This picture is for mimmy... These are all from a recent hiking trip.

Sorry its been a while, things have been really up in the air, but I did get a camera, and facebook... I'm slowly entering the digital age.

Posting from Patrick

Well, you know what it means when I make a post. No pictures. In academic news, I am now the main writing teacher at my school as well as science. Don't ask how, I think it involved a dartboard. I also teach one grammar class, so I actually have to learn stuff for this now. I hear things are good back home. Mom's on a cruise, Mimmy's getting real internet, and the Tinn Brother's have the manliest grill ever. Shan got a letter from Granny Tripp, the first piece of mail we've gotten so far. It was great to hear about the kids growing up.

Same old stuff here. Shan is looking into taking a vacation to Thailand with some coworkers. We don't work for the same school so our schedules are different. And we're looking into coming back via the Trans-siberian railroad. We were thinking about going through India that way, but its one or the other, and I think I'll be ready to head straight in the homeward direction. Plus I'll really be ready to see western stuff like Europe and home. Anyway, we found out you can get on a train in China, so I think we're going to start looking for that.

I think the rainy season is supposed to start here pretty soon. It should be interesting, because I've never lived in a place that has a monsoon season. Not that I'll like it, but it will be different.

By the way, last weekend, we had some Canadian friends visit North Korea. I didn't know you could do that, but they took a bus up, hiked around and saw a circus, now they're back and they're ok.

Sorry its been so long since we've written, there really hasn't been much going on. Every couple of weeks my school decides to revamp its curriculum, so I'm trying to adjust constantly. Anyway, I'll write more later.

Daegu Trip and Buddha festival

hey everyone!
hope things are good at home. everything here is good. we haven't hit the rainy season yet (rainy season= about a month of rain beginning in late June) and things have finally warmed up to a truly comfortable temperature. What's more is that its Buddha's Birthday!
So since the last update we've been to Daegu and back and celebrated the birth of the enlightened one.
Eunjin and her family are doing well for those of you who had the pleasure to meet her last year. We visited my old campus and hiked around for awhile on sunday, then eunjin's family took us to a mountain on the edge of the district for a cable car ride and a lovely dinner of well- being food (pronounced welbing).
The next weekend:
We celebrated Buddha's birthday with a few other teachers from a near by area and stayed downtown enjoying the festivities all day on sunday. And since Buddha's actual birthday wasn't until today (the 24th) we had an opportunity to celebrate again last night at our favorite oasis just down the street.
Its been an eventful couple of weeks - patrick and i are looking forward to resting up this weekend and enjoying a lack of preplanned activities.

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Beautiful Eunjin!!

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These are the guardians of Daegu. They scare away evil spirits.

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Buddha Festival

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the shared zen of creating pottery

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"look ferocious patrick"

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buddha loves lanterns

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doors on the temple

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buddha blesses the tourists and devout alike

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guard dog

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lantern parade

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temple by night

finally!! new pictures

hey everyone,
so.... we finally got our own internet in our room. no more crouching by the window just to get a signal. we had our second round of monthly tests for the little kids this month. Overall their scantron skills are the most marked improvement I've seen since last month. Everything else seemed about the same. The first graders forgot how to apply almost everything they learned, and the older kids for the most part had a cakewalk of a day.
Patrick has been on vacation all week due to middle school mid term exams. I'm not sure if this is going to develop into a quarterly thing or not - but it would be kinda cool.
we don't have much new to report except for updating pictures because its been so long.
i think since our last update we've been to a cherry blossom festival, a live music festival, and a new park near our neck of the woods. we stay fairly busy.
in other news, my friend Ted from Tullahoma is visiting his family here in Seoul this week. We hung out last night and we'll probably make that our game plan for the week. Its so strange to still know someone so far from home. It really is a small world.
enjoy the pictures. keep in touch.

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this is whats for dinner

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Omokyo park. As you can see, everything is getting really green now.

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He was singing "wild horses."

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full bloom

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cool fountain downtown

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these are our friends - the big headed underwear models. they live in our subway station.

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mountains of king crab

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fun times in the Co-Ex shopping mall.

Hey, I hope everyone is doing well. To all you east tennesseans, I hope no one was up around virginia tech a few days ago. The shooting is in the news here, because the guy was korean. I would like it if things like this didn't cue the racism, but as I've been explaining to some people around here, it always does.
In other news, last week was the first time I've ever been seriously lost here. (Or really anywhere for that matter, because I can usually ask directions or call someone and tell them where I think I am) neither of these things applied at the far north end of Seoul where I was supposed to be finding another school to help them for the day. Things are fine now though, and all I have to show for it is the biggest blisters on my feet ever.
This weekend, we should be going to EVERLAND, some kind of themepark somwhere is Seoul. I don't know much about it, but we're always up for a trip. And of course in a few weeks, we are going to visit Eunjin in Daegu, a few hours south of here. Some of you remember Eunjin, I'm sure.
Sorry no pictures, we should get the internet in our room tomorrow actually, then shan can do the voodoo picture uploading that I haven't learned yet. See you all later. Greenwell, if you see this, Happy birthday, sorry I'm not there to watch movies with you.
Patrick

exploring the boundaries of space and language

ok, so i've found a new internet network to pilfer so long as i sit this certain way near the window. this position though causing a slight crick in my neck, allowed me to upload some more photos of life here. we go on walks almost every sunday, weather permitting, to explore our area and find cool things. this weekend's endevor was in search of a new place to buy household goods instead of contributing to the department store feeding frenzy. Basically, shopping at the local 'homever' is like shopping at walmart the week before Christmas all the time.
so we wandered around and found Nambu market. a lucky strike in this upscale area!
this is one of those lovely places that goes from shoes to fish to brooms to toys in about 40 feet. i would say it extended narrowly like this for about 3 big city blocks.
we also found some signs of the emerging spring weather.



So far we've thoroughly explored about 8 or 9 square city blocks and we still keep finding new things. There's never ending construction and things seem to be created and demolished in the blink of an eye.

The rest of these pictures are pretty much other random sites we've encountered, but i couldn't fit them into any sort of logical or poetic sequence. enjoy!


wine corkers in hyundai department store


this is an etiquette bell in a bathroom stall.


this is patrick's favorite picture so far, ever


another picture of one of my classes --- too cute, little devils!