Family Vacation

Ok, so , I am looking at a month and a half now and things have kind of slowed down. In a good way. I am getting used to the job and everything it entails, feeling confident in the classroom, and not having panic attacks every day in the morning. So there's that. It was really nice to get paid, too. Now I'm working on a balance between having fun and saving money.

It has really started to feel like home. I eat really well every day, excercise, pretty much like the job, have some friends, etc. One thing that really helped it feel like home was I went on vacation outside of Seoul last weekend and when I came back I felt for the first time that it would be nice to "sleep in my own bed." Weird how quickly that happens.

So, I went on a family vacation with my school's director (principal) and his wife and two kids, plus two of my co-workers, to a place called Gyeongju, which is considered maybe the most historic site in all of South Korea. It was the capital of the country around the 7th century AD, during the Silla Dynasty (pronounced She-la, but i call it the Silly Dynasty) before Japan messed everything up in the Seven Year War.

I am ultimately glad I went-- it was relaxing and I learned a lot. I was originally skeptical about going on vacation for 2 and a half days with my boss and his family, and I thought I was going to miss Ryan's play, but it all worked out in the end.

We left Friday morning (we had off due to Korean Memorial day) at 7am andgot there around 1pm. We went to the Gyeongju National Museum first.. if my parents ever took me to a museum for vacation when I was 7 years old I would have cried all day.. but the kids were okay. And the place was packed. I mean, everyone loves this place and its not what I would consider "fun" the way I would an amusement park or a beach. Anyway, it was fun for me just to see how excited people here are by their own history.

Tina and me, by the Divine Bell of King Seongdeong.

<-- Cheomseongdae; one of the oldest astronomical observatories in East Asia.

Don't know what else to say about the trip.. It was kind of wholesome, I guess. It was nice to spend time with Becky and Tina and kind of bond in the sense that none of us were actually part of the family.. Becky only got here a month before I did. At least Tina spoke Korean. We didn't know what was going on the whole time-- just went where we were led.

We ate incredibly well. It's been so long since I have regularly eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. The hotel rooms were a surprise, I must say. I'm used to furnished bedrooms, i guess.. like a BED, dresser with a bible in it, lamp, etc. Our room had literally nothing in it, just a couple of mats and blankets and pillows stuffed in the closet.

It was definitley the first time I had curry for breakfast.

My favorite part of the trip was Bulguksa Temple, which is one of the largest Buddhist compounds in South Korea (full of Silly Monks). I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Temple Guards ala Legends of the Hidden Temple.

Stairway to Heaven.

Becky is very popular with the young girls.















Photos by Tina J. Han.

Becky and I are trying to figure out if our cameras have the function displayed by these
two pictures..































Weather has been great here and I don't have much to worry about other than getting myself to work and having fun when i can. I finally got a tv so i can at least lie around at night and watch some Korean programming. There are some movies in English though. I have seen Harry Potter 5, Batman Begins, Wild Things, Lakers/Celtics Game 3, and a whole lot of Law & Order SVU and CSI.


Among the three little pizza places around my neighborhood: Pizza Come, Pizza School and Pizza Cop, I think Pizza School is the best pizza and is also the cheapest at 5,ooo won (roughly 5 bucks.)
I'm tired and scattered so i am going to leave you with some pictures and go to bed. This blog post kind of sucks but at least you've got lots of photos. For way more photos, please visit my myspace page. Ask me for directions.






























Beach of the East Sea (Sea of Japan.)

Thats Tina.










Hands of Sangsaeng.
Not sure of the historical meaning but cool, nonetheless.























I mean really cool.




































Sky and Kate, Mr. Lee's beautiful kids. It's rare to see Sky walking anywhere.. he runs and runs and runs until he eventually collapses and can't move. They are both my friends.
This picture was up in the mountains outside the shrine with the really big buddha statue inside. Like huge. I wasn't allowed to take any pictures though. Sorry, Mom.

Thanks for reading , folks.

Goodnight.