To: Me.....From: Me :)

Hello and HAPPY day from Tongyeong!!

I'm super excited today because I bought myself a little treat!! I decided it was time to get an iPod Touch, so today, Kami and I went on the hunt for one! After looking in all (the ones we know anyways) electronic stores in Tongyeong, we took a 30 minute bus ride to a nearby island to hunt there. Geoje Island is the second largest island off of Korea and thankful for us, there is a bridge from Tongyeong to Geoje! The town there is slightly larger than Tongyeong, so they have better shopping selection. There was a big shopping mall and Home Plus within walking distance of the bus station, so it was fantastic! Here are some pics of the view between the bus station and the shopping center!

There was somewhat of a 'flags of the countries' walkway, so we had fun looking at all the different flags.

Here's the US flag...represent!!

And here is the information about the US...look closely...just a few typos. ha.

At first I was so excited because I thought they had a Texas flag, but then I remember ours has more blue. Who knew that Chile's flag was like this?!? Not me!

Anywho, after looking at an electronics store, we headed to HomePlus to check out their selection. They ended up having what I wanted, so I bought my new iPod there! Afterwards, we headed to the local Starbucks (all in the same building!!!) to celebrate!

I also picked up some groceries that we don't have available here in Tongyeong and then we ate at Pizza Hut! Yummy!! Geoje was great for the couple of hours we were there. We're looking forward to going back when we have more time and when it's a little warmer out.

That's all for today...just had to share my exciting news! I hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all! :)

And a little reminder: I am now only 14 hours ahead of Texas time since SoKor doesn't participate in Daylight Savings Time. So if you wanna call, just remember I'm now 14 hours ahead!

I bowed to an American yesterday.

It's true. This culture is starting to grow on me. Yesterday Kami and I went to Masan (a town about an hour away) for a short day trip and we met a guy from California that is a teacher there. I was on the phone when Kami started talking to him, so when she was like "Sara, this is Keith," I totally bowed as I said hello. I didn't even think about it...I'm just so used to bowing all the time. It's the Korean way. Ha. Waving is for Westerners...so bowing it is!

This bowing incident has led me to think about sharing some cultural differences that we've learned to get used to in our time here. In just a couple of days, it's been four months since we left the land of familiar and entered the land of mystery. I feel like every day I'm still learning some sort of difference between America and South Korea, and I love it. That's what it's all about!

The first thing I think about when I think about getting used to a cultural difference is the showers....or lack there of. I had heard about this before I came here (thanks Jocelyn) but I had no idea until I really experienced it. As you can see from the picture below, the 'shower' consists of just a shower hose in the open bathroom. So essentially your bathroom becomes your shower. You have to kind of watch out for things like toilet paper...don't wanna get that wet. Anyways, after a few times, it is easy now, but it did take a little getting used to. (Note: If you're coming to SoKor, some of the new apartments have 'real showers', but in my experience, those are not available in studio apartments.)

Besides the shower, the most obvious difference is the language thing. Not just learning a new language, but also learning a new alphabet. I think I have the alphabet down, now it's just about knowing what I'm reading. Kami and I have been working on learning some Korean, more than just hello and thank you. It's quite fun and the people are so nice to teach us!

Another thing is getting used to taking your shoes off before you enter homes, some resturants, and some stores. It's really not a big deal to take them off, but I haven't quite mastered putting tennis shoes on without sitting down to untie and tie. If I know I'm going out to eat at a traditional place, I wear slip-ons so I can avoid the 'tennis shoe problem'.

Ok, those are just a few...the main ones anyways. I'll think of more to share with you soon! Hope everyone is well. Happy March! :)

Been a While!

Hello folks.

Sorry it's been a while. We haven't done any traveling since our winter holiday so I haven't taken too many pics in the last month. I think people were starting to question my existence, so I decided it was time for a little update. Once it gets a little warmer, we should start traveling more then I can post more often...hopefully!

Alright, here we go:

The foreign teachers of Tongyeong have take up a new hobby...ballin' on the local courts! We have gone the last two Saturdays and it's been quite fun. The first Saturday I took part in my first bball game. I wasn't good, but it was fun. Ha! Here are a couple of the folks, before the others showed up! Good times in Tongyeong!

In other foreign teacher news, we had a birthday celebration recently! Steve, who works at a rival hagwon, had a birthday and we had fun bowling and hanging out! Here is a picture of Steve and Lauren during the festivities!

The last week marked the end of the school year for the Korean children. They have a week off and then will start again. The children moving from 6th grade to middle school got to partake in a graduation ceremony...and since some of the kiddos I teach were graduating, I thought it'd be fun to attend the events. Three to be exact! Ha. So three ceremonies in Korean, but hey, it's the thought that counts right?!? The second of the three ceremonies included our bosses' son, Tony, so we were happy to be there for him. Here are a few pictures from that:

Here is the fam...you may recognize them from the New Year's post.

Kami and I with Tony, Ruby and Zinna (another one of our students) and her twin brothers in the background...so cute.

Ruby...the cutest girl on this side of the Pacific.

Me and Tony...so proud!
And then here is a random picture from work the other day...Jun and Steve...they're funny!

Ok, that is all for now. Have a great week! Much love!

Photos by Kami Webb

Here are the pictures from the past couple of weeks that I got from Kami. Enjoy!

This is the crew that went skiing at Muju Resort...it was so pretty there!

Kami and I FREEEZING at the top of the mountain!
This is at our boss's relatives' house. They had an old traditional style home that was pretty neat.

Ruby and I on the Lunar New Year. Ruby was soooo precious in her Hanbok.

The family that welcomed us for New Years. It was such a good experience.

Kami and I got to try on some Hanboks. They are awesome. I totally want one!

Kami and I with our boss lady! She's lots of fun!

Our infamous shot...we have to take it everywhere!

Celebrating the Lunar New Year

As I wrap up my four-day weekend, I can't help but reflect back on how great the weekend was. Kami and I had the opportunity to join our boss's family for a traditional Lunar New Year. It was incredible. The Lunar New Year is one of the two most important holidays in Korea, so we knew it was a big deal to be invited to join our boss and his family.

We left Sunday morning to head to Jinju, the hometown of my boss that is about 30 minutes from here. When we arrived to his mother's house, the women started cooking immediately. The actually New Year day was Monday, but they like to prepare the food the day before. Kami and I helped as we could, battering some fish and beef and putting together some other things I don't know the name of. After the cooking was finished, we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch that was equivalent to pot roast and potatoes. It was soooo yummy! Later, Kami and I went to see Madagascar 2 with the kiddos. It was dubbed in Korean, but we still thought it was quite funny...what we could understand anyways. That night, we had a great time playing a Korean game with the family...so much fun. Everyone's competitive sides came out and that was funny to see!

Now Monday morning was quite interesting. The day started early...about 6:30...and by the time we got up, the older women were already in the kitchen, preparing all the food. For the Lunar New Year, Koreans have what we would call a memorial service. It's where they remember their relatives that have passed away. All the men got together to do some talking and bowing. It was neat to watch. After that, we went to the grave sites of the relatives and they did a bow to them and sprinkled Soju (Korean liquor) on their graves. Then, we went to another relatives house and had some lunch. It was quite a cultural day. There is definitely nothing that compares to this in the US. I mean, the only tradition I have for New Years is eating some black-eyed peas! Before we left, Kami and I got to put on a hangok, the traditional Korean dress. I really liked it...makes me want to get one! Ha. We'll see about that!

Overall, the weekend was quite amazing and such a good cultural experience. Kami and I are quite blessed to have bosses that invite us to partake in these sort of things. It's all about taking in the culture and gaining an appreciation for things. I definitely enjoyed the weekend. I didn't take many pictures, but here are the few I did take. I'll post more when Kami shares with me!

This is a huge wardrobe that our boss's mom had. It's really amazing. It's a traditional Korean thing...the decorations are all made from seashells. You can't even imagine how pretty it was.

Here is Sara (the director's wife) and her daughter Ruby...they are so precious! They are both wearing tradition Hanboks and look so cute!

Here is Sara working in the kitchen preparing the food for the day.

Our bosses' children, Tony and Ruby. They're such good kids.

That's all I have for now. Back to work tomorrow!