty good. They are so kind.

Michael was at a BD party FRI after school and got home about 9:30. We had our plan for Saturday: DVD room, dinner, and singing room. The DVD room is a private viewing of your movie of choice. We planned Harry Potter because Michael just read the books. The singing rooms are very popular here. It's private karaoke. We have to do it before we leave. When the MBA students were here, they went almost every night. Well, our plans changed when Prof. Jang called FRI night and asked if we were available SAT night. We don't have a lot of social opportunities, and we both like him and his wife so much. I told him it was my BD so it would feel like a continuing celebration to see them.

We went to their new apartment for the first time. They gave us a gift box with some gingeng teas and also some pretty fancy looking socks. They had a lovely cake from ... Paris Baguette, of course!! These cakes are amazing. They are small and round - enough for 8 or so pieces. This one was blueberry cake. The topping is more like whipped cream than frosting. The top was decorated with some blueberries. Whenever we are in PB for a sandwich or snack, I admire the cakes. Then we drove about 30 minutes out of town to a restaurant near Busan. It's a small compound with zoo/petting animals, green house, antique store and shop. Tradtional rice-stalk roofs are on all the buildings. The most popular main course is duck cooked inside pumpkin. There were several side dishes, ban chan, as usual. They also ordered some beef that Michael likes a lot. The restaurant has Korean-style floor seating and was quite busy. It was great food and a very fun afternoon and evening. Apparently it is one of Prof. Jang's favorites. They have been such good friends to us. We are so thankful to know them. Justin is doing very well in the military and earned time off base this weekend.

So, please stand by for post on singing room! We will have to wait until next weekend to have plenty of time.

God bless you and your families. Jesus wants to enter into everything with us - the highs and the lows. What a friend for sinners. Love, Kim

Out and About in February

Mom update: My mom has been in the care facility about two weeks. She has OT and PT everyday. There are small improvements, but it sounds like a big marker of progress will be standing on her own. Please pray for encouraging progress.

Michael and I are mostly in the routine of school and work with a few events or travel for fun. His school just had an open house to display science-related projects for a few of the grades. He and his classmates were quite proud of their space information and rockets. They set up an area with a black tarp for visitors to enter. It was a fun afternoon for the kids. i have a couple more weeks to work on my research before the semester gets started and I have to immerse myself in teaching.

Recently we had dinner with a friend from work, Randy, and his wife, Andrea. When Michael and I were in Busan, we ate grilled/baked eel, so we then knew the Korean words for it. The next time I was walking over to the park, I recognized the Korean letters at a place and told Michael as soon as I got home. Maybe I should have figured it out from the eel swimming in the tanks in the window. The place has an old and worn out look including tin roof. I suggested going there, and Randy and were happy to try it out. They'd noticed it too but had never gotten around to going. Michael was a little more comfortable with them along (since Andrea is Korean and so no language problems for us). Once there we all agreed it's a place for socializing and eating. It seems like several neighborhood older guys are in there enjoying the eel and some beer or soju. The owner and also another patron gave us some training and spoke pretty good English - grill the skin side first! There is spot in the middle of the table where they set the fire, and then a metal grilling rack is set over it. We were teasing Michael about the great quantity of accompanying spicy sauce he ate. We all had our fill. A final nice aspect is that the price was very reasonable compared to Busan. Eel is a bit expensive, and at the Busan place we had been paying for being at a nice restaurant. Here, there was definitely no premium to pay for the setting.

We went to Daegu Friday with the primary purpose to see a show called Bibap, short for Bibimbap. The theme was two chefs competing for King of Bibimbap. It was non-verbal with singing, dancing, funny faces, acrobatics and some very impressive break dancing. Two guys did a lot with sound effects/noises. There was audience participation. They "made" other dishes first, and a funny thing was that they would all of a sudden produce the very nice lookig finished dish (sushi and pizza, for example). The finished dish was the plastic type items that we see a lot in restaurant windows to show what food is served. The local grocery store has a pizza-ordering area with plastic models of the pizzas. So that Korean aspect gave us good laugh. We both liked the show a lot. An interesting thing afterwards that we have seen before is that the cast comes out to the lobby and people have their pictures taken with them. A lot of groups queue and wait their turn, and then we keep hearing hana, duel, set (one, two, three) and the pictures are taken quickly.

We stayed at a nice hotel and enjoyed walking around the lively downtown area. Daegu seems fairly cosmoplitan - it has a big textile industry and seems to have related clothing, etc. The weather was warm for this time of year (and more than 15 degrees warmer than a couple days prior), so Saturday we were outside and went to top of viewing tower, a local market (the best pancakes with sweet filling we have had), and a mountain area where we took a cable car to the top. Koreans know how to enjoy a hike. There was a large enclosed viewing room where two guys were cooking a fairly elaborate hot meal. They had hiked up with their gas single burner. There was also a restaurant serving a fairly broad hot menu - even this time of the year - including pacheon, a large pancake with green onions and other things, which is very common at hiking areas. We had an early dinner and headed back to Ulsan. Transportation was so easy. We took the bus, a 1 1/2 hour ride. It leaves each city every 30 minutes. When we arrived in Daegu and got off the bus, a subway stop was right there. Taxis around town were easy and inexpensive too. Our few experiences traveling on our own are making us better at it and more comfortable about planning to go places.

We hope all is well with your families. Love in Christ, Kim
Even local hiking in our park has people really enjoying it. Recently two ladies came along when I was sitting at a bench on the hike. They gave me a small orange (the delicious ones from Jeju Island that are very easy to peel) and a cup of coffee. They had carried hot water in a thermos and had the individual servings of coffee and paper cups with them. I was impressed at the amount of trouble. They were a little older than I am. I know how to ask how old someone is, and the answer is easier to understand than asking someone's name. The kindness of strangers continues.

Lunar New Year

Regarding my mom: She is still in the hospital. They had an expected discharge date late last week, but she has had trouble with an infection and modification to medicine dosage - a couple of things like that. I think it's been fairly disheartening compared to expecting it would be a big step in the "improving" direction once the colon was removed.

There was a 2 day national holiday for the lunar new year, and Michael had M-W off from school. People tend to join their families like a major holiday in September, and the news reports lots of traffic jams. I'd been sick over the weekend (I think something I ate), so Monday we still took it kind of easy. Nearly everything was closed, but not Lotte Mart and the restaurants under the same roof ... so we ate at TGIFs. There was only one other table. I felt bad for the people working. A friend had brought a DVD player for us recently. We've asked a couple times that someone from facilities maintenance look at our tv, and it turns out someone did. I just told Michael to see if he could get the DVD to play. He could, so after dinner we had hot chocolate and watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. We have not made a very big dent in the box of hot choc. from Costco. A few more movies will make some of the cold winter days and nights go by faster, but I have to figure out where to rent.

Tuesday we went to Busan for a 2:00 performance of Cats. It was marvelous. I had never seen it. We read online to find out the basic plot, which I would do even for a show in English. That it was in Korean made us focus more on dancing, just enjoying the music, etc. Michael liked it a lot too. Because of the holiday, we didn't try to find any interesting restaurants. We ate at the train station next to our hotel twice - both us ordering the same thing for lunch and dinner (BK Whopper Junior; Korean mild soup with dried fish; guess who ate which?!).

Tuesday we took the subway to the world's biggest department store. It was quite a site. My favorite part was the basement level food, but I did enjoy the glamour of the middle of the building being open. It's like other department stores in Korea: the brands all rent some space and hire their own employees. Michael got a new pair of sport shoes. We were happy to find 290 cm/US size 11. Usually 280 is the largest. He also bought the 6th Harry Potter book. He's going to end up reading all of them over about a 6 week time period. Miss Jolynn got him started! I told him when I read the books, I had to wait for the next one to be published. I must have been feeling strange because in the basement level for lunch because I was the one who suggested the hot dog to go with the tuna sandwich Michael ordered. It was the mustard on top that looked so good. We shared - Korean style and our style too. We got home about 4:00. The taxi ride from the KTX station to our apartment takes longer and costs more than the KTX from Busan. It's just a 20 minute ride on the KTX. Back to school and work tomorrow. It's double day at school: the kids have 2 periods each of math and IPC.

"IPC" reminds me. Their current topic is Governments and Rulers. The kids had to write a speech and then deliver it. Michael was elected the president in his class. His speech started, "My name is Michael Key, and I am the key to your future." His teacher told me when I was at school for lunch duty a couple days later. Michael did tell me he got star of the week last week. His (new) math teacher wrote that it was for "being a good role model, his positive attitude, and working well in every lesson." Michael actually told me, and I think it's partly because he is so pleased with the new math teacher, Mr. MacFarlane. Michael liked the teacher in the fall, but she left. For 6-8 weeks they were without a dedicated teacher, and nothing worthwhile really seemed to be going on. I am glad things are much better in math.

Take care and God bless. Kim

Surgery ok

I talked to my dad. My mom's colon-removal surgery went well, and she will recover in a regular room. They had thought she might have to be in ICU. Thanks to so many of you for your prayers. I will keep you updated on her progress and recovery.

I posted a few pictures from our tour ... see end of blog page.

Grace and peace to you and your loved ones. Kim

Korea Tourists

Update on my mom: She got the "all clear" after chest x-ray last week, and surgery is scheduled Jan. 12. It's been since Dec. 31 that I have talked to my parents, so I don't know much else.

We had a great time on our trip around Korea. (See a few pictures at bottom of page.) We drove about 2,300 kilometers over the 7 days with the longest drives out of and then back into Seoul. We were in a van with driver, guide, and 2 other tourists - a mom and son from Canada. I would guess their ages as 50 and 25. Her husband is working here, and they live in Seoul. The son is an MBA student at Univ. of Toronto. Spring and fall are high season for this tour, but it was kind of nice to see places in winter and not to have to deal with crowds and more people on the tour. Winter has its own beauty. I had hot packs for my feet, and used 2 per boot on most days, so I was ok. Michael wore a short sleeve shirt under his coat, baseball hat, and gloves. I cannot figure out where he got a "keeps warm" gene. We have adopted our tour guides (it's) "up to you," which he said a lot re: how to eat some of the food and how long to stay in some places. He was very kind-hearted though not great English speaking and listening skills.

We saw a few Buddhist temples (they seem to have secured many lovely mountain locations; many hiking locations bring one close to a temple; if you have seen one temple, you have seen them all!) and a few traditional/folk home areas (they start to look the same too and have rice stalk roofs or tile ... depending on whether the home was originally worker-class or nobility). We were outside a lot with the theme of culture and nature. During the driving in the country side, we could see many grave sites/small cemeteries. They are located on hills and have some markers and mounded graves. These mounds need care every year and sort of get built up to maintain their form and height. There was a lot of country side to see, and mountains make up a high percentage of the land. The population is very concentrated in 5 to 7 or so cities.

Most days there were 3 things/sites to see. A green tea farm on a snowy day was lovely. A fish market is a Korea must-see, and we visited one in an area where a lot of octopus are caught. We dressed up in traditional clothes (I could hardly believe Michael did; pictures are cute) and made taffy (rice-based). The cool thing about the taffy was that were in a very small village in someone's house/restaurant, so we could see their regular surroundings. Michael was very forgiving when it turned out that at the end of the day I put my hot packs in our backpack right next to the taffy ... we ended up with one big chunk because the pieces melted together.

The hotels were very nice - either seaside resorts or big city hotels. Every night seemed to be our new favorite. The hotel floors skip 4 and also skip 4 in room numbers - eastern culture bad luck number. We ate very well. Breakfast buffets had the full range from soup to salad to dim sum to western eggs and meat... and rice and kimchi, of course. Lunch varied from dried fish to bibimbap - in one case made with mountain vegetables (my favorite). Michael's favorite was gingseng chicken, so we are going to look for a restaurant around here that serves it. It's a pretty mild soup with a whole rice-stuffed chicken.

The guide and the Canadians more than once said how well-behaved Michael was (apparently in great contrast to the guide's 10 year old nephew). Michael had one rough day. He must have eaten or drunk something that disagreed with him. He had diarrhea and so just juice for breakfast. About 5 minutes are our first stop of the day, he vomited. He had stayed in the van to rest and got out in time. Later in the day, the guide dropped us off at the hotel upon arrival in town and then took the other 2 people on last day activity and to dinner. By the next morning (our last day), Michael felt fine though he didn't eat much but did want a Big Mac at the train station. I booked first class on KTX because he has wanted to see the difference (wider seats and more leg room). We got into bed at 10:00 p.m. Sunday, and he was up and on his way to school Monday. The tour really was a great, easy, comfortable way to see a lot of Korea.

I am trying to gear up to work on some research ... I had a big push before the holiday, but so far I seem to be a little slow getting back into it! I hope you and your loved ones are off to a good start in the new year. Please keep my parents in your prayers.