A View From Korea

Star Wars Coffee in Hongdae

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:48:00 +0000

What do you get when Starbucks, George Lucas and a plagiarist walk in to a bar… Star Wars Coffee!

Our contract in Seoul was coming to an end, so during our last two weeks we were purchasing items we wanted to take back home and seeing places we had not yet seen. I was searching online blogs and come across a blurb about Star Wars Coffee in Seoul. I love Star Wars and I love coffee so I figured this would be another fun weekend adventure.

The next Sunday Krista and took a trip to Hongdae 홍대 (Seoul) with our friends Ben and Sel. I had no idea where exactly this coffee shop was but I figured it couldn’t be too hard to find it. For those of you who have never been there, there are hundreds of small shops lining the main streets and hundreds more tucked inside alley ways, it was not going to be easy trying to find this place.

But.. GOOD NEWS! We stopped in at the Tourist Information Centre and asked about the coffee shop. The girl working there knew exactly where to go and pointed us in the right direction. Up the street, take a left, keep left down the alley instead of the main street and you’ll see it on your left. Lo and behold.. there it was!

We were first greeted by a menu sign with a cut-out of Darth Vader holding a stack of cups and C-3PO holding a paper cup of coffee. First up on the menu was Darth Vader’s Espresso for 2000 won (1000won=$0.87USD). R2-D2 Espresso Macchiato W3000. Chewbacca Cappuccino W2500. C-3PO Americano W2000. Yoda Café Mocha W3000. Yoda Caramel Mocha W3000 and a Darth Maul Espresso Con Panna for W3000. See any spelling errors on the board?

At the front of shop was a small counter with a coffee grinder and espresso machines. On the one side sat a 24 inch flat panel monitor and a Darth Vader helmet on the corner. The rest of the shop was filled with collectibles of all kinds. There were Nintendo figurines like Mario and Luigi. There were Spiderman, Batman, GI Joe and of course Star Wars too. At the back of the shop there was a rack misc clothing.

If Krista said no, I’d let Darth Maul iron my clothing for sure.

Some of the more interesting items were the paintings near the front of the shop. There were spoofs of the Simpsons, Guinness Beer and even Van Gough.

I asked about getting a Star Wars Coffee t-shirt but they said they were all out for the year. I showed my dismay and mentioned that we wanted to purchase 4 t-shirts. He thought about it for a minute and decided to bring a few more in for us and we could pick them up next week.

Earlier I mentioned the Darth Vader helmet on the corner of the front counter.. well what fan could resist trying on the helmet and having a light sabre dual? So that’s exactly what Ben and I did.

Oooh right the coffee..! Yeah the it was pretty good too. The table, chairs and umbrella across the alley was what made it most enjoyable. All in all, it was a fun afternoon exploring Hongdae with Ben and Sel.

If you’re in the Hongdae area, stop by and enjoy Darth Vader’s Espresso or Storm Trooper’s Official Latte. And remember.. May the froth be with you!

We’re in Canada!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 20:23:00 +0000

Ok so we’ve been in Canada for quite sometime now, this post has been a long time coming. We departed from Seoul on September 3rd for Chicago to attend a friend’s wedding, it was an awesome wedding too! On the 6th I flew home to Regina to start a new job. Krista flew to Minnesota to spend time with family and friends for a month and a half.

Before we left Korea, Krista’s immigration paperwork was approved to land in Canada and become a permanent resident. On October 12th she crossed the border and received the final stamp of approval! Congratulations to Canada’s newest Permanent Resident! (also a shout out to Josh, Matt and Pete, we’ve all imported an American girl )

Things have been great in Canada so far, we’ve got a little bit of snow but the temperature has been decent. We have only been home a little while but we greatly miss our friends and students in Seoul. There are plenty of blog posts I need to catch up on, I think the stories and photos will be a wonderful reminder of the amazing year we had overseas.

Stay tuned!

East Coast – Jeong Dong Jin 정동진

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:44:00 +0000

Krista and I have been wanting to get out of the big city for awhile and see the sunrise in Korea. Our friend Phil told us about a place called Jeong Dong Jin which is on the east coast of South Korea in Gangwon province. He wanted to see this place for himself so he offered us a chance to go with him and his daughter.

We left on Friday night at 1130pm, we stopped at a few rest stops and arrived at the beach at 4am. Sunrise was set for 5:10am so we had a chance to get some rest in the car. When we awoke we found a nice spot in the sand to put down our mats and set up our cameras.

Jeong-Dong-Jin Station is the world’s closest station to sea shore. Once you leave the station you can see the ocean. After some scenes of a famous TV drama were shot there, it became famous and is visited by a lot of tourists. Everyday a large number of people get out of the train at dawn to see its famous sunrise.

Although it was too cloudy to see the full sunrise, we did catch glimpses of the sun as it rose higher on the horizon. Either way, it was great to get out of Seoul.

A view from the beach of the Sun Cruise Resort

Can you see the people?

Phil setting up his camera

Krista and NaHyun

NaHyun picking shells

Other people also waiting for the sunrise

soon, very soon is the big day, duh duh da da

Here comes the sun!

And Phil said its okay!

Nothing like watching the sun rise where ever you may be.

The train tracks also make a great photo opp!

Jeongdongjin station

Couple shot!

Good morning Phil!

Millennium Hourglass, aka sand clock. The Hourglass is made of stainless steel. Sand began trickling through it on the first of January, 2000, marking the time to the beginning of the new millennium on the first of January, 2001. The symbols around the clock are the Chinese zodiac signs.

A view from the Sun Cruise Resort looking back on the beach

He’s got the whole world in his hands!

Krista and NaHyun at Sun Cruise Resort

The Statue Park at Sun Cruise Resort

I promise, the Korean symbol for promise

Its so fun to take a picture with a nude statue

Sun Cruise Resort

More statues

We enjoyed our cruise!

We had a great weekend with Phil and NaHyun. Our weekend didn’t stop there, we visited a Korean warship, a North Korean submarine and a beautiful temple set in the mountains that may be the site for the 2018 Olympics, well if Korea wins the bid that is.

We are very blessed to have such good friends here, and many thanks to Phil for taking us on such a great trip!

More pictures to come…..

Street Food – Hoddeok

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 02:12:00 +0000

Street food. It's everywhere. No matter the area or the back street you take, there it is... calling your name. Street food is an accentuated drive-thru, or walk-thru rather, with the ambiance of a home cooked meal.

Buying food from a street vendor is one of the best and most convenient places to get a quick snack or the midnight munchies after a night out. The foods they serve are usually good to eat while standing or wrapped to go (finger foods / food on a stick, or even in a cup). Some vendors have cheap chairs or benches to sit on while eating. Most of the vendors have carts on wheels and some of the better ones even have tarps up so that you can eat without standing in the rain. Some of the carts have natural gas tanks for the grills as well as generators for lights and other utilities.

Ho-ddeok or Ho-tteok 호떡 is a variety of filled Korean pancake, and is a popular street food of Korea. It is usually eaten during the winter season. Normally it sells for around 500 won ($0.50). This is another one of those snacks that isn’t good for you, but tastes so good. But really, what kind of street snack is good for you anyway? In December a little shop opened up that sell these wonderful and delicious snacks. I figure if I stay away from them during the week and I can feel good about getting one on the weekends.

The dough for ho-ddeok is made from wheat flour, water, milk, sugar, and yeast. The dough is allowed to rise for several hours. Handful-sized balls of this stiff dough are filled with a sweet mixture, which may contain brown sugar, honey, chopped peanuts, and/or cinnamon. The filled dough is then placed on a greased griddle, and pressed flat into a large circle with a special tool with a stainless steel circle and wooden handle as it cooks.

The last time we went to our local hoddeok shack the lady had just opened and was just about to start making the hoddeok. Using my limited Korean I told her we’d come back in 10 minutes (십 분 = ship boon). She smiled / laughed and nodded. When we returned there was another couple there and I overheard her call us friends in Korean (친구 = chin-gu), I think she likes us!

Jana and Krista enjoying a fresh hoddeok

Here is a short clip of it being prepared (click here if you’re viewing from email).

Happy Birthday Krista and Dano!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Happy Birthday Krista and Danielle!!

I just want to let everyone know that on this day, February 17th 19XX two blonde little girls were born.

I guess Krista is about 15hrs older than she really is or wants to be, but when we return to North America she will gain those precious youth hours back (She’ll take as many hours as she can get ;)

Please wish these too young ladies a very happy birthday. I hope you both have a wonderful day!

Krista and Danielle on their birthday 2009

Krista and Danielle in Minneapolis summer 2009

Jon, Krista, Danielle and Todd

Krista, Momma and Danielle Feb 2009

Krista prepared a special birthday video for just for you Dano, with the help of her students at iSponge English, take a look! (If you’re viewing from email, click here to view the YouTube video)

Happy Korean New Year (Seollal)

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:55:00 +0000

Seollal 설날 or Chinese/Lunar New Year as it is commonly referred to in English speaking countries is Korea’s biggest and most important holiday. Seollal is a three day holiday beginning one day before and ending one day after the 1st day of the Lunar Calendar.

Early in the morning on Seollal, families observe a traditional ritual called charye. They also offer up "tteokguk" (rice-cake soup), instead of rice and soup, for the deceased ancestors. After charye, younger members of the family make a deep bow to their grandparents, parents and other elders, who in return, usually give a gift of money. During the bow they normally wish each other well for the New Year.

On this day people like to play various kinds of traditional games, such as yut (a board game where four sticks are thrown instead of dice), neolttwigi (see-sawing), yeonnaligi (kite flying), and tuho (throwing sticks into a barrel). These days, people can play them at folk villages or amusement parks.

This year it falls on Sunday February 14th which makes the first day of this holiday fall on a Saturday which is already day off for us anyway. This time we really only get Monday off. In 2008 we had three weekdays off plus the weekend so we spent the holiday in Beijing which was fantastic!

On Friday we kept with tradition and made mandu soup with the kindergarteners.

In the bowl there is the mandu stuffing - kimchi, noodles, salt, pepper, some beef and pork and veggies.

Place a spoonful of stuffing onto the Mandu paper, wet the edges with a little water and fold together.

Hye Min finished making two mandu!

Kelly working on her second.

Chris and Hye Min waiting to start

Left – Right: Seung Uk, Christopher, Kelly, David and Alex

Our director also spent time with the students showing them how to properly bow.

Danny, Albert, Seung Uk and David

Kelly and Hye Min

Hye Min, Kelly and our director

Chris, Christopher and Alex

During major holidays in Korea people usually by gift sets of just about anything imaginable to give to their family and friends. This can include spam gift sets which we received for Chuseok during our first teaching contract.

This year Krista received a Clarins Beauty gift set and I received a LAB Series for men gift set. Our director said she could have gotten food gifts instead, but she thought beauty was more important…!

Jon’s gift set with toiletry bag

Krista’s gift set

I also received a DAKS London set of 3 dress socks from one of my students.

I also received a Dettol Gift Set, looks like we won’t be running out of soap anytime soon. Do you think this gift means I smell funny?

For Christmas, Krista received a beauty mask set from our director

I received a lotion and toner set.

I wonder what kind of gifts we’ll receive for Teacher’s Day this year ;)

Here is a video of the students learning the traditions of bowing and making mandu. (Click here if you're viewing through email)

My Favourite TV Ads in Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:05:00 +0000

The first year we spent in Korea we never bothered to get cable TV, just internet. This time around we figured it would be a good idea to have some form of entertainment while we at home in the evening. We managed to get internet and a digital cable box with 180+ channels for about $35/mo, great price!

One of our favourite channels is OCN which plays many different American movies with Korean subtitles. We get many other movie channels as well as CNN, BBC, Discovery Channel, National Geographic and Fox Life. We manage to catch a lot of different sitcoms / dramas that air a bit later here than at home. We watch CSI, House, Criminal Minds, How I Met Your Mother (known as “I Love Friends in Korea”), The Mentalist and so on. A lot of the time we just download the show and play them on the TV with a USB stick because we’re not very good at reading the tv guide, or aren’t at home. I guess you could say it’s our own PVR.

One thing I do like about Korean broadcasting regulations is their TV ad rules. There are not many commercials during a show, instead they play about 10 minutes of straight commercials before a show starts and when it ends. It’s kind of nice actually, to be able to watch an entire show with minimal interruptions and then at the end have a 10 minute bathroom break before the next one starts!

Anyway, now on to what this post is really about – TV Ads. I’ll admit I can’t stand too many Korean Ads on TV. Most of my annoyance comes from not being able to understand them (obviously). Even when you think you know what the ad is about, it’s about something completely different. Another thing that gets me is the tempo of the ads, a lot are 15 second spots and they are speaking outrageously fast! Again, I will have to attribute most of my annoyances to my lack of understanding the Korean language, but I digress.

And the part you have all been waiting for… the video!

I’m not exactly sure what the commercials are about, but for whatever reason these ads are catchy and I love ‘em.

Won Cashing Version 1 (click here if you’re viewing from email)

Won Cashing Version 2 (click here if you’re viewing from email)

I welcome comments via the blog to anyone who wants to share their opinion of what the commercial is about!

Lunch is.. um, served…

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:38:00 +0000

12:10pm, the bell rings and it is now lunch time. The kindergarten portion of the day is half over and it’s time to refuel for the rest of the afternoon.

Everyday at lunch we have to eat with the kids in the classroom. Basically we’re babysitters telling them to eat all their food and to stop making a mess on the table and themselves. Rice is sticky, it sticks to everything including their clothes and even their hair, and yes it happens more often than you think. Once the kids are finished lunch they have to wash their hands and brush their teeth and then it is playtime (aka break time for teachers).

We’ve taken a few pictures to show everyone what we eat on a daily basis. But first, a little background knowledge. Korean food is base upon rice, noodles, vegetables, tofu and meats. Traditionally, Korean cuisine are most known for the number of side dishes that accompany short-grain rice.

Our meals are served in box like dishes that have 4 separate sections. The largest section is for rice, the main component of the meal, the other three are for side dishes. The food here does not get mixed on top of one big plate like it generally would at home. Also, there is always a soup of some kind that is served up as well. Let’s take a look…

1. Rice 2. Jelly cubes and zucchini 3. Chicken, potato & carrots 4. Jelly cube, quail eggs 5. Kimchi radish 6. Bean sprouts 7. Egg drop soup

The rice and the bean sprouts are good, as well as the quail eggs. Surprisingly, the chicken and potatoes were decent that day also. We don’t particularly care for the kimchi radish (even though we like kimchi) so we just leave it.

1. Rice 2. Kimchi 3. Rotini noodles and cocktail wieners 4. Sesame leaf covered in think red pepper paste 5. Bok Choi / Chinese cabbage that was pickled (we think) 6. Meat patty of some kind 7. Cabbage soup

The plain rice is ok, the kimchi this day was not good. Of the regular types, baechu kimchi there is “old or new” kimchi. New is recently made and has not been fermented as long. Old kimchi is MUCH better, and yes we can tell the difference. I don’t touch new kimchi, it smells and tastes funny (That may sound like an odd statement considering kimchi itself has a distinctive smell that lingers in your fridge and home). The noodles were “so-so” (that is a common phrase here) and the cocktail wieners were cold. I should also point out that most people call hotdogs, sausages, and other similar meats all sausage, or as Koreans pronounce it – sausagey. The meat patties again are so-so, but I like meat so I finished them off, with the a nice dollop of ketchup. The soup was pretty good and as for the Chinese cabbage, I didn’t try it (and yes, I do eat quite a bit of veggies otherwise here)

1. Rice 2. Kimchi’d radish cubes 3. Small pieces of beef 4. Pickled cucumber (tastes nothing like a real pickle) 5. Squid and some veggies in a light red pepper sauce 6. Some kind of shellfish in a think salt red pepper paste 7. Seaweed Soup

Plan rice again.. I don’t care much for the kimchi’d radish cubes. The meat was mediocre, but the squid was delicious as always! The pickled cucumber was decent enough to eat. The shellfish was too slimy and the sauce/paste was too salty. The seaweed soup is hit and miss, sometimes it tastes too much like the ocean, other times it is a good filler for the soup and adds texture.

1. Rice 2. Pork 3. Lettuce leaves with red pepper sauce 4. Kimchi 5. Noodles 6. Black beans 7. Cabbage soup

Surprisingly the lunch this day was not bad, minus the lettuce leaves. Krista loves the black beans! The soup was spicy and warmed us up that cold afternoon.

1. Rice 2. Battered and fried pork 3. Fish with skin and bones 4. Zucchini 5. Daikon Kimchi (made from a root) 6. Spinich 7. Light potato soup

The battered pork was good, but then again, anything battered tastes good. I hate the fish. I’m not a fan of pulling of the skin and picking out the bones to try and get the fish, which isn’t always tasty, yuck. Krista is getting much better with her chopstick skills and ate both of our fish, sans bones. The zucchini and daikon kimchi are good and so was the soup.

Each student has a metal dish like this. Rice on the left, soup on the right and side dishes at the top. Usually their lunch is slightly different than hours. Sometimes we have better side dishes, sometimes they do. Depending on how hungry the kids are, there can be extra dishes on the cart for us teachers to grab :)

Since our school is fairly new, we only have 9 morning kindergarten students in 3 classes. Instead of hiring someone to cook at the school, lunches are catered and delivered each day. Our lunches come in the black boxes and the students dishes are shown in the picture above. Each student brings a lunch box/tray from home each day. The rice comes in a small cooler that keeps it warm, although I see our lunch boxes get nuked in the microwave each day, with the tinfoil in it!

As you can see for yourself, these lunches are not very exciting. I try to fill up on rice and soup when I consider the side dishes to be “craptacular”. On a more positive note, we eat for free..yay!

In case you’re wondering what it is really like eating lunch with these students, take a look at this video.. priceless!

(click here if you’re viewing from email)

Street Food in Karon Beach, Phuket, Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:11:00 +0000

I think everyone knows how much I love street food in Korea. It’s usually pretty good, convenient and cheap. There’s plenty of street food vendors in Phuket as well. One of our favorite (but definitely not the healthiest thing for you) is the Banana Pancake! I know there is a lot of hype on the internet about these, some don’t.. blah blah blah. I think they make a good dessert!

They sell for about 25-35baht each ($1US=33baht) for a basic banana pancake and one topping. If you want one with Nutella they are 5 baht more.

For a quick snack that costs about $1, it’s decently good, not the healthiest - but then again, it doesn’t matter when you’re on vacation (or so we tell ourselves).

Just like in Korea, they also have their meet vendors on the streets selling fast and cheap food.

I ordered a chicken kabob that was delicious! It was marinated in a Thai Chili and lime marinade then grilled. Even the smoky grill smelt good!

Here’s a short video on the banana pancake guy showing off his mad skillz (well, he was fast anyway). Click here if you’re viewing in an email.

Stay tuned to see what we eat for lunch at the school!

Diving in Phuket – Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:16:00 +0000

Here are the last of our scuba diving pictures! These are from the 6th and 7th dive, our comfortability in the water came back. I think these are some of our better underwater photos. We hope you enjoy them!

Blue Sea Anemone

Giant Sea Fan

Starry Puffer fish

Coral

Soft Coral

Anemone

Sea cucumber

Anemone and Nemo

Zebra Lion Fish

Gold-Striped Fusilier

Giant Moray

Anemone

That’s all! Unless we find a place to dive during our summer vacation! :)

Diving in Phuket – Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:23:00 +0000

Below are the maps for the other 5 dive sites we visited. We did one site twice on our last day to make a total of 7 dives.

Krista equalizing as she descends

Sea Anemone / polyp up close on the reef

Nemo (Clownfish) living within an anemone. One of the best things about diving in Thailand for us was the soft coral and sea anemones. While we were diving in Hawaii there were plenty of hard coral in the area but seeing soft coral here was amazing.

Giant Sea Fan

Giant Sea Fan close up

Kuhls Stingrays live on vast sand flats by day and are often buried in the sand.

Can you spot the octopus?

Puffer fish

Sea Urchin

Krista’s favourite, sponge star fish

Leopard Shark. An unmistakable shark, frequently encountered in coral reefs and lagoons. Its caudal fin is almost as long as its body. These can grow to be 3m in length.

During the day the Leopard Shark is usually seen resting motionless on the bottom. During the night this nocturnal hunter swims around to find its prey of crustaceans, shelled invertebrates and small fishes. Most frequently seen shark at all dive sites in the Andaman Sea.

Bubble Anemone. Very common, but often unnoticed, because hidden in cracks on hard substrates. The tentacles are swollen at the tip.

Sea Cucumber on the sea floor with a bite taken out of it and a small eel peering out from underneath.

Krista hangin’ out during our safety stop at 5m/15ft.

Here is a video of various short clips from our 7 dives. (If you’re viewing from email, click here to see the video)

Scuba Diving in Phuket – King Cruiser Wreck

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:19:00 +0000

Our decision on where to stay in Thailand was based on the best / most convenient place to scuba dive. After searching the internet for a while we decided to go with a 2 day / 1 night scuba trip. We spent 2 days aboard the Gretta operated by Calypso Dive Centre (we booked through Dive Travel Asia who then booked us with a company charted the boat for this trip)

We were picked up from our guest house around 8am and then were driven to Chalong Pier where the waters were littered with scuba boats, fishing boats, speed boats, and every other kind of tourist trip that required a boat.

We arrived at the first dive site where we were briefed and in the water by noon for dive #1 at King Cruiser Wreck. There were quite a few people on the boat, our dive group consisted of Krista and I, another young couple and our dive guide.

This was our first time in almost a year so we were a little nervous about descending to the wreck. The average depth of the wreck for things to see is about 20m/65ft. I had a bit of congestion 2 days prior to the dive due to the hot weather during the day and the A/C overnight so I was worried about my ears not equalizing. Unfortunately Krista was unable to descend and make this first dive. She had problems equalizing and after a while of trying she decided to sit this one out. Although I made the dive, it took a while to descend to the wreck and I used up quite a bit of air doing so. That being said, this was a fairly short dive. The couple we were diving with were very understanding as their dive was cut short due to these problems as well.

We took hundreds of pictures and some video. Below are some of the noteworthy from the first dive.

Soft Coral

Chromodoris Annulata or Nudibranch. This large nudibranch is mostly found crawling in pairs. Each animal alternately raises and lowers its head as it crawls. It feeds on sponges.

Knotted Fan Coral. The colonies are fan-shaped with a thick main stem, dividing in many sub-branches. The polyps are distributed over the entire surface. Coloration is variable, mainly deep red with white polyps. Grows on slopes and drop-offs, also on deeper reef terraces. Feeds on micro plankton.

Toilets aboard the King Cruiser

School of fish

Lionfish or scorpion fish. One of the most beautiful reef inhabitants, frequently seen singly or in small groups. Lion fish have a warning coloration of red and white, very long dorsal fin spines and greatly enlarged pectoral fins, often reaching past the anal fin. They are hunt small fish.

Their dorsal fins are venomous that are used only for defence. Lionfish are predators but do not use their fins to capture prey. If a human is envenomed, that person will experience extreme pain, and possibly headaches, vomiting, and breathing difficulties. Lionfish are one of the many reasons divers should never touch anything!

Knotted Fan Coral

Sea Urchins are small circular organisms with spines that feed mostly on algae. Although their spines will not kill humans, they will inflict a lot pain and leave tiny barbs within one’s skin.

Although it was a short dive, it was nice to get back in the water with a tank of fresh compressed air ;)

Pictures and video of leopard sharks and jellyfish will be up soon!

Below is a description of the dive site from Dive Travel Asia.

The King Cruiser started life as a car/passenger ferry in Kobe, Japan, until the early 90’s when it was purchased by a Thai marine company who, intended to use it as a passenger ferry between Phuket and Koh Phi Phi. After only a few years in service, and on a glorious summers day, in flat seas, the King Cruiser struck Anemone reef, started taking on water and eventually sank some 25 kilometers from Phuket. On that fateful day in May 1997, the ferry was full on tourists and locals heading out to Koh Phi Phi, but thankfully there were enough available boats in the area to be able to rescue all five hundred people on board. Many people ask what happened? and there are many theories, including, it was an insurance job, the captain was drunk, and my favourite. That the captains daughter was driving the boat while her father slept, whatever happened the captain of the boat remains in a local prison to this day, but thanks to this man, Phuket gained a world class wreck dive.

The King Cruiser sits upright on a sandy bottom, depths range from 32 meters at her propellers to around 14 meters by the wheel house. Over the last eight years the wreck has been deteriorating quite quickly, and it is now possible to penetrate the wreck. What hasn’t been deteriorating is the amount of marine life, the sheer abundance of fish is simply amazing. As divers descend down the mooring lines, huge schools of jacks, tunas and barracuda will greet them, thousands of yellow tail snappers move in and out of the wreckage, while giant puffer fish move slowly out of the sight. Divers must be careful here, as the surface of the wreck, in fact the entire wreck is covered in scorpion fish, ranging from 2cm to 49cm. Large groups of common lionfish can also be seen hunting the enormous swarms of glassfish.

Lucky divers might also catch a glimpse of the wreck resident black banded sea snake, that due to the easy pickings has grown to a huge size, with a head about 5cm in width, which compared to around 2cm for a normal adult, is quite large. Otter marine creatures that can be seen here include Hawksbill turtles and leopard sharks . There are even stories of divers occasionally seeing a Whale Shark cruising by, although by no means is this common.

The King Cruiser Wreck dive can be a challenging dive, with an average depth of over 20 meters, and currents that can be strong, we advise that divers of an intermediate level and above undertake this dive. Your div guide will lead you around pass the front of the ferry, where divers can still make out both hulls of this catamaran, and also the location of the wheel house and upper decks. As divers move along the side of the ship towards the stern, they will see the twisted wreckage on the rear decks, this has been caused by continued battering by the sea, coupled with the deterioration of the steel. Divers reaching the stern are greeted with an unusual site, a set of toilets, which are now home to some large lion fish and even an octopus lives under one of the toilet seats.

The King Cruiser Guide

Reef Type
Wreck dive

Depth Range
14 - 32 meters

Visibility
5 - 20 meters

Currents
Moderate to Strong

Water Temperature
26-30°C

Distance from Phuket
25km East

Experience level
Intermediate to Advanced

Diving Season
Year round

Korea 2010: Lacking Time-Off

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:22:00 +0000

I know Christmas has just past, but picture Christmas 2010. It’s Christmas Eve, Friday December 24th and you’re with family and/or friends sipping on a cup of hot chocolate or egg nog and spiced rum, mm mmm mmm. But why does this Christmas Eve feel so wonderful? Well yes, you could argue it is because you are with your loved ones, but let’s be honest, it has a lot to do with not having to be at work! Unless you’ve booked holidays over Christmas, you most likely have the 24th off in lieu of Christmas Day.

Canada and the US are great when it comes employees being paid time and a half on statutory holidays and giving a day in lieu of a holiday that falls on a weekend. We all love long weekends and about once a month we get one whether or not the holiday falls on a weekend.

Below is a list of holidays that fall on a weekend in Korea for 2010:

February 13 – Lunar New Year

February 14 – Lunar New Year

February 15 – Lunar New Year - Lunar New Year is a 3 day holiday in many Asian countries and this year two of three days fall on a weekend. So for one of the biggest holidays of the year, it’s only a 3 day weekend.

(Also called "Seol(설)" or "Gujeong(구정, 舊正)". The first day of the lunar Korean calendar. It is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays, and is considered a more important holiday than the solar New Year's Day)

June 6 – Memorial Day - This holiday falls on a Sunday, a long weekend lost.

(The day commemorates men and women who died while in military service or independence movement. It was originated from the traditional customs of Mangzhong, one of the 24 solar terms. On this day, national commemorating ceremony is held in National Cemetery)

August 15 – Liberation Day – This day falls on a Sunday, another long weekend lost.

(The day celebrates national liberation from Japan in 1945. On this day, Emperor Shōwa announced surrender and World War II was ended. On the same day of 1948, the government of the Republic of Korea was established. The word "Gwangbok" means "restoration of light")

September 21 – Chuseok

September 22 – Chuseok

September 23 – Chuseok –This 3 day holiday actually falls in the middle of the week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We can’t complain too much because we still get the time off, but it would be fantastic to have either the Monday or Friday off to make it a really great holiday! We may not get this holiday anyway as our contract here is up at the end of August. We may however extend for one month, we’ll keep you updated as to the status of our vacation. Only time will tell!

(Chuseok is the biggest holiday of the year next to Lunar New Year. Also called "Han-gawi (한가위)". Korean traditional Harvest Festival. With Seollal, it is one of the most important Korean traditional holidays. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food)

October 3 – National Foundation Day – This holiday also falls on a Sunday and so it is lost.

(The day celebrates the foundation of Gojoseon, the first state of Korean nation. According to Samguk Yusa, Dangun founded Gojoseon on the 3rd day of 10th lunar month, 2333 BCE. Today, South Koreans are celebrating their national foundation on October 3 in solar calendar, for convenience sake. "Gaecheonjeol" means "Heaven-opened Day")

On a more positive note, May 21 is Buddha’s birthday. Also called "Bucheonnim Osinnal (부처님 오신 날)" or "Sawol Chopail (사월 초파일,四月初八日). The birthday of the Gautama Buddha. In South Korea, Buddhism is the one of two major religions, with Christianity.

This is one of our favourite holidays in Korea. Lotus Lantern Festival also takes place during this time. Click here and here for links to our posts of the festival in 2008.

After teaching Korean children English as a second language, we really have an appreciation for teachers back at home. We don’t have regular national holidays and two months off in the summer. We teach at a private institute and receive 10 paid vacation days a year plus national holidays. We look forward to a long weekend each month to get away from the crazy children, but this year is a little tougher than others. So to all of you at home, enjoy your statutory holidays and days in lieu!

If you’re interested in more information on Korean holidays, click here for the information on Wikipedia. (All links and detailed information on the holidays above are from Wikipedia)

January 1		Solar New Year
February 13		Lunar New Year
February 14		Lunar New Year
February 15		Lunar New Year
March 1		Independence Movement Day
April 5		Arbor Day
May 5		Children's Day
May 21		Buddha's Birthday
June 6		Memorial Day
July 17		Constitution Day
August 15		Liberation Day
September 21		Chuseok
September 22		Chuseok
September 23		Chuseok
October 3		National Foundation Day
December 25		Christmas Day

Karon Beach, Phuket, Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:23:00 +0000

Day 2: Saturday December 26th, 2009

Hello sunny Phuket! 33C/92F

Shower. Get dressed. Put on sunglasses. Coffee time!

We started the morning off right with a small breakfast of eggs, fresh fruits, toast and a cup of coffee around the corner from our guesthouse. Most places around here are owned by Scandinavians and the one we went to was no exception. The price was right and there was decently priced hourly internet rates next door too.

Christie rarely gets up early, but the warm sun and scent of coffee lured her away from her bed.

Jana wide awake, ready to start working on her tan.

Dammit Jay! Another cigar? Wait, that’s the same one you started last night. Well, at least we are outside this time.

Before heading to the beach, we stopped at a convenience store and picked up two large 660ml beers for 76 baht ($2.30US) and some sunscreen. Now we’re ready for a day at the beach.

John buried in the sand while enjoying an ice cold Beer Chang.

Jana buried in the sand as well, although we’re not sure how she intends to work on her tan with only her face uncovered.

Because Christie was up too early, she used this time to take a nap on the beach after drinking a beer.

Karon Beach. Sun beds were 100 baht each at peak times, later in the afternoon you could generally sneak one without paying. We think of Thailand as a Mexico for Europeans. Phuket was filled with Europeans, which of course includes older men wearing their tight speedos. On the other hand there were plenty of women in their 20s up to 60s topless.

European man in a speedo! If you’re interested, click the picture to enlarge! Warning doesn’t enlarge the speedo!

Mmmm pineapple and rum in a pineapple!

Chang in the morning. Chang in the afternoon. Chang at sunset.

Krista and Jon on the beach at sunset.

Beer Chang as the moon rises.

After spending an entire day travelling it was wonderful to spend a day at the beach. Afterwards we were relaxed, a little burnt and looking forward to a 2 day / 1 night scuba trip!

Seoul to Bangkok to Phuket

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:51:00 +0000

Incheon International Airport – Seoul, South Korea. It’s Christmas day and keeping up with our tradition we stopped at Caribou Coffee after passing through security. White Chocolate Mocha, shot of hazelnut, and moose it (extra shot of espresso), we were up way too early! The only thing missing is the chocolate covered espresso bean that you would normally get in most US locations. Mmmm.. tastes like heaven, what a great way to start off a trip.

We have been through this airport many times before, and with the amount of times we’ve flown in general one would think we have finally nailed down the proper preparations when taking a trip. Guess again! Here’s a helpful tip if you’re ever in this airport, go to an ATM BEFORE you pass through security! There is no way to take out cash otherwise. You can buy anything on that side with a credit card or Korean cash card but good luck trying to get any extra cash in your pocket.

Incheon airport does gain points aside from having a Caribou Coffee though, and that comes from having a free internet lounge complete with netbooks and comfy chairs to relax in while waiting for flight departure. All the netbooks have built-in webcams so you can chat with friends and family, next time we’ll have to get there earlier to take advantage of this.

Our first flight was 6 hours non-stop to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok via Thai Air. The food on the plane was decent and we kept ourselves occupied while watching Ice Age 3. After arriving in Bangkok we tried to find a way to kill a 5 hour layover. Or get rid of it. We attempted to get an earlier flight to Phuket, but if you’ve ever been to the Suvarnabhumi airport you will know that it is always busy with people trying to get an earlier flight or just a flight. On our way to attempt to get a better flight, we saw Jean Claude Van Dam also trying to do the same thing!

The airport cost an estimated $3.8B US, I think the money went to concrete, steel and asphalt only; being inside the airport is like being inside a dingy warehouse, at least on the domestic side… With the lack of colour it was certainly not aesthetically pleasing. So what does one do while on a layover? Drink beer, of course. We made our way to the food court to see what the cost of food and drinks were. Yup, you guessed it! Ridiculously overpriced as usual. A bottle of Beer Chang was at least 200 baht (about $6US). Maybe $6 doesn’t sound like a lot compared a beer in an airport at home, but it is when you can buy the same beer at 7-11 for 25 baht ($0.75) or 50 baht ($1.50) elsewhere in the airport.

OK, Beer Chang in hand, now to find a place to sit down and relax. What? No chairs in an $4B airport? Well the chairs that were lined against the wall were occupied by individuals sleeping on 4 chairs at a time. So what do we do now? Well that’s obvious, go stand at the suggestion box table and drink with another guy who would like to borrow a pen and fill out a suggestion ballot regarding the lack of a areas to relax and drink. So instead we had a great time at our own standing bar.

5 hours are up! Time to board our flight to Phuket! Wrong.. we are delayed for another hour. What do we do? Well that’s obvious, we walk 5 minutes to the other end of the terminal and pick up more Beer Chang.

Dammit Jay, you’re not suppose to smoke in the airport!

Jana hid in our suitcase, she really wanted to escape Seoul during Christmas, we thought it would be nice to help her out.

We finally arrive in Phuket around 10pm and make our way outside to catch a mini bus to our hotel in Karon Beach for 180 baht each ($5.40US). After an exhausting ride, we finally reach our hotel near midnight. We made it!! We quickly dropped off our bags and explored the streets to find a Christmas dinner. To our surprise, no one was serving food. So what did we have for dinner? Beer Chang and pizza from 7-11.. ooooh so exciting! But you know what? IT WAS! After a full day of travelling we were finally at our destination! After all, it could have been worse, we could’ve been in Seoul freezing in our apartment. Tomorrow’s plans? Beach day!

Happy New Year everyone, we hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Baseball in Tokyo

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:42:00 +0000

The same day we arrived in Tokyo our friend Aja, whom we were staying with, bought us tickets to a baseball game. We went to watch the Yakult Swallows play the Hanshin Tigers. Unfortunately it was raining that night, fortunately there were plenty of beer kegs around!

We were at Jingu Stadium with Aja and her co-worker Steve (he met us at the subway station and took us to Aja’s place). Even though it was raining we still had a great time there. It was a fun experience watching the Japanese cheer on their team with their dances and chants.

Empty stadium due to the rain

Green beer kegs carried on backs to keep our cups full and us happy!

Here is a video of Krista and I on the megatron screen, the 7th inning stretch dance and some regulars cheering on the Swallows (Click here to watch the video if you’re viewing via email).

Gooooooooo Swallows!!

Tsukiji Fish Market - Tokyo

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:46:00 +0000

During Chuseok vacation Krista and I went to Tokyo for a few nights. We stayed with Aja, a friend Krista knew in college. Aja teaches Chemistry at an international school in Tokyo and she graciously offered us a place to stay while we were there. Hopefully she comes to Seoul to visit us as well!

The biggest highlight of our trip was the Tsukiji Fish Market. The area is divided in to two large areas – the inner market and outer market. The inner area is the licensed wholesale market, this is where the auctions take place, as well as most processing of the fish. Here there are approximately 900 dealers operating small stalls.

The outer market is a mixture of wholesale and retail shops that sell Japanese kitchen tools, restaurant supplies, groceries and seafood. There are numerous restaurants as well, the majority being sushi restaurants.

The market handles over 400 different types of seafood from tiny sardines to 300kg tuna. It is open most mornings except Sundays and holidays. At 3am shipments from planes, trucks and ships are unloaded from all over the world. The auctions start around 5:20 am and bidding can only be done by licensed participants. We woke up around 4:30 am and made it to the market around 6:00 am to see the live tuna auctions.

Tuna auction

The auctions usually end around 7:00 a.m. Afterward, the purchased fish is either loaded onto trucks to be shipped to the next destination or on small carts and moved to the many shops inside the market. There the shop owners cut and prepare the products for retail. In case of large fish, for example tuna and swordfish, cutting and preparation is elaborate. Frozen tuna and swordfish are often cut with large band saws, and fresh tuna is carved with extremely long knives, some over a metre in length.

The market is the busiest between 5:30 and 8:00 am, and the activity declines significantly afterward. Many shops start to close around 11:00 am, and the market closes for cleaning around 1:00 pm Tourists may visit the market daily between 5 a.m. and 6:15 am and watch from a designated area.

Giant scallops

Crab

Ice maker

Fresh tuna

After we finished walking around the market we decided to get some fresh sushi for breakfast. Neither of us have had sushi this amazing before! It was so fresh, and so was the price tag, but it was so worth it.

Krista ordered the Deluxe Sushi Set and I had the Donburi (tuna and salmon bowl)

Tuna and salmon bowl, miso soup, mild fatty tuna, natural red meat tuna, white fish, salmon roe, snow crab, boiled prawn, fresh clam, sweet sea eel, sweet egg omelette, hikarimono.

It was definitely the best sushi we have ever had! If you are a seafood lover and in Tokyo, I definitely recommend getting up early for a sushi breakfast!

Short video of the market (if you're viewing from email, click here to watch)

Chuseok at iSponge

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:05:00 +0000

Chuseok 추석 is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held around the Autumn Equinox. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food.

This holiday is similar to Thanksgiving in North America, and like our holiday at home, Koreans enjoy copious amounts of food with their families during this holiday. One of the traditional foods prepared is Songpyeon 송편, a crescent-shaped rice cake which is steamed upon pine needles.

At school on the last day before the holiday, all the morning kindergartners made Songpyeon together. Another tradition is to wear a Hanbok, the traditional Korean dress. It is often characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets. Although the term literally means "Korean clothing", hanbok today often refers specifically to hanbok of Joseon Dynasty and is worn as semi-formal or formal wear during traditional festivals and celebrations. Modern hanbok does not exactly follow the actual style as worn in Joseon dynasty since it went through some major changes during the twentieth century for practical reasons. Our director brought a hanbok for all of the teachers to wear.

Krista and I in a hanbok. The pants tie up high above the waist and bunch up, so my stomach is really not that big :)

Amy, Krista, Jon and Joe (our Korean co-teachers)

David, Jon and Kelly. These are my two kindergarten students. They are 7 years old Korean age, so about 6 or so Western age.

Christopher, Alex, David, Seung Uk, Jade (in the back), Danny and Kelly.

Krista, Christopher, Alex, Seung Uk, Jade, Danny and Amy. Krista’s kindergarten class, they are 6 years old Korean age.

Jon, David, Kelly and Joe.

Jade making Songpyeon, he is flattening the dough, first you roll it in a ball, then make a pocket with your thumb and flatten it out.

Christopher making Songpyeon

Alex making Songpyeon

Jon and Kelly making Songpyeon, after you have a good pocket, you fill it with crushed sesame seeds, brown sugar and honey. After you fill it, you shape the dough into a half moon.

Seung Uk making Songpyeon

Krista and Christopher making Songpyeon

Krista and Alex

Christopher showing off some Songpyeon the class had made. It is said that if you make beautiful you will have a beautiful daughter. :)

Christopher and Amy

A variety of traditional folk games are also played during Chuseok such as Yutnori (pronounced yoot-nori) which involves the throwing/rolling of 4 sticks to move games pieces around a stitch cloth game board. It is actually a fun and interesting game.

The best part of Chuseok for us was the time of from work! Our director gave us all a few extra days of holiday, so Krista and I flew to Tokyo to stay with one of her old college friends for four nights. We should have pictures up soon!

Gwanghwamun

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:16:00 +0000

On Sunday afternoon Krista and I took a trip to Gwanghwamun 광화문 in Seoul to see the newly renovated plaza. We had read in the September issue of Seoul Magazine that this 3rd plaza had opened up August 1st and thought it would be nice to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather in downtown Seoul.

This is now one of three large plazas Seoul has to offer, after Seoul Plaza and Cheonggyecheon. It was named after the main gate of nearby Gyeongbokgung Palace and is located outside of Gwanghwamun Station, Line 5 and the gate (which is still currently under construction). It is also located in the middle of what was 16 lanes of traffic. The plaza is 30m wide by 550 meters long.

This plaza along with numerous other construction projects occurring in Seoul are part of a large marketing strategy to portray a new vibrant, but stylish image for Seoul and the country.

During the first week after construction approx 1 million people had visited the plaza. If you want a more detailed history, click here.

Aside from the plaza’s beauty, there is a bit of controversy surrounding the plaza. All of the plazas have space available for public demonstrations, but with all of the floral decorations, there is no room for such things, and many Seoulites are quite upset by this fact. Krista and I however really enjoyed our afternoon there.

“Haechi” – Symbol of Seoul

Haechi, the symbol of Seoul, is an animal of “justice and integrity” that discerns good and evil. Haechi is an imaginary animal with divine power that protects by repelling disaster and brining “fortune and luck.”

Haechi has a horn on its head and a bell on its neck. It’s body is covered in scales, and it has wing-like feathers under its arms. It is the gaurdian animal of Seoul and can fly in the sky. It lives close to water in the summer and in the pine forest in winter. It is known to live mainly around Gwanghamun and Gyeongbokgung palace in Seoul.

Currently, the logo and slogan of “Hi Seoul” has been used to promote the city. what do you think of the new branding?? You can post your comments at the bottom of this blog post!

Below is a statue of Yi Sun-sin 이순신 (April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598) was a Korean naval commander noted for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598) during the Joseon Dynasty.

Along each side of the plaza are flower benches with flower displays built in and even speakers playing classical music.

We snapped a picture of the plaza staff’s flower cart as well as them planting. A lot of work went in to planting the 200,000+ flowers!

There is a light stream on each side of the plaza with engravings of each year from about the 1400’s, and here you can see two men scrubbing the tiles clean.

Green Haechi lawn statue, you can see the US Embassy in the background.

A little bit of extra history for you: One of the major benefits of the new plaza is that it helps correct the damage done to the downtown area’s basic orientation under Japanese colonial rule. When Seoul was made the capital of the Joseon kingdom, the main axis of the city ran from Mt. Bugaksan to the Shinto shrine they built on Mt. Namsan. When the restoration work on Gwanghwamun is completed, the traditional axis will be restored. –Robert Koehler, Seoul Tour and Culture

The 2009 Seoul International Drama awards had a display at the plaza as well. SBS had a few TV sets there to promote the various dramas they have running.

One drama they have is a horror, we took this pic inside one of their sets.

We left Gwanghwamun and walked a few blocks towards city hall and came across some kind of H.O.T pepper festival. There were various different kinds of peppers in all shapes, sizes and colours.

Two arches covered designed with red peppers

Aren’t we HOT?

We wrote on a red pepper in Korean, it translates to Jon + Krista Forever. Yes, cheesy, but our Korean vocabulary is not that extensive!

iSponge Campus – Our School

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:28:00 +0000

After being in Seoul for a week and going for a medical check, we finally got to have a tour of the school we will be teaching at. We are working for a franchise called iSponge, the location we are at is brand new – students are just registering for the first time there now! We will be the first native English speakers to have worked at this school, so we get to help get the place started!

The school looks amazing! Lots of bright colours, it is designed to make the children feel that they can have a lot of fun while learning. The teaching style the school employs has a lot do with learning through activities as well as regular workbook learning.

The school staff consists off one owner/principal, vice principal, secretary, two Korean-English teachers and two Native English speakers (Krista and I), and the bus driver! As it turns out, I am the only male on staff, aside from the bus driver, but he is not around often.

These last two days we have been going through lessons and role playing – pretending to teach each other. On Friday and Saturday we will have two days of training at their head office.

On Monday we will be doing some other prep work and then Tuesday is the big day. September 1st we have our first day of teaching with brand new students!

We took some pictures of the school, check it out! (You can click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Front entrance

Front desk

Play room

Classroom

Classroom, same as above but different view

Sponge room, this is used for various activities and games

Classroom

Kids can wash their hands here before lunch and after activities

Activity / game room

Classroom

Teacher’s room – this is just a partial view

Until next time.. after we start teaching!

Our Apartment in Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:24:00 +0000

After arriving at Incheon Intn’l in Seoul at 5am we were greeted by a driver who helped us load up our 300+ lbs of luggage into a van and drove us to meet our new director and our new apartment.

After an hour or so drive we made it to our apartment building, or officetel as it is called here and met our director. We had to wait an hour for the building manager to arrive so the three of us went for a coffee. We got to know the director a little bit, she lived in Minnesota for a few months while studying for a semester. We learned that our new school will consist of our director, an assistant, two Korean teachers and two foreign teachers (Krista and I). I also learned that I will be the only male employee there!

We were suppose to meet the parents of some new students on the 18th, but because of the swine flu outbreak we were told to ‘rest’ in our apartment for a week to make sure we're not sick. Well.. that didn’t last long we had to venture out to get groceries and explore the area a little bit. So far we like the area we live in, it is a lot busier than where we were before. There is a major street a few blocks away where many different bus routes will take us were we want to go. The subway station and E-Mart are nearby as well.

We start 2 or 3 days of training mid next week and then begin teaching September 1st. Until the weekend, we will ‘rest’ and then on Saturday we’re off to meet up with a friend of ours for a party!

Anyway, we decided to take pictures of the apartment right away before we add some decor. It is definitely a step up from our last apartment in Korea! This time we have a loft apartment with A/C!! Surprisingly enough our apartment stays pretty cool even without it on, we could have died of heat stroke in the previous one (30C / 86F degrees in the kitchen when cooking!

Loft area with bed and plenty of closet space.

We have a sink in our bathroom this time!

So far so good, we’ll post some more pictures after we make this place look less of a jail cell :)

Sailing on Lake Vermillion

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:59:00 +0000

A week before we left for Korea we went spent some time at Mari’s Cabin (a long time friend of Krista’s family). While we were there I was fortunate enough to have my first sailing lesson! It was a perfect afternoon to test out the Sunfish and my skill.

After a ten minute lesson I was free to sail Lake Vermillion on my own. What fun! I couldn’t tell you all the new terms I learned that afternoon, but I will tell you it was a great time! There were a few close calls but I managed not to tip over.

It was so peaceful sailing across the lake, all that was missing was a bottle of wine!

Later on that afternoon we took a road trip to Vermillion Falls Recreation area to check out a gorge where two rivers meet. The scenery was beautiful and the sound of rushing water was exhilarating. Too bad for all the mosquitoes, we were eaten alive!

It sure was a nice way to end off a great time in northern Minnesota.

Going Back to Seoul

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:50:00 +0000

On Saturday, August 15th we will be heading back to Seoul. We have spent about a month and a half in Minnesota having a great time. Partying on the 4th of July weekend, going to Rockfest, having fun at the lake and of course having bonfires and taking saunas. It has been a whirlwind of fun.

But now it’s time to leave the Western world and dive back into Asian culture for another year. We will be teaching at a new school and living in a different area than before. This time, we will be much closer to the metro area (which we’re really excited about). We will be working for a school called iSponge which is a franchise. They are opening a brand new location which means we will be the only foreign teachers for a little while! I suppose this could go both ways, hopefully it’s a really good thing :)

We will be departing Minneapolis on our way to Chicago and spend 6 hours there, then depart and arrive in Seoul Monday, August 17th 5am local time. It’s going to be a looooong travel time (14hrs in a cramped seat!)

When we get there and have our internet setup the plan is to get a few blog posts up per week. So keep checking in for the latest on interesting places, good eats and other quirky things we find!

Below are a few pictures of Krista’s mom’s place, which is where we stayed this last month and a half.

Thank you for the great time in the States, we’ll see everyone next year!

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:39:00 +0000

While were in Minneapolis, Krista and I walked around Nicolet Mall (outdoor street mall like Scarth Street in Regina, but waaay better) on a sunny afternoon. It just so happens they have a street market on Thursdays too, what luck we had! We took a few snapshots of the area and then walked to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden near the Walker Art Center and wandered around there as well. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day to walk around!

This was just a building downtown that had a nice reflection.

On the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge

Double Curve

Woodrow

Glass Fish

Reflection

Prophecy of the Ancients

The Spinner

Spoonbridge and Cherry

Prometheus Strangling the Vulture II

After we finished wandering around we walked back to the Nicolet Mall to have a light lunch and a beer. What a great way to finish off a beautiful afternoon. We ate are Barrio and sat outside on the patio. Somehow I forgot to take a picture of the place.. can you believe it??

Anyway, that was the end of our trip to Minneapolis. One of the main reasons we went there was because three of my friends from Canada came down to visit, so eventually there will be some of those pictures up as well.

For now we will be busy packing to go back to Seoul!

We’re Engaged!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon and Krista) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:57:00 +0000

As you probably already know, Jon and I met January 2007 in Mexico and have been living and travelling together since August 2007. After a year and a half of travelling, we decided that we really do like each other and want to be with each other forever.

Our first kiss was April 11th, 2007 in the Regina International Airport. I was so nervous flying up there to see this random guy I met in Mexico, but felt I knew so well. He made all my fears melt away the second I left the customs area as he walked right up to me and kissed me.

On June 20th, 2009 Jon had planned a day for us that included a picnic in Kiwanis Park. While we were there we saw a young couple getting pictures taken for grad, a newly wed couple having photos taken as well as a small wedding ceremony for yet another couple. After we left the park, we received a phone call from Jon's friend, Jayson, who said he was just in a car accident and asked us if we could pick up his cousin from the airport. We agreed and made our way to the airport just after 4pm. At the airport we walked around and when we got near the baggage carousels, Jon pointed towards the arrival / departures monitors and said "Hey, what's that?"

On the monitors were pictures of us from our travels. I nervously asked Jon what was going on while pointing to the pictures. I heard a click from behind us and there was Jayson standing there taking pictures of us. The next picture I saw was taken in Maui and on it read "Krista, will you marry me?"

Jon got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Of course I said yes through my tears!

We are going back to Seoul in August for another year of teaching and travelling. We have tentatively set a date of April 2011 to be married in Mexico, back to the place where we started our love story. Start saving your pennies now ;)