much has happened........

We have been meaning to post on here for a while now, but our busy schedules have prevented us from doing so. The last couple weekends have been really hectic and a lot of fun. On April 18th (Saturday), we went to the wedding of one of our co-workers. It was really interesting to see a Korean wedding and to be able to compare and contrast it to an American one. All those weddings Katie and I went to just before we left finally came in handy! It almost felt like it was more of a show than a wedding. There was an announcer and spotlights and the guests were allowed to talk freely, cell phones were ringing constantly... it was quite an experience. Apparently, after all the guests left the wedding hall and proceeded to the reception, another ceremony was held just for the families. I'm sure that ceremony was more like what we're used to seeing in the states. A few, brief observations: we got to see the bride before the wedding and we took a couple pictures with her; wedding dresses are rented in Korea; wedding halls are permanent fixtures with several weddings taking place in the same room every weekend, all sharing the same flower arrangements and the like. Here are a few pictures from April 18th:

Maya in her wedding dress

A few of the Korean teachers from the regular kindergarten program. From left to right: Ming-Ji, Jong-Ha, and Seo-Hi. I'm not sure of the name of the teacher on the far right. She teaches 2-3 year olds, so we don't interact with her at all.


The families of the bride and groom. The parents of each are sitting in the chairs alongside them.

Katie's meal at the reception: salad, fruit, kemba (sushi, but they insist it's kemba haha) meatballs, rice, a few other things... and jellyfish! Katie ate jellyfish!

Katie and one of her students, who happens to be the granddaughter of the director of the school

After the wedding, we went home to change clothes before meeting up with our boss and Gerard to visit the neighboring town of Geoje. We saw a POW camp from the Korean war and then ate at a really nice Indian restaurant. Sadly, we don't have any pictures from that night because our camera died sometime after the wedding, but both places were really cool. We had a lot of really good chicken at the Indian place. On Sunday the 19th we woke up really early and took the 7:00 AM ferry to Bijindo (the island with the beach that connects two mountain-islands). We underestimated the time it would take to hike up the mountain and back, so we missed our ferry back and ended up spending nine hours on Bijindo. Here are a few of the pictures we took:

The view from Bijindo Beach

I found a really cool shell on the beach. Unfortunately, I crushed it into small pieces when I climbed a tree later on.

Katie posing on some rocks on the far right side of the beach

A map of Bijindo. There are two ferry stops: one on the northern island and the second on the beach. The northern island appears to be where the islanders live year-round (we saw a big school and many more homes on this island than its southern counterpart). The southern island has little to no civilization on it; it's mainly used for hiking, fishing, and farming on a small scale.

After spending a couple hours on the beach and exploring the village, we decided to hike to the top of the southern mountain. This is a view of the beach from about halfway up.

We found a really nice vantage point on top of a boulder. Notice the mountain-islands behind Katie, pretty cool, huh?

The view from the other side of the mountain. Can you find the random goat?

I decided to climb this tree to get a better view of the ocean and the surrounding islands. I crushed my sweet shell in the process :'(

Katie and I celebrated our two-year anniversary on April 23rd. I surprised her with a dozen roses at school and another dozen at home (they're really cheap here, haha). I also got her an authentic Tongyeong jewelry box and she got me a copy of The Hobbit and a financial journal haha. We went back to the Athena restaurant; this time I ordered the Athena special (pictured below).

The Athena special: 1. lobster tail with rice, 2. the upper half of the lobster, 3. a piece of fried chicken, 4. a small steak, 5. fries and tater tots. It was very good and well worth the expense ($25).

Katie posing with her roses

Early Saturday morning (April 25th), Gerard, Katie and I left for Busan, the second largest city in Korea. It is an hour and a half to two hours away from Tongyeong by bus. We spent Saturday touring a Buddhist temple, shopping in a huge mall, watching a baseball game, and walking around downtown Busan. We spent the night at a tourist hotel and spent the better part of Sunday at Hyeundae Beach and the Busan aquarium. Here are some pictures of Busan:

The walkway leading up to the Beomeosa Temple. The lanterns line the pathway in remembrance of Buddha's birthday. On May 2nd he will be 2553 years old.

The inside of one of the buildings in the temple complex. Apparently fruit is being offered to Buddha?

Reconstruction of a temple was taking place and tiles for the roof were being sold for 10,000 won apiece. The three of us wrote a short note on a tile and signed our names.

The entrance to the complex

A park with lots of shrubs and flowers outside a big mall in Busan called Centum City.

Our next stop was the baseball game at Sajik Stadium where we witnessed the Lotte Giants (home) get crushed by the LG Twins (away). This was the situation by the time we found our seats: top of the first, no outs, bases loaded due to walks. Most of the teams are sponsored by a large company and are referred to as the name of that company rather than the city in which they play. Thus, Lotte Giants instead of Busan Giants.

LG put up 3 runs in the 1st thanks to five walks. By the time we left in the 6th inning, the home team had two errors, had walked 8 batters and the score was 10-4. I would compare the skill level of the Korean league to that of A or AA ball in America.

In the subway we saw this cardboard cut-out advertisement with the manager of the Lotte Giants and a Korean girl. Apparently Gerard was fond of her!

Later that night, in the middle of a quest to find food, we encountered dancing soju bottles on a crowded street (soju is a cheap liquor Korea is famous for producing). The one crouching down in the back is playing the air drums = hilarious!

The next day we found a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant in Busan to relieve our Mexican cravings. The food was amazing.

At the Mexican restaurant you could write something on a sticky note and place it on the wall. Family Guy fans will appreciate this find.

We saw this on the way out and Katie and I were able to translate all of it except for the word 'casar.' I believe it's a reflexive verb: casarse... but I can't remember what it means. The rest of it goes like this: The tacos are delicious. Take it from someone who comes from the land of tacos - Migue

Korean couples often wear "couple shirts" (identical shirts) or sometimes couple shoes... but this was the first time we had seen a complete couples outfit. The shoes, jeans, hoodies, shirts, everything was identical. Strange!

Hyundae Beach - the most popular beach in all of South Korea. It was definitely much nicer and bigger than any beach we had seen so far, but nothing compared to beaches in North and South Carolina.

A sand art contest was being held on Hyundae Beach

A buck-toothed fish at the Busan aquarium

There was a tunnel underneath a tank full of sharks, sting rays, turtles, etc.

Lots of sharks!

Bonus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtJNCmiH01k Luckily, this isn't the kind of teaching videos we use at our school; although, what we have isn't too much better! This is a video from the public school system in Seoul where Gerard taught last year. There are several other humorous videos. I'll post new links every now and then.

Goodbye for now.

Comments are appreciated!!!