tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37615798058226610082024-03-14T17:27:53.052+09:00Adventures in SoKoMeaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-11610494451028904352013-01-04T00:16:00.004+09:002013-01-04T00:16:51.701+09:00Keep Reading!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wow, sometimes I really can't believe that I've been home from Korea for more than a year and a half now. Time has flown! I spent much of that time at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, earning my master's degree in International Education Policy. It was rigorous and challenging and an amazing opportunity for growth. I met incredible students and faculty, traveled to Morocco and Puerto Rico, and generally had a fantastic experience. In two days, I'll be starting the next adventurous chapter of my life, by moving to Nairobi, Kenya for at least two years. I am extremely excited about this amazing new opportunity, AND about getting back to blogging.<br />
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When I started Adventures in SoKo, my intention was mostly just to use it to share pictures and stories with my mom back home in the States. But it grew into so much more. I still get an average of a little over 3,000 page views a month and I am totally humbled to receive email messages from people who have read the blog as part of their preparation for moving to Korea. I'm always happy to answer any questions, and I do my best to provide as objective of a view as possible (or clearly label things to be my opinion) and I really do love getting emails from people who have taken the time to vicariously live my life with me. My email on the About Me page is still valid, and I invite you to drop me a line!<br />
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When writing, I really tried not to leave anything out....if I was having a crappy day you knew about it, but you also heard about some of the best days of my life. As I leave for Kenya and begin a new blog, I hope to do the same.<br />
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So, come on over and visit me at <a href="http://www.meaghanshanahan.com/">Meaghan the Mzungu</a> and see what I am up to now!</div>
Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-29461635482331697452011-05-23T19:35:00.000+09:002011-05-23T19:35:39.619+09:00Preparing to Leave Korea!Well folks, somehow time has slipped by and I am in the final stretch of preparing to leave Korea. In three days I'll be boarding the airplane for my 14 hour flight home...and sweet non-rapturing Jesus, there is so much to do before then!<br />
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In hopes of helping other people preparing to leave, I thought I'd tell you about my experiences doing some of the close-out stuff we all end up going through. These include mailing things home, collecting your pension, and packing up all your stuff.<br />
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Because I am only a few breaths away from being a hoarder, I have way too much stuff here to fit into the two 50 pound bags I am allowed to take home on my flight. I knew I'd have to send some stuff home, but I seriously underestimated how MUCH stuff I'd be mailing. Last Tuesday (with the help of Feeny and Diana C) I headed off to the local post office to send two packed up size five (large) post office boxes and two unpacked lotus lanterns. This process was surprisingly easy.<br />
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There are apparently three options for mailing things.<br />
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The first, most expensive, and fastest is EMS (Express Mail Service). EMS has special labels just for their packages. Everything on the labels is in English as well as Hangul, so it is very easy to fill out on your own. EMS packages take seven days or less to reach the east coast of the US. In fact, last Tuesday (Monday night EST) I mailed a package to my family in Maryland. They got it THURSDAY. That is absolutely ridiculous. In the package were two paper lanterns (extremely light) and lots of bubble wrap. The package weighed basically nothing...and cost me 34,000won. Benefit? If you use EMS they will come pick up your packages for "free". Too bad it costs so much that you're MORE than paying for that pick-up service. The heaviest box I sent was about 11kg, and would have cost 110,800won to send to the US using EMS.<br />
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The "mama bear" option, if you will, is Air Mail. You fill out the same labels for Air Mail and Surface Mail, but check different boxes according to which one you want. The two choices for Air Mail/Surface Mail boxes look almost identical. The only difference is that one has a red box on it (this one is for insured items) and the other does not. Air Mail apparently takes 2-4 weeks to arrive, and prices are still high. An 11kg box would cost 105,100won to send to the US via Air Mail.<br />
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Finally there is the option I've been embracing: slow and cheap. Surface Mail is an option that allows you to send massive amounts of stuff home for a super reasonable price...as long as you don't need your stuff anytime soon. Surface mail takes 60-90 days to arrive, but an 11kg package sent to the US (zone 3) was only 31,000won! More than reasonable!<br />
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The size five boxes filled completely with clothes weighed only about 9kg (about 20lbs). The heaviest a surface mail box can be is 20kg (about 50lbs) which would be hard to achieve unless you're ONLY books...or bricks. I'll post again this summer when my parcels arrive, but so far I've been really pleased with the surface mail option. I've sent two boxes already, I'm sending one this afternoon, and I'll have 2-3 more in the mail before I leave (dude, I told you I had a love of stuff).<br />
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You can find your local post office <a href="http://www.koreapost.go.kr/kpmcfokp/gps/gpsUserView.action">here</a> (but it is in Korean). <a href="http://www.koreapost.go.kr/eng/sub/subpage.jsp?contId=e1010605">This site</a> will show you the rate comparison for Air Mail and Surface Mail (<a href="http://www.koreapost.go.kr/eng/sub/subpage.jsp?contId=e1010601">here</a> are the definitions of various zones), and <a href="http://www.koreapost.go.kr/eng/sub/subpage.jsp?contId=e1020300">here</a> are the EMS rates.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zX2dNHZ68yo/Tdo2ocH3xZI/AAAAAAAAEK0/i8jPuHNVTTs/s1600/IMG_9197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zX2dNHZ68yo/Tdo2ocH3xZI/AAAAAAAAEK0/i8jPuHNVTTs/s640/IMG_9197.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>When you get into your post office the firs thing you're going to do is get a number if it is busy. If it is not busy, I usually write out my labels first, and then get a number, to keep people from having to wait for me. No one else cares.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aaplpwt44j4/Tdo2jcSTDtI/AAAAAAAAEKo/r1Rtr_mzLpo/s1600/IMG_9193.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aaplpwt44j4/Tdo2jcSTDtI/AAAAAAAAEKo/r1Rtr_mzLpo/s640/IMG_9193.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Grab your labels. These are your label choices. The one on the right is for EMS packages, while the two on the left are for Air Mail and Surface Mail. The lower one is for insured items (note the red box).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sikPbK0myH8/Tdo2hV6XbbI/AAAAAAAAEKk/RXWMUAaunXk/s1600/IMG_9190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sikPbK0myH8/Tdo2hV6XbbI/AAAAAAAAEKk/RXWMUAaunXk/s640/IMG_9190.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Write out your labels for each box. One cool thing about post offices here is that they also sell everything you need to just package up a box there. Boxes themselves are really cheap (each one of these large boxes was just over a dollar) and you are provided with free tape and free bubble wrap. Sweet deal!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9UvPLRY8TY0/Tdo2mlkDVGI/AAAAAAAAEKw/OVuYLmpm7s4/s1600/IMG_9196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9UvPLRY8TY0/Tdo2mlkDVGI/AAAAAAAAEKw/OVuYLmpm7s4/s640/IMG_9196.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Now it is time to go up to the counter where (if you're lucky) the person speaks English. This man, at the Gangdong Post Office, speaks just fine. The woman I had today...less so.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y367wsX7ww4/Tdo2lZ57BzI/AAAAAAAAEKs/0j6sVNFAoSY/s1600/IMG_9194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y367wsX7ww4/Tdo2lZ57BzI/AAAAAAAAEKs/0j6sVNFAoSY/s640/IMG_9194.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Once everything is packaged they'll weigh it, slap on a label (and some fragile stickers in the case of my lanterns) and whisk it away. You pay, get your receipts, and you're done!</i></div><br />
Another thing on the expat returning home's checklist is getting back your pension. If you are from America or Canada, you are eligible to get a refund of all pension money collected from you over your time in Korea. Australians can apparently now also get their money back. The UK has a confusing situation all their own. South Africans don't get pension back because they don't pay it. Kiwis have to pay it and don't get anything returned. (More information can be found <a href="http://wiki.galbijim.com/Korean_pension_plan">here</a>.) Each month, 4.5% of your paycheck is subtracted and sent to the pension office. Your school also pays 4.5% to the pension office, making your refund equal to 9% of your wages each month. That turns out to be quite a bit of money.<br />
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The first thing you need to do is find your local NPS (National Pension Service) Office. You can do that on <a href="http://wiki.galbijim.com/National_Pension_Offices">GalbiJim's site</a>. They are all over the place. When you actually go to the office, you will automatically be directed towards an English speaker. I ended up not needing my co-teacher's help at all. You will need the following items: a copy of your one-way plane ticket out of Korea, your Alien Registration Card (ARC), your home bank account information (address, account number, routing number), a copy of a bank statement (this can be printed out from online banking), your home address, and your passport. If you have an outgoing wire transfer cable, they'll really really like you for it. It simply makes their job easier. You'll be given a form to fill out (all in English) and as you do that they'll go make copies of all of your documents. Then they'll tell you how much you're getting back, when to expect it, and send you on your way. Over the past 20 months I've accrued nearly $4000 in pension benefits. That is pretty sweet. They process pension refunds on the tenth of the month, and since I get paid tomorrow (May 24) they can't process mine until June 10. She said that by June 17 I should expect the money in my account. Couldn't be easier.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9v5n5ceKHZ4/Tdo2p46qt4I/AAAAAAAAEK4/5gvyT7NoUP4/s1600/IMG_9205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9v5n5ceKHZ4/Tdo2p46qt4I/AAAAAAAAEK4/5gvyT7NoUP4/s640/IMG_9205.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Unassuming sign for the NPS office in Songpa-gu, located right by the Jamsil Subway Station.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YzUU7hnqa00/Tdo2rv8IThI/AAAAAAAAEK8/3m1rfJl8_V4/s1600/IMG_9206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YzUU7hnqa00/Tdo2rv8IThI/AAAAAAAAEK8/3m1rfJl8_V4/s640/IMG_9206.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>NPS is on the second floor of this charming building.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jUShF3iMatg/Tdo2tVQ6_yI/AAAAAAAAELA/L5KqaIGKHFI/s1600/IMG_9485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jUShF3iMatg/Tdo2tVQ6_yI/AAAAAAAAELA/L5KqaIGKHFI/s640/IMG_9485.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Necessary materials: wire transfer sheet, bank and personal information, passport, and ARC.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i></i>I'm thankful that I've been able to cross at least a few things off of my going-away checklist. Next up is cancelling my cell phone plan, closing my bank account (after pay day, of course), and making sure everything is all squared away for my severance and security deposit to be sent to my American account.</div><br />
I've spent a whole lot of time preparing for Mark, my replacement. Creating new folders, organizing all my lesson materials, typing up directions to various places, detailing how do do tricky things in the apartment (turning on the hot water heater, etc), and today I think actually finished all of that. Woo! Progress!Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-10965704713592930452011-05-18T10:21:00.001+09:002011-05-22T04:01:27.818+09:00Time Is Running Out!Man, time is flying. I cannot believe I only have 10 sleeps until I'm on a plane home to America! I've been packing my remaining time chock full of activities, and here's what I've been up to...<br />
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<b>Friday, May 6, 2011</b><br />
I fairly recently became friends with a really fun Montanan couple named Amanda and Tom who live up north near Diana. It was Tom's birthday on Friday and I was scheduled to meet Tom, Amanda, Shannon, Jamie, and Diana for dinner and gambling at <a href="http://www.walkerhill.com/">Walker Hill</a>, a fancy pants W Hotel located in Gwangnaru. I had to put the kibosh on dinner plans, however, due to the fact that my view and select window for Harvard housing began at 6:05am EST, or 7:05pm Korean time. (I needed to be online to battle hordes of other incoming students who were also gunning for three-bedroom, pet-friendly apartments. In the end, Obi and I each ended up getting an apartment and we are giving mine up because hers seems like a better arrangement.)<br />
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After completing the housing quest, I tried getting in contact with everyone to see where I should meet them. No one was picking up their phones for over an hour, and I was sooooooooo close to changing into my PJs and hopping into bed, but eventually they called back and I hopped into a cab to be whisked off to the Paradise Casino. Bizarrely, only foreigners are allowed to gamble in Korea, so they will often check your alien registration card or passport at the door (especially if you are Asian). It is a pretty freaking sweet deal...free drinks (including the world beer cart) and food for people playing games. Since I'm not much of a gambler, I decided I would just stick to playing one 10,000won bill in the slot machines. Um...yeah...ended up winning a total of 230,000won. Pretty freaking sweet! I was quite psyched that I had decided to go out.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2xNKV_gqhXw/TdMGlig7BvI/AAAAAAAAEEg/srfxGfO732E/s1600/IMG_8847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2xNKV_gqhXw/TdMGlig7BvI/AAAAAAAAEEg/srfxGfO732E/s640/IMG_8847.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>You aren't allowed to take pictures inside where the gambling happens, but this is the entrance.</i></div><br />
<b>Saturday, May 7, 2011</b><br />
Festival weekend 2010 kicked off to a good start with a trip out to Yeouido for the <a href="http://english.hiseoulfest.org/2011/src/index.asp">Hi Seoul Festival</a>. Apparently these festivals are held once or twice a year, but I've never been to one. The theme of this spring's festival was non-verbal performance, and they had performers come from all over the world to do things that fell under that theme. There were a few big tents set up, as well as outdoor stages right along the river. The day was really warm and smoggy, so thankfully the performances we chose were in the tents. We started by getting tickets, which were free, to two hour-long shows. The first was a performance by <a href="http://english.hiseoulfest.org/2011/src/program/ProgramDetail.asp?n=711&cate=2011-KR-D-001&p=3">Puppet City</a>, a Korean puppetry company. While the show really should have been just a half hour (one hour is a LOT of puppets) I still thought it was really cool. They did some neat stuff with traditional puppets, as well as interesting things with glow in the dark and black light affected puppets. For the second hour we watched <a href="http://english.hiseoulfest.org/2011/src/program/ProgramDetail.asp?n=707&cate=2011-KR-D-001&p=2">Flying to the Sky</a>, a performance by Dong Choon Circus, who claim to be the only circus in Korea. They were quite impressive, even though their stage was itty bitty and I was constantly concerned that they'd go flying off the end.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xiLxqIFSTC8/TdMG0b66n6I/AAAAAAAAEEo/eJ995YsDfcU/s1600/IMG_8849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xiLxqIFSTC8/TdMG0b66n6I/AAAAAAAAEEo/eJ995YsDfcU/s640/IMG_8849.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Nothing starts the day off right like a delicious corndog.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0w70TaNz-r0/TdMG2EIMB0I/AAAAAAAAEEs/OMlZmIrNYUc/s1600/IMG_8851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0w70TaNz-r0/TdMG2EIMB0I/AAAAAAAAEEs/OMlZmIrNYUc/s640/IMG_8851.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Kites on the Han!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QUDSQ7PgWZw/TdMG20QAdVI/AAAAAAAAEEw/kkAMhYbo-ko/s1600/IMG_8857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QUDSQ7PgWZw/TdMG20QAdVI/AAAAAAAAEEw/kkAMhYbo-ko/s640/IMG_8857.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Performance tent.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gznoU-21klQ/TdMG3obhy5I/AAAAAAAAEE0/wK99mYV3-fo/s1600/IMG_8858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gznoU-21klQ/TdMG3obhy5I/AAAAAAAAEE0/wK99mYV3-fo/s640/IMG_8858.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Circus performers on the poles.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-latu-p2209Q/TdMG4nd3SyI/AAAAAAAAEE4/UVuiWU3FwJE/s1600/IMG_8862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-latu-p2209Q/TdMG4nd3SyI/AAAAAAAAEE4/UVuiWU3FwJE/s640/IMG_8862.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Literally jumping (and flipping) through hoops.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Around 4:00pm we left Yeouido and headed up to Insadong where the Lotus Lantern Parade was taking place. Last year we got there kind of late and didn't have seats, so this year we wanted to scout out some good spots. Thankfully Frank, Julia, Carin, Stephanie and I reserved a big chunk of 12 seats right in front of McDonalds and camped out for a while. As we picnicked on Mickey D's it became clear that the warm lovely day was quickly becoming overcast, windy and quite cold. Thankfully it didn't rain and I had a blanket that we could use to keep warm. Eventually everyone arrived: Diana, Amanda, Tom, Chrissy, David, and Melissa all took their seats and the parade finally started. As per usual, it was absolutely lovely. We had fantastic seats right on the road, so that was great. It was also great that everyone thought my blanket was hilarious and wanted to wave and say hello to us. By the end of the evening my arm was really tired and my cheeks hurt from smiling. A true testament to our popularity was the fact that at the end of the evening we had collected SEVEN lanterns from people who liked us when they passed and handed them to us. We're classy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qpjTGEAXq80/TdMH8UBvoBI/AAAAAAAAEE8/GuT6oUuGHA4/s1600/IMG_8870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qpjTGEAXq80/TdMH8UBvoBI/AAAAAAAAEE8/GuT6oUuGHA4/s640/IMG_8870.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pretty sunset as we waited for the parade.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nXW5FUK95lU/TdMH9MhYq8I/AAAAAAAAEFA/_EGcPXI8o20/s1600/IMG_8875.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nXW5FUK95lU/TdMH9MhYq8I/AAAAAAAAEFA/_EGcPXI8o20/s640/IMG_8875.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Musical lantern.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nN3nieYEKaA/TdMH9njo2LI/AAAAAAAAEFE/3YJlx8YL5SY/s1600/IMG_8877.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nN3nieYEKaA/TdMH9njo2LI/AAAAAAAAEFE/3YJlx8YL5SY/s640/IMG_8877.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Haechi lanterns.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tPSAS1rM_80/TdMH-fk9n-I/AAAAAAAAEFI/RrFduSMIS6Q/s1600/IMG_8879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tPSAS1rM_80/TdMH-fk9n-I/AAAAAAAAEFI/RrFduSMIS6Q/s640/IMG_8879.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Stabby lantern.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cQumiwFzesk/TdMH_PbUZkI/AAAAAAAAEFM/-VLBj9_NAFM/s1600/IMG_8882.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cQumiwFzesk/TdMH_PbUZkI/AAAAAAAAEFM/-VLBj9_NAFM/s640/IMG_8882.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Women in hanboks.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-26H-0uXA7Y4/TdMH__0u9CI/AAAAAAAAEFQ/aOtJsv6xEM0/s1600/IMG_8884.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-26H-0uXA7Y4/TdMH__0u9CI/AAAAAAAAEFQ/aOtJsv6xEM0/s640/IMG_8884.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So pretty.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tMTtYJrn-Ic/TdMIAdlJqxI/AAAAAAAAEFU/Gmdjl80hNfs/s1600/IMG_8888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tMTtYJrn-Ic/TdMIAdlJqxI/AAAAAAAAEFU/Gmdjl80hNfs/s640/IMG_8888.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dragon-y lantern.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bETrNE5P-g8/TdMIBKVVfmI/AAAAAAAAEFY/fpGXfinljvQ/s1600/IMG_8889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bETrNE5P-g8/TdMIBKVVfmI/AAAAAAAAEFY/fpGXfinljvQ/s640/IMG_8889.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>I love haechi.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DuiUieIdX7U/TdMIBjvXi4I/AAAAAAAAEFc/ZFDgw4R2pK4/s1600/IMG_8894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DuiUieIdX7U/TdMIBjvXi4I/AAAAAAAAEFc/ZFDgw4R2pK4/s640/IMG_8894.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Elephant lantern (with fully articulated moving trunk!).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2lygIP1kG84/TdMICNlGXxI/AAAAAAAAEFg/x2yPL1zDwP4/s1600/IMG_8900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2lygIP1kG84/TdMICNlGXxI/AAAAAAAAEFg/x2yPL1zDwP4/s640/IMG_8900.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Drum lantern.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QakAsgG00Lc/TdMIC0fek9I/AAAAAAAAEFk/2lp7MF8y6L0/s1600/IMG_8903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QakAsgG00Lc/TdMIC0fek9I/AAAAAAAAEFk/2lp7MF8y6L0/s640/IMG_8903.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Korean turtle ship lantern.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sCznf7lge7Y/TdMIDRtMhsI/AAAAAAAAEFo/cO2AYTTkaNs/s1600/IMG_8908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sCznf7lge7Y/TdMIDRtMhsI/AAAAAAAAEFo/cO2AYTTkaNs/s640/IMG_8908.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Huge lanterns.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-siG96h-Vb_k/TdMID4mwg9I/AAAAAAAAEFs/uKf1v8Yu-YM/s1600/IMG_8918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-siG96h-Vb_k/TdMID4mwg9I/AAAAAAAAEFs/uKf1v8Yu-YM/s640/IMG_8918.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lady in a lantern.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c6F-FBMUiJw/TdMIEliA11I/AAAAAAAAEFw/VN_PG3KXBlw/s1600/IMG_8920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c6F-FBMUiJw/TdMIEliA11I/AAAAAAAAEFw/VN_PG3KXBlw/s640/IMG_8920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Awesome dragon head lantern.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-utSyYdzpprI/TdMIFVZJl1I/AAAAAAAAEF0/kL8bwakXc6s/s1600/IMG_8923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-utSyYdzpprI/TdMIFVZJl1I/AAAAAAAAEF0/kL8bwakXc6s/s640/IMG_8923.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Buddha riding on a haechi lantern. Obviously.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-69LxkYfJ4Tc/TdMIGBtpwPI/AAAAAAAAEF4/dXnASg3W4VE/s1600/IMG_8927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-69LxkYfJ4Tc/TdMIGBtpwPI/AAAAAAAAEF4/dXnASg3W4VE/s640/IMG_8927.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dragons of the sea lantern.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DEyWGq1yVUk/TdMIHeOqxyI/AAAAAAAAEF8/KIN2dd_UEOc/s1600/IMG_8930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DEyWGq1yVUk/TdMIHeOqxyI/AAAAAAAAEF8/KIN2dd_UEOc/s640/IMG_8930.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Underwater tree lantern?</i></div><br />
<b>Sunday, May 8, 2010</b><br />
Day two of festival weekend! We started around 12:30pm up in Insadong for the <a href="http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=1002416">Lotus Lantern Festival</a>. Diana, Carin, Julia and I started by walking around the festival and checking out all the booths. We also went to sign up to make lotus lanterns, and were told that we were supposed to have reserved spots online and there were none left. Say what? I was on that website like it was my job and I never saw anything about reservations. Thankfully we talked them into starting a waiting list (took some explanation) and wandered off to make some paper flowers and lotus candles, as well as taking some photos of the stunning <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jogyesa">Jogyesa Temple</a>. By the time we were finished it was time to make the lanterns, so we headed back up to the front and were pleased (but not surprised) that a crapton of foreigners hadn't shown up so there was plenty of room for us. To hours later we had finished, haha. I will say that my lantern making technique definitely improved over the last year...I can tell very clearly which lotus lantern was made my first year and which one was made my second. That's skill, people. I'm practically a professional.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4riHkJPO2a0/TdMJo2XPCeI/AAAAAAAAEGA/8lkFfHZf7Xw/s1600/IMG_8962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4riHkJPO2a0/TdMJo2XPCeI/AAAAAAAAEGA/8lkFfHZf7Xw/s640/IMG_8962.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Girls getting ready to perform at the festival.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HcsRM3P7uKE/TdMJplekkOI/AAAAAAAAEGE/45T6F4Q7PEA/s1600/IMG_8963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HcsRM3P7uKE/TdMJplekkOI/AAAAAAAAEGE/45T6F4Q7PEA/s640/IMG_8963.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Booths galore!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S8xLBF3waRE/TdMJqqML3uI/AAAAAAAAEGI/qwWUSpT15YY/s1600/IMG_8967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S8xLBF3waRE/TdMJqqML3uI/AAAAAAAAEGI/qwWUSpT15YY/s640/IMG_8967.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>With our hand crafted lotus flowers.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4vn_HGxsqR4/TdMJr4eICdI/AAAAAAAAEGM/wGX0C3CTB30/s1600/IMG_8971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4vn_HGxsqR4/TdMJr4eICdI/AAAAAAAAEGM/wGX0C3CTB30/s640/IMG_8971.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jogyesa Temple.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RQf4_QV4FOI/TdMJtBf5QvI/AAAAAAAAEGQ/H0UIRfo25wY/s1600/IMG_8974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RQf4_QV4FOI/TdMJtBf5QvI/AAAAAAAAEGQ/H0UIRfo25wY/s640/IMG_8974.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Love the lanterns.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GJ59YUGLrdE/TdMJuFMdILI/AAAAAAAAEGU/O9LdmweAc2I/s1600/IMG_8977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GJ59YUGLrdE/TdMJuFMdILI/AAAAAAAAEGU/O9LdmweAc2I/s640/IMG_8977.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Selca master.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-57NSoK584Lw/TdMJv3ber-I/AAAAAAAAEGY/JoFifGgdRSU/s1600/IMG_8981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-57NSoK584Lw/TdMJv3ber-I/AAAAAAAAEGY/JoFifGgdRSU/s640/IMG_8981.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin and I with what is apparently a very important and historic tree.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3JO2JC4jfXE/TdMJwtLG1hI/AAAAAAAAEGc/qeiIvCbUHik/s1600/IMG_8986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3JO2JC4jfXE/TdMJwtLG1hI/AAAAAAAAEGc/qeiIvCbUHik/s640/IMG_8986.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Julia working on her lotus candle.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CXxG0d1hcAc/TdMJxVEzl8I/AAAAAAAAEGg/JeZJx2a6_Eo/s1600/IMG_8987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CXxG0d1hcAc/TdMJxVEzl8I/AAAAAAAAEGg/JeZJx2a6_Eo/s640/IMG_8987.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>As we were just starting.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KrxIzRuFaFY/TdMJyNp_QeI/AAAAAAAAEGk/YjxE-UQkRMo/s1600/IMG_8990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KrxIzRuFaFY/TdMJyNp_QeI/AAAAAAAAEGk/YjxE-UQkRMo/s640/IMG_8990.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hard at work (much later in the process).</i></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wYV6uIfvKv8/TdMJ2tka1SI/AAAAAAAAEGs/UNDp6XSQGgo/s1600/IMG_8995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wYV6uIfvKv8/TdMJ2tka1SI/AAAAAAAAEGs/UNDp6XSQGgo/s640/IMG_8995.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Posing with our hard work!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wYV6uIfvKv8/TdMJ2tka1SI/AAAAAAAAEGs/UNDp6XSQGgo/s1600/IMG_8995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yO8XOcrhf7k/TdMJ1FPPN3I/AAAAAAAAEGo/6s5Il2yudqI/s1600/IMG_8993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yO8XOcrhf7k/TdMJ1FPPN3I/AAAAAAAAEGo/6s5Il2yudqI/s640/IMG_8993.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>My lantern.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DZzErvHF9b0/TdMJ3qoXRYI/AAAAAAAAEGw/E_2cfyv0KN4/s1600/IMG_8997.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DZzErvHF9b0/TdMJ3qoXRYI/AAAAAAAAEGw/E_2cfyv0KN4/s640/IMG_8997.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Diana's lantern.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vuRiDZqwucw/TdMJ43SJ03I/AAAAAAAAEG0/tLyg6EyMv8E/s1600/IMG_8998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vuRiDZqwucw/TdMJ43SJ03I/AAAAAAAAEG0/tLyg6EyMv8E/s640/IMG_8998.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Julia's lantern.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vVBNwpfKyCw/TdMJ6IWRrAI/AAAAAAAAEG4/DXuvmt8iRyM/s1600/IMG_8999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vVBNwpfKyCw/TdMJ6IWRrAI/AAAAAAAAEG4/DXuvmt8iRyM/s640/IMG_8999.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin's lantern.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div>After we finished, it was time for the <a href="http://english.seoul.go.kr/cav/ena/friendshipfair.php">Seoul Friendship Festival</a>. We had briefly popped into this festival during the scavenger hunt, but we REALLY wanted to try the international food court, which was...AMAZING. Oh man. If I had known it was that good (and that close to the Cheonggyecheon) I would have been there the day before as well! Over 60 countries set up booths with traditional food, drinks, and other goodies. We camped out on our blanket in front of Indonesia and sent people out on deliciousness recon missions. I chowed down on super tasty food from Indonesia, India, Brazil, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, and Pakistan. So good!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JcM9RRBfItE/TdMYLRkynJI/AAAAAAAAEG8/IVv9_F1ZENQ/s1600/IMG_9005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JcM9RRBfItE/TdMYLRkynJI/AAAAAAAAEG8/IVv9_F1ZENQ/s640/IMG_9005.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tents of deliciousness.</i></div><br />
After dining, Carin, Julia, Chrissy and I headed out in hopes of finding a Board Game Cafe. We found one...but we really weren't interested in any of their offerings, so we decided to go off and see a movie instead. Right down the street was Seoul Theater, which turned out to be REALLY COOL! It is like an old movie theater with marquees, glowy lights, and old school theater configuration. We decided to see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_Code">Source Code</a> because Frank had raved about it. It was good...but probably would have been better if Frank hadn't raised our expectations, haha. Then it was back home.<br />
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<b>Monday, May 9, 2011</b><br />
After sleeping in I woke up to a rainy, humid, generally gross day. Thankfully I had a fun adventure planned with Shannon that cheered me up. Around 1:00pm we headed off to Anguk Station to visit the headquarters of <a href="http://www.girlscout.or.kr/eng_version/eng_goalkorean.html">Girl Scouts Korea</a>. Some of you probably already know that I was a super active Girl Scout in the states from kindergarten right through twelfth grade. I earned my silver and gold awards, went on my first international trip with my troop, and generally just did lots of awesome stuff with the organization. A big part of that was the fact that my mom was a super fantastic troop leader. She now volunteers on the higher levels of scouting (service unit and council), and she collects historic uniforms and accessories. Our job was to get a Girl Scout uniform and Scout uniform. Each school apparently chooses which organization they are affiliating with. All the kids at my school (girls and boys) are just Scouts, which falls under the umbrella of Boy Scouts. Carin, however, has girls at her school that are part of Girl Scouts, which falls under the umbrella of WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouts). Anyway, we needed a uniform from each.<br />
<br />
We started in Anguk at the GSK office, which was SUPER easy to find. Walk out exit 1 and it is directly on your left. We hopped in the elevator and went up to the shop, which was staffed by two sweet women (who spoke very little English but really didn't need to). We bought a bunch of stuff there and asked if they had better directions to the Scout headquarters because we needed to go there next. Thankfully they were able to direct us to a MUCH closer shop, cutting at least 40 minutes off of our trip. We walked over to Gwanghwamun and after a little confusion about where exactly it was located, we finally found the <a href="http://english.scout.or.kr/index.do">Korea Scout Association</a> shop, where I proceeded to buy up a storm. It was a VERY successful trip and I was glad my fellow scout (Shannon) decided to come along! After we were done I subwayed home to vegetate and cool off out of the horrid humidity.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0UAdW6LqBn8/TdMYL-lxwOI/AAAAAAAAEHA/Z-bA-_AwKg8/s1600/IMG_9009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0UAdW6LqBn8/TdMYL-lxwOI/AAAAAAAAEHA/Z-bA-_AwKg8/s640/IMG_9009.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fun window display.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJvJy81QMbs/TdMYMWJL14I/AAAAAAAAEHE/88FbtkFWC68/s1600/IMG_9010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJvJy81QMbs/TdMYMWJL14I/AAAAAAAAEHE/88FbtkFWC68/s640/IMG_9010.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Entrance to the headquarters.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gbrMqAfX33o/TdMYM7XvEKI/AAAAAAAAEHI/e-pr1Z3OfvE/s1600/IMG_9013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gbrMqAfX33o/TdMYM7XvEKI/AAAAAAAAEHI/e-pr1Z3OfvE/s640/IMG_9013.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The ever-so-difficult-to-find Scout store.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OY6pZL2Y5pQ/TdMYNil7L1I/AAAAAAAAEHM/SdV0g4PdjyE/s1600/IMG_9015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OY6pZL2Y5pQ/TdMYNil7L1I/AAAAAAAAEHM/SdV0g4PdjyE/s640/IMG_9015.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Korea Scout Association cub scout (elementary) uniform.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WzWkS3DPllA/TdMYOLvFl0I/AAAAAAAAEHQ/r2e3_KghQlo/s1600/IMG_9016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WzWkS3DPllA/TdMYOLvFl0I/AAAAAAAAEHQ/r2e3_KghQlo/s640/IMG_9016.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Girl Scouts Korea elementary uniform.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VcZjwzz3X90/TdMYO4T3uyI/AAAAAAAAEHU/5LN5mjvpbiE/s1600/IMG_9019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="388" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VcZjwzz3X90/TdMYO4T3uyI/AAAAAAAAEHU/5LN5mjvpbiE/s640/IMG_9019.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Badges and pins. All are from KSA except for the three on the right which are from GSK.</i></div><br />
<b>Tuesday, May 10, 2011</b><br />
We had Monday and Tuesday off for Buddha's Birthday celebrations. Buddha's Birthday is noted on the lunar calendar, so its date changes each year (last year it was May 21, for example). Whatever, I like days off! Around 11:30am Carin, Stephanie, Julia and I met up at <a href="http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=313345">Seodaemun Prison History Museum</a>, near Dongminnum Station on Line 3. Built in the 1907, the most famous use of this prison was by the Japanese during their occupation of Korea. Many political prisoners were jailed here, as well as many people who just pissed off the Japanese occupiers in some way without really being radicals. About half of the prison has been torn down, but the rest is still standing and you can walk around in it. Not only was it beautiful and a powerful reminder of a dark time in Korean history, but it was also extremely well organized, impeccably translated, and generally just very interesting. I was super pleased with how easily accessible it is for foreigners. Not only were the placards translated, but it was obvious that special attention was paid to word choice, especially strong words like oppressive, tyrannical, and tumultuous, which were used both correctly and effectively. In general, it reminded me a lot of the <a href="http://www.trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com/">Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum</a> that my mom and I visited in West Virginia a few years ago. Sufficiently creepy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--86jxLL0A_g/TdMY0OPaHYI/AAAAAAAAEHY/dCu3TMyoe9U/s1600/IMG_9020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--86jxLL0A_g/TdMY0OPaHYI/AAAAAAAAEHY/dCu3TMyoe9U/s640/IMG_9020.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Main entrance to the prison on a rainy overcast day.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lVJ_DUAsDyo/TdMY07OXITI/AAAAAAAAEHc/ki34E5J2Rkk/s1600/IMG_9022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lVJ_DUAsDyo/TdMY07OXITI/AAAAAAAAEHc/ki34E5J2Rkk/s640/IMG_9022.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Remaining buildings.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ne7VrwIQIl0/TdMY1xFgFdI/AAAAAAAAEHg/3b54BhVETM4/s1600/IMG_9027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ne7VrwIQIl0/TdMY1xFgFdI/AAAAAAAAEHg/3b54BhVETM4/s640/IMG_9027.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hall of remembrance. It reminded me a lot of the Holocaust Museum's memorial.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EERg5hc3iHc/TdMY2lNM-bI/AAAAAAAAEHk/_uth7ZuXlao/s1600/IMG_9028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EERg5hc3iHc/TdMY2lNM-bI/AAAAAAAAEHk/_uth7ZuXlao/s640/IMG_9028.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I love the bold color and graphic on this wall.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nr2YAC_b61w/TdMY3gvVgKI/AAAAAAAAEHo/zJinhmQ2L7Y/s1600/IMG_9032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nr2YAC_b61w/TdMY3gvVgKI/AAAAAAAAEHo/zJinhmQ2L7Y/s640/IMG_9032.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Prison cells. That guard is a mannequin.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tA3jQgmEoiM/TdMY4wWQJuI/AAAAAAAAEHs/m9uyiOZIotw/s1600/IMG_9038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tA3jQgmEoiM/TdMY4wWQJuI/AAAAAAAAEHs/m9uyiOZIotw/s640/IMG_9038.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Put away for her crimes.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fTiSH4z18C0/TdMY6OiSJQI/AAAAAAAAEHw/mtdGtpf-0kQ/s1600/IMG_9039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fTiSH4z18C0/TdMY6OiSJQI/AAAAAAAAEHw/mtdGtpf-0kQ/s640/IMG_9039.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin and I are probably most likely to be imprisoned for speaking out against Japan, haha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rQz2OV16WNI/TdMY63m4J6I/AAAAAAAAEH0/wKLjO3zOJZg/s1600/IMG_9040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rQz2OV16WNI/TdMY63m4J6I/AAAAAAAAEH0/wKLjO3zOJZg/s640/IMG_9040.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This guy scared the crap out of me as I walked by.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/---SvXONA9Xk/TdMY7h3bMVI/AAAAAAAAEH4/Og7OIBjsdmE/s1600/IMG_9055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/---SvXONA9Xk/TdMY7h3bMVI/AAAAAAAAEH4/Og7OIBjsdmE/s640/IMG_9055.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Torture devices.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ar1Mea-beNA/TdMY8t9F8eI/AAAAAAAAEH8/7lmiW0dZ9Ck/s1600/IMG_9057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ar1Mea-beNA/TdMY8t9F8eI/AAAAAAAAEH8/7lmiW0dZ9Ck/s640/IMG_9057.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Exactly where Stephanie, Carin, and Julia belong.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TcphS0BlcVw/TdMY94sX_2I/AAAAAAAAEIA/VEyySoGBvXc/s1600/IMG_9059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TcphS0BlcVw/TdMY94sX_2I/AAAAAAAAEIA/VEyySoGBvXc/s640/IMG_9059.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The prison buildings were built from bricks made at other prisons.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DDgC_R5068A/TdMY-e4kioI/AAAAAAAAEIE/CJePvl3yvs4/s1600/IMG_9062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DDgC_R5068A/TdMY-e4kioI/AAAAAAAAEIE/CJePvl3yvs4/s640/IMG_9062.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Giant Korean flags now adorn the prison buildings.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ka_ZPza7APo/TdMY_OLUQEI/AAAAAAAAEII/Y9SRy_IPSTk/s1600/IMG_9063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ka_ZPza7APo/TdMY_OLUQEI/AAAAAAAAEII/Y9SRy_IPSTk/s640/IMG_9063.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Beautiful misty mountain in the background.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VKKyk-xD-gM/TdMZAKn9QMI/AAAAAAAAEIM/_szTIOrCTZk/s1600/IMG_9066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VKKyk-xD-gM/TdMZAKn9QMI/AAAAAAAAEIM/_szTIOrCTZk/s640/IMG_9066.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Represent!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8_a-lpVBX9A/TdMZBKxpaGI/AAAAAAAAEIQ/TAfsm-y_TbM/s1600/IMG_9071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8_a-lpVBX9A/TdMZBKxpaGI/AAAAAAAAEIQ/TAfsm-y_TbM/s640/IMG_9071.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One last group shot at the prison before heading out.</i></div><br />
After we were done at the prison we headed down to Sports Complex where we met up with Jamie, Shannon, Chrissy, Josephine, and Christina to see <a href="http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/varekai/default.aspx">Cirque du Soleil's Varekai</a>. I've always wanted to see a Cirque performance, and since they are TOTALLY not my mom's cup of tea, I was glad I got to go with friends. Even just the tent was amazing! The performers were, of course, impressive with a fair dollop of freakish. There was one performer who was called the "limping angel" who performed on arm crutches. A little Googling indicates that his name is <a href="http://www.stixsteps.de/Bio.html">Dergin Tokmak</a> and he lost the use of his legs to polio when he was very young. He was incredible, an extremely beautiful and powerful dancer, and I was absolutely thrilled that Koreans got to see a strong, positive example of someone with disabilities. Very cool! After the show we made our way over Jamsil and I finally got to eat at <a href="http://www.madforgarlic.com.sg/">Mad for Garlic</a>. It was delicious, but (somewhat surprisingly) not overwhelmingly garlicky. Unexpected.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fx7zBgLz-_U/TdMaz5Y_hOI/AAAAAAAAEIU/2TpkKsgIbvM/s1600/IMG_9072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fx7zBgLz-_U/TdMaz5Y_hOI/AAAAAAAAEIU/2TpkKsgIbvM/s640/IMG_9072.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Super fun Varekai tent.</span></i></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWeuhat6SIM/TdMa0g90blI/AAAAAAAAEIY/RwlRoig8ujQ/s1600/IMG_9073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWeuhat6SIM/TdMa0g90blI/AAAAAAAAEIY/RwlRoig8ujQ/s640/IMG_9073.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Creepy poster!</i></div><br />
<b>Wednesday, May 11 - Friday, May 13, 2011</b><br />
Life was pretty normal. Went to school as per usual. Wednesday a kid puked in class...at least he hit the girl next to him and not me. I went a little germ crazy and forced my co-teacher to let me wipe down the table with hand sanitizer rather than just the water/toilet paper process she felt comfortable with. Aigh. <br />
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Wednesday night I hosted Trivia Night at Bunch and we had about 20 people come out. Mrs. Lim offered us the option of having a buffet for 10,000won a person and it was SO GOOD. I could have eaten her chicken and japchae until I exploded. Absolutely fantastic. Trivia was great. I was somewhat surprised at which questions people knew the answers to. What is the only animal (other than humans) known to carry leprosy? Armadillos. If you are allergic to tree nuts, it is highly likely that you're also allergic to coconuts and what other fruit? Mangoes. 13-year-old Anne Frank made the last entry in her now famous diary on August 1st of what year? 1941. Etcetera. "Team Winning" ended up...winning, and they were pretty psyched about it. Overall I think everyone had fun and most likely learned something.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WPPjF8CAqnQ/TdMboMdEc8I/AAAAAAAAEIc/PFUPIdCE_sA/s1600/IMG_9078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WPPjF8CAqnQ/TdMboMdEc8I/AAAAAAAAEIc/PFUPIdCE_sA/s640/IMG_9078.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One of the bunch ladies with our killer buffet.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-emG5V-N30Ec/TdMbo6kHADI/AAAAAAAAEIg/h1676tUNx9I/s1600/IMG_9085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-emG5V-N30Ec/TdMbo6kHADI/AAAAAAAAEIg/h1676tUNx9I/s640/IMG_9085.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team Winning, the winning team.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VXWunYmU1cU/TdMbpSSmt9I/AAAAAAAAEIk/REBBnjsPXmQ/s1600/IMG_9086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VXWunYmU1cU/TdMbpSSmt9I/AAAAAAAAEIk/REBBnjsPXmQ/s640/IMG_9086.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Trivia people! Ignore Shannon and Andrew's faces, haha.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div>Friday night I headed up to Hagye to celebrate Amanda's half birthday. Since her real birthday is in November and she knew many of us wouldn't be around for it (I'm going home now, Diana is going home in August, Chrissy is moving to Abu Dhabi to teach in August) she wanted to sneak in a celebration. Hey, I'm up for any excuse to barbecue on a rooftop and consume all sorts of delicious fruits and cakes. After eating we (Amanda, Tom, Chrissy, Dave, Shannon, Jamie, Diana and I) went down into their apartment and played all kinds of fun games, so the evening was just a win overall. As we were preparing to catch a taxi and head home, we passed through a park right outside Amanda and Tom's apartment. In a gazebo in the middle of the park, there was a group of Korean guys jamming on a guitar. Drawn over by their music, we ended up standing around and talking/singing with them for a while. They all went to middle and high school together and are now in universities around Seoul majoring in business, poetry, music, painting, computer science, and a range of other stuff. It was very cool. Jam session in the park is not a very Korean concept, so it was exciting and out of the ordinary. They actually said "we saw your group and said 'we should play louder so they come over!'" Obviously it worked. Nothing like a little Oasis, Lady Gaga, Nirvana and Jason Mraz to end the evening!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HoSqxzNDw_0/TdMcMvLCPkI/AAAAAAAAEIo/iTL5mJpYG_s/s1600/IMG_9089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HoSqxzNDw_0/TdMcMvLCPkI/AAAAAAAAEIo/iTL5mJpYG_s/s640/IMG_9089.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Classy birthday lady pretending to lick the grill.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yoHIYF0RjpM/TdMcNrDTQeI/AAAAAAAAEIs/S9Asz_Ygwes/s1600/IMG_9090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yoHIYF0RjpM/TdMcNrDTQeI/AAAAAAAAEIs/S9Asz_Ygwes/s640/IMG_9090.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So much delicious in one photo! Rice Krispy treats, banana cake, fruit with a positively heavenly cream cheese and sugar dip that we proceeded to put on EVERYTHING..</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oupiN8eZh14/TdMcPhAsr5I/AAAAAAAAEIw/7HT0Q3GvUv8/s1600/IMG_9091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oupiN8eZh14/TdMcPhAsr5I/AAAAAAAAEIw/7HT0Q3GvUv8/s640/IMG_9091.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Burn baby burn.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OMcrne-Skbk/TdMcRCQu2sI/AAAAAAAAEI0/ggatYSe3JxU/s1600/IMG_9092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OMcrne-Skbk/TdMcRCQu2sI/AAAAAAAAEI0/ggatYSe3JxU/s640/IMG_9092.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pretty sunset over the mountains.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m6MZs1XAPHc/TdMcSRYofGI/AAAAAAAAEI4/jYpiwmtqukQ/s1600/IMG_9094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m6MZs1XAPHc/TdMcSRYofGI/AAAAAAAAEI4/jYpiwmtqukQ/s640/IMG_9094.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So jealous of their roof!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7K4nQ_m6l00/TdMcTRlcfbI/AAAAAAAAEI8/pt4VhNLSt0U/s1600/IMG_9098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7K4nQ_m6l00/TdMcTRlcfbI/AAAAAAAAEI8/pt4VhNLSt0U/s640/IMG_9098.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Halfy Birthday, Amanda!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Me, Shannon, Jamie, Obi (Sarah's boyfriend who is visiting), Diana, Tom</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dave, Chrissy, Amanda, Sarah</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GWncsY-b4n4/TdMcU5SnHLI/AAAAAAAAEJA/ehCnJhfwXc0/s1600/IMG_9103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GWncsY-b4n4/TdMcU5SnHLI/AAAAAAAAEJA/ehCnJhfwXc0/s640/IMG_9103.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One of the many delicious desserts. </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gB3rdOdIE9M/TdMcWBEmmWI/AAAAAAAAEJE/dsiMN8CyEuo/s1600/IMG_9113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gB3rdOdIE9M/TdMcWBEmmWI/AAAAAAAAEJE/dsiMN8CyEuo/s640/IMG_9113.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The crew who sang for us in the park!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KRqlRYWjHv0/TdMcXAOmKlI/AAAAAAAAEJI/2QfO3aJYRhw/s1600/IMG_9114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KRqlRYWjHv0/TdMcXAOmKlI/AAAAAAAAEJI/2QfO3aJYRhw/s640/IMG_9114.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We also found this AWESOME inversion machine on the way out. Shannon's face is PRICELESS.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OXAbh3rQuDQ/TdMcYwa0ZNI/AAAAAAAAEJM/PPjYQbAPl6I/s1600/IMG_9115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OXAbh3rQuDQ/TdMcYwa0ZNI/AAAAAAAAEJM/PPjYQbAPl6I/s640/IMG_9115.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chrissy the troll doll, lol.</i></div><br />
<b>Saturday, May 14, 2011</b><br />
Saturday morning I got up early to meet Carin and head over to Seoul Station to get tickets down to Suwon. I'd been planning a trip back down to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwaseong_Fortress">Hwaseong Fortress</a> since Jo Anna, Laura and I visited in the FREEEEEZING cold back in January 2010. Since time was pretty much up I scheduled it for Saturday and a ton of people decided they wanted to join. Ten of us (me, Carin, Julia, Jin, Amanda, Tom, Diana, Caitlin, Diana C., and Stephanie) headed down on the 11:10am train. Let me just say, I've been to Suwon three times since I moved here. The first time we took the train. It was okay, but it took about an hour and a half with two transfers, and we had to stand the whole time. The second time we tried to take a direct bus and ended up needing 3 buses and a taxi to get there. That took FOUR HOURS and was horrendous. This time we took the train from Seoul Station and it was BLISS. Thirty minute, smooth, comfortable ride for 2,600won (just over $2). Can't ask for more!<br />
<br />
When we arrived most of us stayed to grab lunch at Kraze Burger while Julia and Jin headed directly to the fortress. Following the directions of the Tourism Bureau we took a bus that didn't, in fact, take us where we needed to be, so we spent about forty-five minutes walking around, asking directions, and following vague brown historical site signs. We finally made it to Hwaseong Haenggung. Last time I went it was winter and a weekday, so the lively performances and participatory events provided on a summer weekend were a nice change of pace. I looked around at the arts and crafts sections but couldn't see anything worth packing, so instead we walked over and watched Carin and Amanda try on historical princess costumes, which was super fun. After they were done Carin and I chilled for a bit while Amanda made some pottery.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bOh-Vl-eygU/TdMda6kGHWI/AAAAAAAAEJQ/TWeN2pYqK1c/s1600/IMG_9119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bOh-Vl-eygU/TdMda6kGHWI/AAAAAAAAEJQ/TWeN2pYqK1c/s640/IMG_9119.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Follow the signs!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uEGdNJH_1BA/TdMddbbKVII/AAAAAAAAEJY/hSN0JWWIH7w/s1600/IMG_9122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uEGdNJH_1BA/TdMddbbKVII/AAAAAAAAEJY/hSN0JWWIH7w/s640/IMG_9122.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Can't keep Carin away from the Koreans.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jo8ahMaHtj0/TdMdevVgr8I/AAAAAAAAEJc/6MfbJVuiYMQ/s1600/IMG_9129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jo8ahMaHtj0/TdMdevVgr8I/AAAAAAAAEJc/6MfbJVuiYMQ/s640/IMG_9129.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>These two were SO SERIOUS.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWVS25oSub8/TdMdfoLYzpI/AAAAAAAAEJg/yL4NsIQujxc/s1600/IMG_9131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWVS25oSub8/TdMdfoLYzpI/AAAAAAAAEJg/yL4NsIQujxc/s640/IMG_9131.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Princess Amanda and Princess Carin.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mc5j3f6Mrkw/TdMdhKqOBlI/AAAAAAAAEJk/uTgTnlpwNvk/s1600/IMG_9134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mc5j3f6Mrkw/TdMdhKqOBlI/AAAAAAAAEJk/uTgTnlpwNvk/s640/IMG_9134.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Adjustments, hahaha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RFP2sB6KHSY/TdMdh2VtJdI/AAAAAAAAEJo/4_p2ZozjROo/s1600/IMG_9139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RFP2sB6KHSY/TdMdh2VtJdI/AAAAAAAAEJo/4_p2ZozjROo/s640/IMG_9139.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Looking lovely in yellow.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Nc8GVKudnM/TdMdjPs5P_I/AAAAAAAAEJs/RyJnqKi4Clg/s1600/IMG_9141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Nc8GVKudnM/TdMdjPs5P_I/AAAAAAAAEJs/RyJnqKi4Clg/s640/IMG_9141.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Ravishing in red.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QAij7ySUsqA/TdMdkfZ6deI/AAAAAAAAEJw/60oJ6rpNwDk/s1600/IMG_9144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QAij7ySUsqA/TdMdkfZ6deI/AAAAAAAAEJw/60oJ6rpNwDk/s640/IMG_9144.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fun arm patch.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LzzmhpRe_a4/TdMdlg6THbI/AAAAAAAAEJ0/W8hGimUSIfY/s1600/IMG_9145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LzzmhpRe_a4/TdMdlg6THbI/AAAAAAAAEJ0/W8hGimUSIfY/s640/IMG_9145.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Close up!</i></div><br />
When the pottery was finished, our motley crew (me, Carin, Diana D, Diana C, Amanda and Tom) decided to go halfway up the mountain to the trolley stop and get tickets for the train. Sadly it was all sold out until 5:10pm (it was about 3:30pm at this time) so we decided to buy tickets and hike up the rest of the mountain before we had to catch the train. Since I'd already been to the top (and who wants to climb over 300 steps to get somewhere you've already gone?) I camped out with all of our bags in a little rest area and read in the sunshine. It was a gorgeous day. Diana C and I also chatted with some Indian men who were living in Suwon on business for a few months. When everyone eventually trickled down the mountain we played a few word games to kill time and eventually went down to catch the train. Let me just say that it was much more pleasant in the warm weather, haha. When we got to the other side we watched kids doing archery for a bit and I climbed up to the fortress wall for some photos. Then we caught a bus back to the station. On the way, I was holding the overhead rail thing and the driver slammed on the brakes. I seriously messed up my left shoulder and it is still bothering me a lot, even as I type this. Sucks!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_5G3u_KM-c4/TdMeHg2chII/AAAAAAAAEJ4/S9iWpJb-z30/s1600/IMG_9150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_5G3u_KM-c4/TdMeHg2chII/AAAAAAAAEJ4/S9iWpJb-z30/s640/IMG_9150.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from my perch at the rest area.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n6Q8NHTJBXw/TdMeI10r9jI/AAAAAAAAEJ8/D7fCZsUVC1I/s1600/IMG_9154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n6Q8NHTJBXw/TdMeI10r9jI/AAAAAAAAEJ8/D7fCZsUVC1I/s640/IMG_9154.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Trolley ride around the perimeter.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PTn1JiFJZtc/TdMeKChhNkI/AAAAAAAAEKA/2oIgY2fbJdY/s1600/IMG_9161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PTn1JiFJZtc/TdMeKChhNkI/AAAAAAAAEKA/2oIgY2fbJdY/s640/IMG_9161.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So pretty.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S6m3emyFdcI/TdMeLFF9CbI/AAAAAAAAEKE/8ZiUE4d-dD0/s1600/IMG_9169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S6m3emyFdcI/TdMeLFF9CbI/AAAAAAAAEKE/8ZiUE4d-dD0/s640/IMG_9169.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>These kids were definitely better than us, haha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VoQ8-aFpo8c/TdMeLl7LtxI/AAAAAAAAEKI/kpO7wD0Kv2w/s1600/IMG_9170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VoQ8-aFpo8c/TdMeLl7LtxI/AAAAAAAAEKI/kpO7wD0Kv2w/s640/IMG_9170.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Walking up to the wall.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2eYLAUTWQy4/TdMeMn7HP2I/AAAAAAAAEKM/cMF1AzRwX7s/s1600/IMG_9174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2eYLAUTWQy4/TdMeMn7HP2I/AAAAAAAAEKM/cMF1AzRwX7s/s640/IMG_9174.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Peeking out over the city.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NPK0KpABBU4/TdMeONlk9DI/AAAAAAAAEKU/TpweLRinLRc/s1600/IMG_9179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NPK0KpABBU4/TdMeONlk9DI/AAAAAAAAEKU/TpweLRinLRc/s640/IMG_9179.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The wall winding off into the distance.</i></div><br />
When we got to the station we decided that we would take a later train home and use the extra time to grab dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Man, there are a LOT of military boys in Suwon! The food was delicious as always, especially the CHEESE FRIES nomnomnom. Fantastic. The train ride home was also easy and pleasant, and then we just needed to hop on the subway and come home. Diana C had left on the train before us so that she could go meet up with her friend Paul, a guy in the Navy who is stationed over here for a bit. We happened to run into them in the subway station, so we joined them for the subway ride back to our area. During our conversation Paul brought up the fact that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Five_(film)">Fast Five</a> (the fifth Fast and the Furious movie) was playing in 4D in Korea, and since we had been discussing going to see it, it was immediately clear that WE MUST SEE IT IN 4D! After I got home I did a little sleuthing and sent out a message to people interested in attending before doing some laundry, watching TV and going to bed.<br />
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<b>Sunday, May 15, 2010</b><br />
Sunday was a lazy day. I spent the morning catching up on TV and doing a little packing/organizing. I met Carin in Gangdong at 4:30pm and we headed over to meet people at Gangbyeon for the movie. It was actually really just shown in 3-dimensions, as there were no 3D effects, but I'll let that slide. It was SO COOL TO WATCH IN 4D. I just loved watching all the seats move as the movie played. You felt every crash, hit, explosion, etc. Very cool. I'm happy I got to sneak in another 4D movie before leaving Korea. On the way home Jamie, Carin and I stopped at Fry Pan to eat some delicious chicken, and on the way home I treated myself to some mint chocolate chip ice cream. Perfection.<br />
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<b>General</b><br />
As previously mentioned, I cannot believe how soon I'm leaving. Or how much I have to do before then! This week I got the surprising news that SMOE found a replacement for me and he may be coming as early as this week. His name is Mark and he's coming from Ireland. The idiot at the SMOE office told him to arrive this Thursday, May 19, but never bothered to check when I was leaving. This is how a conversation went between me and my co-teacher...<br />
<br />
Me: So where is he going to live?<br />
CT: I don't know.<br />
Me: Do you think you can find an apartment by Thursday?<br />
CT: I'm not sure.<br />
Me: Where is he going to live if you <b>can't</b> find an apartment?<br />
CT: I don't know...maybe my house?<br />
<br />
Sigh. She eventually called the head office and the guy there realized his mistake (seriously, he's been a total asshat since orientation, I have no love lost for his dumbass) so he EMAILED Mark and told him to change his flight. I won't even get into how livid I would have been if they'd tried to pull that same shit on me. The only reason I know this is because I found Mark on Facebook and we've been talking. The whole situation is ridiculous. I was really hope it works out that I get to meet him, however I just found out he's not coming until May 31 now. Exchanging information would have been so much easier in person!<br />
<br />
Other exciting news is that my brother's fiancée (Loran) and her brother (confused yet?) are going to be coming over to visit Seoul. I am excited to play travel planner and send them to my favorite spots. It sucks, however, that they'll be coming after I leave. I do think it is funny, however, that my friends here want to take them out to dinner, so they'll most likely meet my future sister-in-law before I do!<br />
<br />
Last night I shipped three boxes home. It was surprisingly pain-free...the hardest part was simply carrying my heavy boxes and two lotus lanterns over to the post office. Thankfully Josephine and Diana helped. More on that process later!Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-33526022093067767222011-05-06T11:14:00.001+09:002011-05-06T16:40:35.568+09:00The Hunt: Seoul Search 2011!Last week I got the genius idea (which, frankly, I'm surprised didn't come to any of us earlier) to do a city-wide scavenger hunt in Seoul. I started by Googling (my first instinct for everything) "Seoul scavenger hunt" and I came across a few helpful links. I know every year <a href="http://rockymountaintavern.com/">Rocky Mountain Tavern</a> in Itaewon runs a hunt, and a girl was nice enough to post the entire list in her <a href="http://erin-in-korea.livejournal.com/46217.html">blog</a>. Now RMT's hunt is designed to basically be a drunken stumble through the city, making asses of foreigners and causing Koreans to get very uncomfortable. That was not the style I was looking for...so out of their 130 items I whittled it down to...41. Then I found a photo a group had taken of a list that they had made for their own hunt in Seoul on a different <a href="http://melandchrismakingithappen.blogspot.com/2010/11/scavenger-hunt-in-seoul.html">blog</a>. I stole my favorite ones from there, and that brought me close to 50 items. Carin and I worked together to fill in the remaining 25 spots with things that we felt were essentially Korean and missing thus far. We ended up with 56 photo challenges, 10 items to bring back, and 10 video challenges.<br />
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We ended up having 28 participants on six teams of 4-5 people. Each team chose a color and dressed or accessorized in that color. We actually ended up having shirts made (I can't believe how easy it was! With the help my my co-teacher that is...) and they looked GREAT. Teams were given five hours to complete as many as they could before we all met at Bunch (our favorite local brunch place) where we reviewed everyone's photos on the TV, voted on questionable ones, and awarded points. It was a fantastically fun day...I couldn't have asked for a better one. We had great weather, I had a stellar team (Carin, Jamie, Shannon and Erich), and at the end of the day I was exhausted from running around and laughing so hard.<br />
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If you would like to see the full set of rules and the list, you can access them as a Google Doc <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tz6pmdqkI3kMGpDrAZVxDBI1H_uDDbDFgI6U-4xShNA/edit?hl=en">here</a>. Please feel free to use this again with your friends...we had such a good time.<br />
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Ok, now for the hilarious photos. Out of the 75 items, at least one team managed to do all but seven! That is fantastic and impressive! We had some crazy and difficult things on the list. Below I will put each challenge and our photo that went with it. If our team didn't complete it, or if our photo was voted down, I've also included a photo from another team who did receive points. Here we go!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V-wX_L7gTZo/TcNBpAefnaI/AAAAAAAAD98/Hxy_5SJYPG0/s1600/000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V-wX_L7gTZo/TcNBpAefnaI/AAAAAAAAD98/Hxy_5SJYPG0/s640/000.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hunt materials: Rules, envelopes with lists in them, and our t-shirt. All branded with the logo designed by Josephine Trinh!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nrI2OyDmNKQ/TcNBrxVwCyI/AAAAAAAAD-I/DH8Gl8zzVJo/s1600/000c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nrI2OyDmNKQ/TcNBrxVwCyI/AAAAAAAAD-I/DH8Gl8zzVJo/s640/000c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Purple Team!<br />
Tom, Diana D., Amanda, Chrissy, and Dave</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dLI_F0Fr2Ys/TcNBskk5YnI/AAAAAAAAD-M/JOxzrFnyFiU/s1600/000e.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dLI_F0Fr2Ys/TcNBskk5YnI/AAAAAAAAD-M/JOxzrFnyFiU/s640/000e.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Blue Team!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Caitlin, Theresa, Lauren (Feeny's aunt), Feeny, and Dana</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wLi1bcrJ2OY/TcNBtTqLteI/AAAAAAAAD-Q/SvMb5G4IcgY/s1600/000g.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wLi1bcrJ2OY/TcNBtTqLteI/AAAAAAAAD-Q/SvMb5G4IcgY/s640/000g.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Orange Team!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Christina, Linda, Naomi, and Brandon (looking AWESOME in their orange)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-on2PaCMWlKk/TcNBt5IIIFI/AAAAAAAAD-U/wJiEk8YgGsE/s1600/000h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-on2PaCMWlKk/TcNBt5IIIFI/AAAAAAAAD-U/wJiEk8YgGsE/s640/000h.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>GREEN TEAM!!! GO GREEN.</i></div><i>Me, Carin, Shannon, Erich, and Jamie</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E_G00BRjPJE/TcNBuS0Q0fI/AAAAAAAAD-Y/l9puOReqpZ0/s1600/000i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E_G00BRjPJE/TcNBuS0Q0fI/AAAAAAAAD-Y/l9puOReqpZ0/s640/000i.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Don't mess with us!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lviKT5yhO9c/TcNBuwqh5bI/AAAAAAAAD-c/-pHQFqZ49z0/s1600/000k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lviKT5yhO9c/TcNBuwqh5bI/AAAAAAAAD-c/-pHQFqZ49z0/s640/000k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pink Team!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jin, Julia, Melissa, and Frank </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(They also had a fifth team member named Hailey who came after the photo was taken.)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNzWIbJif6U/TcNBvtJL0wI/AAAAAAAAD-g/-pZAvm1CsEw/s1600/000m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNzWIbJif6U/TcNBvtJL0wI/AAAAAAAAD-g/-pZAvm1CsEw/s640/000m.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team Gold!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Diana C., Sal, JiHye, and Loren</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pMK0V4xF0yk/TcNBwetpBiI/AAAAAAAAD-k/RtPOAFLlJ0A/s1600/000n.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pMK0V4xF0yk/TcNBwetpBiI/AAAAAAAAD-k/RtPOAFLlJ0A/s640/000n.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We met in Caffe Bene in Myeongdong, which had plenty of room for teams to spread out and get strategic. If you're wondering, the back of our shirts say "We're on a treasure hunt, please help me!" in Korean.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-edOkDDY_17Y/TcNBw9lHGdI/AAAAAAAAD-o/uvYqS1i2Shk/s1600/000o.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-edOkDDY_17Y/TcNBw9lHGdI/AAAAAAAAD-o/uvYqS1i2Shk/s640/000o.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team "Nowon Can Beat Us" getting down to business.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zj0oCLbbkpU/TcNBxYA_Q2I/AAAAAAAAD-s/uonHd33L1UA/s1600/000p.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zj0oCLbbkpU/TcNBxYA_Q2I/AAAAAAAAD-s/uonHd33L1UA/s640/000p.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gold team reviewing the challenges.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-myeGvQIysec/TcNBquebxBI/AAAAAAAAD-E/8SCQ2yS4M3g/s1600/000a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-myeGvQIysec/TcNBquebxBI/AAAAAAAAD-E/8SCQ2yS4M3g/s640/000a.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>We got this.</i></div><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: transparent;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.699525510892272" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Photos:</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">1.Get a stranger to buy you a bottle of soju. (1 point)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wushPLx6Gwg/TcNByImQUiI/AAAAAAAAD-w/U9ToO7HB6XA/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wushPLx6Gwg/TcNByImQUiI/AAAAAAAAD-w/U9ToO7HB6XA/s640/001.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>This girl and her friend had been watching us jump on and off the purple line at every transfer stop to take photos on different subway lines, and when we got off at Cheonho and she did too, she approached us and asked what we were doing. After laughing she asked if there was any way she could help. She bought us the soju, and her friend took a shot with us, worth one point each. Then she also took two of our store photos which earned us another two points. Karma paid off through out the day. We tried to help others when possible (our team filled out three surveys and donated money towards feeding North Korean children) and people really paid it back.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Have a team member wear a ramen cup as a hat. (1 point)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bBlw4Bsekng/TcNBzK9vkSI/AAAAAAAAD-0/IlYb-tKVzYA/s1600/002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bBlw4Bsekng/TcNBzK9vkSI/AAAAAAAAD-0/IlYb-tKVzYA/s640/002.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>It was voted by everyone that this didn't count because Shannon was holding it. Oh well.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_yuudGMd2zg/TcNBzjouTZI/AAAAAAAAD-4/HKEFW1XZS08/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_yuudGMd2zg/TcNBzjouTZI/AAAAAAAAD-4/HKEFW1XZS08/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Loren (Team Gold) earned his team a point with this bold fashion choice.</i></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Play a street arcade game. (1 point) </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7b_swreriok/TcNB0jN-Y1I/AAAAAAAAD-8/PLfIx8AtXE4/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7b_swreriok/TcNB0jN-Y1I/AAAAAAAAD-8/PLfIx8AtXE4/s640/003.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hahaha, Shannon takes on the punch machine in Insadong and has the strongest punch on our team.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Give away "free hugs" and have a stranger take you up on it. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HEPGXR-Jaws/TcNB1cOw02I/AAAAAAAAD_A/Ke84cMNxey8/s1600/004a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HEPGXR-Jaws/TcNB1cOw02I/AAAAAAAAD_A/Ke84cMNxey8/s640/004a.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We stumbled into the Seoul Friendship Fair, and found lots of people who wanted hugs. Like this Korean guy.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CSYuK4IYLfM/TcNB2MVbOkI/AAAAAAAAD_E/Nu2EquYvc08/s1600/004b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CSYuK4IYLfM/TcNB2MVbOkI/AAAAAAAAD_E/Nu2EquYvc08/s640/004b.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>And this bird mascot of Shinhan Bank, bahahaha.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Take a picture of your team at one of the palaces. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y3C9lJUi9sU/TcNB3PtIGJI/AAAAAAAAD_I/64XXxYaCuDs/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y3C9lJUi9sU/TcNB3PtIGJI/AAAAAAAAD_I/64XXxYaCuDs/s640/005.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>In front of <a href="http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264316">Deoksugung Palace</a>.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">6. Take a team picture with a dog wearing clothes. (1 point)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZT0yjbyw2wU/TcNB3xX2ELI/AAAAAAAAD_M/3EL-e_Oz41M/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZT0yjbyw2wU/TcNB3xX2ELI/AAAAAAAAD_M/3EL-e_Oz41M/s640/006.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>To be fair, it was a stuffed dog. But the rules were non-specific!</i></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">7. Take a team picture with an animal statue. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-haVJ6TlMSP8/TcNB4p7N9iI/AAAAAAAAD_Q/Horj4FqHR04/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-haVJ6TlMSP8/TcNB4p7N9iI/AAAAAAAAD_Q/Horj4FqHR04/s640/007.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bear statue in Myeongdong!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">8. Dip your limbs in the Cheonggyechon. (1 point per limb.)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fCIqoCapOLg/TcNB5hW3ZPI/AAAAAAAAD_U/1pScvYchA24/s1600/008a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fCIqoCapOLg/TcNB5hW3ZPI/AAAAAAAAD_U/1pScvYchA24/s640/008a.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>4, 8, 12 limbs.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PGOD0XBJio4/TcNB7IaaKwI/AAAAAAAAD_Y/UD7P3ttElQQ/s1600/008b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PGOD0XBJio4/TcNB7IaaKwI/AAAAAAAAD_Y/UD7P3ttElQQ/s640/008b.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>16, 20 limbs! The water was FREEZING, but actually felt really good on tired feet!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">9. Take a picture of the funniest poorly-written Konglish sign/shirt/menu. (1 point) Bring the item back to us for extra points. (Maximum of 5 points)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hH10VIFbFu4/TcNB70x79wI/AAAAAAAAD_c/bFE1TQDzvRQ/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hH10VIFbFu4/TcNB70x79wI/AAAAAAAAD_c/bFE1TQDzvRQ/s640/009.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This mistake is EVERYWHERE here. I look forward to moving to Massachubatts in August.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">10. Take a team picture doing a human pyramid with a stranger on top. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-odunsP4Xy24/TcNB8wn4HMI/AAAAAAAAD_g/XLZzrP4fRl0/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-odunsP4Xy24/TcNB8wn4HMI/AAAAAAAAD_g/XLZzrP4fRl0/s640/010.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>These kids were out canvassing/spreading information for Habitat for Humanity. Shannon said "Oh! You like houses? Let's build one out of people RIGHT NOW!" before dropping down to her knees and having the Koreans climb aboard. HILARIOUS. I couldn't stop laughing as I took this photo.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bROm4_PPm2U/TcNB9Z6BDOI/AAAAAAAAD_k/LEdiSJEfwGQ/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bROm4_PPm2U/TcNB9Z6BDOI/AAAAAAAAD_k/LEdiSJEfwGQ/s640/10.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team Purple's pyramid was too freaking awesome not to post. The whole team! Impressive as hell!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">11. Take a team picture on a boat. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVGwrPmNkNs/TcNB-McDz0I/AAAAAAAAD_o/pHrL5vO6MkI/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVGwrPmNkNs/TcNB-McDz0I/AAAAAAAAD_o/pHrL5vO6MkI/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So impressed at Team Orange were the only ones to complete this challenge!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">12. Take a picture with a stranger in a Taekwondo outfit. (1 point)</span> <br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>No one successfully got this one.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">13. Take a picture of a piece of graffiti with at least five different colours in it. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fNvLdDFx3_s/TcNB-rB5VTI/AAAAAAAAD_s/JW0htpHuSbU/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fNvLdDFx3_s/TcNB-rB5VTI/AAAAAAAAD_s/JW0htpHuSbU/s640/13.jpg" width="640" /></a><i>Check out all the graffiti that Team Blue found!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">14. Take a picture of a stranger asleep on the subway. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l7sKnNaVDYU/TcNB_F79zTI/AAAAAAAAD_w/AkxqOf9Xyvo/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l7sKnNaVDYU/TcNB_F79zTI/AAAAAAAAD_w/AkxqOf9Xyvo/s640/014.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We spotted this adorable old man sleeping on line 5.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">15. Take a picture of a stranger </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">over the age of 20</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> picking their nose. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0VyYrOgTXMw/TcNJKUZwQmI/AAAAAAAAEAs/RQsCf0ZYSZQ/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0VyYrOgTXMw/TcNJKUZwQmI/AAAAAAAAEAs/RQsCf0ZYSZQ/s640/015.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Thank god for cooperative waygooks we attack in the train station!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">16. Take a picture of a school kid playing a PSP on the subway. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>We had photos of a kid playing Nintendo DS, and an adult playing a PSP, but no one actually got a kid playing a PSP.</b></i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br />
</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">17. Take a picture with a Korean with a tattoo. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i7kGl67ySNE/TcNCCYtHgLI/AAAAAAAAD_0/D5yUYGXPSrs/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i7kGl67ySNE/TcNCCYtHgLI/AAAAAAAAD_0/D5yUYGXPSrs/s640/017.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Forearm tattoo for the win!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">18. Take a picture of a member in the driver seat of a taxi. (1 point)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6WPPjMyuvjk/TcNCCzcBaGI/AAAAAAAAD_4/eM4J1373R-I/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6WPPjMyuvjk/TcNCCzcBaGI/AAAAAAAAD_4/eM4J1373R-I/s640/18.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I cannot believe that the Gold Team (pictured) and the Blue Team got taxi drivers to let them sit in the drivers seat!</i></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">19. Take a picture with a Korean military soldier. (1 point)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cZc6hwCS3dg/TcNCD5cbx9I/AAAAAAAAD_8/eUZqjhNIxDg/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cZc6hwCS3dg/TcNCD5cbx9I/AAAAAAAAD_8/eUZqjhNIxDg/s640/019.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Stealth photo on the train.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A9qsO6bSOAw/TcNCFJB5ZWI/AAAAAAAAEAA/Rs9p-GEMuDw/s1600/19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A9qsO6bSOAw/TcNCFJB5ZWI/AAAAAAAAEAA/Rs9p-GEMuDw/s640/19.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>But the Blue Team was much more impressive!</i></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">20. Take a team picture of a team member in a hanbok. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DfkgrH7gWk/TcNCFwV5ewI/AAAAAAAAEAE/z3V4W6FCtfs/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DfkgrH7gWk/TcNCFwV5ewI/AAAAAAAAEAE/z3V4W6FCtfs/s640/020.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We paid 20,000won at Party Princess for Carin to put on a hanbok...and it ended up not even counting because we are dumb and didn't read that it was a TEAM photo. Le sigh.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mvz6u0r9fWE/TcNCG40s2_I/AAAAAAAAEAI/t6TwYH3roZM/s1600/20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mvz6u0r9fWE/TcNCG40s2_I/AAAAAAAAEAI/t6TwYH3roZM/s640/20.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team Orange got full points with three of its members in (free) hanboks.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">21. Take a picture with a Korean man wearing an ajumma visor. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9KcsbmM7LJE/TcNCHlAfpPI/AAAAAAAAEAM/_kV8uLeXWQM/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9KcsbmM7LJE/TcNCHlAfpPI/AAAAAAAAEAM/_kV8uLeXWQM/s640/021.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>That fellow had quite the visor.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">22. Take a picture of the whole team in furry animal hats. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>Sadly I think furry animal hats are out of season. No one completed this challenge (which would have been a piece of CAKE three months ago).</i></b></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">23. Take a picture in a GS25/7-11/Family Mart corner store holding a package of men's underwear. (1 point)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2nkKIL5MF8I/TcNCIe9xg1I/AAAAAAAAEAQ/ITwyS7182Uw/s1600/023b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2nkKIL5MF8I/TcNCIe9xg1I/AAAAAAAAEAQ/ITwyS7182Uw/s640/023b.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lost your underwear? Just pop into a convenience store!</i></div><div style="background-color: transparent; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">24. Take a picture of a team member pumping gas for a stranger. (1 point)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zevwgj6y0NQ/TcNCJKV_JjI/AAAAAAAAEAU/gLpWZFFoCgg/s1600/24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zevwgj6y0NQ/TcNCJKV_JjI/AAAAAAAAEAU/gLpWZFFoCgg/s640/24.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team Gold ROCKED this challenge. They were the only ones who completed it.</i></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">25. Take a picture of the whole team in a telephone booth. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5E3ag78glI/TcNCJ1CG5bI/AAAAAAAAEAY/anzq4HA_zVQ/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5E3ag78glI/TcNCJ1CG5bI/AAAAAAAAEAY/anzq4HA_zVQ/s640/025.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We are too cute.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">26. Take a picture with a security guard or police officer. (1 point)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ddsB3LGLz3Y/TcNCK7gjZsI/AAAAAAAAEAc/nwr2617reh4/s1600/026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ddsB3LGLz3Y/TcNCK7gjZsI/AAAAAAAAEAc/nwr2617reh4/s640/026.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>No one said it had to be from this century...</i></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">27. Take a picture of a team member kissing an ajosshi on the cheek. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y6u_1OfUvHg/TcNCL7ltyxI/AAAAAAAAEAg/ZAM2dZ15P60/s1600/027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y6u_1OfUvHg/TcNCL7ltyxI/AAAAAAAAEAg/ZAM2dZ15P60/s640/027.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>An ajosshi is technically just a man of marriageable age, but it is mostly used to describe older guys. Carin made this guy's day (and his friend's who snapped their own photo). </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">28. Find a foreign car. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F28GKkiYXY0/TcNCM2b1ObI/AAAAAAAAEAk/SSWCHykFkgY/s1600/028a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F28GKkiYXY0/TcNCM2b1ObI/AAAAAAAAEAk/SSWCHykFkgY/s640/028a.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Volvo! Being Korea, it is harder than you might think to find a foreign car.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">29. Take a team picture with an ajumma or ajosshi in full hiking gear. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yv61N7rC6rw/TcNCNzzEkUI/AAAAAAAAEAo/J4My5V3GhYk/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yv61N7rC6rw/TcNCNzzEkUI/AAAAAAAAEAo/J4My5V3GhYk/s640/029.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>These two also loved our on-off shenanigans on the purple line. They would give us a heads up about the next transfer station, haha.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">30. Take a picture with the robot in Insadong. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ltynRh2M5-k/TcNPHa_T_HI/AAAAAAAAEA0/WPdZYkssku8/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ltynRh2M5-k/TcNPHa_T_HI/AAAAAAAAEA0/WPdZYkssku8/s640/030.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Thanks to the holiday, Insadong was PACKED and really obnoxious to navigate.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">31. Take a team picture in a themed cafe. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LW94jfqwmh0/TcNPIKSTwyI/AAAAAAAAEA4/qgrwWbP_7yQ/s1600/031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LW94jfqwmh0/TcNPIKSTwyI/AAAAAAAAEA4/qgrwWbP_7yQ/s640/031.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Party Princess!<br />
Jamie: So what is the theme here<br />
Me: Dressing up in pretty dresses.<br />
Jamie: Wait...really?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">32. Take a picture of a team member holding a Korean baby. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HbBA0Vdq5_4/TcNPL57Q3II/AAAAAAAAEBI/JHEINIPOq0g/s1600/032c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HbBA0Vdq5_4/TcNPL57Q3II/AAAAAAAAEBI/JHEINIPOq0g/s640/032c.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We got this adorable photo near the Cheonggyecheon, but we were voted down on grounds that it wasn't a "baby" according to the group.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kx2cEaw0vmM/TcNPI622XEI/AAAAAAAAEA8/ix37YYY7UBc/s1600/32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kx2cEaw0vmM/TcNPI622XEI/AAAAAAAAEA8/ix37YYY7UBc/s640/32.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Whereas Team Purple got credit for this terrified little girl that Diana ripped from her father's loving arms, hahaha.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">33. Take a picture of a team member hunkered down over a squat toilet. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tsrbs90SliM/TcNPMncgDiI/AAAAAAAAEBM/3Z27_8VXgKs/s1600/033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tsrbs90SliM/TcNPMncgDiI/AAAAAAAAEBM/3Z27_8VXgKs/s640/033.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Always classy, hahaha.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">34. Take a team picture with a couple in couplewear. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6IR8cjIc--k/TcNPNbl182I/AAAAAAAAEBQ/CUT7t0hZlBA/s1600/034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6IR8cjIc--k/TcNPNbl182I/AAAAAAAAEBQ/CUT7t0hZlBA/s640/034.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cute couple wear!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">35. Take a team picture with everyone in lense-free glasses. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lnCaTJdAkzo/TcNPN_DG6lI/AAAAAAAAEBU/YINfb3ZdXQE/s1600/35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lnCaTJdAkzo/TcNPN_DG6lI/AAAAAAAAEBU/YINfb3ZdXQE/s640/35.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We didn't do this one, but Team Pink did an awesome job. Even if it did mean Jin almost getting attacked by the salesgirl! </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">36. Eat a Pizza School pizza of your choice. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Yvm9_h37b0/TcNPP9AijfI/AAAAAAAAEBY/83WFhfthssw/s1600/036a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Yvm9_h37b0/TcNPP9AijfI/AAAAAAAAEBY/83WFhfthssw/s640/036a.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Before.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VPEDee4A7xg/TcNPQlG0TpI/AAAAAAAAEBc/QJQLxH0gRYQ/s1600/036b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VPEDee4A7xg/TcNPQlG0TpI/AAAAAAAAEBc/QJQLxH0gRYQ/s640/036b.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>During.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uM9WdaLRfik/TcNPRcuXolI/AAAAAAAAEBg/BrGafhbCe44/s1600/036c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uM9WdaLRfik/TcNPRcuXolI/AAAAAAAAEBg/BrGafhbCe44/s640/036c.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>After. CRUSHED.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">37. Collect one of each denomination of Korean currency (coins and bills) and take a picture of them. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UnH5BHl9l64/TcNPSciw8kI/AAAAAAAAEBk/Y-yeDbTY3OE/s1600/037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UnH5BHl9l64/TcNPSciw8kI/AAAAAAAAEBk/Y-yeDbTY3OE/s640/037.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We even had both sizes of 10won coins!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">38. Take a picture of a team member plucking their eyebrows or painting their nails on the subway. (1 point)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EJ30d4Pfu2c/TcNPS-vuulI/AAAAAAAAEBo/QTzBXvX5xyk/s1600/38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EJ30d4Pfu2c/TcNPS-vuulI/AAAAAAAAEBo/QTzBXvX5xyk/s640/38.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Feeny, of Team Blue, did her beautifications (with my nail polish, haha) on the train.</i></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">39. Take a team picture with a male wearing eyeliner. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WxYNnH01BVM/TcNPTfYooqI/AAAAAAAAEBs/ITsEzBxzeHU/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WxYNnH01BVM/TcNPTfYooqI/AAAAAAAAEBs/ITsEzBxzeHU/s640/039.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Erich looking extra smoldering with his eyeliner.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">40. Take a team picture in front of each team member’s school. (1 point per school.)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BSCS0Uxoxp8/TcNPUKZGuSI/AAAAAAAAEBw/_LLEB_I4_UU/s1600/40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BSCS0Uxoxp8/TcNPUKZGuSI/AAAAAAAAEBw/_LLEB_I4_UU/s640/40.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Only two teams attempted this one, and each only got to one school. Here is Team Orange in front of member Christina's hagwon, Pagoda. Not VIPS. That is a delicious restaurant.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">50. Take a picture of at least one team member with a gamer in a PC Bang. (1 point)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P8QTuXlb52c/TcNPUqj8ioI/AAAAAAAAEB0/2zWWkmWLRLI/s1600/041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P8QTuXlb52c/TcNPUqj8ioI/AAAAAAAAEB0/2zWWkmWLRLI/s640/041.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Erich went into the PC Bang in my building's basement and happened to run into an old student who is now in high school. "GASP. Erich teacher?" Awesome.</i></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">51. Take a team picture with the owner of Bunch. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KLG4ikSBTXA/TcNPVOFUzzI/AAAAAAAAEB4/rpXTP-tMx0k/s1600/042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KLG4ikSBTXA/TcNPVOFUzzI/AAAAAAAAEB4/rpXTP-tMx0k/s640/042.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Mrs. Lim is fantastic. I don't know what we would have done without her letting us take over Bunch for the photo/video review. It was perfect.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">52. Take a team picture in official jjimjilbang attire at the sauna of your choice. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>No one completed this challenge either.</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">53. Take a team picture in front of Seoul’s tallest building. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>The 63 Building in Yeouido was way out of the way, so due to time restraints no one attempted this challenge. </i></b></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><br />
</i></b>54. Take a team picture featuring at least one ddong (poop) shaped product. (1 point)</span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F5nd2Kz19dE/TcNPV-FeWtI/AAAAAAAAEB8/lxzVweVimDs/s1600/045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F5nd2Kz19dE/TcNPV-FeWtI/AAAAAAAAEB8/lxzVweVimDs/s640/045.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Oh so VERY Korean. These are poop shaped pastries with brown, squishy, red bean paste inside. Aigh.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">55. Take a team picture with a fish. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QfHFr1iR7Kg/TcNPWjpz1bI/AAAAAAAAECA/Mo_6NPQDvEI/s1600/046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QfHFr1iR7Kg/TcNPWjpz1bI/AAAAAAAAECA/Mo_6NPQDvEI/s640/046.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fishy fish!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">56. Take a picture of at least one team member eating a shrimp and/or octopus burger from Lotteria. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NeEVxiXZOhA/TcNPXbKCwYI/AAAAAAAAECE/gP16O0O_7FQ/s1600/047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NeEVxiXZOhA/TcNPXbKCwYI/AAAAAAAAECE/gP16O0O_7FQ/s640/047.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>No really, they're delicious. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Note Erich getting eye linered up in the background, haha.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">57. Take a team picture with a Korean celebrity. (1 point )</span> <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">20 points if they are a living, breathing person. </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xyd_73pbRQ4/TcNPYE7gMOI/AAAAAAAAECI/qmtfaruvGu0/s1600/048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xyd_73pbRQ4/TcNPYE7gMOI/AAAAAAAAECI/qmtfaruvGu0/s640/048.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This one was super easy since celebrities promote EVERYTHING here.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">58. Take a team picture in which every team member is sipping from the same Monkey Beach bucket. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GEwkJdbsklo/TcNPY7rFxoI/AAAAAAAAECM/eEneuvenn6s/s1600/049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GEwkJdbsklo/TcNPY7rFxoI/AAAAAAAAECM/eEneuvenn6s/s640/049.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Yes! I KNEW there was a reason I kept this bucket from Halloween. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I also enjoy that there are three holidays represented in this photo. Halloween for the bucket, Christmas directions in the background (that I still haven't taken down...oops), and the lotus lantern I made last year for Buddha's birthday.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">59. Take a photo of Seoul from the top of Namsan Tower. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>Getting to the top of Namsan can be expensive and time consuming, so everyone scrapped this challenge.</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">60. Take a team picture with someone promoting the opening of a store or restaurant. (1 point) </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pi6fVp-RGRU/TcNPZ3hLB0I/AAAAAAAAECQ/6Bav-DBxsjQ/s1600/051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pi6fVp-RGRU/TcNPZ3hLB0I/AAAAAAAAECQ/6Bav-DBxsjQ/s640/051.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>When getting our pizza Shannon spotted this store opening down the street. Look at that girl's outfit! Crazytown!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">61. Take a picture of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at least </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> two team members on a tandem bicycle. (1 point for two members, 2 points for three members, 3 for four members, and so forth)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3VLr1sZp4Bo/TcNPa8ad9dI/AAAAAAAAECU/OnAnzY5oqMU/s1600/52+B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3VLr1sZp4Bo/TcNPa8ad9dI/AAAAAAAAECU/OnAnzY5oqMU/s640/52+B.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sal and Loren of Team Gold taking a little jaunt on a bicycle built for two!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">62. Do a shot of soju with a stranger. (1 point per person, maximum of 5 points)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rZp2vW1C_jk/TcNPbnlmAQI/AAAAAAAAECY/dO3eXMXIcMA/s1600/053a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rZp2vW1C_jk/TcNPbnlmAQI/AAAAAAAAECY/dO3eXMXIcMA/s640/053a.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A shot with the friend of the girl who bought us soju.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l8QjQdow8Nc/TcNPcQCgR4I/AAAAAAAAECc/i8dQ6TCPNfs/s1600/053b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l8QjQdow8Nc/TcNPcQCgR4I/AAAAAAAAECc/i8dQ6TCPNfs/s640/053b.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>And one with the friend of the owner of Bunch.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">63. Take a group photo in front of each of the following: HomePlus, Lotte Mart, E-Mart, Shinsegae, Hyundai. Store logo must be visible. (1 point per store)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gq5dDZN8Rrs/TcNPf5NTAnI/AAAAAAAAECw/eiZx_zq-IkM/s1600/054d.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gq5dDZN8Rrs/TcNPf5NTAnI/AAAAAAAAECw/eiZx_zq-IkM/s640/054d.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The guy from the cell phone store nicely took this photo of us with HomePlus.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hs01m1ATEFU/TcNPdLWN4MI/AAAAAAAAECg/eR6MlwV8ei4/s1600/54+Lote+Mart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hs01m1ATEFU/TcNPdLWN4MI/AAAAAAAAECg/eR6MlwV8ei4/s640/54+Lote+Mart.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team Gold paid attention to the clue and read that it had to be LotteMart, not a Lotte Department store, so they get props for that.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zDQmUKppq-g/TcNPen_C5DI/AAAAAAAAECo/CZUPrkxCUV8/s1600/054b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zDQmUKppq-g/TcNPen_C5DI/AAAAAAAAECo/CZUPrkxCUV8/s640/054b.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>E-Mart.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RQQh5jIcIgE/TcNPfIJ2pwI/AAAAAAAAECs/nyDuWtHxHPw/s1600/054c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RQQh5jIcIgE/TcNPfIJ2pwI/AAAAAAAAECs/nyDuWtHxHPw/s640/054c.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Over Shannon's shoulder you can JUUUUUST see the sign for Hyundai Department Store.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">64. Take a picture of your team at stops on EVERY subway line. (1 point per line represented)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Four of these were taken by jumping off the train, snapping the photo, and jumping back on before the doors closed as we traveled down the purple line. It was awesome and impressive.</span></i></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Si7ck7JswE/TcNPhGcF_oI/AAAAAAAAEC4/aX1pEaja0sA/s1600/055b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Si7ck7JswE/TcNPhGcF_oI/AAAAAAAAEC4/aX1pEaja0sA/s640/055b.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Line 1.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wYPWNROLALA/TcNPgQfh7FI/AAAAAAAAEC0/BZ8rcGjOius/s1600/055a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wYPWNROLALA/TcNPgQfh7FI/AAAAAAAAEC0/BZ8rcGjOius/s640/055a.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Line 2.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-80bkUwekQik/TcNPh29i7mI/AAAAAAAAEC8/oqu1VNvRKoc/s1600/055c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-80bkUwekQik/TcNPh29i7mI/AAAAAAAAEC8/oqu1VNvRKoc/s640/055c.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Line 3.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ml-XgCfepvU/TcNPm5EfSjI/AAAAAAAAEDE/OZElRKwEEAs/s1600/055e.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ml-XgCfepvU/TcNPm5EfSjI/AAAAAAAAEDE/OZElRKwEEAs/s640/055e.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Line 4.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sxqu24vWVXU/TcNPi0j2TkI/AAAAAAAAEDA/BkMQ_LtW66s/s1600/055d.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sxqu24vWVXU/TcNPi0j2TkI/AAAAAAAAEDA/BkMQ_LtW66s/s640/055d.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Line 5.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wegRpZXm-XE/TcNPp2NBdmI/AAAAAAAAEDI/mU9ZthFt48w/s1600/055f.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wegRpZXm-XE/TcNPp2NBdmI/AAAAAAAAEDI/mU9ZthFt48w/s640/055f.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Line 6.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6AbyC4ITWgc/TcNPrQnz62I/AAAAAAAAEDQ/X5hZ9LYvb4s/s1600/055h.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6AbyC4ITWgc/TcNPrQnz62I/AAAAAAAAEDQ/X5hZ9LYvb4s/s640/055h.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Line 7.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S3NSRwe9CFM/TcNPsH0gysI/AAAAAAAAEDU/QJWGroopSiw/s1600/055i.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S3NSRwe9CFM/TcNPsH0gysI/AAAAAAAAEDU/QJWGroopSiw/s640/055i.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Line 8. </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cjWtTRpCKJY/TcNPqmq6RrI/AAAAAAAAEDM/q9H28B_C238/s1600/055g.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cjWtTRpCKJY/TcNPqmq6RrI/AAAAAAAAEDM/q9H28B_C238/s640/055g.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jungang Line.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">65. Have a nationality hunt and take photos with other waygookin from around the world. (1 point per country)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>This was so much fun! Erich would run up to anyone even VAGUELY foreign looking and ask where they were from. People were remarkably cool about taking photos with us, and were impressively diverse. We got all kinds of cool countries and so did everyone else!</i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5aSTlnMazkY/TcNPswOOYcI/AAAAAAAAEDY/sdDN3LBLNQc/s1600/056algeria.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5aSTlnMazkY/TcNPswOOYcI/AAAAAAAAEDY/sdDN3LBLNQc/s640/056algeria.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Algeria.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SoJp4sUnLps/TcNPtwWqEwI/AAAAAAAAEDc/7B0VCz-mISQ/s1600/056america.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SoJp4sUnLps/TcNPtwWqEwI/AAAAAAAAEDc/7B0VCz-mISQ/s640/056america.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>America.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IjmjaXdKjS0/TcNPu_kFsVI/AAAAAAAAEDg/tE0GYHWNWJc/s1600/056australia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IjmjaXdKjS0/TcNPu_kFsVI/AAAAAAAAEDg/tE0GYHWNWJc/s640/056australia.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Australia.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t7bTHJSgcaY/TcNWeWBZAKI/AAAAAAAAEDo/LgI5RUvXEXA/s1600/056canada.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t7bTHJSgcaY/TcNWeWBZAKI/AAAAAAAAEDo/LgI5RUvXEXA/s640/056canada.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Canada.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rgovBt5IBNw/TcNWfqM7m2I/AAAAAAAAEDs/IOROOk_EOFw/s1600/056china.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rgovBt5IBNw/TcNWfqM7m2I/AAAAAAAAEDs/IOROOk_EOFw/s640/056china.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>China.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-58Udqfvf_Dw/TcNWgT2A7JI/AAAAAAAAEDw/7TeqdTzFKFM/s1600/056denmark.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-58Udqfvf_Dw/TcNWgT2A7JI/AAAAAAAAEDw/7TeqdTzFKFM/s640/056denmark.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Denmark.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L8cqvnizdQw/TcNWhXUxlhI/AAAAAAAAED0/Es8YjcyaxtM/s1600/056england.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L8cqvnizdQw/TcNWhXUxlhI/AAAAAAAAED0/Es8YjcyaxtM/s640/056england.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>England.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TEYsj2DS8t8/TcNWiJUPVOI/AAAAAAAAED4/WkWZ6rfNJEQ/s1600/056india.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TEYsj2DS8t8/TcNWiJUPVOI/AAAAAAAAED4/WkWZ6rfNJEQ/s640/056india.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>India</i>.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MUAHm4iS7kg/TcNWixP6PhI/AAAAAAAAED8/ezbyQz0o1uw/s1600/056japan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MUAHm4iS7kg/TcNWixP6PhI/AAAAAAAAED8/ezbyQz0o1uw/s640/056japan.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Japan.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wf8nrs7kAVc/TcNWjmG0e9I/AAAAAAAAEEA/9JLSrrLPXzM/s1600/056malaysia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wf8nrs7kAVc/TcNWjmG0e9I/AAAAAAAAEEA/9JLSrrLPXzM/s640/056malaysia.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Malaysia.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-90dTshMKprI/TcNWkb-mBVI/AAAAAAAAEEE/OustytZN3WQ/s1600/056pakistan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-90dTshMKprI/TcNWkb-mBVI/AAAAAAAAEEE/OustytZN3WQ/s640/056pakistan.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pakistan.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZcHcoSuKFI/TcNWlFBpJjI/AAAAAAAAEEI/SlgCR-J8FIA/s1600/056russia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZcHcoSuKFI/TcNWlFBpJjI/AAAAAAAAEEI/SlgCR-J8FIA/s640/056russia.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Russia.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2KtHwxqEkYs/TcNWmV_MEzI/AAAAAAAAEEM/hNiIeDrWOo0/s1600/056saudi+arabia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2KtHwxqEkYs/TcNWmV_MEzI/AAAAAAAAEEM/hNiIeDrWOo0/s640/056saudi+arabia.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Saudia Arabia.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sj1epWjW5gk/TcNWnSk-IgI/AAAAAAAAEEQ/WYszzfOmrUw/s1600/056scotland.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sj1epWjW5gk/TcNWnSk-IgI/AAAAAAAAEEQ/WYszzfOmrUw/s640/056scotland.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Scotland.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LJSvWDmK4zA/TcNWoQY3AkI/AAAAAAAAEEU/sKBvbFjsK7s/s1600/056south+africa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LJSvWDmK4zA/TcNWoQY3AkI/AAAAAAAAEEU/sKBvbFjsK7s/s640/056south+africa.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>South Africa.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ijXBNn919Js/TcNWpTn1E-I/AAAAAAAAEEY/jT1_BFGsumo/s1600/056sweden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ijXBNn919Js/TcNWpTn1E-I/AAAAAAAAEEY/jT1_BFGsumo/s640/056sweden.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sweden.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Items to collect: </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">57. Have each team member make a nametag with their name written in Hangul to wear during the race. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We made crappy nametags, but they didn't stay on. Other teams had great ones that they wore in many photos.</i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br />
</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">58. Bring back a Korean flag without paying for it. (1 point) </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We had a girl draw us a flag. She was so overwhelmed by us that she forgot how the lines on the Korean flag are organized and had to look it up!</i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dqjZyfIaSUk/TcNBpg6ZEAI/AAAAAAAAD-A/9bXo9rlszts/s1600/0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dqjZyfIaSUk/TcNBpg6ZEAI/AAAAAAAAD-A/9bXo9rlszts/s640/0.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">59. Get a business card from a tailor. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We didn't get this one done (the one we asked wouldn't give it to us...boo!) but other teams were successful. </i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br />
</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">60. For each home country within your team, collect an object displaying the country's flag. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We were all from the US so we got one small flag in Insadong.</i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br />
</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">61. Bring back a used stamp. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Carin had a letter at home, so this was pretty simple to collect.</i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br />
</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">62. Find/steal/create a banner with your team name on it and bring it back. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We got posterboard and made our big sign that read EXTREME GREEN! and had various slogans on it including "We'll kick your grass!" "It's greener over here!" and "We'll take home the green!"</i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br />
</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">63. Take sticker booth photos of your whole team. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>SAAAD that we missed this. Perhaps we'll just have to have a team meeting later and do this anyway, haha. </i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br />
</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">64. Obtain a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup product. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Reese's products never survive long in my apartment, so it is lucky that Carin's parents had recently sent her some mini-cups.</i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br />
</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">65. Have each member of the team purchase and wear a pair of celebrity socks. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Adding one more to my collection. Awesome!</i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RSkkgRvMugU/TcNWdfmkO1I/AAAAAAAAEDk/7Iq7HN4reDs/s1600/065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RSkkgRvMugU/TcNWdfmkO1I/AAAAAAAAEDk/7Iq7HN4reDs/s640/065.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Think these are all <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls_Generation">Girls' Generation</a> members. </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">66. Obtain an item with a taeguk on it (cannot be the flag used for #58). (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We got a pair of awesome Korean flag socks that I look forward to wearing in the future.</i></span></div><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Videos: (THESE WILL BE UPLOADED WHEN I GET HOME!)</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">67. Convince a restaurant to let you go back and roll your own kimbap. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">68. Have each member of your team eat at least one silkworm pupa. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">69. Get as many people to do the "Where the Hell is Matt?" dance with your team in a crowded public place. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">70. Consume a cup of tteokbokki in 60 seconds or less. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">71. Video record a Korean B-Boy break-dancing. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>Somewhat surprisingly, no one completed this one.</b></i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">72. Get a young Korean child to say “hello” to you. One point per child, for a maximum of five points. Minus three points if the parent is seen prompting them. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">73. Record at least three members of your group playing leap frog in front of the World Peace Gate at Olympic Park. (1 point)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>Only one team went to Olympic Park and they took a photo in front of World Peace Gate...but forgot to leapfrog! Oh well.</i></b></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">74. Record the team singing at least one song in a noraebang. (1 point) </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">75. Eat live octopus. (3 points per team member)</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>Deemed too time consuming, expensive, and/or creepy, no one did this challenge.</b></i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">As you can see, we had an absolutely fantastic day. It was the perfect way to spend a beautiful day off!</span></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-45486341789182658152011-05-02T14:27:00.001+09:002011-05-02T14:30:14.748+09:00The Girliest of Weekends!Hope this entry finds all of you well. May is absolutely jam packed with adventures, so I have to be sure to update more efficiently so I can make sure everything is covered!<br />
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Last Friday night we went and saw Michael (and Barry, the other guy from his Toastmasters Club) perform in the area speech competition near Seoul National University of Education. Once again we were the largest, cheering squad...you know how we do. Chrissy made great signs that we weren't allowed to use during the speeches lest they effect the judge's perception of the speeches, but we did get a chance to take photos with them at the end. Overall the speeches were good. Barry (rightfully) won first place, with a speech that was new and better than the one he won with at the club level. Second place went (undeserved, in my opinion) to the man who MCed the club level competition named Irving. I find him odd and off putting, and I did not enjoy his speech. A Korean named Pil Soo won third place, and I really liked his speech (in my ranking he got second). I felt that (objectively) Michael should have gotten third place. But it was not to be. The three who placed will now head down to the national level competition in Busan. After the speeches there was a small reception with wine and food. Unfortunately the room was REALLY hot, so we had to alternate being in the room and outside in the rain. We headed out a bit early and met up at a bar called All That Beer (sadly Amanda Bynes was no where to be found) where we had some drinks and talked for a bit. We also got nachos and ONCE AGAIN we were served whipped cream instead of sour cream. Really, Korea? Do just the tiniest bit of research, please. Carin, Joseph, Feeny and I decided to leave early-ish, but it was still too late for the subway, so we went outside to hail a cab. Nearly 40 minutes of on-and-off torrential downpours, heavy lightning and thunder, and multiple cabs (that slowed down, saw we were foreigners, and kept driving) we finally successfully piled into a cab and came home. Kind of a downer ending to the evening. However, I perked up a bit after looking at some photos of Kate Middleton looking all regal in her lovely gown and I went to bed.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tI5198kkea8/Tb4xuqJjPEI/AAAAAAAAD78/iU4KzjvwJsc/s1600/IMG_8541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tI5198kkea8/Tb4xuqJjPEI/AAAAAAAAD78/iU4KzjvwJsc/s640/IMG_8541.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Barry + Michael Whyte obviously = Barry Whyte.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Can't get enough of your love baaaabe.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YNT26j8Yq5A/Tb4xwvjr34I/AAAAAAAAD8A/qbERSmc3Nt8/s1600/IMG_8543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YNT26j8Yq5A/Tb4xwvjr34I/AAAAAAAAD8A/qbERSmc3Nt8/s640/IMG_8543.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Joke's on you, Korea. That whipped cream tasted delicious on the little puffed rice snacks that were also served on the table.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JccOOFlvtvo/Tb4xsfF3emI/AAAAAAAAD74/VU0hJDTKGHQ/s1600/IMG_8544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JccOOFlvtvo/Tb4xsfF3emI/AAAAAAAAD74/VU0hJDTKGHQ/s640/IMG_8544.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cheers to good friends!</i></div><br />
All weekend the weather was gross. I blame myself...I made an offhanded comment about being glad I was leaving Korea before the rainy season, which obviously caused Korea to prove me wrong. It has been yellow dusty and rainy for like a week now. During the brief breaks of sun we are treated to a gross grayish yellow haze everywhere, compliments of Mongolia. Le sigh.<br />
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Saturday's weather was especially gross: dark skies, heavy rain, cool temperatures. It was just the perfect weather to stay in bed all day. Which is what I did most of the day. It took SUPREME effort to drag myself out of bed and go meet Feeny, Carin, Julia and Jin in Myeongdong to go to <a href="http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1024594">Party Princess</a>. But man was I glad that I did! Plans to go to this dress-up cafe have been in the works for a while, through various people. Diana, Lee-Rae and I had planned to go, but it got postponed quite a few times, so I succumbed to peer pressure and went with the other four girls. We met around 5:30pm and went and ate at Outback Steakhouse first (mmmm cheese fries...) and then made our way over to Party Princess. (DIRECTIONS: Euljiro 1ga Station (Line 2, green) exit 6. Walk straight until you see a KB Bank on your left. Just after the bank, take a left down the small road/alley. Party Princess will be just down the road on your right.)<br />
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The "concept" of this cafe is getting dressed up in frilly dresses (many of them are of the wedding variety, but there are also some that are party dresses, and traditional Korean hanboks) and taking an ass-ton of photos. What a totally bizarre, uniquely Asian place. I chose not to dress up (I am poor and too big for any sort of Korean made clothing) but I had a fantastic time taking photos of the other girls in their finery. When we first got there we sat down and enjoyed some tasty beverages, ranging from teas to lattes (generally between 4,000 and 8,000won), and waited for the couple currently taking photos to finish their session. When the time came we were escorted back to the big closet where you could pick your dress (there are also dress up clothes like suits and tuxes for boys...but they are obviously just supposed to be props, not the center of attention). I would say there were about 40 wedding dresses of varying styles and lengths, in addition to the other dresses. Rentals (for one hour) range from 10,000-35,000won, depending on style. After the girls chose and donned their dresses, we had an hour to roam about the cafe, taking photos in their wide variety of settings. It ranged from simple walls, to doll house decor, to a fake tiger pelt on the wall. SO RANDOM...but an excellent time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iaunsRLw0Zo/Tb42NuUksiI/AAAAAAAAD8E/rpkIdo6PxLA/s1600/IMG_8545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iaunsRLw0Zo/Tb42NuUksiI/AAAAAAAAD8E/rpkIdo6PxLA/s640/IMG_8545.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The outside of Party Princess.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eSTq8Z05lfk/Tb42hlssZTI/AAAAAAAAD9w/S7F3al8Cnzg/s1600/IMG_8685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eSTq8Z05lfk/Tb42hlssZTI/AAAAAAAAD9w/S7F3al8Cnzg/s640/IMG_8685.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View of entrance from inside the mall.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kTbIp3oJWSQ/Tb42OPLU4MI/AAAAAAAAD8I/EfdaJqXFMeM/s1600/IMG_8546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kTbIp3oJWSQ/Tb42OPLU4MI/AAAAAAAAD8I/EfdaJqXFMeM/s640/IMG_8546.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our seat under the "trees".</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aEJInlXdRbQ/Tb42OloboCI/AAAAAAAAD8M/NN1Mu-MvOnQ/s1600/IMG_8548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aEJInlXdRbQ/Tb42OloboCI/AAAAAAAAD8M/NN1Mu-MvOnQ/s640/IMG_8548.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Menu detailing the dress deals. All in Korean.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dr2toqJU1qo/Tb42PDkYIqI/AAAAAAAAD8Q/9uXwIGz7Fp8/s1600/IMG_8553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dr2toqJU1qo/Tb42PDkYIqI/AAAAAAAAD8Q/9uXwIGz7Fp8/s640/IMG_8553.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>English drink menu!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zjJcHYVlOnk/Tb42P0YiMkI/AAAAAAAAD8U/LqkoMc19UtU/s1600/IMG_8554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zjJcHYVlOnk/Tb42P0YiMkI/AAAAAAAAD8U/LqkoMc19UtU/s640/IMG_8554.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Very tasty (and cute) mint hot chocolate.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hg9eTRCMwh4/Tb42QhFg2oI/AAAAAAAAD8Y/x0MM7c6exak/s1600/IMG_8560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hg9eTRCMwh4/Tb42QhFg2oI/AAAAAAAAD8Y/x0MM7c6exak/s640/IMG_8560.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cute, girly decor.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E9G3le1eLB4/Tb42YN4guZI/AAAAAAAAD9A/j-a06WUIfZE/s1600/IMG_8630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E9G3le1eLB4/Tb42YN4guZI/AAAAAAAAD9A/j-a06WUIfZE/s640/IMG_8630.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The closet.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mPXBmGJ3X80/Tb42UXuNiiI/AAAAAAAAD8s/Vf7QneuIvKE/s1600/IMG_8602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mPXBmGJ3X80/Tb42UXuNiiI/AAAAAAAAD8s/Vf7QneuIvKE/s640/IMG_8602.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Overview of the cafe from one of the top spots.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mtPth7YRfTo/Tb42RqHTUEI/AAAAAAAAD8c/TkPiZV5wxek/s1600/IMG_8568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mtPth7YRfTo/Tb42RqHTUEI/AAAAAAAAD8c/TkPiZV5wxek/s640/IMG_8568.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Julia and Carin made their picks!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4qKOQM0szdw/Tb42SPt2VqI/AAAAAAAAD8g/ZlsOaja4HM8/s1600/IMG_8580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4qKOQM0szdw/Tb42SPt2VqI/AAAAAAAAD8g/ZlsOaja4HM8/s640/IMG_8580.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>You can take the girl out of the South, but not the South of of the girl?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This hat was hilarious, and her dress was GIGANTIC!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q1oLlpL_3tk/Tb42S7RYcWI/AAAAAAAAD8k/b8vehe0Xf2k/s1600/IMG_8593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q1oLlpL_3tk/Tb42S7RYcWI/AAAAAAAAD8k/b8vehe0Xf2k/s640/IMG_8593.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Feeny looking so pretty!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-foSnYzoh9_o/Tb42TlhMVpI/AAAAAAAAD8o/CSyarpcwSdk/s1600/IMG_8598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-foSnYzoh9_o/Tb42TlhMVpI/AAAAAAAAD8o/CSyarpcwSdk/s640/IMG_8598.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The beautiful "couple," Julia and Jin.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gV_BRh1y-hw/Tb42VVXbXRI/AAAAAAAAD8w/0IqLt1t-aho/s1600/IMG_8605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gV_BRh1y-hw/Tb42VVXbXRI/AAAAAAAAD8w/0IqLt1t-aho/s640/IMG_8605.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Princess Feeny and her lady-in-waiting, Carin.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3XZNaSeBxCU/Tb42WJRUgdI/AAAAAAAAD80/rdK6R9WVQRI/s1600/IMG_8618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3XZNaSeBxCU/Tb42WJRUgdI/AAAAAAAAD80/rdK6R9WVQRI/s640/IMG_8618.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hahaha, I love this.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qdquExtZblc/Tb42Wwn2ptI/AAAAAAAAD84/IbKBgUts6kE/s1600/IMG_8624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qdquExtZblc/Tb42Wwn2ptI/AAAAAAAAD84/IbKBgUts6kE/s640/IMG_8624.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Mouseketeer role call! </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I swear Carin is wearing clothes in this photo, regardless of what it looks like.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kEek51C6PGY/Tb42Xvn1FgI/AAAAAAAAD88/cS2DJ6ARv_U/s1600/IMG_8626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kEek51C6PGY/Tb42Xvn1FgI/AAAAAAAAD88/cS2DJ6ARv_U/s640/IMG_8626.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Not simply one Party Princess, but a Pack of Party Princesses.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1QxBu6cbko/Tb42ZFKhTPI/AAAAAAAAD9E/2_N4OQ6w14g/s1600/IMG_8634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1QxBu6cbko/Tb42ZFKhTPI/AAAAAAAAD9E/2_N4OQ6w14g/s640/IMG_8634.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bringing new meaning to "wedding photography."</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wyZ77EiLhAk/Tb42ZsA4bPI/AAAAAAAAD9I/gESTK1TjfAo/s1600/IMG_8636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wyZ77EiLhAk/Tb42ZsA4bPI/AAAAAAAAD9I/gESTK1TjfAo/s640/IMG_8636.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Stair shot!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XYRLRrWjB70/Tb42acnJg3I/AAAAAAAAD9M/PiyGqLyems0/s1600/IMG_8637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XYRLRrWjB70/Tb42acnJg3I/AAAAAAAAD9M/PiyGqLyems0/s640/IMG_8637.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Stunning!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yYSXzJGJ54I/Tb42cOS9aXI/AAAAAAAAD9Y/AVSimGrQ0og/s1600/IMG_8658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yYSXzJGJ54I/Tb42cOS9aXI/AAAAAAAAD9Y/AVSimGrQ0og/s640/IMG_8658.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Attack of the Jin!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UMaiw2OdleI/Tb42dITCSeI/AAAAAAAAD9c/SyqfLFy8NwM/s1600/IMG_8664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UMaiw2OdleI/Tb42dITCSeI/AAAAAAAAD9c/SyqfLFy8NwM/s640/IMG_8664.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ready? Action.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iExmHElOzQM/Tb42eRdmKgI/AAAAAAAAD9g/MGJ435oRvws/s1600/IMG_8669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iExmHElOzQM/Tb42eRdmKgI/AAAAAAAAD9g/MGJ435oRvws/s640/IMG_8669.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tuckered out after their big day.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nXRh9AHAkfg/Tb42ezBRWsI/AAAAAAAAD9k/41lFUapYSSk/s1600/IMG_8675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nXRh9AHAkfg/Tb42ezBRWsI/AAAAAAAAD9k/41lFUapYSSk/s640/IMG_8675.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Robot eyes! SHE'S A CYLON!*</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>*Potentially the nerdiest thing I've ever said on this blog.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UBLtSa3E0ts/Tb42f1hpECI/AAAAAAAAD9o/F1nymidY-Ic/s1600/IMG_8679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UBLtSa3E0ts/Tb42f1hpECI/AAAAAAAAD9o/F1nymidY-Ic/s640/IMG_8679.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Old timey beautiful.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HHytdFCHMIM/Tb42ggR_68I/AAAAAAAAD9s/yMTzRFfEOUk/s1600/IMG_8681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HHytdFCHMIM/Tb42ggR_68I/AAAAAAAAD9s/yMTzRFfEOUk/s640/IMG_8681.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Beautiful in her veil.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_sGrbqynJLg/Tb42aztNyKI/AAAAAAAAD9Q/NWzNC5xLn70/s1600/IMG_8643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_sGrbqynJLg/Tb42aztNyKI/AAAAAAAAD9Q/NWzNC5xLn70/s640/IMG_8643.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Balloons!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jpQgrb1jdNY/Tb42bUXVFaI/AAAAAAAAD9U/516bcn88eIE/s1600/IMG_8649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jpQgrb1jdNY/Tb42bUXVFaI/AAAAAAAAD9U/516bcn88eIE/s640/IMG_8649.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Party Princess: an absolutely fun way to spend an evening.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6JQxpL-sJG0/Tb42iShhjqI/AAAAAAAAD90/OYTVBbmp1zo/s1600/IMG_8686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6JQxpL-sJG0/Tb42iShhjqI/AAAAAAAAD90/OYTVBbmp1zo/s640/IMG_8686.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our "service" (free) Polaroid group photo and the cute napkins from the cafe.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Needless to say, I was very glad I dragged myself out of my bed. Sunday, however, I spent the WHOLE day in my apartment, haha. I did some laundry, but spent most of the day watching chick flicks (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_prince_and_me">The Prince & Me</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_Diaries_(film)">Princess Diaries</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_actually">Love Actually</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Things_I_Hate_About_You">10 Thing I Hate About You</a>). It felt right. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last night I had a hell of a time falling asleep, leaving me very tired this morning, but thankfully Mondays go pretty fast. I made it through the first four periods (thanks in great part to the grande chai latte I got at Starbucks this morning) and went down to lunch. Just as I was getting read<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">y to leave, my co-teacher, Hae Jung, got a text on her phone. She looked up at me and said "Osama was dead." After cocking my head to the side like the RCA dog (<a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/454004523_5fb2c074a9.jpg">baroo?</a>) I said "What?" and she responded "Yes, Bin Laden is died." I came back upstairs and checked the news to make sure that it was, indeed, true. I logged online just in time to hear <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-N3dJvhgPg&feature=player_embedded">Obama speak</a>, and I think that regardless of your politics, it was a powerful moment. I sit here on the other side of the world this afternoon jealously soaking up status updates and photos from friends joining in the celebrations in front of the White House and in Times Square. It is days like this that I miss DC the most. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A friend posted the following sentiment on Facebook, which I promptly stole and reposted: In 2001, Americans called their families, saying "Are you seeing watching this?" Ten years later, they finally get to do the same thing. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I had a discussion with some other expats here about September 11th, and what a defining moment it was in our lives. When I ask my mom about the things that have happened in her lifetime that were jarring enough to immediately invoke memories of exactly where she was at the time, she has a few answers: </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_assassination" style="font-family: inherit;">President Kennedy's assassination in 1963</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_explosion" style="font-family: inherit;">the explosion of the space shuttle <i>Challenger</i> in 1986</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, etcetera. For me, September 11th is really the one specific event in my lifetime where I can pinpoint exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news. September of my junior year, I stepped out of Dr. Goldberg's physics class at Roosevelt, only to overhear kids in the hallway animatedly talking about someone bombing the Pentagon. "Really? The PENTAGON? Arguably one of the most guarded and protected buildings in the world? Not likely," we scoffed, as we headed off to second period. It was there, in Herr Schnieder's German class, that a TV was wheeled out and we sat silently, crying as we saw footage of the impact on the Twin Towers and Pentagon. Together we watched the South Tower fall. The rest of the day is kind of a blur. I remember leaving school early, getting picked up from the library. I remember a constant barrage of news. But I think those moments as it was actually happening will forever be burned into the collective </span>consciousness<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> of my generation. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Today, nearly ten years later, as we found out Bin Laden was killed, Carin sent me a message on Gmail that said simply "It feels weird. I kind of thought we'd be chasing him forever." I totally agree...he almost seemed like a ghost; someone who had done terrible things that would never really get justice for them. And I know that this doesn't mean the war is over, in fact it might actually mean even more severe retaliation from Al-Qaeda, but it does, at least, feel like a small step in the right direction. A small victory on a road fraught with so many losses. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"Let us remember that we can do these things not because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God. Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."</span></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-30989609558918413792011-04-28T13:47:00.001+09:002011-04-28T13:52:13.557+09:00Crawling Towards Easter!Oh man, last weekend was awesome. I realized last week that though we were planning to do my going away party in Cheonho, we didn't really have a firm grasp of what bars there could accommodate a huge spectacle of waygooks. (Yes, we have dubbed a group of waygooks a "spectacle," much like an unkindness of ravens or a murder of crows. Embrace it.) I figure probably 15-25 people will come out for the night of debauchery so we need a place that can hold us all. Why just take the boring way and visit a bar a night for a couple of weeks when you could do a bar crawl and compare options back to back?<br />
<br />
The result was...magnificent. Over the course of about six and a half hours Carin, Julia, Stephanie, Shannon, Jamie, Erich, Chrissy and I visited over ten establishments, having drinks in seven of them. It was SO much fun. Rarely do I drink to excess like this, but it is a blast every once in a while! We drank lots of alcohol, played some games (card based and otherwise), ate lots of strange bar food including prawn chips, peanuts, seaweed chips, those puffed rice cylinders, sausages x2, nachos, and a "quesadilla" (which Chrome just rightfully tried to change to "questionable). Just an excellent time with some of my favorites. I headed home around 3:00am and crashed just about immediately, haha.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qMG68TXi56E/TbjN_4VeodI/AAAAAAAAD5E/YhKFzldhKHc/s1600/IMG_8432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qMG68TXi56E/TbjN_4VeodI/AAAAAAAAD5E/YhKFzldhKHc/s640/IMG_8432.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Wa Bar is a chain through out Seoul. This one is pretty nice but very small.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HkukGLp67dQ/TbjNxW2aZSI/AAAAAAAAD48/uZxbfAjPtzM/s1600/IMG_8429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HkukGLp67dQ/TbjNxW2aZSI/AAAAAAAAD48/uZxbfAjPtzM/s640/IMG_8429.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Their house beer was kind of terrible. Really watery (says the girl who drinks Bud Lite). However, their prawn chips were DELICIOUS.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3OR_oyi-l9E/TbjN50Fk1PI/AAAAAAAAD5A/3odX8qHv5_8/s1600/IMG_8430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3OR_oyi-l9E/TbjN50Fk1PI/AAAAAAAAD5A/3odX8qHv5_8/s640/IMG_8430.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>And so it begins! Our theme was "Earn Your Stripes!" but it is hard to see all the stripes in this photo. Look forward to more in the upcoming ones!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z_WvlIQdo0s/TbjOEo7llfI/AAAAAAAAD5I/SfOPE1QuLmc/s1600/IMG_8433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z_WvlIQdo0s/TbjOEo7llfI/AAAAAAAAD5I/SfOPE1QuLmc/s640/IMG_8433.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Aloha (really, Ah-Ro-Ha) was great! Cute decorations, much more space. This will probably be our winner for my going away day.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sdFu6HiDyz8/TbjOJe1z4vI/AAAAAAAAD5M/PgdfXQOh0N4/s1600/IMG_8436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sdFu6HiDyz8/TbjOJe1z4vI/AAAAAAAAD5M/PgdfXQOh0N4/s640/IMG_8436.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Celebrity poker showdown?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bB0ybCZDFEM/TbjOPlEmGpI/AAAAAAAAD5Q/axreNNL6Ujs/s1600/IMG_8437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bB0ybCZDFEM/TbjOPlEmGpI/AAAAAAAAD5Q/axreNNL6Ujs/s640/IMG_8437.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Striped out!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5659zkTS-Ig/TbjOUMYRzOI/AAAAAAAAD5U/HBvb_bTxdAc/s1600/IMG_8440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5659zkTS-Ig/TbjOUMYRzOI/AAAAAAAAD5U/HBvb_bTxdAc/s640/IMG_8440.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bar 1950s was adorable. It really is a BAR bar, where you have to sit at the...bar. The bartenders, however, were very sweet, and were surprised when we left (after drinking our sizable shots) as quickly as we had arrived.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bsZpJZe5KM4/TbjOaJ8ut1I/AAAAAAAAD5Y/VWilXhRe51U/s1600/IMG_8441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bsZpJZe5KM4/TbjOaJ8ut1I/AAAAAAAAD5Y/VWilXhRe51U/s640/IMG_8441.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 15px;"><i>건배! (Cheers!)</i></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FaZcUAveax8/TbjOe4qwKaI/AAAAAAAAD5c/To4JGc-kBGo/s1600/IMG_8443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FaZcUAveax8/TbjOe4qwKaI/AAAAAAAAD5c/To4JGc-kBGo/s640/IMG_8443.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Santana was EMPTY...and perhaps wished we hadn't broken up their quiet night, haha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OIdOptrk3H0/TbjOkutcE1I/AAAAAAAAD5g/b7EmT6EDF7I/s1600/IMG_8446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OIdOptrk3H0/TbjOkutcE1I/AAAAAAAAD5g/b7EmT6EDF7I/s640/IMG_8446.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Peeps! This was the prize for the stripiest person...but they really just ended up being shared by all of us. If my eyes look weird it is because I had striped eyeshadow on.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vNR-js1OjTw/TbjOrbjmyCI/AAAAAAAAD5k/NVDgTQAf8Xw/s1600/IMG_8447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vNR-js1OjTw/TbjOrbjmyCI/AAAAAAAAD5k/NVDgTQAf8Xw/s640/IMG_8447.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Excitement!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fm7kvM8SGHo/TbjOyFGPncI/AAAAAAAAD5o/Yz41oXciyd4/s1600/IMG_8448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fm7kvM8SGHo/TbjOyFGPncI/AAAAAAAAD5o/Yz41oXciyd4/s640/IMG_8448.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hahah, creepers. </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pyHkgRHJbbw/TbjO3N_dOnI/AAAAAAAAD5s/D8qQhulFSc0/s1600/IMG_8450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pyHkgRHJbbw/TbjO3N_dOnI/AAAAAAAAD5s/D8qQhulFSc0/s640/IMG_8450.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Genius bartender couldn't figure out that my camera was too zoomed in. Aigh. Also, CHECK OUT THOSE CRUSHED VELVET COUCHES!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N1kJOaaESZg/TbjO9zlUniI/AAAAAAAAD5w/CYiFtWBrI0I/s1600/IMG_8451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N1kJOaaESZg/TbjO9zlUniI/AAAAAAAAD5w/CYiFtWBrI0I/s640/IMG_8451.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Surprisingly this was neither a coffee nor Battlestar Galactica themed bar. It was Japanese themed and really quite pretty, with lots of lanterns and wood lattices. I'd go back.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y7ehUKmQj3M/TbjPIw1HZFI/AAAAAAAAD54/a-2j0i7BBBE/s1600/IMG_8453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y7ehUKmQj3M/TbjPIw1HZFI/AAAAAAAAD54/a-2j0i7BBBE/s640/IMG_8453.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chrissy got a KGB (hilariously named vodka mixed drink in a bottle) and it came with oil blotting sheets for your face. Oh Korea.</i> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fsoleuBMiXM/TbjPC1B6Z-I/AAAAAAAAD50/93rKx5vAkA4/s1600/IMG_8452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fsoleuBMiXM/TbjPC1B6Z-I/AAAAAAAAD50/93rKx5vAkA4/s640/IMG_8452.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Shannon demonstrating the blotting sheets.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eJqZraEXUd8/TbjPSLB8RrI/AAAAAAAAD6A/gbR-JnW9hzM/s1600/IMG_8462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eJqZraEXUd8/TbjPSLB8RrI/AAAAAAAAD6A/gbR-JnW9hzM/s640/IMG_8462.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Super cute group photo with Carin's big hair blocking people yet again!<br />
Carin, Stephanie, Shannon, Jamie, Erich, Julia, Chrissy and I</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DUnUN1COSFA/TbjPOGjH5wI/AAAAAAAAD58/ACeid0RjEO8/s1600/IMG_8454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DUnUN1COSFA/TbjPOGjH5wI/AAAAAAAAD58/ACeid0RjEO8/s640/IMG_8454.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"I just want to say...this is still wrapped." Famous last words spoken by Carin as she picked up a "Pine Needle Candy" from the ground and ate it. </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uNGiIJiBm78/TbjPXT0IuqI/AAAAAAAAD6E/-OtPZx0ioBw/s1600/IMG_8464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uNGiIJiBm78/TbjPXT0IuqI/AAAAAAAAD6E/-OtPZx0ioBw/s640/IMG_8464.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I could have told you it was terrible just from the name. But apparently Carin needed to eat it.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3NtFPJIoFOk/TbjPdJn4ISI/AAAAAAAAD6I/2LqptMsPVrg/s1600/IMG_8468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3NtFPJIoFOk/TbjPdJn4ISI/AAAAAAAAD6I/2LqptMsPVrg/s640/IMG_8468.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hunter's Bar was runner up for going-away party host. They had room and they took requests, but the mixed drinks weren't great and the requested songs always came out as TERRIBLE covers of the original, haha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TAGEHEdlttI/TbjPifDJuMI/AAAAAAAAD6M/Odw9F1ZBmuY/s1600/IMG_8472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TAGEHEdlttI/TbjPifDJuMI/AAAAAAAAD6M/Odw9F1ZBmuY/s640/IMG_8472.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Looking shocked.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-01IDyBn9stI/TbjPqMdVokI/AAAAAAAAD6Q/zSjHBmaPX5o/s1600/IMG_8474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-01IDyBn9stI/TbjPqMdVokI/AAAAAAAAD6Q/zSjHBmaPX5o/s640/IMG_8474.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Singing during our request for "Don't Stop Believin'." The waiter took like 80 pictures of us because he thought we were hilarious.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-luRVBMOY8dw/TbjPyPMFJYI/AAAAAAAAD6Y/A6UEAUJZ3UM/s1600/IMG_8479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-luRVBMOY8dw/TbjPyPMFJYI/AAAAAAAAD6Y/A6UEAUJZ3UM/s640/IMG_8479.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hahahahaha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IZVZkMS-WzM/TbjPt_Qh9ZI/AAAAAAAAD6U/8JhFbRwe47A/s1600/IMG_8478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IZVZkMS-WzM/TbjPt_Qh9ZI/AAAAAAAAD6U/8JhFbRwe47A/s640/IMG_8478.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Funky Dunky is a perennial favorite. I still don't know what a Flair Bar is, though. Nor have I ever seen an event held there.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xhXA5vAp2jI/TbjP-0TOG2I/AAAAAAAAD6g/bfGfwFdR2-g/s1600/IMG_8483.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xhXA5vAp2jI/TbjP-0TOG2I/AAAAAAAAD6g/bfGfwFdR2-g/s640/IMG_8483.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The "dating couple." Hahaha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pb3tqYQxNXs/TbjQFEc9XaI/AAAAAAAAD6k/wcqYi4YE5IE/s1600/IMG_8486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pb3tqYQxNXs/TbjQFEc9XaI/AAAAAAAAD6k/wcqYi4YE5IE/s640/IMG_8486.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Nerds. Love them.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mD0zjFgVJPs/TbjUBSSNJOI/AAAAAAAAD6s/_KBbfBIjKkg/s1600/IMG_8488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mD0zjFgVJPs/TbjUBSSNJOI/AAAAAAAAD6s/_KBbfBIjKkg/s640/IMG_8488.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Final group photo of the night. Such an excellent time.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sunday was Easter. Now those of you who are already here probably know this, and those of you on your way might suspect it, but holidays are almost always the hardest time to be away from your family. Especially if you know your loved ones are congregating somewhere and you're missing it. Know what makes it a lot easier? Having fantastic friends with which to share the holidays and recreate some of the traditions from home. Chrissy volunteered to host an Easter Brinner (breakfast for dinner, for those uninitiated into the breakfast-at-all-times-of-the-day cult) were we consumed an absolutely absurd amount of delicious food, dyed eggs (sort of) and enjoyed each other's company. It was wonderful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ULZRTrp65bY/TbjUESpOEBI/AAAAAAAAD6w/0UBscDG9JuM/s1600/IMG_8489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ULZRTrp65bY/TbjUESpOEBI/AAAAAAAAD6w/0UBscDG9JuM/s640/IMG_8489.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin and I stopped at the store on our way and spotted these precious melons all dolled up for Easter. Festive!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nceQ3lQCdI8/TbjUG3UzCTI/AAAAAAAAD60/TgrqceltdMg/s1600/IMG_8490.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nceQ3lQCdI8/TbjUG3UzCTI/AAAAAAAAD60/TgrqceltdMg/s640/IMG_8490.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hard at work...</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9AHKAdFJk8k/TbjUI-CtSHI/AAAAAAAAD64/sMxC7A0iVxk/s1600/IMG_8491.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9AHKAdFJk8k/TbjUI-CtSHI/AAAAAAAAD64/sMxC7A0iVxk/s640/IMG_8491.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jul-ya gettin her French toast on!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iSQaXLeZTfI/TbjULm2AgzI/AAAAAAAAD68/LfryzKVF4v8/s1600/IMG_8493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iSQaXLeZTfI/TbjULm2AgzI/AAAAAAAAD68/LfryzKVF4v8/s640/IMG_8493.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin whipping up some sausage.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MXKs9S3wHCI/TbjUOcaUp7I/AAAAAAAAD7A/toH2kHEf1EI/s1600/IMG_8495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MXKs9S3wHCI/TbjUOcaUp7I/AAAAAAAAD7A/toH2kHEf1EI/s640/IMG_8495.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Erich on (non-French) toast duty.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b3f_neAGKok/TbjURHmJYRI/AAAAAAAAD7E/dd7jSugMZ00/s1600/IMG_8496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b3f_neAGKok/TbjURHmJYRI/AAAAAAAAD7E/dd7jSugMZ00/s640/IMG_8496.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dave serving as bacon boy.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dXmZD_YwMrc/TbjUVGTHccI/AAAAAAAAD7I/PvVYwO83NEc/s1600/IMG_8497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dXmZD_YwMrc/TbjUVGTHccI/AAAAAAAAD7I/PvVYwO83NEc/s640/IMG_8497.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The spread...not including cheesy scrambled eggs, French toast, Pancakes, Waffles, potatoes, an apple <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galette">galette</a> and a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. And I'm probably forgetting stuff.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zE3_s-u5gY4/TbjUvIwNOfI/AAAAAAAAD7M/OWNFSL6XriM/s1600/IMG_8498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zE3_s-u5gY4/TbjUvIwNOfI/AAAAAAAAD7M/OWNFSL6XriM/s640/IMG_8498.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jin decorating eggs before they're dyed.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XOaYSgEBiyg/TbjUyDzVcGI/AAAAAAAAD7Q/c2W0YhhKaFA/s1600/IMG_8500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XOaYSgEBiyg/TbjUyDzVcGI/AAAAAAAAD7Q/c2W0YhhKaFA/s640/IMG_8500.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The dye got really creepy. I don't know if it was our imprecise measurements of vinegar and water, the differences that come with brown eggs instead of white, or what. The dye formed a layer on the egg and when you first took it out it looked like it had boils all over it before it settled. The problem was that the layer didn't really stick to the egg well so it got all peely and strange. Oh well...it was still fun!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PTjbl7cbdqw/TbjU12iHj5I/AAAAAAAAD7U/PRNHjSBsQRk/s1600/IMG_8501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PTjbl7cbdqw/TbjU12iHj5I/AAAAAAAAD7U/PRNHjSBsQRk/s640/IMG_8501.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Egg dying materials (see aforementioned peelyness on the left).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Klpo2ssmbZc/TbjU5OEYZgI/AAAAAAAAD7Y/KfxrjpVjjPc/s1600/IMG_8503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Klpo2ssmbZc/TbjU5OEYZgI/AAAAAAAAD7Y/KfxrjpVjjPc/s640/IMG_8503.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Emulating the emotion egg. On one side there was a smiley face, and on the other there was this unenthusiastic one. We spent a few minutes rotating the egg face in response to popular Korean backhanded compliments, such as...</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i> "Oh, Meaghan, you got a haircut! (^-^) </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>It looks much better now. (-_-)"</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t7J5utFMESs/TbjU8Ddo_8I/AAAAAAAAD7c/dpQIyOo33kc/s1600/IMG_8506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t7J5utFMESs/TbjU8Ddo_8I/AAAAAAAAD7c/dpQIyOo33kc/s640/IMG_8506.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Zombie/Voldemort egg made by Josephine.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GahtXSyhxxo/TbjU_kus5QI/AAAAAAAAD7g/w2xtG2LP6j0/s1600/IMG_8508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GahtXSyhxxo/TbjU_kus5QI/AAAAAAAAD7g/w2xtG2LP6j0/s640/IMG_8508.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jamie and Dave deep in conversation. I swear this wasn't posed.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bmohXXZFYl8/Tbjpx5gA87I/AAAAAAAAD7o/3eBtmZn3934/s1600/220492_543011070076_77500056_31463926_7379480_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bmohXXZFYl8/Tbjpx5gA87I/AAAAAAAAD7o/3eBtmZn3934/s640/220492_543011070076_77500056_31463926_7379480_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Happy Easter from our Seoul Family to yours!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Erich, Jamie, Shannon, Carin, Jin, Julia, Me, Josephine, </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Derek (looking like a creepy uncle), David, Dave, and Chrissy.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lately my life has been consumed with two things. The first is cleaning and packing my apartment. When I'm not physically doing it, I'm either fretting over it or going out of my way to avoid it. What a freaking headache. I finally bit the bullet yesterday and packed my first two boxes to mail home via the slow boat. There will be another post later with how you go about doing that, so that when the time comes everyone can be all over it. Extra baggage costs $200, and mailing these two boxes via airmail would cost $179, but the slow boat/surface mail should only cost $56 for two large boxes that weigh a combined 41 lbs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JNxsTXdwHnc/Tbju0Y6ErNI/AAAAAAAAD7s/kQC96FpnrBc/s1600/218633_543188120266_77500056_31467384_5737778_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JNxsTXdwHnc/Tbju0Y6ErNI/AAAAAAAAD7s/kQC96FpnrBc/s640/218633_543188120266_77500056_31467384_5737778_o.jpg" width="470" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Mostly winter clothes, these two boxes should take 60-90 days to get to my house.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The second time consumer has been planning events that are happening in the next month before I leave. I just got shitty news that we can't book one of the things I really wanted to do, a night tour of Changdeokgung Palace, because Korea is dumb and imprecise in their information. Frustrating. However the thing I am probably most excited about is a scavenger hunt that Shannon, Carin and I have planned and are coordinating for next week. We are off May 5 for Children's Day and we have put together a list of 75 items, photos, and videos that must be collected from all over Seoul. Teams have 4-5 people on them and I think it is going to be a fantastic time. So far there are six teams formed and I wouldn't be surprised if we have more singing up in the next week. I am excited, but it is a LOT of work. Especially since we decided to (at least try and) order t-shirts. We are still waiting to hear back (and there have already been some problems, as is to be expected) but hopefully we'll have them by next Tuesday. Josephine made the front design based on an idea from Shannon and I, and on the back it will say "We're on a treasure hunt! Please help me!" in Korean. There isn't really a translation for scavenger hunt, and treasure hunt is the closest approximation. This will be helpful to teams without a Korean speaker when they are asking people to help them do weird things or take a photo of them. Anyway, I am very much looking forward to it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t109/EmpressZ/TheHUNT_textallonleft.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t109/EmpressZ/TheHUNT_textallonleft.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Again, look forward to a blog entry with the full list (so you can do it on your own time!) and what will definitely be hilarious photos. If you're in Seoul now and want to put together a team of 4-5 people, come on over to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=190438821002021">Facebook Page</a> and sign up!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today I didn't have any class because my fifth graders are camping for this half of the week (they've had terrible weather and they're stuck with my vice principal...I pity them!) and my sixth graders needed to study for a big midterm tomorrow so my class got bumped. I looked at a calendar the other day and I can't believe how soon I'm leaving and, even more, how few teaching days I have left! I only have 3 Mondays, 3 Tuesdays, 4 Wednesdays (of course, my least favorite day!), 2 Thursdays, and 3 Fridays. How do I only have fifteen days with my kids left?! Insanity.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-56467544526087928172011-04-23T13:56:00.003+09:002011-04-24T23:50:50.725+09:00Getting Out and About!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It has (thankfully!) finally gotten warm enough for me to force myself back out into the world of the living. I know it is terrible, but I am more than happy to spend a Saturday slothfully lounging on my bed, catching up on American TV. But when the weather is really nice like it has been- sunny, with the perfect temperature and a breeze- I usually shame myself into leaving the apartment, haha. It is also CRAZY how soon I am leaving Korea (JUST UNDER FIVE WEEKS!) and I still have a lot of stuff on my "To Do" list. However, I have definitely had a few adventures since the last update.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">One overcast Sunday, Carin, Josephine and I headed over to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/63_Building">63 Building</a> in Yeouido to check out the many things they have to offer. Even though Yeouido is on the same subway line I am, it still takes FOREVER to get out there...but I'm always glad I went. It has lots of park land overlooking the Han River and is just a nice place to spend a warm afternoon. Unfortunately the weather did not exactly cooperate on our trip...it remained smoggy and just a touch too cold the entire time we were there. Oh well.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We started in the food court, with a trip to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotteria">Lotteria</a>, the chain of fast food restaurants owned by the Lotte Corporation. I usually get a boring normal burger, but I felt a little adventurous, so I tried one of their combination burgers, where a shrimp burger and a bulgogi (beef) burger share one long bun. It is like two completely different sandwiches fused together. So random. The bulgogi burger was decent (as per usual) and the shrimp burger was SURPRISINGLY DELICIOUS. It had actual whole shrimp in it! Very tasty. I was quite pleased.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DskG8sQWSDE/TbJF0yDpVSI/AAAAAAAADu0/l0WuimdQfbw/s1600/IMG_7790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DskG8sQWSDE/TbJF0yDpVSI/AAAAAAAADu0/l0WuimdQfbw/s640/IMG_7790.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This kind of makes me want one right now...</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After we ate, the three of us headed over to the small wax museum housed in the bottom of the building. Some highlights were various world leaders (including a hilariously orange Gandhi who looked like he had encountered some problematic self tanning lotion), famous artists, the Last Supper (complete with an opening where you could pop in), and a haunted house (that I was too chicken shit to go through, so I just waited for Carin and Josephine, haha). It was certainly not as awesome as <a href="http://www.madametussauds.com/">Madame Tussaud's</a>, but it was most definitely better quality waxworks than <a href="http://www.greatblacksinwax.org/">Blacks in Wax</a>.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I1kl7mLlZgQ/TbJF1tJiu8I/AAAAAAAADu4/7bZVjjU6jsg/s1600/IMG_7793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I1kl7mLlZgQ/TbJF1tJiu8I/AAAAAAAADu4/7bZVjjU6jsg/s640/IMG_7793.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Historical wax figures...look they even have me!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zf3tvXpL35k/TbJF2sKm3bI/AAAAAAAADu8/YyePIRVamiM/s1600/IMG_7794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zf3tvXpL35k/TbJF2sKm3bI/AAAAAAAADu8/YyePIRVamiM/s640/IMG_7794.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gandhi, lay off the spray tan. And the "Robot" underwear, hahaha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_CW7aRgVDbY/TbJF3z1Lm_I/AAAAAAAADvA/nLY-7jpimtU/s1600/IMG_7800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_CW7aRgVDbY/TbJF3z1Lm_I/AAAAAAAADvA/nLY-7jpimtU/s640/IMG_7800.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dali, looking crazy.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r2LXVNrbBa4/TbJF5DTAqWI/AAAAAAAADvE/RwXj86xrSjM/s1600/IMG_7803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r2LXVNrbBa4/TbJF5DTAqWI/AAAAAAAADvE/RwXj86xrSjM/s640/IMG_7803.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Twilight has taught me that even though I am a werewolf...</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-toZTjRSs0Tk/TbJF6l2NAjI/AAAAAAAADvI/PXa70Q1P-bA/s1600/IMG_7806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-toZTjRSs0Tk/TbJF6l2NAjI/AAAAAAAADvI/PXa70Q1P-bA/s640/IMG_7806.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>And Carin is a vampire, we can still be friends.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After the wax museum we headed over to the aquarium. It was called "Sea World" (copyright infringement much?) but it was more like Sea Neighborhood...small and cozy. As we walked into the entrance, we got caught up in a big backup of people. I was wondering what everyone was going gaga over, and then I realized there was a tiny petting zoo of decidedly non-aquatic animals, including small bunnies, birds, and a snake. I got to cuddle a tiny black and white bunny for a while and seriously considered sticking it in my hoodie pocket and walking away. It was precious. Carin held the snake, and Josephine split her time between bunnies and birds. When we got into the actual aquarium it was pretty standard fare: generic fish, some amphibians, turtles, penguins, etc. Thankfully there were no depressing seahorses! I thought it was kind of funny that one tank had <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_fish">Doctor fish</a> and you could stick your fingers in and have the fish nibble on them. When we first arrived we realized we were catching the very tail-end (fish pun? sure!) of a performance. There was a woman dressed in a sparkle covered swimsuit in one of the tanks doing a choreographed underwater dance routine to Abba's "Dancing Queen." Not kidding. The fish appeared unimpressed. A little later we grabbed a spot on the floor and watched the sea lion show, which was pretty cute. A diver went into the tank and had the sea lions perform various tricks, such as dunking a basketball, racing a guy on a little tricycle, swimming in special formations, etc. Sea lions are adorable, and they looked PSYCHED to be doing it, so that was a nice little show.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lIA9LkI3vjw/TbJF7t33l3I/AAAAAAAADvM/FIxgSbd2pMk/s1600/IMG_7808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lIA9LkI3vjw/TbJF7t33l3I/AAAAAAAADvM/FIxgSbd2pMk/s640/IMG_7808.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bunny! Steal.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--6rW7GK_dho/TbJF8pVNnfI/AAAAAAAADvQ/xxqajws3wDI/s1600/IMG_7812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--6rW7GK_dho/TbJF8pVNnfI/AAAAAAAADvQ/xxqajws3wDI/s640/IMG_7812.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I really don't <b>get</b> birds.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-McxUMjlwW4g/TbJF9_-szKI/AAAAAAAADvU/OiCcxGPMnP4/s1600/IMG_7821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-McxUMjlwW4g/TbJF9_-szKI/AAAAAAAADvU/OiCcxGPMnP4/s640/IMG_7821.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pishee!</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">When we'd exhausted the aquarium we decided it was time to go up to the Sky Art observatory, where you could (theoretically) look out at the sweeping vistas of Seoul, while also appreciating an art display. The art at the time was all from Chinese artists, and some was really fun, while there were also a lot of creepy paintings. As previously mentioned, the view was kind of a bust because of the gross haze/smog that wouldn't let up. Oh well. I've been up Namsan Tower quite a few times now and gotten some stellar photos, so I guess I can't complain. </span>On the way out we grabbed some gelato and sat by the Han for a bit talking and enjoying some prime people (and dogs dressed as people) watching before heading back to the Gu. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XeT91saah90/TbJF-675LvI/AAAAAAAADvY/U6jZcK9IEXU/s1600/IMG_7829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XeT91saah90/TbJF-675LvI/AAAAAAAADvY/U6jZcK9IEXU/s640/IMG_7829.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View of the Han.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XuuQnal7QxE/TbJF_0P1NMI/AAAAAAAADvc/U177vpgrHjs/s1600/IMG_7830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XuuQnal7QxE/TbJF_0P1NMI/AAAAAAAADvc/U177vpgrHjs/s640/IMG_7830.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>That is a little coral of swan boats down there, which is pretty cute.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-51XqTVgylJk/TbJGBPZn_nI/AAAAAAAADvg/7z1W0yOnTGg/s1600/IMG_7832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-51XqTVgylJk/TbJGBPZn_nI/AAAAAAAADvg/7z1W0yOnTGg/s640/IMG_7832.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Is there something especially hilarious about geese that I don't know?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pmnxurJN4OQ/TbJGCPJdeLI/AAAAAAAADvk/28HJNDnbmWk/s1600/IMG_7835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pmnxurJN4OQ/TbJGCPJdeLI/AAAAAAAADvk/28HJNDnbmWk/s640/IMG_7835.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Feeny posing with the 63 Building.</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A few nights later I met up with Julia and Josephine at Fry Pan, a delicious fried chicken place in Cheonho. You get the very very tasty fried chicken, served upon a bed of homemade chips. So good. After enjoying some food and good conversation, we started to walk home. Along the way we stopped at Picapo Chocolate Cafe, a new chocolatier in Gangdong. I should have learned by now that I don't really like rich, real, "good" chocolate. It all tastes like coffee to me, which I hate. Give me a Lindt truffle any day, haha. If you like dark chocolates, though, you'd probably like this place. My favorite part was that there was only one other couple in the entire place and they were on THE MOST AWKWARD DATE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. The girl just sat there looking like someone had just killed her kitten and staring at the floor, and the boy just kept staring at her. It was so viciously awkward that I couldn't look away. We were there for at least a half an hour and they spoke MAYBE three words to each other. It was a total train wreck. I had to take a photo of it.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wOD2QvObNbI/TbJGC_cKheI/AAAAAAAADvo/TBUkTgyJcTg/s1600/IMG_7837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wOD2QvObNbI/TbJGC_cKheI/AAAAAAAADvo/TBUkTgyJcTg/s640/IMG_7837.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Small little chocolate cafe.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RznZ6FNLS9Y/TbJGEJTryvI/AAAAAAAADvs/1hpgYzOmEdc/s1600/IMG_7839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RznZ6FNLS9Y/TbJGEJTryvI/AAAAAAAADvs/1hpgYzOmEdc/s640/IMG_7839.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Lots of chocolate tastiness.</i> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fGjJrx1tDHQ/TbJGE2DrDsI/AAAAAAAADvw/TCPuL17-HSY/s1600/IMG_7842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fGjJrx1tDHQ/TbJGE2DrDsI/AAAAAAAADvw/TCPuL17-HSY/s640/IMG_7842.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Aaaaaawkward.</i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">During the second week of April I finally went over to have dinner at my old co-teacher Ga Young's house. I met her parents last fall when they picked us up from a teachers' dinner and dropped me off at my apartment. I knew they were well off because their car was AWESOME. Shiny outside, leather interior inside, and the REAR seats reclined. Totally pimped out. Anyway, her mom had issued an open-ended offer to come over for dinner sometime, and promised to make some of my favorite foods. Just about six months later the stars finally aligned and I was able to join them. Ga Young's family just moved to a new apartment near Olympic Park, over by the former athlete's village from the '88 Summer Olympics. Yeon Ah, Ga Young and I took a taxi over to her building and it is SO NICE. Holy crap. My entire apartment could fit into their living room. Twice. Then they have four bedrooms, a full kitchen with an oven, and a dining room. In their living room they have the largest HD TV I've ever seen (and it is 3D which is just INSANE) and a Lay-z-boy leather recliner couch that I want to steal. Her mom had spent all day cooking <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi_jjigae">kimchi jjigae</a>, chamchi/veggie <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimbap">gimbap</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japchae">japchae</a>, my three favorite Korean foods. It was so very sweet. I was overwhelmed. I sat down and stuffed my face, along with Yeon Ah, Ga Young, and her parents. It was lovely. Her parents don't really speak any English, so it was kind of quiet, until later Ga Young's brother (English name: Dayton, chosen because Rachel on friends listed it as a possible baby name for her unborn child) came home. He just finished high school and his English is fantastic. Really really good. He's planning to go to college in the States next year, so he had a lot of questions about various schools, what it is like in college, how you make friends, etc. It was great to talk to him because I felt really useful and able to share my experiences. I gave him my e-mail before I left, so hopefully he'll contact me if he has any more questions. He was adorably nervous.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GTZXH75u7UA/TbJGHAFS56I/AAAAAAAADv4/V1xP6wdWrag/s1600/IMG_7849.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GTZXH75u7UA/TbJGHAFS56I/AAAAAAAADv4/V1xP6wdWrag/s640/IMG_7849.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>SO DELICIOUS.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qN7T_K5RrAY/TbJGIEdPhCI/AAAAAAAADv8/mJynHoyEMUQ/s1600/IMG_7852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qN7T_K5RrAY/TbJGIEdPhCI/AAAAAAAADv8/mJynHoyEMUQ/s640/IMG_7852.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ga Young's lovely family. Her dad, Ga Young, me, Dayton, and her mom.</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">April 9th was Carin's birthday, and since she's one of my favorite people in Seoul there was no question about celebrating. The evening started at Jumanji Board Game Cafe in Apgujeong. It was the first time any of us had been there, and it turned out pretty well. I think I like Cafe Oz in Gangnam better because they have a larger selection of games, including more word games like Taboo. We (Carin, Melissa, Mike, Diana, Chrissy, Josephine, Diana, and I) played some sort of monkey game first, and then moved on to Pictionary and a modified Catchphrase-type game using the Pictionary cards. We also ate a FANTASTIC home-baked cake that Melissa made. Brimming with fresh strawberries and totally delicious. After we left the cafe we headed over to <a href="http://www.monkeybeach.co.kr/">Monkey Beach</a>. I really do enjoy that bar/club. Since it was Carin's actual birthday we got a free bottle of liquor (who knew you could get tequila?!) as well as various buckets of drinks. As per usual there was HILARIOUS people watching, including pole-dancing army boys, a bar worker dressed as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chucky_(Child%27s_Play)">Chucky</a> who was hosting a rock-paper-scissors competition (if you won, you got a free shot of whisky...if you lost, you got bopped on the head with a toy hammer) and just general funny Korean boys dancing with no rhythm. Chrissy and I concocted a plan to get twenty-three boys to kiss Carin on the cheek in honor of her twenty-third year of life. Obviously hilarity ensued. The night ended with "NOT DRUNK!" Carin hopping in a separate taxi and speeding off, and the rest of us piling into a cab and heading back to Gildong. It was an excellent night and I was just the right amount of inebriated.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SJDXQ36cNbA/TbJGJeDqN3I/AAAAAAAADwA/noVePvWFFS8/s1600/IMG_7857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SJDXQ36cNbA/TbJGJeDqN3I/AAAAAAAADwA/noVePvWFFS8/s640/IMG_7857.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fantastic cake made by Melissa...looking a little worse for the wear it endured on the subway ride over, but still tasting DELICIOUS.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UsZFaKRy1tY/TbJGLOzJSII/AAAAAAAADwE/o4atzJzdyYk/s1600/IMG_7858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UsZFaKRy1tY/TbJGLOzJSII/AAAAAAAADwE/o4atzJzdyYk/s640/IMG_7858.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Birthday girl.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_veBpNI4Jok/TbJGNtdv7EI/AAAAAAAADwM/4x9N6FFmvdg/s1600/IMG_7872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_veBpNI4Jok/TbJGNtdv7EI/AAAAAAAADwM/4x9N6FFmvdg/s640/IMG_7872.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Sharing a bucket with her friend Sonia, who also studied abroad at Yonsei.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U9FVLslaHAw/TbJGO8OblbI/AAAAAAAADwQ/7zjzR7FaBpY/s1600/IMG_7897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U9FVLslaHAw/TbJGO8OblbI/AAAAAAAADwQ/7zjzR7FaBpY/s640/IMG_7897.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chrissy and I mocking drunk Korean girls.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-261lPxxhY8Y/TbJGP3xOc8I/AAAAAAAADwU/aGlmXjtzMDs/s1600/IMG_7936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-261lPxxhY8Y/TbJGP3xOc8I/AAAAAAAADwU/aGlmXjtzMDs/s640/IMG_7936.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chucky and the birthday girl.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PiZpHbFiRtI/TbJGQ6e0nDI/AAAAAAAADwc/kU12uQoEdzI/s1600/IMG_7958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PiZpHbFiRtI/TbJGQ6e0nDI/AAAAAAAADwc/kU12uQoEdzI/s640/IMG_7958.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>An excellent night.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-keHi_WGR-yU/TbJGQYPQtTI/AAAAAAAADwY/NPOCdGsU120/s1600/IMG_7946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-keHi_WGR-yU/TbJGQYPQtTI/AAAAAAAADwY/NPOCdGsU120/s640/IMG_7946.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One of the many kisses Carin received, LOL.</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The next morning/early afternoon I met Diana, Dave and Chrissy at <a href="http://www.sujis.net/">Suji's</a> which has perhaps the best omelet I've ever eaten EVER, and definitely the best in Korea. It is like the size of a baby. I was soooo full after brunch! After we ate the four of us headed off to the <a href="http://www.warmemo.or.kr/eng/intro/message/message.jsp">War Memorial and Museum</a>. Off we went, following Dave, who LOOKED knowledgeable. About 20 minutes later it became clear that he was a liar and was leading us astray, haha. Eventually we made it to the memorial and spent a couple of hours walking through it. The museum covers all armed conflict that Korea has been a part of since...well...since before it was Korea. Fun fact: it goes in chronological order from the basement to the third floor. What did we do accidentally? Start at the third floor. We were drawn to the displays about the Korean War, so we disregarded the natural timeline of the place. Oh well. They have some interesting exhibits, many of which have English information. Highlights include lots of cool military uniforms from many time periods and geographical locations, a "war experience room" that I assure you was nothing like war, and a VERY cool area that was made to teach emergency preparedness to kids. They set a trash can fire and had the kids use a fire extinguisher. That is so smart! It also covered biological, chemical and nuclear disasters. I found it very interesting and pretty ingenious. Outside the museum there are TONS of tanks, planes, helicopters, transport vehicles, etc that are permanently parked for kids to climb on and explore. It was like a version of the Air and Space Museum where you could touch everything! Very cool. They also have a big boat parked there. I would definitely suggest a visit to anyone with kids. The little boy I nannied for a few summers ago would have exploded with excitement. Diana, Chrissy and Dave headed out after a couple of hours, but I spent another hour or so walking through the museum alone. I enjoyed it a lot, and it makes me miss the Smithsonians. Looking forward to being back in the DC area!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-toL1pTofHJ8/TbJGSp4y8OI/AAAAAAAADwg/3__iD8PaLco/s1600/IMG_7986.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-toL1pTofHJ8/TbJGSp4y8OI/AAAAAAAADwg/3__iD8PaLco/s640/IMG_7986.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Planes!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbiHi3C77Zk/TbJGT_m45kI/AAAAAAAADwk/rrhEEshBSTI/s1600/IMG_7990.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbiHi3C77Zk/TbJGT_m45kI/AAAAAAAADwk/rrhEEshBSTI/s640/IMG_7990.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Faces of children cast in metal...not sure what the exact story was here.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cq57lJeUKRU/TbJGUkOx9XI/AAAAAAAADwo/T2IQ0PiMDS4/s1600/IMG_7991.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cq57lJeUKRU/TbJGUkOx9XI/AAAAAAAADwo/T2IQ0PiMDS4/s640/IMG_7991.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Memorial.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vk85vW_hhXg/TbJHpDWxacI/AAAAAAAADws/xHvjmzu8kuE/s1600/IMG_7993.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vk85vW_hhXg/TbJHpDWxacI/AAAAAAAADws/xHvjmzu8kuE/s640/IMG_7993.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Other side, with me, Diana, Chrissy and Dave getting in on the action.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ACaBM79OeOM/TbJHqB8gdqI/AAAAAAAADww/JZ31rA2Lyao/s1600/IMG_7998.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ACaBM79OeOM/TbJHqB8gdqI/AAAAAAAADww/JZ31rA2Lyao/s640/IMG_7998.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Close up.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wHWLUFtJcDQ/TbJHrt5oDPI/AAAAAAAADw0/wgM9j6GOcYo/s1600/IMG_7999.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wHWLUFtJcDQ/TbJHrt5oDPI/AAAAAAAADw0/wgM9j6GOcYo/s640/IMG_7999.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The museum.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qmdrktT6uuY/TbJHtRJB-BI/AAAAAAAADw4/Rb-Vz8_Hr4U/s1600/IMG_8000.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qmdrktT6uuY/TbJHtRJB-BI/AAAAAAAADw4/Rb-Vz8_Hr4U/s640/IMG_8000.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Memorial area and another sculpture.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1TeGmkf4ZNs/TbJHu6C-duI/AAAAAAAADw8/Bk_xvK_nh04/s1600/IMG_8004.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1TeGmkf4ZNs/TbJHu6C-duI/AAAAAAAADw8/Bk_xvK_nh04/s640/IMG_8004.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Giant traditional drum.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f_UJ1EbKLVY/TbJHwYD1XlI/AAAAAAAADxA/FZ-SUjjuBa4/s1600/IMG_8014.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f_UJ1EbKLVY/TbJHwYD1XlI/AAAAAAAADxA/FZ-SUjjuBa4/s1600/IMG_8014.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Diorama of how students attended schools while refugees after the Korean War.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0VIOyv-YhDg/TbJHxxFQfsI/AAAAAAAADxE/MSo0wNqr2w4/s1600/IMG_8015.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0VIOyv-YhDg/TbJHxxFQfsI/AAAAAAAADxE/MSo0wNqr2w4/s640/IMG_8015.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Another diorama, this time life sized, about the depression after/during the war.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2aWwP1LkFrI/TbJHyhtKEcI/AAAAAAAADxI/31SGFHOpG_A/s1600/IMG_8016.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2aWwP1LkFrI/TbJHyhtKEcI/AAAAAAAADxI/31SGFHOpG_A/s640/IMG_8016.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Super heroes!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j4XKAdwREck/TbJHz_hXftI/AAAAAAAADxM/ZtA2LphhRNA/s1600/IMG_8029.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j4XKAdwREck/TbJHz_hXftI/AAAAAAAADxM/ZtA2LphhRNA/s640/IMG_8029.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Traditional Korean turtle ships.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jyN7JQI9kjY/TbJLY0fbB1I/AAAAAAAADxU/Ax935CikyKY/s1600/IMG_8033.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jyN7JQI9kjY/TbJLY0fbB1I/AAAAAAAADxU/Ax935CikyKY/s640/IMG_8033.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Memorial Hall.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1XdkBhGiCOU/TbJLZ4f7xMI/AAAAAAAADxY/dqHR59UYUFg/s1600/IMG_8035.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1XdkBhGiCOU/TbJLZ4f7xMI/AAAAAAAADxY/dqHR59UYUFg/s640/IMG_8035.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>More of the outdoor displays.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I0mu_PVXwrA/TbJLbDRIhMI/AAAAAAAADxc/JmzJUo0ARWU/s1600/IMG_8038.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I0mu_PVXwrA/TbJLbDRIhMI/AAAAAAAADxc/JmzJUo0ARWU/s640/IMG_8038.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Flags of allied countries.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uQcMf5MDlIg/TbJLbrXybAI/AAAAAAAADxg/8reP--WZ4dA/s1600/IMG_8040.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uQcMf5MDlIg/TbJLbrXybAI/AAAAAAAADxg/8reP--WZ4dA/s640/IMG_8040.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Brothers embracing.</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Tuesday was a really beautiful day weather-wise, and we were allowed to leave school early to "enjoy nature." My co-teachers informed me that we would be leaving around 2:20pm to go over to Olympic Park (about a 3 minute drive from school) to check out SOMA (fake MOMA...it is the Seoul metropolitan Museum Of Art). We met downstairs and my co-teacher Yeon Ah started collecting 20,000won from everyone for "transportation and tea." I was like what the hell kind of tea will I be paying $18 for, but I kept my mouth shut. The eight of us hopped in two taxis and went over to the park (which cost a grand total of less than $0.80 per person). We walked leisurely (read: freakishly slowly because two teachers were wearing ridiculous heels) through the sculpture garden and down to the museum. We got to the front, took a group picture in front of the sign and...left. Apparently SOMA was just the destination they entered on the official documents, so we had to take a photo there. Then we left the park and went out to eat at a restaurant. I don't think I'll ever understand Korean schools.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RRHuozw9G5Q/TbJSe1UZcPI/AAAAAAAAD1Q/DB2a9fFgt8U/s1600/IMG_8055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RRHuozw9G5Q/TbJSe1UZcPI/AAAAAAAAD1Q/DB2a9fFgt8U/s640/IMG_8055.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our walk along the cherry blossomed streets toward the taxi stand.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ok9SrSTI6z4/TbJSfiOzKOI/AAAAAAAAD1U/hvSXGEhPX6M/s1600/IMG_8058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ok9SrSTI6z4/TbJSfiOzKOI/AAAAAAAAD1U/hvSXGEhPX6M/s640/IMG_8058.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Special subject teachers of Shincheon Elementary! </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My coteachers are far left (Ji In), third from the left (Yeon Ah), fourth from the left, and second from the right (Hae Jung).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-My1lPpSMens/TbJSVQby5dI/AAAAAAAAD08/gcXThuEcPTU/s1600/IMG_8043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-My1lPpSMens/TbJSVQby5dI/AAAAAAAAD08/gcXThuEcPTU/s640/IMG_8043.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fourth graders playing a ridiculous twister game.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCZu47sHU8o/TbJSXOLGPXI/AAAAAAAAD1A/LNEx834KCVo/s1600/IMG_8045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCZu47sHU8o/TbJSXOLGPXI/AAAAAAAAD1A/LNEx834KCVo/s640/IMG_8045.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Kiddies.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KxrtY39YPqs/TbJSYifDtVI/AAAAAAAAD1E/8mkmHmhxqWA/s1600/IMG_8046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KxrtY39YPqs/TbJSYifDtVI/AAAAAAAAD1E/8mkmHmhxqWA/s640/IMG_8046.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So cute.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On Thursday night we got to come out in support of one of our own at a speaking competition. Our dear Scottish friend Michael joined a local chapter of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toastmasters">Toastmasters International</a> and has been going to meetings for a while now. A few weeks ago he mentioned that he was competing in a speaking contest and invited us to come support him in Gangnam. Now, if you know our crew, you know that we don't do much half-assed. Twelve of us came out to cheer him on, completely dwarfing the cheering sections of the other participants. I know that his plan was not to psych out the competition (two other native teachers and two Korean businessmen) but...it worked. We were well behaved and even choreographed holding up "Go Whyte!" signs that Chrissy brought (we know, it sounds vaguely racist, but oh well...that's his last name, haha). It was a good time, and the speeches were great. He got second place and will be moving on to the district competition later this month. Hopefully some of us will get to go to that competition as well.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-390Vks4oFvk/TbJSiM_R2VI/AAAAAAAAD1c/8iTPVG5V0IM/s1600/IMG_8070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-390Vks4oFvk/TbJSiM_R2VI/AAAAAAAAD1c/8iTPVG5V0IM/s640/IMG_8070.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Michael and the other competitors.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eaoDI3ZGXy0/TbJSi3l-i6I/AAAAAAAAD1g/EQZJ57K75lA/s1600/IMG_8073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eaoDI3ZGXy0/TbJSi3l-i6I/AAAAAAAAD1g/EQZJ57K75lA/s640/IMG_8073.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Go Team Whyte!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(not pictured: Frank and Chip)</i></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The cherry blossoms in our area hit their peak around last Wednesday and I've once again really enjoyed the street near my school that is lined with cherry trees. It is stunning when they all bloom. Apparently this apartment complex was built about 35 years ago and that is when all the trees were planted. It is much less crowded that Yeouido (the famous area in Seoul for looking at cherry blossoms), just as beautiful, and a hell of a lot closer. On Saturday a few of us had planned to go down to Gyeongju, a city about four hours south of Seoul, that is supposed to have beautiful blossoms. However, thanks to a mix-up about buses, that didn't work out. Happily, though, I think we were better off staying in Seoul, where the weather was GORGEOUS and we had a relaxing day. Saturday started with Amanda, Tom, Diana, Josephine, Jamie, Shannon and I meeting for brunch at <a href="http://craftworkstaphouse.com/">Craftworks Taphouse & Bistro</a> for brunch. Thoughts are as follows: the food was KILLER, the beer (for those who like beer) was awesome, the service was lacking, and the mixed drinks (specifically three varietals of mimosas) were terrible. Especially the "strawberry mimosa" which happened to be not-sweet-at-all strawberry puree with sparkling wine poured over it. You had to drink the sparkling wine through a layer of squished, gross, strawberries. It was decidedly NOT delicious. But the food...oh man, the food. Fantastic.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DWX00IVKfOE/TbJSnc7DUmI/AAAAAAAAD1s/-c37dFhfH3s/s1600/IMG_8077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DWX00IVKfOE/TbJSnc7DUmI/AAAAAAAAD1s/-c37dFhfH3s/s640/IMG_8077.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Breakfast scramble was insanely delicious.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DpUZwSfo6Io/TbJSon2mQlI/AAAAAAAAD1w/tOnRS0C74BE/s1600/IMG_8078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DpUZwSfo6Io/TbJSon2mQlI/AAAAAAAAD1w/tOnRS0C74BE/s640/IMG_8078.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>How delicious? This photo was taken exactly ten minutes after the previous one.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_UrWv4XiRow/TbJSpl5dmDI/AAAAAAAAD10/3eEDq5tP5fw/s1600/IMG_8079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_UrWv4XiRow/TbJSpl5dmDI/AAAAAAAAD10/3eEDq5tP5fw/s640/IMG_8079.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The excitement mounts!</i></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After brunch our crew headed down to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seoul_Grand_Park">Seoul Grand Park</a>, where we spent much of the afternoon walking through their extensive zoo, people watching absurd couples and adorable children, and riding on various forms of transportation, including an "elephant train" (not exciting) and a chairlift (very exciting). The weather was just about perfect and it was a lovely day. I even got some sun! After the zoo we all headed over to the On the Border at COEX, where Julia, David and Chrissy joined us, and we consumed a plethora of fantastic TexMex food and excellent margaritas. Then we taxied home and I crashed.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ODf7v3YFRKk/TbJSq90mILI/AAAAAAAAD14/y5klEy_b5zE/s1600/IMG_8085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ODf7v3YFRKk/TbJSq90mILI/AAAAAAAAD14/y5klEy_b5zE/s640/IMG_8085.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Group photo! Tom, Amanda, Shannon, Jamie, Diana, Me, Josephine</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HP6-7Ar8a-o/TbJSryxUB3I/AAAAAAAAD18/Fg1fZQcvtfU/s1600/IMG_8086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HP6-7Ar8a-o/TbJSryxUB3I/AAAAAAAAD18/Fg1fZQcvtfU/s640/IMG_8086.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View of the mountains from the entrance to Seoul Grand Park.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hbSg3AHYusQ/TbJStF4CYuI/AAAAAAAAD2A/s--g2NrS-qY/s1600/IMG_8093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hbSg3AHYusQ/TbJStF4CYuI/AAAAAAAAD2A/s--g2NrS-qY/s640/IMG_8093.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Giraffe! Such awesome animals.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aMQpa66Qqbw/TbJSvfNMwcI/AAAAAAAAD2E/NBRcY4SgP8Y/s1600/IMG_8095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aMQpa66Qqbw/TbJSvfNMwcI/AAAAAAAAD2E/NBRcY4SgP8Y/s640/IMG_8095.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hip? Hip hop? Hip hop anonymous? </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g8gPbo9fF3M/TbJSxMsu_LI/AAAAAAAAD2I/MgpmrpJUL3c/s1600/IMG_8098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g8gPbo9fF3M/TbJSxMsu_LI/AAAAAAAAD2I/MgpmrpJUL3c/s640/IMG_8098.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Average couple. He's carrying her purse, she's dragging a children's toy pig.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3vuRA184AVY/TbJSy3Zv4DI/AAAAAAAAD2M/8Hw3yvuEHO0/s1600/IMG_8110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3vuRA184AVY/TbJSy3Zv4DI/AAAAAAAAD2M/8Hw3yvuEHO0/s640/IMG_8110.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Elephants catching apples.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dBIniPMxox8/TbJS0gSPQbI/AAAAAAAAD2Q/bNaKylV3j4s/s1600/IMG_8120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dBIniPMxox8/TbJS0gSPQbI/AAAAAAAAD2Q/bNaKylV3j4s/s640/IMG_8120.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chair lift!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-shD15AN9Pa4/TbJS2HpWPAI/AAAAAAAAD2U/kJDCz9BJ3dM/s1600/IMG_8121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-shD15AN9Pa4/TbJS2HpWPAI/AAAAAAAAD2U/kJDCz9BJ3dM/s640/IMG_8121.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One of my favorite parts of the day.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oJT4r3qo8tg/TbJS2u6tlJI/AAAAAAAAD2Y/U55tQiLGleU/s1600/IMG_8122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oJT4r3qo8tg/TbJS2u6tlJI/AAAAAAAAD2Y/U55tQiLGleU/s640/IMG_8122.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cute couple!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7FC-O6ILoPA/TbJS4_axShI/AAAAAAAAD2c/leyNI5RMH4g/s1600/IMG_8127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7FC-O6ILoPA/TbJS4_axShI/AAAAAAAAD2c/leyNI5RMH4g/s640/IMG_8127.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Overlooking the zoo.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Y0RO2EcjRM/TbJS5wLMMEI/AAAAAAAAD2g/h3Dfppbi8oc/s1600/IMG_8129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Y0RO2EcjRM/TbJS5wLMMEI/AAAAAAAAD2g/h3Dfppbi8oc/s640/IMG_8129.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cotton candy?! Yes please!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VcwxAUdo6hs/TbJS7IJ1JYI/AAAAAAAAD2k/zSJ5tqHJMV0/s1600/IMG_8132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VcwxAUdo6hs/TbJS7IJ1JYI/AAAAAAAAD2k/zSJ5tqHJMV0/s640/IMG_8132.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So much (delicious) food!</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday morning I lounged around for a bit before meeting everyone for a picnic amongst the cherry blossoms. We all came over to the street near my school and set up camp in front of one of the apartments. Directions to this hidden cherry blossom gem: Jamsil Station (Lines 8 and 2), exit 6. Walk straight for about 2 minutes, until you reach the first road on the left, a gated road leading into an apartment complex. Turn left. This road, and the road on which it dead ends, are completely lined with the trees. If you are not surrounded by cherry blossoms, you're in the wrong place, or there at the wrong time! Throughout the afternoon all the following people made appearances: Me, Carin, Frank, Melissa, Jamie, Erich, Eric, Desmond, Serena, Lee-Rae, Michael, Josephine, Stephanie, Julia, and Jin. I think that was everyone. It was a great, relaxing afternoon. And I only saw three of my students, haha.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fsum1TQXYi4/TbJSa0Q20WI/AAAAAAAAD1I/ygqg5KwGnoM/s1600/IMG_8048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fsum1TQXYi4/TbJSa0Q20WI/AAAAAAAAD1I/ygqg5KwGnoM/s640/IMG_8048.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Magnolia trees all abloom.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lZw9HwWZamo/TbJScytHgBI/AAAAAAAAD1M/iwCLrbhN1HE/s1600/IMG_8050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lZw9HwWZamo/TbJScytHgBI/AAAAAAAAD1M/iwCLrbhN1HE/s640/IMG_8050.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cherry blossoms.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d7t4C_tG6jk/TbJShBarv3I/AAAAAAAAD1Y/Uv5pGucZC7k/s1600/IMG_8059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d7t4C_tG6jk/TbJShBarv3I/AAAAAAAAD1Y/Uv5pGucZC7k/s640/IMG_8059.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The road near my school.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0HzmOrlB5Co/TbJSkawtEeI/AAAAAAAAD1k/QIC6kT8tOC0/s1600/IMG_8075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0HzmOrlB5Co/TbJSkawtEeI/AAAAAAAAD1k/QIC6kT8tOC0/s640/IMG_8075.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Strolling beneath the blossoms.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AsTLRSKwOO0/TbJSl-y94JI/AAAAAAAAD1o/brjHgTnfed8/s1600/IMG_8076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AsTLRSKwOO0/TbJSl-y94JI/AAAAAAAAD1o/brjHgTnfed8/s640/IMG_8076.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So many gorgeous trees!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KClTgbFSUXE/TbJTZgDcOnI/AAAAAAAAD4A/U3OWmnoAsmE/s1600/IMG_8384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KClTgbFSUXE/TbJTZgDcOnI/AAAAAAAAD4A/U3OWmnoAsmE/s640/IMG_8384.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Already beginning to drop their petals.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vUUv2xVQDGI/TbJTblY4wzI/AAAAAAAAD4E/PW0hkvhQkXQ/s1600/IMG_8385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vUUv2xVQDGI/TbJTblY4wzI/AAAAAAAAD4E/PW0hkvhQkXQ/s640/IMG_8385.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I love Korea in bloom.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DyDsV6pLpB0/TbJS84iNAUI/AAAAAAAAD2o/6sLaWrik8tg/s1600/IMG_8139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DyDsV6pLpB0/TbJS84iNAUI/AAAAAAAAD2o/6sLaWrik8tg/s640/IMG_8139.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Picnic time!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9_J7Ma65Rkk/TbJS91LXSFI/AAAAAAAAD2s/buVL1XCcljs/s1600/IMG_8140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9_J7Ma65Rkk/TbJS91LXSFI/AAAAAAAAD2s/buVL1XCcljs/s640/IMG_8140.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Erich, Desmond, Serena and Jamie enjoying the nice weather.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nKx37WW9mEQ/TbJS_GPZkVI/AAAAAAAAD2w/KouaQJu2Gk0/s1600/IMG_8142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nKx37WW9mEQ/TbJS_GPZkVI/AAAAAAAAD2w/KouaQJu2Gk0/s640/IMG_8142.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cuuuute. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Chrissy and Diana)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aBXFC0Mc6lI/TbJTAc4kaxI/AAAAAAAAD20/98ZUv9aqmaI/s1600/IMG_8143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aBXFC0Mc6lI/TbJTAc4kaxI/AAAAAAAAD20/98ZUv9aqmaI/s640/IMG_8143.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin and I.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sMNRTrbdOvc/TbJTCapseHI/AAAAAAAAD24/1oDaTQBWGDk/s1600/IMG_8147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sMNRTrbdOvc/TbJTCapseHI/AAAAAAAAD24/1oDaTQBWGDk/s640/IMG_8147.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin rediscovering her juggling ability with Jamie.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fzg5lnfhwj0/TbJTDz50XrI/AAAAAAAAD28/O62VglRyFik/s1600/IMG_8151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fzg5lnfhwj0/TbJTDz50XrI/AAAAAAAAD28/O62VglRyFik/s640/IMG_8151.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Serena learning how to juggle.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ct8qzgcXNE/TbJTF3LwhzI/AAAAAAAAD3A/veozhe-asbI/s1600/IMG_8153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ct8qzgcXNE/TbJTF3LwhzI/AAAAAAAAD3A/veozhe-asbI/s640/IMG_8153.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chrissy's (excessive?) excitement over what was essentially a giant cupcake.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wpPTvG1LDAY/TbQ4WrxwDyI/AAAAAAAAD40/7R3ca3zc3a0/s1600/DSC03516.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wpPTvG1LDAY/TbQ4WrxwDyI/AAAAAAAAD40/7R3ca3zc3a0/s640/DSC03516.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fantastic group photo stolen from Jin!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Desmond, Serena, Me, Carin, Josephine, Eric, Diana, Chrissy, Frank, Stephanie, Lee-Rae, Michael, Jamie, Julia, Erich and Jin</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On the way home, Carin, Josephine, Jamie, Frank and I decided to walk over to Lotte Cinema and see if there were any good movies playing (there weren't). On the way we saw posters and the set up for the Angel Price Music Festival that was being held that night (unbeknownst to us). A whole variety of K-Pop groups were performing, including Big Bang, 2NE1, DBSK, Girls Generation, and various others. Now, I like me some K-Pop, and considering that DBSK is Carin's FAAAAAVORITE group (and the reason she came to Korea in the first place) and she had never seen them live, it was a no brainer. The boys begged off and went home, and Josephine, Carin and I went through the rigamarole of getting tickets, which put us in the arena right before <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang_(South_Korean_band)">Big Bang</a>'s set. Their opening act was a 3-girl group called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITZie2iFuAc&feature=fvst">Gavy NJ</a> (which sounds like some random city in Jersey). They were okay...well two of them were. The third was completely unnecessary in every way. After some stalling on behalf of the MC, Big Bang came out. They were quite good. Tae Yang was dreamy in minature, TOP was creepy, GD was ridiculous, Dae Sung was little-boy adorable, and Seung Ri (who I've never noticed before) was super hot. I was pleased. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2hlf8cCJTvQ/TbJTHGVcNNI/AAAAAAAAD3E/xUzGfaP5WGc/s1600/IMG_8161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2hlf8cCJTvQ/TbJTHGVcNNI/AAAAAAAAD3E/xUzGfaP5WGc/s640/IMG_8161.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gavy NJ's most worthless member.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zjkhf63sTyI/TbJTH5RtzoI/AAAAAAAAD3I/eXuWlP6DPlo/s1600/IMG_8168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zjkhf63sTyI/TbJTH5RtzoI/AAAAAAAAD3I/eXuWlP6DPlo/s640/IMG_8168.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>TOP, Dae Sung and Tae Yang on the big screen.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4DMuXBalx8k/TbJTI4yWM5I/AAAAAAAAD3M/dZz8JX4_lvI/s1600/IMG_8232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4DMuXBalx8k/TbJTI4yWM5I/AAAAAAAAD3M/dZz8JX4_lvI/s640/IMG_8232.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>G-Dragon, in a RIDIC sparkly baseball hat with devil horns.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O6mgND2wlz4/TbJTJhCwoeI/AAAAAAAAD3Q/bl6wUENDEVA/s1600/IMG_8235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O6mgND2wlz4/TbJTJhCwoeI/AAAAAAAAD3Q/bl6wUENDEVA/s640/IMG_8235.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Seung Ri!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sr0XzlSnqug/TbJTKPLtGpI/AAAAAAAAD3U/ZfUR21LFfrs/s1600/IMG_8242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sr0XzlSnqug/TbJTKPLtGpI/AAAAAAAAD3U/ZfUR21LFfrs/s640/IMG_8242.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fan girls.</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We had about an hour to kill between sets so we grabbed some food at Lotteria and then stood in an ABSURD line for the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DBSK" style="font-family: inherit;">DBSK/TVXQ</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> set. To be clear, this is one band, and thanks to different Romanizations they have two sets of initials by which they are known. Their full name is 동방신기 (Romanized in Korea as Dong Bang Shin Ki), which hilariously means The Rising Gods of the East. They had </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZHd3yUlkaI" style="font-family: inherit;">Nine Muses</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> open for them, which, for some reason, only had six members. They were kind of fascinating because their "concept" is more of a model concept. All the girls are the same build, basically the same height, most of them have matching nose jobs, and they're like a group of Korean Barbies. Apparently all of them have experience as runway models, too. Random. Then it was time for DBSK and Carin almost peed herself. She was </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">very</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> excited, which was exciting to watch, haha. When DBSK first </span>premiered<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, they were a five-member group, but since then three of the members have broken off leaving only two. They came on stage in THE MOST ABSURD COSTUMES EVER. It was like their suits were made out of a hideous 1970s couch. It is criminal to put such attractive boys in such terrible, terrible, outfits. But they were still great! Totally worth the time and money to pop in to an unexpected K-Pop concert. How is it that twice now I've stumbled upon concerts in Lotte World that I just happened to be there for? The fates must love me, haha.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPCVJlssJXQ/TbJTLfiO6nI/AAAAAAAAD3Y/ym4wPkSJGIU/s1600/IMG_8256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPCVJlssJXQ/TbJTLfiO6nI/AAAAAAAAD3Y/ym4wPkSJGIU/s640/IMG_8256.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Members of Nine Muses.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RTPPNKQJrUk/TbJTMTRsVMI/AAAAAAAAD3c/_TAu2nvmcA4/s1600/IMG_8262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RTPPNKQJrUk/TbJTMTRsVMI/AAAAAAAAD3c/_TAu2nvmcA4/s640/IMG_8262.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The utter sparkliness of their shirts was not well captured by my camera.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AhU7p463PC0/TbJTNaEeMEI/AAAAAAAAD3g/fkxDg69LhYk/s1600/IMG_8265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AhU7p463PC0/TbJTNaEeMEI/AAAAAAAAD3g/fkxDg69LhYk/s640/IMG_8265.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>SQUEEEE!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UbPiJdOlFWo/TbJTRL_SAzI/AAAAAAAAD3s/mj1nAEO3nw8/s1600/IMG_8296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UbPiJdOlFWo/TbJTRL_SAzI/AAAAAAAAD3s/mj1nAEO3nw8/s640/IMG_8296.jpg" width="640" /></a><i>Gods rising in the east for sure.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QygQK8Oo-rQ/TbJTSaRY7_I/AAAAAAAAD3w/3-bXaxxnnyE/s1600/IMG_8302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QygQK8Oo-rQ/TbJTSaRY7_I/AAAAAAAAD3w/3-bXaxxnnyE/s640/IMG_8302.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>LOOK AT THOSE OUTFITS! I die.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S4jdC71WAqw/TbJTTz_zS_I/AAAAAAAAD30/o1mMHHEFOY4/s1600/IMG_8318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S4jdC71WAqw/TbJTTz_zS_I/AAAAAAAAD30/o1mMHHEFOY4/s640/IMG_8318.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>He was actually a really good dancer.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RzvZbmgmi0o/TbJTWACy3mI/AAAAAAAAD34/BQJqCrQa0Oc/s1600/IMG_8335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RzvZbmgmi0o/TbJTWACy3mI/AAAAAAAAD34/BQJqCrQa0Oc/s640/IMG_8335.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Soulful. In terrible suits.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7P5QkU1HwEo/TbJTXJjgLtI/AAAAAAAAD38/RzwsOuMzBpI/s1600/IMG_8347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7P5QkU1HwEo/TbJTXJjgLtI/AAAAAAAAD38/RzwsOuMzBpI/s640/IMG_8347.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>They go on for INFINITYYYYY.</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Monday was a school holiday, so I got to just lounge about and be slothful, which was GREAT. It was a shitty weather day, just perfect for crawling back into bed and watching a movie (or three). Tuesday night Liz, our landlord, took the foreigners in the building out for dinner. There were four new people who were really cool to meet, so I am glad we had the dinner. Liz made a big deal about me leaving for Harvard and made me blush. The food was fantastic. It was a pretty standard building dinner. After dinner Liz, her friend, me, Frank, Shannon, Jamie, Josephine, Diana, and one of the new couples, Frank and Britt, headed over to 4*C Garten where we ate some weird fruit concoction and drank some (single story) beers while playing cards. It was nice to just relax. Wednesday night Erich hosted Fo'Sho and Carin, Josephine and I met for chicken beforehand. It was a good turn out, and Frank and Britt came to meet some new people in the Gu. They work in Gangnam, so that is forever far away and I know how nice it is to have people close by. After Fo'Sho I went home and stayed up late watching the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parenthood_(2010_TV_series)">Parenthood</a> season finale and BAWLING. That show is soooo good. I truly feel that it is the best drama currently on TV. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JOnBKDcYWQ4/TbJTdm9TiJI/AAAAAAAAD4I/eV--68crgns/s1600/IMG_8386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JOnBKDcYWQ4/TbJTdm9TiJI/AAAAAAAAD4I/eV--68crgns/s640/IMG_8386.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cheers!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lQiftLdQmWU/TbJTeqF-D8I/AAAAAAAAD4M/My44b_WRAxM/s1600/IMG_8387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lQiftLdQmWU/TbJTeqF-D8I/AAAAAAAAD4M/My44b_WRAxM/s640/IMG_8387.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>SO GOOD. Pork on this side, duck on the far side. Wrap those bad boys around a little piece of kimchi and you've got heaven in your mouth.</i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9dPcAiAGEcE/TbJaJKMOlnI/AAAAAAAAD4U/ATPlgIjbTSY/s1600/IMG_8389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9dPcAiAGEcE/TbJaJKMOlnI/AAAAAAAAD4U/ATPlgIjbTSY/s640/IMG_8389.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jamie, Erika, and Jacob (Erika's boyfriend who is visiting from Canada).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nYAh1jtBzR0/TbJaKC3FlMI/AAAAAAAAD4Y/ovnaHfODPSc/s1600/IMG_8391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nYAh1jtBzR0/TbJaKC3FlMI/AAAAAAAAD4Y/ovnaHfODPSc/s640/IMG_8391.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our landlady, Liz, her good friend, and Josephine.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9lxVWg1FTUw/TbJaKhqfROI/AAAAAAAAD4c/3onGjY5eDSQ/s1600/IMG_8392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9lxVWg1FTUw/TbJaKhqfROI/AAAAAAAAD4c/3onGjY5eDSQ/s640/IMG_8392.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Shannon, Melissa and I.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gf6UnkY6rPk/TbJaLMgeeOI/AAAAAAAAD4g/UmznY5E-7bg/s1600/IMG_8393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gf6UnkY6rPk/TbJaLMgeeOI/AAAAAAAAD4g/UmznY5E-7bg/s640/IMG_8393.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our new friends and neighbors, Britt and Frank.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ikgoHjsJMHI/TbJaMXyXmvI/AAAAAAAAD4k/5e1yrd4kCns/s1600/IMG_8394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ikgoHjsJMHI/TbJaMXyXmvI/AAAAAAAAD4k/5e1yrd4kCns/s640/IMG_8394.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Diana C. and Andrew.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BqgG7wHOPSk/TbJaNePyBFI/AAAAAAAAD4o/bpnklR4a9Qs/s1600/IMG_8395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BqgG7wHOPSk/TbJaNePyBFI/AAAAAAAAD4o/bpnklR4a9Qs/s640/IMG_8395.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Frank, Silvia and Robbie.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BEdBh7zdEIw/TbJaOrowbNI/AAAAAAAAD4s/xWxeiRXdceA/s1600/IMG_8398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BEdBh7zdEIw/TbJaOrowbNI/AAAAAAAAD4s/xWxeiRXdceA/s640/IMG_8398.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Drinks at 4*C Garten. We ordered what we thought was a fruit platter, but turned out to be canned fruit, gelatin cubes, fresh fruit, and ice floating in milky yogurt. It was like a frat house breakfast!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A recent bane of my existence has been the construction occurring on the first floor of my building. Our apartments are above five stores. Since I have arrived, only one has stayed the same (five have changed, including one that has changed twice). Each time a store/restaurant/cafe leaves, there is INSANE construction that shakes the very struts of my building. In the past month, a clothing store has become a restaurant and a cafe (which just became a cafe from a DVD store about 2 months ago) is becoming a hair salon. This wouldn't be that much of a problem, except they insist on doing construction EARLY in the morning on WEEKENDS. Consistently for the last 3-4 Saturdays and Sundays I've been woken up between 6:30am and 9:30am by jackhammering, drilling, smashing of tiles, etc. It is driving me batshit crazy. The other morning I stick my camera out the window and just filmed a SMALL portion of what goes on ALL THE TIME. Can you understand why I'm bitter?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="338" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/22769370?portrait=0" width="600"></iframe></div><a href="http://vimeo.com/22769370">Construction Noise!</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2261292">Meaghan Shanahan</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So I know I just mentioned that I am going to Harvard, but I don't know if I've officially announced it on the blog. Well, now I have, haha. I am very very very excited. I am also victim to minor freak-outs about whether or not I am out of my league. The people in my program have been emailing introductions about ourselves and I am completely in awe of my cohort and the amazing things we've done. We have 60ish members who have worked or lived in over 30 countries, have degrees ranging from theater arts to economics, and just have such a wealth of passion and excitement. I can't wait to move to Cambridge in August, meet everyone, and get down to the business of changing the world! Since accepting their offer of admission I have been on a mission to find a Harvard hat here. The other night I took an unusual path through Jamsil Subway Station (which I walk through twice a day every weekday) and a very special hat called to me. First of all, it is Irish flag colors: green, white and orange (not Harvard colors: crimson and white). Second, it says "Harvard 1985" on it...which is spectacular since I was born in 1985 (Harvard was established in 1636 so I have no idea where they got '85). Finally, it has the nonsensical Konglish phrase "The Fly Smarten Jeans" on the side, which just makes it perfect. I am SUPER excited to sport it around.</span><br />
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</span>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-28193850202778109692011-04-01T15:20:00.001+09:002011-04-01T23:43:35.461+09:00A Little Inspiration from Sarah Kay!I really enjoy a good <a href="http://www.ted.com/">TED talk</a>. TED was formed in 1984 as a conference focusing on technology, entertainment and design. However, over recent years it has become much broader in scope, as reflected by their simple tagline: Ideas worth spreading. Conferences are held each year with tons of fascinating leaders in every imaginable field, and the talks are filmed and loaded onto the website for everyone in the world to enjoy and learn from. Most range in length from 5 minutes to 30 minutes, so they are great to slip into the little gaps that invariably pop up during your day.<br />
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While browsing through some of the talks the other day, I stumbled upon one given by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Kay_(poet)">Sarah Kay</a> at the 2011 TED Conference. She is an amazing spoken word poet, and she performed two of her poems, bookending a talk she was giving about encouraging youth to express themselves through poetry and the organization she runs called <a href="http://www.project-voice.net/">Project V.O.I.C.E.</a> Quite honestly, I was blown away by her poetry. She speaks so beautifully, adding just the right movements and inflection to completely suck you in. Absolutely stunning. She beings her presentation with the poem "B" which has wormed its way deep inside me, and caused me to listen to it probably around 50 times over the past three days. The words (I keep wanting to call them lyrics, because there is a definite music in the way she presents them) are fantastic. Though you really must <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter.html">see them spoken by her</a>, I wanted to share them with everyone.<br />
<br />
<b>"B" by Sarah Kay</b><br />
<i>If I should have a daughter,</i><br />
<i>instead of "mom," she's gonna call me "Point B."</i><br />
<i>Because that way she knows no matter what happens</i><br />
<i>at least she can always find her way to me.</i><br />
<i>And I'm going to paint the solar systems on the backs of her hands.</i><br />
<i>So that she has to learn the entire universe before she can say</i><br />
<i>"Oh, I know that like the back of my hand."</i><br />
<i>And she's gonna learn that this life</i><br />
<i>will hit you.</i><br />
<i>Hard.</i><br />
<i>In the face.</i><br />
<i>Wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach.</i><br />
<i>But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs</i><br />
<i>how much they like the taste of air.</i><br />
<i>There is hurt here</i><br />
<i>that cannot be fixed</i><br />
<i>by band-aids or poetry.</i><br />
<i>So the first time she realizes that Wonder Woman isn't coming,</i><br />
<i>I'll make sure she knows she doesn't have to wear the cape</i><br />
<i>all by herself.</i><br />
<i>Cause no matter how wide you stretch your fingers,</i><br />
<i>your hands will always be too small to catch </i><br />
<i>all the pain you want to heal.</i><br />
<i>Believe me.</i><br />
<i>I've tried.</i><br />
<i>"And, baby," I'll tell her,</i><br />
<i>"Don't keep your nose up in the air like that.</i><br />
<i>I know that trick;</i><br />
<i>I've done it a million times.</i><br />
<i>You're just smelling for smoke,</i><br />
<i>so you can follow the trail back to a burning house,</i><br />
<i>so you can find the boy who lost everything in the fire,</i><br />
<i>to see if you can save him.</i><br />
<i>Or else,</i><br />
<i>find the boy who lit the fire in the first place </i><br />
<i>to see if you can change him."</i><br />
<i>But I know she will anyway,</i><br />
<i>so, instead, I'll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rain boots nearby.</i><br />
<i>Because there is no heartbreak that chocolate can't fix.</i><br />
<i>Okay...there's a few heartbreaks that chocolate can't fix,</i><br />
<i>but that's what the rain boots are for.</i><br />
<i>Because rain will wash away everything,</i><br />
<i>if you let it.</i><br />
<i>I want her</i><br />
<i>to look at the world</i><br />
<i>through the underside of a glass bottom boat.</i><br />
<i>To look with a microscope at the galaxies that exist</i><br />
<i>on the pinpoint of a human mind.</i><br />
<i>Because...</i><br />
<i>that's the way my mom taught me.</i><br />
<i>That there'll be days like this.</i><br />
<i>There'll be days like this my mama said.</i><br />
<i>When you open your hands to catch</i><br />
<i>and wind up with only blisters and bruises.</i><br />
<i>When you step out of the phone booth and try to fly</i><br />
<i>and the very people you want to save</i><br />
<i>are the ones standing on your cape.</i><br />
<i>When your boots will fill with rain,</i><br />
<i>and you'll be up to your knees in disappointment,</i><br />
<i>and those are the very days you have all the more reason to say "Thank You."</i><br />
<i>Cause there's nothing more beautiful</i><br />
<i>than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline</i><br />
<i>no matter how many times it's sent away.</i><br />
<i>You will put the wind in winsome...lose some.</i><br />
<i>You will put the star in starting over. And over.</i><br />
<i>And no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute</i><br />
<i>make sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life.</i><br />
<i>And, yes, on a scale from one to over-trusting, I am</i><br />
<i>pretty damn naive. </i><br />
<i>But I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar.</i><br />
<i>It can crumble so easily but don't be afraid to stick your tongue out</i><br />
<i>and taste it.</i><br />
<i>"Baby," I'll tell her,</i><br />
<i>"Remember your mama is a worrier</i><br />
<i>and your papa is a warrior. </i><br />
<i>And you are the girl with small hands and big eyes</i><br />
<i>who never stops asking for more."</i><br />
<i>"Remember that good things come in threes</i><br />
<i>and...so do bad things."</i><br />
<i>And, "Always apologize when you've done something wrong.</i><br />
<i>But don't you </i><u style="font-style: italic;">ever</u> <i>apologize for the way your eyes</i><br />
<i>refuse to stop shining.</i><br />
<i>Your voice is small</i><br />
<i>but don't <u>ever</u> stop singing."</i><br />
<i>And when they finally hand you heartache,</i><br />
<i>when they slip war and hatred under your door, </i><br />
<i>and offer you hand outs on street corners</i><br />
<i>of cynicism and defeat,</i><br />
<i>you tell them that they</i><br />
<i>really oughtta meet</i><br />
<i>your mother.</i><br />
<br />
I love, love, love, LOVE it. Seriously, <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter.html">here is the link again</a>. Go watch her perform it. It was meant to be said, not read.<br />
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Anyway, in the middle of her speech, she was discussing that one of the ways they get kids to begin writing spoken word poetry is by asking them to make a list of ten things they know to be true. "And here's what happens. Here's what you'd discover, too, if we all started sharing our lists out loud. At a certain point you would realize that someone has the exact same thing, or one thing very similar to something on your list. And then someone else has something that is the complete opposite of yours. Third, someone has something you've never even <i>heard</i> of before. And, fourth, someone has something you <i>thought</i> you knew everything about, but they're introducing a new angle of looking at it. This is where great stories start from."<br />
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SO, I have accepted her (and <a href="http://www.straightfromthecurls.com/2011/03/10-things-i-know-to-be-true.html">Simi's</a>) challenge, and here is my list.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>10 Things I Know To Be True</u></b></div><b><br />
</b><br />
<b>1. One of my greatest strengths is my ability to find, and surround myself with, amazing friends.</b> Unlike most people out there, I have strong friendships from nearly every stage of my life that have endured the tests of time, distance, and personal change. Our (nearly) annual summer camping trip's planning is underway, and I am absolutely overjoyed to spend time with people who are so very important to me. I am exceedingly lucky that my path has crossed with so many wonderful people, and that they all get along with each other! Can't wait until July when I get to spend quality time with Liz, Carl, and Greg (high school), Monica, Renee, Jo Anna, and Amanda (university), Lyndsay (Semester at Sea), and Debbie (professional...?). And, I have so many others from various points in my life that I <b>wish</b> could be there.<br />
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<b>2. I lead an absurdly privileged life. </b>Sometimes it hits me, full force, in the face, exactly how privileged I am. And each time I'm caught off guard by the many many things that have happened in my life that are unbelievably awesome. Some of them are extreme, like having an opportunity to circumnavigate the globe, and the fact that in 25 years I've visited 26 countries. Some are so much simpler, and therefore more likely to be taken for grated, like growing up in a society and family that valued (and therefore provided) education, and being a native English speaker. I am beyond lucky.<br />
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<b>3. Someone would have to pay me an exorbitantly large sum to repeat high school. </b>Though I came out of high school with some great friends, the fact of the matter is that I BARELY came out of high school. It was a time that, honestly, I have mostly selectively blocked from my memory. Sometimes I marvel at the fact that my relationship with my mother (and my mother herself) survived the terrible, ungrateful, slightly insane girl that lived in my body during my four years at Roosevelt.<br />
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</b><br />
<b>4. I love my students.</b> This goes for my kids from Hiltop in the US and my kids here at Sincheon in Korea. No matter how much the bureaucratic bullshit makes me want to tear my hair out, or how many ridiculous decisions are made without consulting me, the kids remain a high point in my day. No matter how tired or cranky I am when I come into school, they never fail to make me smile, laugh, and remember why I chose to teach in the first place.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Heated toilet seats creep me out.</b> I mean, don't get me wrong, I hate sitting on a cold toilet seat in the winter as much as the next girl, but the heated toilet seats they have in the staff bathroom here just give the impression that a long line of people were sitting on that seat just before you, bringing it up to a toasty temperature.<br />
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<b>6. Trite as it sounds, things happen for a reason.</b> I am far from religious, but I have to believe that there is some driving force behind my life: places I'm supposed to be at certain times, people I'm supposed to meet, things I'm supposed to experience. While I don't quite buy that there is some invisible puppeteer pulling my strings (and, really, I don't WANT to believe that), I can't help but feel like so many things that have happened in my life (good, bad, frustrating and inspiring) have put me on this path. And I can't help but feel like I'm in the right place.<br />
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<b>7. Always striving for more and better can be a curse.</b> Sometimes I get so caught up in the way I think things should be moving along, or how they could be better, that I get distracted from the good things that are around me. Hopefully one day I will be completely contented with who and where I am.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>8. While I still have lots of hang ups and pet peeves about various foods, I've come a long way in my willingness to try new things. </b>When I was younger I wouldn't let any of my food touch, ever, and sometimes even went as far as wiping off my silverware before starting on a different "section" of my meal. A lot of that was broken on Semester at Sea, but I still refused to try certain foods (really just based on some arbitrary judgement I had made, not real preferences). I had never eaten a mushroom until I came to Korea. Same goes for a lot of foods I now eat without blinking here. While I still would never freely choose to consume a raisin, radish, tapioca ball, or cup of coffee, I have grown by leaps and bounds.<br />
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</b><br />
<b>9. A love for reading is one of the best gifts you can give to a child.</b> I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't love reading. It was so deeply ingrained in me that, honestly, I can't really even remember the last time I didn't have a book that I was working through. Reading teaches you so many things. Simply, an author can teach you new words, and to exercise your imagination. More complexly, a good author can teach you to question things you took for granted, develop a deeper understanding of how others (and you) think, and expose you to completely foreign ideas in an accessible way. Books are pure magic.<br />
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</b><br />
<b>10. I wonderful people in my family.</b> Inspiring, infuriating, loving, obnoxious, wacky, and supportive, I have a great home team. This especially applies for my mom, who is a total rock in my life. No words for that love.Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-11889892680980222862011-03-28T19:45:00.000+09:002011-03-28T19:45:00.971+09:00Spring! ...Sort of...The school calendar says spring. The solar calendar says spring. Yet it does note quite feel like spring yet here in Seoul. However, to be fair, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Dust">yellow dust</a> has been blowing in (<a href="http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2933695">now with radioactivity!</a>), and that is the REAL indicator of Korean spring.<br />
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As I've said before, the Korean school year starts in spring, so on the second of March I was back at school, ready to spend two weeks discussing the finer points of introducing yourself to people and asking where they are from. I know it is new kids in each grade, but it just always feels like everyone has regressed back to the beginning of speaking English when we come back from spring break. These classes are more of a challenge for me because the kids are so high level that they look at me like I'm an idiot when I say "Ok, repeat after me: HOW ARE YOU?"<br />
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Co-teachers also change in March, which was a MAJOR source of concern and consternation for me last year, but went much more smoothly this year. I teach all third grade classes (except for one) and all of sixth grade with a sweet, quiet new teacher named Ji In. She is right out of university. The other third grade class and all of fourth grade are taught with Hae Jung, one of Carin's old co-teachers who I worked with at summer and winter camp at Cheondong. Her English is awesome, so that helps everything go more smoothly. We are working on classroom management...let's leave it at that. Half of the fifth grade is taught with Yeon Ah from last year, and the other half is taught with Ju Yeon, who was one of the other subject teachers when I first arrived here in 2009, so we shared an office for a semester. Things have been going pretty smoothly thus far. I have all the lesson materials from last year, so I'm able to only make minor changes and be all ready to go. That is pretty damn sweet, haha. I thought I did little work before (compared to teaching in the US) and now I'm totally spoiled. Things are also easier because the kids all know me, they aren't afraid of me anymore, they understand how my classroom runs, etc. That frees me up to have more fun with the lessons and give them more authentic experiences, so that makes me happy.<br />
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As for the school administration, we got a new vice principal, and that has been...interesting. I am slightly concerned he is a sociopath, but whatever. Before he came everyone was all atwitter because he had a reputation for being really strict and kind of a hard-ass. However, when he arrived he smiled a lot, could actually speak a little English (his daughter goes to Drexel in Philly), and seemed okay to me. Turns out that is just because I don't speak Korean. While his face remained cheerful and nothing changed in his tone of voice or body language, he would get super snappy at teachers and make all sorts of crazy rules. Decree #1: All teachers should be smiling all the time when he sees them in the hallway. Decree #2: No laughing in the teachers' cafeteria; it's rude. Decree #3: Teachers may only sit at the lunch table with him and the principal when invited (keeping in mind that forces the 20 teachers to cram around the only two remaining tables. He's just a little nuts and the atmosphere in the room changes the moment he enters, so that sucks. Obviously I wasn't doing a whole lot of talking and uproarious laughing during lunch before, but I know it stresses my co-teachers out when he's around so that sucks. The principal is this quiet little lady and she won't tell him to cool his jets, so he's on a big power trip I think.<br />
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Outside of school things have been going well also. I got my free iPad (finally!) this month. I won it in a raffle over at <a href="http://www.buzz-korea.com/eng/">Buzz-Korea</a>, and I am a little (read: totally) in love with it. And Angry Birds. You should pop over onto the Buzz-Korea site, because they have lots of raffles and competitions going, and now you know they are good for it! In general, I've been a busy little social butterfly. How is it that so many of my friends who teach here had birthdays in the last couple of weeks? March 12 we went out to celebrate Dana's birthday with a trip to an amazing (and expensive on the weekends!) buffet called <a href="http://www.sevensprings.co.kr/">Seven Springs</a> in Yeoksam, before retiring to the Tree Hof in Gangnam to partake in some cocktail soju and birthday cake.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9vlo9vZX_u8/TZBej1C1gHI/AAAAAAAADrk/0xralABmIEI/s1600/IMG_7650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9vlo9vZX_u8/TZBej1C1gHI/AAAAAAAADrk/0xralABmIEI/s640/IMG_7650.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cakes galore!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NvmJrUKOfQY/TZBeljjLCBI/AAAAAAAADrs/FeBv2ZM0ilM/s1600/IMG_7654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NvmJrUKOfQY/TZBeljjLCBI/AAAAAAAADrs/FeBv2ZM0ilM/s640/IMG_7654.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Julia, Chrissy and Diana are excited to celebrate! </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v2GN9C6oJcU/TZBem7soQwI/AAAAAAAADrw/js5UsPlIgRs/s1600/IMG_7655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v2GN9C6oJcU/TZBem7soQwI/AAAAAAAADrw/js5UsPlIgRs/s640/IMG_7655.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Representin' Merlind.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sjh_vC7aVY0/TZBeoV5hPUI/AAAAAAAADr0/4UPct9KOOQk/s1600/IMG_7656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sjh_vC7aVY0/TZBeoV5hPUI/AAAAAAAADr0/4UPct9KOOQk/s640/IMG_7656.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Crazy northerners.</i></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WjH4ZunvhU4/TZBekvzudFI/AAAAAAAADro/KvjKyqO2ATk/s1600/IMG_7653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WjH4ZunvhU4/TZBekvzudFI/AAAAAAAADro/KvjKyqO2ATk/s640/IMG_7653.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Soju cocktail cheers!</i></div><br />
March 17 was St. Patrick's Day and a group of us, including a handful of our co-teachers, headed down to the Dublin Terrace Pub in Gangnam for some celebration. While the atmosphere was beautiful and really did remind me of pubs in western Ireland and the food was to DIE FOR (go right now and eat some Guinness stew, it's amazing), it was extremely expensive (a pint of Guinness for $12?!) and there was NO GREEN BEER which is basically blasphemy. I felt especially bad since that was one of the draws for my co-teachers. Carin and I thought we had outsmarted the system by brining our own food coloring. Alas, it was ridic Korean food coloring that was gel instead of liquid and just floated around in foul tasting little balls of green rather than dying anything. Sad day. We also had to pressure them into putting Irish music on, so that was weird.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KaC9WR6VSg8/TZBeqEdDO5I/AAAAAAAADr4/p25r-eADXSk/s1600/IMG_7664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KaC9WR6VSg8/TZBeqEdDO5I/AAAAAAAADr4/p25r-eADXSk/s640/IMG_7664.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>If only your insides were as festive as your outsides.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib44-d6vPc8/TZBerGtHKYI/AAAAAAAADr8/cPWO2g8YO7o/s1600/IMG_7667.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib44-d6vPc8/TZBerGtHKYI/AAAAAAAADr8/cPWO2g8YO7o/s640/IMG_7667.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin with the headband SHE STOLE FROM ME.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z05rsw5B4C4/TZBetuUwJ9I/AAAAAAAADsE/jFe1X1FQY_Y/s1600/IMG_7672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z05rsw5B4C4/TZBetuUwJ9I/AAAAAAAADsE/jFe1X1FQY_Y/s640/IMG_7672.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Festive!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iLlFNmGVPes/TZBevPqj5fI/AAAAAAAADsI/lI2FbGEGHJE/s1600/IMG_7674.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iLlFNmGVPes/TZBevPqj5fI/AAAAAAAADsI/lI2FbGEGHJE/s640/IMG_7674.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dave's like a life size leprechaun...who likes to drink June Bugs.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0DeizReNZfA/TZBescZmxHI/AAAAAAAADsA/wylbiGQc-qA/s1600/IMG_7670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0DeizReNZfA/TZBescZmxHI/AAAAAAAADsA/wylbiGQc-qA/s640/IMG_7670.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chatting.</i></div><br />
March 18 was Diana D's birthday celebration, and a fun time was had by all. It turned into a fun girls night as Sarah, Diana, Chrissy, Shannon, Amanda, Julia, Lee-Rae and I met up to have a tasty Italian dinner near Konguk University. Then we spent some time at a very cool decorate-your-own-cake cafe near in that area. You buy a cake, choose an icing in a piping bag, choose decorations, and go to town. Crazy Diana chose banana icing for the chocolate cake, but I forgave her eventually. It was fun to fancy up our own cake for the evening. After we were kicked out (they were closing) we popped into a photo sticker booth so Diana could commemorate the night. The pictures are hilarious, as per usual. Future reference, 8 people is TOO MANY for a photo booth, haha. A few streets down from the photo place there was a bar (one of a chain) called Ireland Yuki where they put on a hilarious birthday show for Diana, including a "bartending" show (where the guy dropped the cups twice), a mini fire show (where his first try breathing fire didn't light so he just spit alcohol all over the table), and a personal serenade by a bartender. She was also given a free shot and a bowl of birthday seaweed soup. Hilarious. We chowed down on some cake and threw back some cocktails before heading down to Apgujeong and partying it up at the always entertaining <a href="http://www.monkeybeach.co.kr/">Monkey Beach</a>. I fled before everyone else because it became claustrophobic and over-packed, but it was a great time. Love me some tequila sunrise buckets! I also saw the fire show for the first time and that was way cool.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bvA_phhuqG0/TZBe3Rk0T9I/AAAAAAAADsk/LmOAxxEODds/s1600/IMG_7691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bvA_phhuqG0/TZBe3Rk0T9I/AAAAAAAADsk/LmOAxxEODds/s640/IMG_7691.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cake decorating cafe.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zAb_ajFPlms/TZBewXg0J9I/AAAAAAAADsM/m73MZNBmmX4/s1600/IMG_7677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zAb_ajFPlms/TZBewXg0J9I/AAAAAAAADsM/m73MZNBmmX4/s640/IMG_7677.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The cake (with Happy Birthday written in Korean) and our decorating supplies.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JYW1mMtalUM/TZBexg6BzgI/AAAAAAAADsQ/8rjU5B6rNKU/s1600/IMG_7678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JYW1mMtalUM/TZBexg6BzgI/AAAAAAAADsQ/8rjU5B6rNKU/s640/IMG_7678.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ready to deck the cake!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TsCVbdzD6Sg/TZBeybAeibI/AAAAAAAADsU/BxVnjMSFVEg/s1600/IMG_7682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TsCVbdzD6Sg/TZBeybAeibI/AAAAAAAADsU/BxVnjMSFVEg/s640/IMG_7682.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Diana is a professional icing applier. Julia is impressed.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-36DB1tzJ1Pc/TZBezSRguPI/AAAAAAAADsY/m8f2vpNkxkw/s1600/IMG_7686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-36DB1tzJ1Pc/TZBezSRguPI/AAAAAAAADsY/m8f2vpNkxkw/s640/IMG_7686.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Amanda making the "coffee" look perfect.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Aqv4GOHowSM/TZBe1Gn-SbI/AAAAAAAADsc/R3hTUAsMIw4/s1600/IMG_7688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Aqv4GOHowSM/TZBe1Gn-SbI/AAAAAAAADsc/R3hTUAsMIw4/s640/IMG_7688.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Adorable.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GUCN8XNhnWo/TZBe2ReFXYI/AAAAAAAADsg/ITDJ9AmeBmE/s1600/IMG_7690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GUCN8XNhnWo/TZBe2ReFXYI/AAAAAAAADsg/ITDJ9AmeBmE/s640/IMG_7690.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We couldn't let that icing go to WASTE!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ms6hijBsVTo/TZBe4qYf5nI/AAAAAAAADso/K3uwWMxkozc/s1600/IMG_7692.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ms6hijBsVTo/TZBe4qYf5nI/AAAAAAAADso/K3uwWMxkozc/s640/IMG_7692.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>When Chrissy got married she converted to Islam and the other day we were talking about her future pilgrimage to Mecca. Turns out she never has to leave Seoul. Check!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fMIMpEg3zGU/TZBe5RhpEAI/AAAAAAAADss/rK-EwoNlOVc/s1600/IMG_7695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fMIMpEg3zGU/TZBe5RhpEAI/AAAAAAAADss/rK-EwoNlOVc/s640/IMG_7695.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bartending show in Ireland Yuki.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tv4-lBZYF7w/TZBe6u-_tyI/AAAAAAAADsw/oKMswvWYmZQ/s1600/IMG_7702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tv4-lBZYF7w/TZBe6u-_tyI/AAAAAAAADsw/oKMswvWYmZQ/s640/IMG_7702.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Serenade.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GsUJtaTvnJg/TZBe7_Tex-I/AAAAAAAADs0/rTF4Ta-yNeg/s1600/IMG_7705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GsUJtaTvnJg/TZBe7_Tex-I/AAAAAAAADs0/rTF4Ta-yNeg/s640/IMG_7705.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Nothing says "I'm glad you were born!" quite like seaweed soup, am I right?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uNjUAXrJHi8/TZBe9QwazRI/AAAAAAAADs4/f5wYS0RDRHE/s1600/IMG_7711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uNjUAXrJHi8/TZBe9QwazRI/AAAAAAAADs4/f5wYS0RDRHE/s640/IMG_7711.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This was BEFORE drinking, haha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z5nYSpA3zEE/TZBe-jmDyHI/AAAAAAAADs8/2n7N7hnfrvU/s1600/IMG_7718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z5nYSpA3zEE/TZBe-jmDyHI/AAAAAAAADs8/2n7N7hnfrvU/s640/IMG_7718.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fire show! Mesmerizing.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mlDlnr9_W38/TZBe_wg61sI/AAAAAAAADtA/k2LDzt3sKJA/s1600/IMG_7719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mlDlnr9_W38/TZBe_wg61sI/AAAAAAAADtA/k2LDzt3sKJA/s640/IMG_7719.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Love these ladies. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Shannon, Chrissy, Diana, Amanda.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p5cTjf2cApw/TZBfA6Aj6sI/AAAAAAAADtE/va_jpQCF2kA/s1600/IMG_7721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p5cTjf2cApw/TZBfA6Aj6sI/AAAAAAAADtE/va_jpQCF2kA/s640/IMG_7721.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Posing with the birthday girl.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KsuYcZicNug/TZBfBm-LN8I/AAAAAAAADtI/87UfHCZJUOw/s1600/IMG_7722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KsuYcZicNug/TZBfBm-LN8I/AAAAAAAADtI/87UfHCZJUOw/s640/IMG_7722.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Please note that Shannon is becoming ever more Korean. Latest addition: glassless frames.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Julia and Shannon</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3POG8mzgOEE/TZBfDkdt9BI/AAAAAAAADtM/j31613zaYgA/s1600/IMG_7723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3POG8mzgOEE/TZBfDkdt9BI/AAAAAAAADtM/j31613zaYgA/s640/IMG_7723.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>More posing with the birthday girl!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lee-Rae and Diana</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Since Thursday was a let down for St. Patrick's Day, we were all thankful that we had already been planning to celebrate on March 20 as well! Diana, Carin and I started the day by going to see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Neo6W1f7hyY">Beastly</a>, which was PAINFULLY terrible. So so bad. Thank god it was only the three of us and one Korean couple in the theater, because we did a ridiculous amount of laughing and poking fun. After the movie we met up with Josephine and Julia and checked out the Irish Festival in Insadong. It was nice (and we got balloons), but after a bit we decided to head over to Itaewon. (This turned out to be a good plan, because although the temperature was beautiful, it was a bad day for yellow dust and by the time I got home that night my throat was hurting and I had a stuffy nose already.) On the way to the subway station we randomly bumped into Amanda and Tom, who joined our motley crew. When we got to Itaewon everyone was hungry so we hit up <a href="http://www.kraze.co.kr/">Kraze Burger</a>, a very popular restaurant chain here. Chrissy met us at Kraze, and then our whole group migrated over to the <a href="http://www.wolfhoundpub.com/">Wolfhound Pub</a>. We got there at 4pm and got the last table. Things only got busier and crazier as the night went on! Copious amounts of green beer, a plethora of green and white balloons, entertaining people watching, and fantastic food (those onion rings are now a feature in my dreams...) more than made up for the disappointing actual St. Patrick's Day. Lesson learned! Stick with the Wolfhound. They treated us well <a href="http://bareyourseoul.blogspot.com/2010/03/catching-up.html">last year</a>, and again this year.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qq3O-hk_660/TZBfQc6-TcI/AAAAAAAADt4/xYMcuzOqV5A/s1600/IMG_7763.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qq3O-hk_660/TZBfQc6-TcI/AAAAAAAADt4/xYMcuzOqV5A/s640/IMG_7763.jpg" width="302" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>St. Patrick's Day windows.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dsn-VvnQQEU/TZBfRaQy6UI/AAAAAAAADt8/a0TrtZmuCc4/s1600/IMG_7764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dsn-VvnQQEU/TZBfRaQy6UI/AAAAAAAADt8/a0TrtZmuCc4/s640/IMG_7764.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Classroom decorations a la Karen Shanahan.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kKB5aKoC-30/TZBfEX7gsbI/AAAAAAAADtQ/J8boV8N6hv4/s1600/IMG_7728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kKB5aKoC-30/TZBfEX7gsbI/AAAAAAAADtQ/J8boV8N6hv4/s640/IMG_7728.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We stood in line FOREVER to get these balloons. The men tasked with inflating them and handing them out were totally inept.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j3zoTCiQ7hM/TZBfF2YIzfI/AAAAAAAADtU/zq_alxTov18/s1600/IMG_7729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j3zoTCiQ7hM/TZBfF2YIzfI/AAAAAAAADtU/zq_alxTov18/s640/IMG_7729.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cheers!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Julia, Carin and I</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u6yxFM4b31M/TZBfGxzLXHI/AAAAAAAADtY/wY9mucR77Gc/s1600/IMG_7730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u6yxFM4b31M/TZBfGxzLXHI/AAAAAAAADtY/wY9mucR77Gc/s640/IMG_7730.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gotta rep the heritage!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P_ngVe23GWs/TZBfIdzHInI/AAAAAAAADtc/zRYmJpFGM04/s1600/IMG_7737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P_ngVe23GWs/TZBfIdzHInI/AAAAAAAADtc/zRYmJpFGM04/s640/IMG_7737.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>PERFECT!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ayX8ddFJldw/TZBfJqK05fI/AAAAAAAADtg/CbYoTPgW6ds/s1600/IMG_7739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ayX8ddFJldw/TZBfJqK05fI/AAAAAAAADtg/CbYoTPgW6ds/s640/IMG_7739.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>And delicious! (Well, as delicious as cheap Korean beer can be...)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RqFJdFCoHes/TZBfKY24sRI/AAAAAAAADtk/N7ft_PH58SQ/s1600/IMG_7740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RqFJdFCoHes/TZBfKY24sRI/AAAAAAAADtk/N7ft_PH58SQ/s640/IMG_7740.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>That giant pitcher holds 6 pints and it was only 15,000won! I just noticed that this is also the trifecta of cheap Korean beer: Hite, Cass and Max.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1mxB1_qj_Hw/TZBfMBM8TKI/AAAAAAAADto/lLsfHSzLc9A/s1600/IMG_7743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1mxB1_qj_Hw/TZBfMBM8TKI/AAAAAAAADto/lLsfHSzLc9A/s640/IMG_7743.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One side of the table.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chrissy, Julia, Carin, Josephine</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-35kZv7V2NOw/TZBfNoILB-I/AAAAAAAADts/xzFg0P3twdY/s1600/IMG_7744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-35kZv7V2NOw/TZBfNoILB-I/AAAAAAAADts/xzFg0P3twdY/s640/IMG_7744.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>And the other side.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Amanda, Tom, Me, Diana</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mpwcEwRteJg/TZBfPsA4_vI/AAAAAAAADt0/21lWPS1QMNw/s1600/IMG_7759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mpwcEwRteJg/TZBfPsA4_vI/AAAAAAAADt0/21lWPS1QMNw/s640/IMG_7759.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pouring for friends.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jamie, Julia, Carin</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oQXiiBpD_Ac/TZBfOwRfVUI/AAAAAAAADtw/8Nq3FKzouzI/s1600/IMG_7757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oQXiiBpD_Ac/TZBfOwRfVUI/AAAAAAAADtw/8Nq3FKzouzI/s640/IMG_7757.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Group photo!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Amanda, Tom, Me, Chrissy, Diana, Shannon, Jamie, Julia, Carin, Josephine</i></div><br />
March 20 was spent recovering, haha. I was not meant to go out every night. I just don't have it in me...or my bank account.<br />
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This past Wednesday I met up with some friends of my first cousin twice removed (I think that's right), Shirley. My grandmother was an only child, and grew up very close to her cousins Shirley, Marian, and Jane. Shirley is awesome, she's always been a unique, interesting feature in our family. Right after college she moved to Egypt and taught for two years, which was obviously a HUGE DEAL in my grandmother's time. We've always been kind of similar and before I left she gave me her memoirs of her time in Egypt. It was so fascinating, and that was definitely part of the reason I started keeping a blog. Shirley lives in Connecticut, and she had made friends with a couple who was from Korea and working in the States. They moved back to Seoul recently and Shirley gave them my info so we could get in contact. Caroline Lee got in touch with me and we decided to meet up for dinner with her, her husband, and a <a href="http://theyangpa.wordpress.com/2006/10/06/isaac-durst-escapes-from-his-cage/">Isaac Durst</a>, a local TV personality whose brother was a friend of the Lees. We met up at VIPS in Wangsimni and it was wonderful: good food, excellent conversation, and just an overall nice time. I was really glad that we got a chance to hook up, and I hope we get a chance to see each other again before I leave.<br />
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Saturday night we celebrated the birthday trifecta of Erich (March 21), Diana D. (March 22), and Jamie (February 14, but he was in a Cambodian hospital suffering from amoebic dysentery, so he got a re-do) with a night of fun. Dinner at Fry Pan with Carin and Caitlin was delicious, and then we were off to the Funky Dunky (true story) where we had drinks and met up with David, Chrissy, Diana, Josephine, Jamie and Shannon. After some quality imbibing we walked across the street to the luxury <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noraebang">noraebang</a> where we were joined by Julia, her prionce Derek, Erich, and (briefly) Stephanie. We sang for three and a half hours...so much fun. So much alcohol. So many terrible renditions of songs. An excellent evening. And Cheonho is so close that we just walked home, which was really nice. Big fan of our new local flava.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bCPtyl9CiOc/TZBfSafowMI/AAAAAAAADuA/CuogUWHpDhM/s1600/IMG_7776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bCPtyl9CiOc/TZBfSafowMI/AAAAAAAADuA/CuogUWHpDhM/s640/IMG_7776.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Luxury noraebang. We had a balcony, too!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rveKoudZzFc/TZBfTTRThnI/AAAAAAAADuE/YQD1IJWzOJo/s1600/IMG_7780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rveKoudZzFc/TZBfTTRThnI/AAAAAAAADuE/YQD1IJWzOJo/s640/IMG_7780.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Erich, Carin and Derek singing (surprisingly well) in Korean. Well, surprising for the two that aren't Korean, I guess.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JpDAiLoRmgg/TZBfVMV2XkI/AAAAAAAADuI/FyALo4bMme4/s1600/IMG_7784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JpDAiLoRmgg/TZBfVMV2XkI/AAAAAAAADuI/FyALo4bMme4/s640/IMG_7784.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Birthday kids. Happy birthday Erich, Diana and Jamie!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xu8VqFuA5Gw/TZBfWmIiR3I/AAAAAAAADuM/oQE0iZXT8mQ/s1600/IMG_7785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xu8VqFuA5Gw/TZBfWmIiR3I/AAAAAAAADuM/oQE0iZXT8mQ/s640/IMG_7785.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ridiculous. Love it.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mWupx855nyk/TZBfX-js18I/AAAAAAAADuQ/WZ3yGHmJ9hs/s1600/IMG_7787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mWupx855nyk/TZBfX-js18I/AAAAAAAADuQ/WZ3yGHmJ9hs/s640/IMG_7787.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I will miss nights like this dearly.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jamie, Shannon, Chrissy, Julia, Derek, Carin, Diana, Josephine, David, Erich and I</i></div><br />
So my leaving, I suppose, is also something that has majorly changed since I last updated. I officially tendered my resignation on March 23, effective May 26. Over the next two months I will be packing up my stuff (shipping a lot of it home) and then I'll be on a plane to DC on the morning of Friday, May 27. This gives me two weeks to overcome jet-lag before Bruno and Daria's wedding in Boston on June 11 and Morgan and Lon's wedding on the Eastern Shore on June 18 (both of which I am absolutely thrilled to be home for.) May 27 is alarmingly close. There is so much to do before then that I am a little overwhelmed, but hopefully I'll find some way to get through it! My co-teachers knew I was leaving, but I was really concerned about how the (crazy, as previously mentioned) VP would take the news. Thankfully he was surprisingly chill...probably had something to do with me throwing the name "Harvard" out there.<br />
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Here is where the whole grad school thing stands...I was accepted at Harvard, Columbia, UPenn, George Washington, Pitt School of Education and Pitt School of International Affairs. I was rejected at MARYLAND. This still is so freaking bizarre to me. No wait list, just flat out rejected. Bill, a guy I went to Marywood with, shed a little light on the possible reason. "Schools often reject applicants who are unlikely to attend their program in order to protect their yield numbers, which in turn boosts their appearance of selectivity. If they admit you and you matriculate elsewhere, all they get out of it is a higher acceptance rate printed in USNEWS. You'd be surprised at how sophisticated admissions <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">departments can be at predicting their yield numbers and managing the concomitant financial aid and enrollment number<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">s. Sort of like a nice girl who's been used by a good looking charlatan, they've been burned before. When they look at the sophistication of your app and GRE scores and such, they can likely say there is a less than X% chance you will attend based on the actions of similar applicants in previous cycles. It would totally suck if you truly wanted to go to Maryland and only Maryland; in this case, however, it seems like they probably got it right, no? F</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">or a school like Maryland, the highest compliment they can pay a top applicant is actually a yield protect rejection, not an offer of admissions. By the way, another thing they may or may not have done is gleaned your admission offers from other schools from your facebook status or grad school forums. I'm sure that would make it easier to confidently yield protect you." SO, scratch that, Maryland didn't reject me, they yield protected me, haha. I am actually super appreciative, because I had this horrible fear that I'd get down to the end and be left with a great school I had to pay a lot for, or Maryland that would be almost free. I think it would break my heart to go to Maryland. It's not a bad school, it's just a bad school for me. I am super thankful it won't come down to that now. The only school I haven't heard from is NYU. I think that is just rude to not have sent out decisions yet, especially since there is a national agreement recognized by almost every school that says April 15 is the deadline to accept an offer and put down your non-refundable down payments. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter that much, because NYU is a two year program and housing alone would be over $21,000, so it is out of my price range.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Moral of the story, I am 98% sure that I will be matriculating at Harvard come fall. Crazy, right? I think so. Financial aid at all the schools is taking their sweet ass time, so that is where the last 2% of waffling comes in. If Columbia offered me some sort of ridiculously generous financial aid I might be swayed, but my heart is kind of set on Boston/Cambridge now. I can't really begin to think of the logistics of moving back to the US, moving up to Massachusetts, paying for school, living like a pauper, etc because it is just a tad stressful, but I am very excited. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I'm very much looking forward to being around for things I've missed in the past year: births, weddings, engagements. Speaking of engagements, my brother popped the question and asked Loran, his girlfriend of two years, to marry him when they were on vacation in Morocco. Antique ring with a pillow cut diamond, at sunset, on a sand dune in the Sahara...no one can say my brother ever does anything half assed. She (obviously) said yes, so that is very exciting. The craziest part for me is the fact that I've never met her in person, only via video chat, because I've been in Korea the entire time they were dating. Insanity! I can't wait to be back in the loop in my loved ones lives. Because my brother isn't a girl, he hasn't done a satisfactory job of sharing 10000 pictures of the ring, or cluing me in on other important details, but I'll let that slide. For now.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W14CUOvSPnA/TZAhc5Oo49I/AAAAAAAADrc/b1C0V31_UK4/s1600/Dunes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W14CUOvSPnA/TZAhc5Oo49I/AAAAAAAADrc/b1C0V31_UK4/s640/Dunes.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My brother, Mike, standing on the dune where he would later propose.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9ENco36XrRs/TZBmhGk8aaI/AAAAAAAADuU/18HoCaS_WDw/s1600/sahara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9ENco36XrRs/TZBmhGk8aaI/AAAAAAAADuU/18HoCaS_WDw/s640/sahara.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>My future sister-in-law, Loran, in the Sahara.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Sooooo, yeah. That is pretty much what has been going on in my life. </span></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-22873063565790861512011-03-23T22:32:00.000+09:002011-03-23T22:32:04.283+09:00Welcome to Native Speaker HELL!The folks over at <a href="http://www.thewaygookeffect.com/">The Waygook Effect</a> pulled together a HILARIOUS entry about the 10 Worst Dialogues from the Elementary School English Curriculum and I just had to share it with everyone. SO good, and so funny. Thankfully we got brand new books (and accompanying CDs) this year so we bid adieu to these gems.<br />
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<a href="http://www.thewaygookeffect.com/2011/02/10-worst-dialogues-of-public-elementary.html"><b>Check it out.</b></a><br />
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I love their fifth pick so much that I have to repost it separately. I laugh uncontrollably every time Peter utters the words "Whaaaat a BEAUTIFUL DAY!" I want it as a ringtone on my phone.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Priceless.</div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-40446344538542661162011-03-23T15:30:00.000+09:002011-04-14T15:38:45.258+09:00Vacation: Indonesia!Upon arriving in Bali we deplaned, grabbed our bags, stood in the slowest immigration line in history, and headed out to the arrivals area where a driver and van from <a href="http://www.primacottage.com/">Prima Cottages</a> was waiting for us. Our first stop in Bali was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanur_(Bali)">Sanur</a>, which is the area I was (by far) most excited about. I did a hell of a lot of research for this trip, and I knew almost immediately that Sanur was the place I wanted to be. On the southeastern coast of the island of Bali, Sanur is a quieter area, with clean beaches that are protected by reefs to there are only very small waves. It is an area where lots of older expats come and settle down thanks to the chill feeling of the town and the tons of delicious and cheap restaurants. Laura was adamant that we stay at a beach with surfing (specifically Kuta) at least part of the time, but I was able to talk everyone into spending four nights in Sanur and two nights in Kuta (thank GOD....more on that later). <br />
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We arrived at our hotel and were taken to our rooms. Lee-Rae and I paid a little more to get an air conditioned room, while Laura and Diana opted to sleep in a fan-cooled room. I was happy with my choice. The room was clean and cool and the beds were comfy...I can't ask for much more. Our room was just steps from the restaurant and pool area, which was lovely (except for when the parrots woke me up in the morning begging for fruit). After settling in we walked down to the beach (about a 15 minute walk) and had some frilly drinks as the sun set. It was great. We got fantastic local food for dinner on the way back to the hotel and finished the evening with a dip in the pool with the stars shining above. Great start to our Indonesian adventure!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cEeDKZZkosI/TYgyaL-TeWI/AAAAAAAADkY/DW_SI7wMfko/s1600/IMG_7156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cEeDKZZkosI/TYgyaL-TeWI/AAAAAAAADkY/DW_SI7wMfko/s640/IMG_7156.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Entrance to Prima Cottages. That cage on the left houses two disarmingly cute <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luwak">palm civets</a>.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oi7ET5mzzBo/TYgy02TLz-I/AAAAAAAADkk/XwACjqvMc2U/s1600/IMG_7187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oi7ET5mzzBo/TYgy02TLz-I/AAAAAAAADkk/XwACjqvMc2U/s640/IMG_7187.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Look at that face! Look at those gigantic eyes! And the little nom nom mouth! And the BUTT NOSE! I wanted to steal them and squeeze them.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_zZjvWVRnA8/TYgygz7V5zI/AAAAAAAADkc/igiJovFkYBw/s1600/IMG_7159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_zZjvWVRnA8/TYgygz7V5zI/AAAAAAAADkc/igiJovFkYBw/s640/IMG_7159.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fun foliage around the hotel.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-evirx0EDV6A/TYgyhmw3L4I/AAAAAAAADkg/nKSxMWOBaB8/s1600/IMG_7148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-evirx0EDV6A/TYgyhmw3L4I/AAAAAAAADkg/nKSxMWOBaB8/s640/IMG_7148.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pool view as we breakfasted.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--PQCdfmoonc/TYgzYqsmngI/AAAAAAAADko/tLAOJxIMHOA/s1600/IMG_7234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--PQCdfmoonc/TYgzYqsmngI/AAAAAAAADko/tLAOJxIMHOA/s640/IMG_7234.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Looking up from one of the deck chairs around the pool where I lounged about.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qwGI9vp7IpU/TYgzk88r3UI/AAAAAAAADk0/-PWUHYDEp1w/s1600/IMG_7135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qwGI9vp7IpU/TYgzk88r3UI/AAAAAAAADk0/-PWUHYDEp1w/s640/IMG_7135.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Little tiki huts where we had drinks on the beach.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3mbXbUii6LI/TYgzj61_f1I/AAAAAAAADkw/YwF7ifzdPtA/s1600/IMG_7133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3mbXbUii6LI/TYgzj61_f1I/AAAAAAAADkw/YwF7ifzdPtA/s640/IMG_7133.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Evening on the beach at low tide.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G-vRlAMrJg8/TYgzjYyOUxI/AAAAAAAADks/NbVDif5vzrM/s1600/IMG_7146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G-vRlAMrJg8/TYgzjYyOUxI/AAAAAAAADks/NbVDif5vzrM/s640/IMG_7146.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sun setting behind some traditional gates.</i></div><br />
Tuesday morning dawned sunny and hot, so after eating the delicious breakfast that was included with our stay we headed over to the beach. The morning was spent bobbing about in the calm water, working on our tans. The only downside to the beach is the fact that there are lots of people trying to sell you stuff (from sarongs to pedicures) and they do NOT quit. I totally get that this is a part of a poor, tourism based area, but it is still massively annoying. Diana partook in a massage and pedicure while the rest of us hit the water. I could have floated there all day, no lie. Eventually we headed back to the hotel, took showers, went out to eat, swam in the pool, and generally vegetated. With a liberal sprinkling of frou frou drinks. Just what I was looking for in a beach vacation.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Ce9Tcr2RmY4/TYg1r77mUgI/AAAAAAAADls/1lm8vBmFkrE/s1600/IMG_7237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Ce9Tcr2RmY4/TYg1r77mUgI/AAAAAAAADls/1lm8vBmFkrE/s640/IMG_7237.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Laura with the ridiculously large "coco head" drink she ordered at dinner one night.</i></div><br />
Wednesday was a little overcast in the morning, but I still got in some quality swimming and reading on the beach before partaking in another one of Sanur's awesome restaurants for lunch. We ate every meal at a different restaurant and they were all FANTASTIC. So cheap for such good food. I wanted to take all the restaurants home with me. That afternoon Laura, Lee-Rae and I headed out for an afternoon shopping tour through some local art villages. I should make it clear that we didn't know it was just a shopping tour before we left, but it was still interesting so I'm not complaining. Villages (this term is loosely used since they are not exactly what you think of as individual villages as they basically seamlessly run into each other along the main roads. The three of us got a driver for the afternoon and he took us out to various artisan shops as it poured rain. We saw batik, paintings, silver jewelry, wood carvings, and stone carvings being made and bought very little because we are all poor. Man what I couldn't do to a house if I had unlimited money! We also stopped by a pretty rice field and a local temple. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-as-Eva8ahvo/TYg1epi5dqI/AAAAAAAADk4/8mnB33InarQ/s1600/IMG_7152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-as-Eva8ahvo/TYg1epi5dqI/AAAAAAAADk4/8mnB33InarQ/s640/IMG_7152.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Beautiful flowers along the road in Sanur.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2h4-JjZl0cM/TYg1fEc4tyI/AAAAAAAADk8/1toD78izYow/s1600/IMG_7178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2h4-JjZl0cM/TYg1fEc4tyI/AAAAAAAADk8/1toD78izYow/s640/IMG_7178.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ahhh, relaxation. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Different beach, different Kindle, same love as <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/S5N4EG-VtCI/AAAAAAAABTo/G1RNii89r48/s1600-h/thailand-+my+idea+of+relaxation.jpg">last year</a>.)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wiS5wSH8-pA/TYg1f-FylbI/AAAAAAAADlA/KOayKhgBGzk/s1600/IMG_7190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wiS5wSH8-pA/TYg1f-FylbI/AAAAAAAADlA/KOayKhgBGzk/s640/IMG_7190.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Artisan working on her batik. A white cloth is decorated with wax and then dyed. When the wax is removed the space beneath it is still white. This can be done in layers to get different colors.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-yvas2ohB0z4/TYg1g3aUR3I/AAAAAAAADlE/q5YVkdP10zY/s1600/IMG_7192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-yvas2ohB0z4/TYg1g3aUR3I/AAAAAAAADlE/q5YVkdP10zY/s640/IMG_7192.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Applying the wax.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HLpouA22BL8/TYg1iMVCDQI/AAAAAAAADlI/0cvFf0d3b6A/s1600/IMG_7197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HLpouA22BL8/TYg1iMVCDQI/AAAAAAAADlI/0cvFf0d3b6A/s640/IMG_7197.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One of the many stunning end results.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6z-RkGJIo98/TYg1jZoQAEI/AAAAAAAADlM/dl2zq1_gveU/s1600/IMG_7200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6z-RkGJIo98/TYg1jZoQAEI/AAAAAAAADlM/dl2zq1_gveU/s640/IMG_7200.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Stone carver's handiwork.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VfbTQsQ3CvM/TYg1kdUPlvI/AAAAAAAADlQ/1WJgPAMKxYo/s1600/IMG_7201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VfbTQsQ3CvM/TYg1kdUPlvI/AAAAAAAADlQ/1WJgPAMKxYo/s640/IMG_7201.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lovely.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E6G-GGBDUlE/TYg1livTyCI/AAAAAAAADlU/F0RUtctKOGY/s1600/IMG_7208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E6G-GGBDUlE/TYg1livTyCI/AAAAAAAADlU/F0RUtctKOGY/s640/IMG_7208.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Traditional Indonesian style painting in progress.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-APmQ_j60zXU/TYg1m6zHNdI/AAAAAAAADlY/-PK794uimJE/s1600/IMG_7217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-APmQ_j60zXU/TYg1m6zHNdI/AAAAAAAADlY/-PK794uimJE/s640/IMG_7217.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Buildings in the painter compound. Artists come to live and work together here. </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pC08pPie6vY/TYg1n38w52I/AAAAAAAADlc/x-b3SNnYoKg/s1600/IMG_7219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pC08pPie6vY/TYg1n38w52I/AAAAAAAADlc/x-b3SNnYoKg/s640/IMG_7219.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Wood carver showing off his work on a piece of "crocodile tree," so named because of its crazy bumpy surface.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-D6Tw3eUsf5k/TYg1owrW6tI/AAAAAAAADlg/SIkkKKBvTtk/s1600/IMG_7220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-D6Tw3eUsf5k/TYg1owrW6tI/AAAAAAAADlg/SIkkKKBvTtk/s640/IMG_7220.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I love rice fields.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-24r12TSZcCo/TYg1p0DVU5I/AAAAAAAADlk/cicFs2AOTD0/s1600/IMG_7224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-24r12TSZcCo/TYg1p0DVU5I/AAAAAAAADlk/cicFs2AOTD0/s640/IMG_7224.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Multi-tiered village temple on the way home.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_g-HK1rBego/TYg1rGc5ryI/AAAAAAAADlo/eqbpaPjIA-E/s1600/IMG_7231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_g-HK1rBego/TYg1rGc5ryI/AAAAAAAADlo/eqbpaPjIA-E/s640/IMG_7231.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Awesome carving at the temple. This is what I imagine when I read about the old kings of Narnia.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thursday we decided to take advantage of a snorkeling/glass bottom boat/turtle island visit that we had picked up brochures about. The day started a bit stressful when we arrived and they had no power so we weren't able to pay with credit/debit cards, a kind of necessary thing for Laura and I. Thankfully Diana was able to cover us and we were off. We headed out into the overcast skies on our small boat that had a little window on the bottom so we could play fish voyeur. It was decent, though I think the glass bottom boat ride in the Bahamas (not-so-fondly remembered by my very seasick mother) blew it out of the water. Figuratively, of course. After a bit of fish and reef watching we headed over to the turtle island. Since I returned home I've read a ton of terrible reviews about this place, but overall I didn't leave too aghast. I mean, sure, it would piss of PETA. However it is not nearly as heart wrenching as the zoo in Ho Chi Minh City or, even worse, the bear park at the Great Wall. We had a hilarious guide, an Indonesian 29-year-old with the most ridiculous Crocodile Dundee Australian accent I've ever heard. He was crass, but funny, and never pressured us for any money. We started with the big turtles, which are rotated in and out of the wild every six months, according to our guide. There were a few different species and we got to pick up the medium sized ones and pose with them. Then we looked around at the teen and baby turtles. We weren't allowed to hold any of them for their protection, but the thought of sticking a baby sea turtle in my pocket <u>did</u> cross my mind. Then there was a small zoo area that I found to be much more depressing than the turtle area: a sad little monkey, a flying fox, a hornbill, a sea hawk, a free-roaming iguana, and a boa constrictor with its mouth scotch taped shut. The snake was definitely the worst. After seeing the animals we sat and drank some fresh young coconuts with our tour guide before boarding the boat and heading back to Nusa Dua. If you recall, I said there were three components to our trip: glass bottom boat (check), turtle island (check) and snorkeling. When we found ourselves back at the place where the boats leave, we were very confused. After a lengthly (at times heated) discussion, it was determined that there was a miscommunication and the man taking the phone message the day before had thought we just wanted the boat and turtles, not the snorkeling. Thankfully we worked that out and we were off on a different boat about 20 minutes later. The snorkeling itself was alright (water was a little murky, but you got bread to feed the fish so they swam right over to you, which was cool) but the whole jumping out of and hoisting yourself back onto the boat in the middle of the water thing was embarrassing and stressful, so I'd be okay never doing that again. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-83VmJpRfzgA/TYg-DSB95aI/AAAAAAAADlw/UgEhfuB0u4Q/s1600/IMG_7245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-83VmJpRfzgA/TYg-DSB95aI/AAAAAAAADlw/UgEhfuB0u4Q/s640/IMG_7245.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Boats all ready to head out on a cloudy day.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-py-6eiE7SF8/TYg-ELB4c2I/AAAAAAAADl0/eDdoqhO-W-g/s1600/IMG_7251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-py-6eiE7SF8/TYg-ELB4c2I/AAAAAAAADl0/eDdoqhO-W-g/s640/IMG_7251.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Glass bottom boat.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Y9KMzHaUTF4/TYg-FCC8IUI/AAAAAAAADl4/OdNkc-9oZ10/s1600/IMG_7254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Y9KMzHaUTF4/TYg-FCC8IUI/AAAAAAAADl4/OdNkc-9oZ10/s640/IMG_7254.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Out and about on the sea!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QMAjbssjMDg/TYg-F9QjgnI/AAAAAAAADl8/RZAALuSgWKg/s1600/IMG_7264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QMAjbssjMDg/TYg-F9QjgnI/AAAAAAAADl8/RZAALuSgWKg/s640/IMG_7264.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Turtle Park entrance. No, those are not real turtles.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3qvNh918P1M/TYg-G6iFKSI/AAAAAAAADmA/r_Z01t_Rhqg/s1600/IMG_7265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3qvNh918P1M/TYg-G6iFKSI/AAAAAAAADmA/r_Z01t_Rhqg/s640/IMG_7265.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Yes, that is a real turtle.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GZCVMv9LP80/TYg-HxBLwfI/AAAAAAAADmE/95Eh7tmJ3kA/s1600/IMG_7274.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GZCVMv9LP80/TYg-HxBLwfI/AAAAAAAADmE/95Eh7tmJ3kA/s640/IMG_7274.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Strike a pose! So beautiful.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NvoJRPRiXg0/TYg-IlgixPI/AAAAAAAADmI/0pCCOFtHD14/s1600/IMG_7275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NvoJRPRiXg0/TYg-IlgixPI/AAAAAAAADmI/0pCCOFtHD14/s640/IMG_7275.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sea turtles for everyone.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Me, Lee-Rae, Laura, Diana)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KtUv1OEfojg/TYg-JU92odI/AAAAAAAADmM/le418iZqxGU/s1600/IMG_7283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KtUv1OEfojg/TYg-JU92odI/AAAAAAAADmM/le418iZqxGU/s640/IMG_7283.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tween turtle swimmin' around, one arm chicken winged back.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LSLi8I1f0C0/TYg-KDY2UUI/AAAAAAAADmQ/eu6a2dn5GBQ/s1600/IMG_7293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LSLi8I1f0C0/TYg-KDY2UUI/AAAAAAAADmQ/eu6a2dn5GBQ/s640/IMG_7293.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sad little monkey.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DEstkhdbPJA/TYg-K5hBwMI/AAAAAAAADmU/a0tEg_xSljI/s1600/IMG_7295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DEstkhdbPJA/TYg-K5hBwMI/AAAAAAAADmU/a0tEg_xSljI/s640/IMG_7295.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This is how I organize my baby sea turtles at home!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3tsrLT33cIQ/TYg-Lv4bylI/AAAAAAAADmY/g2MG8z_hwAg/s1600/IMG_7296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3tsrLT33cIQ/TYg-Lv4bylI/AAAAAAAADmY/g2MG8z_hwAg/s640/IMG_7296.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Love the colors. They are like little iPod commercials.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GSACOJhEJZI/TYg-MXMYRlI/AAAAAAAADmc/tZaHo9XeRlM/s1600/IMG_7302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GSACOJhEJZI/TYg-MXMYRlI/AAAAAAAADmc/tZaHo9XeRlM/s640/IMG_7302.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Flying foxes also have butt noses!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QE6NPuzqNho/TYg-NPxvsbI/AAAAAAAADmg/FKhoCpZT9po/s1600/IMG_7307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QE6NPuzqNho/TYg-NPxvsbI/AAAAAAAADmg/FKhoCpZT9po/s640/IMG_7307.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Kings don't need advice from little <a href="http://www.lionking.org/imgarchive/Clip_Art/zazu01.gif">hornbills</a> for a start!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RAcUQLh5t4M/TYg-N6FnEpI/AAAAAAAADmk/VKSoq2nWwf0/s1600/IMG_7311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RAcUQLh5t4M/TYg-N6FnEpI/AAAAAAAADmk/VKSoq2nWwf0/s640/IMG_7311.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hanging out on the boat ride back.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thursday evening was spent packing up the rest of our stuff, eating some more fantastic food, and floating around in the hotel pool. I was really sad to leave Prima Cottage Friday morning, but we had a full day of adventure awaiting us. Earlier in the week we had agreed to do a full-day tour with one of the drivers who hang out in downtown Sanur soliciting customers. While many were pushy and annoying, we found one man who was very nice and seemed super knowledgeable. His name was Made (mah-DAY) and he came and picked us up on Friday morning. Since it took us a little longer than expected to load up all the luggage we sped off to the Jambe Budaya dance troupe's performance of a traditional Indonesian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barong_(mythology)">Barong</a> dance. A Barong (mythical animal that looks alarmingly like <a href="http://badkidsgoodgrammar.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/falkor.jpg">Falcor</a> from Neverending Story...) is the king of the spirits and the leader in the fight for good. His enemy is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangda">Rangda</a>, the demon queen (who, fyi, happens to look a lot like the <a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/6/77472185_66784413c7.jpg">abominable snowman</a>). The Barong dance/play represents the eternal fight between good and evil. The dance was fascinating and absolutely beautiful. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yGQtZJpnHKg/TYhCsA2QgmI/AAAAAAAADmo/bkmUHqiDHjw/s1600/IMG_7321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yGQtZJpnHKg/TYhCsA2QgmI/AAAAAAAADmo/bkmUHqiDHjw/s640/IMG_7321.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>With one of the beautiful dancers before the show.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xVIWrBDbHnI/TYhCswobIXI/AAAAAAAADms/q00Rcb_3c1M/s1600/IMG_7344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xVIWrBDbHnI/TYhCswobIXI/AAAAAAAADms/q00Rcb_3c1M/s640/IMG_7344.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Look out behind you! </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-d5TYGVu7lAw/TYhCtssbq7I/AAAAAAAADmw/eprKz1zJjMQ/s1600/IMG_7358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-d5TYGVu7lAw/TYhCtssbq7I/AAAAAAAADmw/eprKz1zJjMQ/s640/IMG_7358.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Good guy tied up to the tree waiting to be sacrificed.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cGg3F7lE4KU/TYhCuXmffnI/AAAAAAAADm0/qSwP3Y-uJ0k/s1600/IMG_7377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cGg3F7lE4KU/TYhCuXmffnI/AAAAAAAADm0/qSwP3Y-uJ0k/s640/IMG_7377.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Enter the Rangda.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jmo5IzAvUHg/TYhCvINyXuI/AAAAAAAADm4/YDUGRnEV5aY/s1600/IMG_7399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jmo5IzAvUHg/TYhCvINyXuI/AAAAAAAADm4/YDUGRnEV5aY/s640/IMG_7399.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Go, Barong, go!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dCTovgnGMSI/TYhCwCtuNRI/AAAAAAAADm8/YNqM4FQrRzU/s1600/IMG_7410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dCTovgnGMSI/TYhCwCtuNRI/AAAAAAAADm8/YNqM4FQrRzU/s640/IMG_7410.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tell me he wasn't inspiration for Falcor.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MBHupg7O4RQ/TYhCw33ZnjI/AAAAAAAADnA/rilmbNPLzuA/s1600/IMG_7415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MBHupg7O4RQ/TYhCw33ZnjI/AAAAAAAADnA/rilmbNPLzuA/s640/IMG_7415.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The guys go into a kind of religious ecstasy during this part of the dance. It is nuts. They are all screaming and stabbing themselves. </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y84ZMTp6wCA/TYhCxwLw9yI/AAAAAAAADnE/1EGdZj3slKI/s1600/IMG_7418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y84ZMTp6wCA/TYhCxwLw9yI/AAAAAAAADnE/1EGdZj3slKI/s640/IMG_7418.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Posing with the dancers and the Barong costume.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the show we drove much further north on the island, on our way to Mt. Batur volcano. On the way we stopped at a coffee and spice garden. We got to see how various spices and fruits grow before sitting down to do a taste test. They offered free tastes of five different drinks, and then you could pay more to taste <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak">Kopi Luwak</a>. Currently, Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world. Why? Because of how it is made. Palm civets (whose pure adorableness was shown never) walk around the forest and eat only the ripest coffee berries. When they digest them, the coffee bean is stripped of its fleshy outer protection, and then goes directly through the palm civet's digestive system. They poop out full coffee beans that are then collected, cleaned, and roasted. The coffee they produce is supposed to be much milder since the acid is reduced during the digestion process. You're probably wondering if I tried cat poop coffee...OF COURSE. It tasted terrible...but then again I think all coffee tastes and smells terrible, so I am not the best judge. I bought my brother some for his birthday, so he will definitely be forced to try it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-95kvR8ZfezU/TYhFs5ZPnlI/AAAAAAAADnY/q__xR2YQ5cU/s1600/IMG_7434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-95kvR8ZfezU/TYhFs5ZPnlI/AAAAAAAADnY/q__xR2YQ5cU/s640/IMG_7434.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cute little cafe in the rainforest.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-PWPWLrSzX20/TYhFuWBys1I/AAAAAAAADnc/lBe3gw3q2zQ/s1600/IMG_7437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-PWPWLrSzX20/TYhFuWBys1I/AAAAAAAADnc/lBe3gw3q2zQ/s640/IMG_7437.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Guide showing us the various stages of coffee roasting.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v8a7LWjziB0/TYhFvn8kGwI/AAAAAAAADng/C05VxzLSeo4/s1600/IMG_7439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v8a7LWjziB0/TYhFvn8kGwI/AAAAAAAADng/C05VxzLSeo4/s640/IMG_7439.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Variety of things grown on the plantation. </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-atkltZHc1lw/TYhFwZ2nPcI/AAAAAAAADnk/eTVnu-r2Fo4/s1600/IMG_7442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-atkltZHc1lw/TYhFwZ2nPcI/AAAAAAAADnk/eTVnu-r2Fo4/s640/IMG_7442.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Enjoying the fresh air and break from the van.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XL_xBs1e9Hg/TYhFxXUWpiI/AAAAAAAADno/pkCvVTkGGh0/s1600/IMG_7443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XL_xBs1e9Hg/TYhFxXUWpiI/AAAAAAAADno/pkCvVTkGGh0/s640/IMG_7443.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; font-style: normal;"><i> Our samplers. Starting at the top and going clockwise: Lemongrass Tea, Bali Cocoa, Bali Coffee, Ginseng Coffee, Ginger Tea.</i></span></i></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EoGy2d_Bifw/TYhFyCxm1UI/AAAAAAAADns/A7Y5Mubkdh0/s1600/IMG_7445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EoGy2d_Bifw/TYhFyCxm1UI/AAAAAAAADns/A7Y5Mubkdh0/s640/IMG_7445.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Braving (cat poop) coffee.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DTx7mnDEYDk/TYhFzMDWHGI/AAAAAAAADnw/g7OJk6GhSlQ/s1600/IMG_7448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DTx7mnDEYDk/TYhFzMDWHGI/AAAAAAAADnw/g7OJk6GhSlQ/s640/IMG_7448.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Snakefruit. The outside looks (surprise!) like a snake, and the inside looks like a garlic clove. It tastes like a mixture between a pineapple and regular apple. Crazytown.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our next destination was a restaurant with an absolutely spectacular view of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Batur">Mt. Batur</a> volcano. The volcano, lake, and surrounding mountains were a stunning backdrop for a delicious buffet meal. Too bad Diana got violently ill (not because of the buffet) and spent the rest of the afternoon nibbling an unripe guava (apparently a local cure for Bali Belly). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zQugng_LH_4/TYhIFQEqNeI/AAAAAAAADn4/tqQELk88ZOw/s1600/IMG_7453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zQugng_LH_4/TYhIFQEqNeI/AAAAAAAADn4/tqQELk88ZOw/s640/IMG_7453.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Mt. Batur and Lake Batur.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7EvPIQ2q3lo/TYhIGBcYynI/AAAAAAAADn8/1MtZ4kjqaQc/s1600/IMG_7460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7EvPIQ2q3lo/TYhIGBcYynI/AAAAAAAADn8/1MtZ4kjqaQc/s640/IMG_7460.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Enjoying our lovely lunch.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Pd1tkR7IfVs/TYhIHIY-kTI/AAAAAAAADoA/pL2eOg06MMY/s1600/IMG_7462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Pd1tkR7IfVs/TYhIHIY-kTI/AAAAAAAADoA/pL2eOg06MMY/s640/IMG_7462.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My favorite picture of me during the whole trip.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div> Our next stop was at the <a href="http://visitubud.com/guide/331/">Tegallalang Rice Terraces</a>. We didn't get out of the car lest we be swarmed with peddlers, but it was still beautiful from inside the van. Tier upon tier of rice fields that were both naturally and architecturally beautiful. Such brilliant colors...I love it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-F2dUoA2Kb4I/TYhJCIax3WI/AAAAAAAADoE/klQJLQVRk_w/s1600/IMG_7484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-F2dUoA2Kb4I/TYhJCIax3WI/AAAAAAAADoE/klQJLQVRk_w/s640/IMG_7484.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tegallalang Rice Terraces!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-FgjIhabRl-4/TYhJDd9e2UI/AAAAAAAADoI/-yC8lOkFAg8/s1600/IMG_7479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-FgjIhabRl-4/TYhJDd9e2UI/AAAAAAAADoI/-yC8lOkFAg8/s640/IMG_7479.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Very cool.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I suppose I'll take this opportunity to quickly talk about the religion in Bali. It is one of the more relaxed, yet pious places I've ever been. Religion is a huge part of life in Bali and is integrated into everything people do. The vast majority of people in Bali are Hindu (as opposed to greater Indonesia where Islam prevails). Each family has a family temple on their land, and then each village has at least three temples built to honor the three Hindu gods: Brahma (the creator), Visnu (the protector) and Shiva (the destroyer). Offerings are placed out in front of businesses, at temples, in cars, etc 2-3 times per day. Just little banana leaf baskets with flowers and a little food in them, they are constant reminders to give thanks. Made was telling us that when you return home from work, you can't just go directly into your house or you will bring any negative energy you collected during the day into the home. It is essential that you take a few moments, relax, and let go of any negative energy you are bringing home with you. I really like that idea. Balinese culture is also very focused on supporting and helping each other, which is wonderful. I think it must be so much easier to be religious when it presented as it is in Bali. Really beautiful. Each year they also have a holiday called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyepi">Nyepi</a>, which is a day of silence. Basically it is a day to cleanse yourself and become more at peace before beginning a new year. Giant effigies of bad spirits are burned in the streets and negativity is released. Very cool.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z47xZrNGDec/TYhKtbmQHWI/AAAAAAAADoM/8E9G2NrA92k/s1600/IMG_7463.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z47xZrNGDec/TYhKtbmQHWI/AAAAAAAADoM/8E9G2NrA92k/s640/IMG_7463.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Family temple. The little house straight ahead has three doors for the three gods. The buildings on the left honor this family's ancestors.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8JG1j89AYfI/TYhKudZdVDI/AAAAAAAADoQ/FR3JKQr3Qko/s1600/IMG_7313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8JG1j89AYfI/TYhKudZdVDI/AAAAAAAADoQ/FR3JKQr3Qko/s640/IMG_7313.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Offering on the dashboard of one of the vans we rode in. </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Our last stop of the day was at Ubud Palace, downtown in Ubud. The palace had a lot of old, beautiful stone carvings, so that was nice. Then it was time for Made and his brother to drop us off in Kuta where we would spend the next two nights.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9N9saEt5ejo/TYhLmxSyg2I/AAAAAAAADoU/1L7Xdoc-pJc/s1600/IMG_7489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9N9saEt5ejo/TYhLmxSyg2I/AAAAAAAADoU/1L7Xdoc-pJc/s640/IMG_7489.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So lush.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-of15DADJfs8/TYhLn70_h6I/AAAAAAAADoY/-Fu5kEQcSxA/s1600/IMG_7496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-of15DADJfs8/TYhLn70_h6I/AAAAAAAADoY/-Fu5kEQcSxA/s640/IMG_7496.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gate to the palace.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-c8Q6Sw4bBrM/TYhLo4rBJmI/AAAAAAAADoc/d498hI_ag3g/s1600/IMG_7500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-c8Q6Sw4bBrM/TYhLo4rBJmI/AAAAAAAADoc/d498hI_ag3g/s640/IMG_7500.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Love the carvings.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HQ0w7SJgNWc/TYhLp_PFlPI/AAAAAAAADog/BqDu1zeZfGA/s1600/IMG_7507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HQ0w7SJgNWc/TYhLp_PFlPI/AAAAAAAADog/BqDu1zeZfGA/s640/IMG_7507.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Statue with her offering.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tBytEjtJtxc/TYhLqr60fQI/AAAAAAAADok/PRXPnKoEsw4/s1600/IMG_7510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tBytEjtJtxc/TYhLqr60fQI/AAAAAAAADok/PRXPnKoEsw4/s640/IMG_7510.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Laura, Lee-Rae, Diana and I with Made. He is wonderful and if anyone ever goes to Bali let me know and I'll give you his contact info.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So then we were in Kuta. Kuta, Kuta, Kuta. If I could have only three words to describe Kuta, it would be congested, dirty, and good old fashioned disgusting. Ugh, simply put, I hated Kuta. As soon as we stepped out of the van I missed the quiet streets of Sanur. We were dropped off at <a href="http://www.mastapagardenhotel.com/">Mastapa Garden Hotel</a>, where we had reservations for the next two nights. Looks lovely, doesn't it? That's what we thought. WRONG. It was horrible from the get go. First, they took us to two rooms in one building, one with a queen bed and one with twin beds. We explained that no, this wasn't right, because we had reserved two twin rooms. As the man is calling the front desk to sort it out (after telling us that absolutely no other rooms were available), Lee-Rae opened a door at the back of the room, which had us questioning why it had a lock on the inside. It was the bathroom, and it was HALF OUTSIDE. Now I like an outdoor shower like any other girl, but this was disgusting. A crappy shower and broke-ass toilet sat in one corner, and one whole half of the bathroom was a dirt covered floor with only chicken wire above it. Lee-Rae was aghast and told the man he needed to give us a bathroom that was INSIDE (he tried, unsuccessfully, to convince her that this bathroom WAS inside...terrible). Magically, two twin rooms opened up for us in another building! I heaved my luggage up two sets of stairs and we were met with totally gross rooms. The bathroom looked like a murder scene, the beds were crappy and uncomfortable, and Lee-Rae's sheets had a huge, suspicious stain on them. Perhaps urine, perhaps vomit. Either one was too much for us to handle. We ended up going out to get food and spending some time researching hotel options at a local internet cafe. Finally Lee-Rae and Laura just headed out on foot to try and find a nicer place to stay (this was not that big of a challenge since ANYWHERE had to be nicer). Thankfully they found Aroma's of Bali (sic) who was not quite open yet and therefore gave us a great rate (only $10 more a night than the old crap hole). It was brand new and super clean, so I was a happy camper. We had to share king sized beds, but it was SO WORTH IT. We also got free, traditional, delicious breakfasts each morning and a welcome drink. Bliss.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qxf0OkxvsAg/TYhOWlQlHRI/AAAAAAAADoo/etqqdAwbgA8/s1600/IMG_7513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qxf0OkxvsAg/TYhOWlQlHRI/AAAAAAAADoo/etqqdAwbgA8/s640/IMG_7513.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hard to see in this photo, but the huge stain was under Lee-Rae's hand.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7K6tTfZ9NR8/TYhOX9jLXtI/AAAAAAAADos/tirQqrR6ow0/s1600/IMG_7515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7K6tTfZ9NR8/TYhOX9jLXtI/AAAAAAAADos/tirQqrR6ow0/s640/IMG_7515.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bathroom. Cue horror music.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-dtcso_WwfcQ/TYhOZH8B_8I/AAAAAAAADow/AamecxtLT1c/s1600/IMG_7516.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-dtcso_WwfcQ/TYhOZH8B_8I/AAAAAAAADow/AamecxtLT1c/s640/IMG_7516.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Worse shower scene than Psycho.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-GEHO4NI0ejI/TYhOaucJREI/AAAAAAAADo0/PebhdDUDivI/s1600/IMG_7517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-GEHO4NI0ejI/TYhOaucJREI/AAAAAAAADo0/PebhdDUDivI/s640/IMG_7517.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Eesh.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-d0ajTx77Mu4/TYhObt033dI/AAAAAAAADo4/V8oAP5m5aS8/s1600/IMG_7518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-d0ajTx77Mu4/TYhObt033dI/AAAAAAAADo4/V8oAP5m5aS8/s640/IMG_7518.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lee-Rae's sad face at Mastapa Garden.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2_NbU_qCfR8/TYhOc1C6t5I/AAAAAAAADo8/PN3UALS494U/s1600/IMG_7522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2_NbU_qCfR8/TYhOc1C6t5I/AAAAAAAADo8/PN3UALS494U/s640/IMG_7522.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lee-Rae's happy face at lovely, new, clean Aroma's of Bali.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JSMSajGRM6w/TYhOd8thLwI/AAAAAAAADpA/1770oRv8M2I/s1600/IMG_7523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JSMSajGRM6w/TYhOd8thLwI/AAAAAAAADpA/1770oRv8M2I/s640/IMG_7523.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Look at that sparkle!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O2M6bvTH8nI/TYhOfNwgmgI/AAAAAAAADpE/61CH2MlfQJw/s1600/IMG_7524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O2M6bvTH8nI/TYhOfNwgmgI/AAAAAAAADpE/61CH2MlfQJw/s640/IMG_7524.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Living room in our suite.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y0AogVwxzB0/TYhOguD5uQI/AAAAAAAADpI/Y2PsOSfEhzw/s1600/IMG_7531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y0AogVwxzB0/TYhOguD5uQI/AAAAAAAADpI/Y2PsOSfEhzw/s640/IMG_7531.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our suite's kitchen. Complete with heinous wallpaper.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ELx2QQc8etw/TYhOhw2UOGI/AAAAAAAADpM/tSQHMqi910E/s1600/IMG_7532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ELx2QQc8etw/TYhOhw2UOGI/AAAAAAAADpM/tSQHMqi910E/s640/IMG_7532.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tasty <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mi_Goreng">mie goreng</a> for breakfast!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Saturday morning dawned way too early if you ask me, and we were picked up to head over to the <a href="http://cookingclass.anikaguesthouse.com/">Anika Bali Cooking Class</a> we had booked for the day. The cooking class was absolutely the thing I was most looking forward to, thanks to the amazing cooking class we attended in Laos that was one of the highlights of my trip. In that sense, it was a bit of a let down. This class was much larger (about 35 people vs. 12 at the last class) and rather than cooking everything yourselves with the help of a teacher, this was more of a demonstration class where each person cooked only part of one dish. Not what I expected. The market tour at the beginning was nice, though. Overall, I felt it was just way too expensive for what it was. They don't tell you that the 30% you save by booking online is almost completely obliterated by the 25% (!!!!) tax and service charge. As for the other participants, we were with a gigantic group of Australians who were there celebrating a friend's 50th birthday (and drinking the cooking class completely out of beer, haha). There was also a group of mom's doing a weekend get away from Australia. Parts of Australia are only two hours from Bali, and Sydney is only six hours by plane, so Indonesia is kind of like their Caribbean. The food we made was all fantastic, but I feel like I would be hard pressed to recreate a lot of it, even though I was given recipes, because I wasn't really a huge part of cooking it. Can't wait to cook Laotian food for friends and family when I get home!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7ByX_XrgvHw/TYmN7emEkKI/AAAAAAAADpc/X2Y-86fX9GY/s1600/IMG_7537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7ByX_XrgvHw/TYmN7emEkKI/AAAAAAAADpc/X2Y-86fX9GY/s640/IMG_7537.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
<i>Our guide/cooking teacher, Ben, at the traditional market.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-vwnCj1TMeSM/TYmN7w2EaEI/AAAAAAAADpg/hyg1NouRILE/s1600/IMG_7538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-vwnCj1TMeSM/TYmN7w2EaEI/AAAAAAAADpg/hyg1NouRILE/s640/IMG_7538.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Market offerings.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QrlZFx6PhWY/TYmN8kQM6pI/AAAAAAAADpk/LsCYJINnQ28/s1600/IMG_7545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QrlZFx6PhWY/TYmN8kQM6pI/AAAAAAAADpk/LsCYJINnQ28/s640/IMG_7545.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>More produce for sale.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zBLocuPGuzE/TYmN9OcKvnI/AAAAAAAADpo/DHzisF4CbCM/s1600/IMG_7549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zBLocuPGuzE/TYmN9OcKvnI/AAAAAAAADpo/DHzisF4CbCM/s640/IMG_7549.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fish market. Love this shot.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4RUh-b9hun8/TYmN9hCslhI/AAAAAAAADps/O68FajS1CUQ/s1600/IMG_7551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4RUh-b9hun8/TYmN9hCslhI/AAAAAAAADps/O68FajS1CUQ/s640/IMG_7551.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Offering baskets for sale.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-39b37Y2umWM/TYmN959rxDI/AAAAAAAADpw/dShKCpGcDno/s1600/IMG_7553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-39b37Y2umWM/TYmN959rxDI/AAAAAAAADpw/dShKCpGcDno/s640/IMG_7553.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cooking class and guest house.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RpPd5Sbm_0o/TYmN-WZ4SUI/AAAAAAAADp0/Gu1KDba85zU/s1600/IMG_7554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RpPd5Sbm_0o/TYmN-WZ4SUI/AAAAAAAADp0/Gu1KDba85zU/s640/IMG_7554.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Not only is hibiscus tea good for "hemorrhoids and wounds" but also for "relaxing your uterus." Thank god, mine was stressed.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-cbCh9bBzmDc/TYmN-8YtKtI/AAAAAAAADp4/dXpEEb_DDAI/s1600/IMG_7555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-cbCh9bBzmDc/TYmN-8YtKtI/AAAAAAAADp4/dXpEEb_DDAI/s640/IMG_7555.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cooking class participants.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bSwrOU3wzt8/TYmN_c8_WsI/AAAAAAAADp8/NajI2mOGezE/s1600/IMG_7565.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bSwrOU3wzt8/TYmN_c8_WsI/AAAAAAAADp8/NajI2mOGezE/s640/IMG_7565.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our other teacher.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i9a6_7qqmWk/TYmN_30OvMI/AAAAAAAADqA/enqG-G6yVrM/s1600/IMG_7567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i9a6_7qqmWk/TYmN_30OvMI/AAAAAAAADqA/enqG-G6yVrM/s640/IMG_7567.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ingredients for one of the flavorful pastes that are used on most Indonesian dishes.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NOa76T-Rvks/TYmOAZ6l5JI/AAAAAAAADqE/HnXiM3_tSLU/s1600/IMG_7570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NOa76T-Rvks/TYmOAZ6l5JI/AAAAAAAADqE/HnXiM3_tSLU/s640/IMG_7570.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Starting the smushing process.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-dUte-D1X8vU/TYmOA2vVatI/AAAAAAAADqI/y9eavlKk1dk/s1600/IMG_7573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-dUte-D1X8vU/TYmOA2vVatI/AAAAAAAADqI/y9eavlKk1dk/s640/IMG_7573.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Look at me pulverize those chilis!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-RRoWE5AhiIM/TYmOBcm-66I/AAAAAAAADqM/59UL-WNbmho/s1600/IMG_7598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-RRoWE5AhiIM/TYmOBcm-66I/AAAAAAAADqM/59UL-WNbmho/s640/IMG_7598.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Satay skewering. This is a recipe I will ABSOLUTELY use.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G_9KRkz4xNg/TYmOB9WLwMI/AAAAAAAADqQ/bzjY5KaUzAE/s1600/IMG_7599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G_9KRkz4xNg/TYmOB9WLwMI/AAAAAAAADqQ/bzjY5KaUzAE/s640/IMG_7599.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Satay team #1.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-iHNcHa-6z3k/TYmOCQ9jbfI/AAAAAAAADqU/XE1qz5htEiQ/s1600/IMG_7600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-iHNcHa-6z3k/TYmOCQ9jbfI/AAAAAAAADqU/XE1qz5htEiQ/s640/IMG_7600.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Satay team #2.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cHb4IcO2h0k/TYmOCvNVduI/AAAAAAAADqY/Sx0QIEz1qPg/s1600/IMG_7608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cHb4IcO2h0k/TYmOCvNVduI/AAAAAAAADqY/Sx0QIEz1qPg/s640/IMG_7608.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My brief stint as an Indonesian chef. Making mie goreng.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Oehc8OMBXNo/TYmODLPBnRI/AAAAAAAADqc/NiYFH22Gzi4/s1600/IMG_7624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Oehc8OMBXNo/TYmODLPBnRI/AAAAAAAADqc/NiYFH22Gzi4/s640/IMG_7624.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Stop talking so we can eat!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oXTlGpLj8-s/TYmODvPTAsI/AAAAAAAADqg/NOlD96cvs8s/s1600/IMG_7626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oXTlGpLj8-s/TYmODvPTAsI/AAAAAAAADqg/NOlD96cvs8s/s640/IMG_7626.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The (delicious) spoils of all our hard work.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After all that food for lunch I couldn't be bothered to eat dinner, so I lounged about on the couch reading and watching part of a truly painful early 90s action movie that was being shown on TV. On Saturday we had to leave around 4:00pm to head to the airport, so I slept in a bit, ate a delicious breakfast provided by the hotel, and then headed down to check out the beach (read: verify its squalor) with Lee-Rae. Yup, it lived up to my expectations and confirmed that I never, ever, ever need to go to Kuta again. Sanur is lovely, but Kuta is a total shit hole. I didn't enjoy how cramped and dirty it felt, nor did I enjoy feeling like my life was in peril each time I walked down the (sidewalk-free) streets and had to dodge a bunch of idiot foreigners on motorbikes who had no discernible understanding of local traffic laws. Lunch at a local restaurant brought our vacation to an end and after only a slight spat about certain members of our group being late for our departure time, we were off to the airport. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tS9eOW-gjJQ/TYmR9nCOMrI/AAAAAAAADqk/shMsqv0-ZFM/s1600/IMG_7634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tS9eOW-gjJQ/TYmR9nCOMrI/AAAAAAAADqk/shMsqv0-ZFM/s640/IMG_7634.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Breakfast on day two at Aroma's of Bali.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6pZE-HAABUE/TYmR-QYg6QI/AAAAAAAADqo/5Uy4XgAV6WM/s1600/IMG_7636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6pZE-HAABUE/TYmR-QYg6QI/AAAAAAAADqo/5Uy4XgAV6WM/s640/IMG_7636.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Streets of Kuta on the way to the beach.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bGwOMKT8iqs/TYmR-7ZFdfI/AAAAAAAADqs/nPKDzsBe_6c/s1600/IMG_7637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bGwOMKT8iqs/TYmR-7ZFdfI/AAAAAAAADqs/nPKDzsBe_6c/s640/IMG_7637.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>In the beginning it looks harmless enough...</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3RzVuE1fJGU/TYmR_Xa4Z7I/AAAAAAAADqw/QJ5_9ur6lK8/s1600/IMG_7639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3RzVuE1fJGU/TYmR_Xa4Z7I/AAAAAAAADqw/QJ5_9ur6lK8/s640/IMG_7639.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Then your eyes have a moment to focus on the filth.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-VFeUIFNO_qc/TYmR_9YdckI/AAAAAAAADq0/xqqwUKX9eTE/s1600/IMG_7641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-VFeUIFNO_qc/TYmR_9YdckI/AAAAAAAADq0/xqqwUKX9eTE/s640/IMG_7641.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This was the area designated for swimming. Looks welcoming, no?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wQJsfgrWGis/TYmSAcDq8cI/AAAAAAAADq4/SqPmZE_HOtk/s1600/IMG_7642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wQJsfgrWGis/TYmSAcDq8cI/AAAAAAAADq4/SqPmZE_HOtk/s640/IMG_7642.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Wide shots make it look a lot better.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CcG0RAgEvnM/TYmSA19cV9I/AAAAAAAADq8/Fp2qZCsM5SM/s1600/IMG_7643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CcG0RAgEvnM/TYmSA19cV9I/AAAAAAAADq8/Fp2qZCsM5SM/s640/IMG_7643.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>How is that "Keep Bali Beach Clean" campaign working out?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-g809AwfsUg4/TYmSBJXghlI/AAAAAAAADrA/cWelgXOY8-4/s1600/IMG_7644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-g809AwfsUg4/TYmSBJXghlI/AAAAAAAADrA/cWelgXOY8-4/s640/IMG_7644.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ah, piles of rubbish. That's...better?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-su5MMWS3nKU/TYmSBlJ_KLI/AAAAAAAADrE/euOHAZboq-A/s1600/IMG_7647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-su5MMWS3nKU/TYmSBlJ_KLI/AAAAAAAADrE/euOHAZboq-A/s640/IMG_7647.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from our restaurant porch.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5DGBaF9RABs/TYmSCG-oAbI/AAAAAAAADrI/5-2MgFzWQzI/s1600/IMG_7648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5DGBaF9RABs/TYmSCG-oAbI/AAAAAAAADrI/5-2MgFzWQzI/s640/IMG_7648.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Surf and painting shops along the street to the beach.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">About 15 hours of overnight traveling later, we arrived in Seoul. Then I got to take a two hour bus ride to my school where I was forced to come in (EVEN THOUGH IT WAS LABELED AS A HOLIDAY ON OUR SCHOOL CALENDARS). I was...thrilled. Thankfully I looked so exhausted and pitiful that they let me go home early, where I took a nap and allowed my suitcase to explode all over my apartment (where it may or may not remain to this day...insert shifty eyes). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pretty soon I'll pull together another blog entry about the past couple of weeks that will include: starting a new school year with new co-teachers and new vice principal, receiving exciting grad school information, celebrating everyone and their mom's birthdays in Seoul, and other exciting tidbits. Hopefully this has just whet your appetite!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-38788372675627623962011-03-21T20:01:00.000+09:002011-04-14T15:38:45.259+09:00Vacation: Malaysia!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Whew, I know it has been a really long time since I last posted...sorry! If you were with me last year at this time you know that me blogging in winter is like pulling teeth. It is painful and rarely happens, haha. However, as it starts to get ever so much warmer outside and I am willing to actually get out of my bed things will pick up again.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">You know where it is warmer than Korea? (Trick question, its warmer than Korea in many many many places.) SOUTH EAST ASIA! On February 18 we ditched snowy, cold Seoul for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. And here's the story!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Our flight out on Malaysia Airlines was at 11:00am, so Lee-Rae, Diana (C.), and I met at the airport bus station around 8:15am and slept through the bus ride out to Incheon. I love that bus. We arrived and headed over to the check-in area where there was a huuuuuge group. When we got up to the window we found out that (most likely thanks to that big group) our flight was overbooked so we were all bumped up to Business/First Class! WHAAAT! Score. The three of us got our tickets and headed over to Paris Croissant to wait for our fourth member: Laura. Time slowly ticked on and we finally called Laura to check in and she said she was on her way but running a little late, so we decided to head over to the gate. Since Malaysia Air isn't part of the Sky Alliance (group associated with Korean Air) we had to take a train out to another terminal, and we arrived pretty close to boarding time. As we walked up to the gate I got a call from Laura saying that she had missed the flight! I guess she had been out partying the night before and then didn't get moving early enough in the morning. She didn't arrive at the airport until we were already boarding, so there was no one to check her in and she had to re-book for a later flight. It sucks enough to miss a flight, but to miss a flight where there was a first class seat waiting for you must have hurt even more!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The flight was...magnificent. Start to end. We boarded early through our dedicated first class entrance and had juice before take-off. The big cushy seats were extra comfy for the six hour flight, and the flight attendant to passenger ratio was obviously much lower, so someone was always serving us or checking on us. The drinks were bottomless, and the food just kept on coming. We started with some fantastic chicken and beef satay with awesome peanut sauce that was drizzled on it right before it was given to us. Next came a tomato and mozzarella salad (with fresh mozzarella balls), warm rolls, our main course (I chose a beef fillet with steamed broccoli), and an apricot crumble and fresh fruit plate for dessert. A few hours later (as the people ins steerage were getting peanuts, no doubt) we got a plate with tandoori chicken (one of the best parts of the meal...it was SO good), a mini quiche with goat cheese and basil, and mushroom toast. Followed by more fresh fruit and coffee/tea. Who could ask for more? We were also each provided with an individual entertainment system with movies, tv shows, music, games, language lessons (!), etc that we could use for the flight. I watched <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/127_hours">127 Hours</a> (I found his contact lens issues much more damaging than him cutting his own arm off...does that say something about me?) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_date">Due Date</a> (can't pass up Robert Downey, Jr. and that cute dog!) both of which were great! Only downside to the flight? Diana got sick (perhaps a combination of being out late the night before, airsickness, and endless drinks?) and one of my movies was interrupted by an adorable little Malaysian man who was a flight attendant saying "Excuse me, ma'am, but your friend is wommiting in the back." Hahaha. Thankfully Diana rallied and was ready to go when we got KL.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HsfBvuK3aBY/TXwzAOPkVrI/AAAAAAAADh0/JwsmedW9yNQ/s1600/IMG_6812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HsfBvuK3aBY/TXwzAOPkVrI/AAAAAAAADh0/JwsmedW9yNQ/s640/IMG_6812.jpg" width="478" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Well a champagne toast was obviously necessary. Point of interest, this was the first time I actually had true champagne from France. Bubbly!</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-V6Fm5BWx7Co/TXwzBHrRK9I/AAAAAAAADh4/ilkSgkiUQDo/s1600/IMG_6813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-V6Fm5BWx7Co/TXwzBHrRK9I/AAAAAAAADh4/ilkSgkiUQDo/s640/IMG_6813.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Entertainment system, satay, drinks, and a warm towel. Amazing. And please note the tiny tablecloth they put out on our tray tables. So posh.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4EaF_P7SVyM/TXwzB85jZCI/AAAAAAAADh8/aHcKIqhZlcM/s1600/IMG_6819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4EaF_P7SVyM/TXwzB85jZCI/AAAAAAAADh8/aHcKIqhZlcM/s640/IMG_6819.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Beautiful views of islands out of our window.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-L3NKFxW4Xb0/TXwzCv51DpI/AAAAAAAADiA/yUuP6eb0_0g/s1600/IMG_6824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-L3NKFxW4Xb0/TXwzCv51DpI/AAAAAAAADiA/yUuP6eb0_0g/s640/IMG_6824.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And super fun cloud banks.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vAln0pyDXtM/TXwzDyOkr1I/AAAAAAAADiE/U8HNaYGlJL8/s1600/IMG_6827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vAln0pyDXtM/TXwzDyOkr1I/AAAAAAAADiE/U8HNaYGlJL8/s640/IMG_6827.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Pampered and happy. Great way to start a vacation!</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Between the flight and the train ride downtown, we befriended another English teacher named Laurence who had also been bumped up to business class. On the train we had a sixth English teacher sit with us who was from New Zealand. All we needed was someone from Ireland and South Africa and we would have been a full native speaker set! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Ok, so thoughts about Kuala Lumpur. It is...small. You could easily do all the major attractions in 2 days. I would suggest that if you are planning to spend more than that in Malaysia that you get out of KL and head out to the islands or just outside the city. One of the best things we did was our trip out Kuala Selangor, but more on that later. KL was okay, but I'm definitely glad that our whole trip wasn't spent there. They did, however, have delicious food. Our first night we settled in at <a href="http://www.hostels.com/hostels/kuala-lumpur/reggae-guest-house-2/35066">Reggae Guest House 2</a>, which was reasonably priced, well located, and very welcoming. Usually you don't get all of that at the same time! We booked four beds in a six person dorm room and ended up having a string of Korean girls in the other beds for the three nights we were there. So random. The beds were comfortable, the hostel was kept very clean, and a light breakfast was included each day, so you really can't ask for more when paying roughly $11 a night! The first night we ended up meeting up with Joe and two of his friends at a local bar. It was a fun place...I could have done with quieter music, less cigarette smoke, and a place without a blatant disregard for drinking age (there were girls from a local international high school that we spoke to who were obviously under the drinking age but were being served repeatedly) but it was right down the street from our hostel so I really can't complain. Laura arrived in the middle of the night.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QGP1OncRaz8/TXw2ZiyZHOI/AAAAAAAADiI/u0qwAQJ8_q4/s1600/IMG_6828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QGP1OncRaz8/TXw2ZiyZHOI/AAAAAAAADiI/u0qwAQJ8_q4/s640/IMG_6828.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Me, Diana, Joe's friends, Lee-Rae, Joe.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Saturday morning dawned warm and sunny (a nice surprise since all of the weather forecasts had said cloudy or rainy our whole trip) and we decided to explore the local area. We started at a little Hindu temple right down the street from our hostel that was beautifully decorated. It really made me miss India and exploring with Lyndsay! Then we walked down to the colonial district, where we visited the <a href="http://asiaforvisitors.com/malaysia/peninsula/kuala-lumpur/merdeka-square/textile-museum.php">Malaysia National Textile Museum </a>(we really just stumbled across and and it had AC so we were IN!) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merdeka_Square,_Kuala_Lumpur">Merdeka Square</a> (a big public square and sports club surrounded by old buildings with cool architecture. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KSu0nE8Ml-U/TXxD9-WsW_I/AAAAAAAADiM/tw51oBA0ZHM/s1600/IMG_6845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KSu0nE8Ml-U/TXxD9-WsW_I/AAAAAAAADiM/tw51oBA0ZHM/s640/IMG_6845.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Beautiful mix of colonial and Islamic architecture on the National Textiles Museum.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Pdn1WGP1l5c/TXxD-yx6C_I/AAAAAAAADiQ/EUeA7KTU56Q/s1600/IMG_6864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Pdn1WGP1l5c/TXxD-yx6C_I/AAAAAAAADiQ/EUeA7KTU56Q/s640/IMG_6864.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Colonial district. Damn bus.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After the colonial district we headed to the shopping mecca of KL: Central Market. Hundreds of stalls selling everything imaginable are crowded together in this two story building. Prices are pretty decent and they have everything you could want, so its a good place to spend an afternoon browsing. I got a lot of souvenirs bought, so that was excellent (even if that meant having to lug them around in my suitcase for the rest of my trip)! One of the coolest things I did here was painting my own <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batik">batik</a>. Batik is a textile art where you take a piece of cloth and draw a pattern on it with wax. Then the cloth is dyed/painted and the wax is removed, leaving the underlying cloth white. There was a stand at Central Market where you could purchase a piece of fabric with various patterns/pictures pre-drawn in wax and paint them. Lee-Rae went off and continued shopping while I painted. So much fun, and a totally unique souvenir. I love arts and crafts! After the market we dropped our stuff off at the hostel and then Lee-Rae and I spent some time walking around through Chinatown, including stopping and relaxing a bit with a cold Tiger Beer. Later that night we met up with Joseph, his friends, Laurence (the kid from the plane) and Christian (a German guy from Laurence's hostel) to go out for dinner to celebrate one of Joe's friend's birthdays. We trekked out to Little India for some tasty buffet food, and then went over to the Petronas Towers for a night photo shoot. Stunning. The towers are alright during the day, but all lit up at night they are beautiful. They made me want to watch The Thomas Crown Affair. Then it was back to Reggae Guest House 2 to crash.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vM9rf1a6PjQ/TXxQnhx0IPI/AAAAAAAADiU/k0uNn6CIRfA/s1600/IMG_6871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vM9rf1a6PjQ/TXxQnhx0IPI/AAAAAAAADiU/k0uNn6CIRfA/s640/IMG_6871.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Central Market</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bhKAs4m9mxM/TXxQoYbWhWI/AAAAAAAADiY/7PrdxKCpliA/s1600/IMG_6875.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bhKAs4m9mxM/TXxQoYbWhWI/AAAAAAAADiY/7PrdxKCpliA/s640/IMG_6875.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Painting my batik flowers. Look, they even match my shirt!</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--wr43dbp0Nc/TXxQp9aIRvI/AAAAAAAADic/hTfmfYlBDOo/s1600/IMG_6880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--wr43dbp0Nc/TXxQp9aIRvI/AAAAAAAADic/hTfmfYlBDOo/s640/IMG_6880.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Buddhist temple between our hotel and Chinatown.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L8fApy_dgUA/TXxQq-hnXgI/AAAAAAAADig/aEC9kllMtuU/s1600/IMG_6882.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L8fApy_dgUA/TXxQq-hnXgI/AAAAAAAADig/aEC9kllMtuU/s640/IMG_6882.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Awesome spiral incense.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E93FuCcpK_0/TXxQr6QMLwI/AAAAAAAADik/MsYXyg047mE/s1600/IMG_6886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E93FuCcpK_0/TXxQr6QMLwI/AAAAAAAADik/MsYXyg047mE/s640/IMG_6886.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Tiger Beer tastes like South East Asia.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9GzoLkrlA24/TXxRvKGJIQI/AAAAAAAADio/zMBrwulxSdw/s1600/IMG_6907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9GzoLkrlA24/TXxRvKGJIQI/AAAAAAAADio/zMBrwulxSdw/s640/IMG_6907.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Gorgeous.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Aidx2c6re-4/TXxRwLjEE0I/AAAAAAAADis/xAELy148EGY/s1600/IMG_6913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Aidx2c6re-4/TXxRwLjEE0I/AAAAAAAADis/xAELy148EGY/s640/IMG_6913.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This is an obnoxiously difficult photo to take.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday morning the four of us got up and headed up to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Lumpur_Tower">KL Menara Tower</a> If you like tall buildings (and I obviously do) you have two options in Kuala Lumpur. #1 is, of course, the Petronas Towers. They are the tallest twin towers in the world, however the tickets you go to go up apparently only go to the Sky Bridge, which is on the 40th floor. Also, though they are free, you have to get up insanely early to get tickets because they only allow a certain number of people up each day. The Korean girls in our room got up at 5:00am to get tickets one morning! No thanks. The KL Menara Tower is your other option. The biggest benefit to this tower (aside from going higher) is that your pictures of the skyline can include the Petronas Towers. We opted for the KL Menara. Architecturally it looks almost exactly like the Seoul Namsan Tower. The view was quite pretty and we spent a while at the top before going down and having drinks at the base. When you purchase your ticket you have two equally priced options: Adventure Package or Culture Package. The adventure package includes a pony ride and small zoo (adventurous!) while the culture package includes a visit to a small cultural village that showcases various instruments and architectural styles from around Malaysia. Laura, Lee-Rae and I chose the cultural package and spent a little while looking at various types of homes from all over the country. Some were really beautiful. We happened to arrive at kind of an off time so most of the workers were hanging out, relaxing and playing games in the shade. While there are usually a few kinds of performances that take place we missed them all. Sad face.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-I1xendMVzvA/TYcn2ug_ZuI/AAAAAAAADiw/_GR5LmXXlL4/s1600/IMG_6932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-I1xendMVzvA/TYcn2ug_ZuI/AAAAAAAADiw/_GR5LmXXlL4/s640/IMG_6932.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View of KL from the tower.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-nTrs6uTnSW4/TYcn4Oo8yFI/AAAAAAAADi0/j9eELPZaIVY/s1600/IMG_6939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-nTrs6uTnSW4/TYcn4Oo8yFI/AAAAAAAADi0/j9eELPZaIVY/s640/IMG_6939.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View including Petronas Towers from the side.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-42s021O4ccg/TYcn56tJ86I/AAAAAAAADi4/_tNXf1K1uW8/s1600/IMG_6950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-42s021O4ccg/TYcn56tJ86I/AAAAAAAADi4/_tNXf1K1uW8/s640/IMG_6950.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ready for some culture.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Pg22hTWLx_s/TYcn8-mbvHI/AAAAAAAADi8/UiRQLeRwDuU/s1600/IMG_6953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Pg22hTWLx_s/TYcn8-mbvHI/AAAAAAAADi8/UiRQLeRwDuU/s640/IMG_6953.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One of the traditional homes.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cG6K_-91HzA/TYcn-J23tTI/AAAAAAAADjA/wG7KoitGL1Q/s1600/IMG_6963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cG6K_-91HzA/TYcn-J23tTI/AAAAAAAADjA/wG7KoitGL1Q/s640/IMG_6963.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Looking up at the tower.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After the tower we hopped in a taxi and headed over to the National Mosque of Malaysia. We had seen the tall minaret and stunning blue glass roof from our subway station, so we decided to go check it out. The mosque was really beautiful, all open spaces, marble floors, intricate carvings, and lovely architectural details. When you arrive the first thing that you do is don a FETCHING lavender robe. I think it was best described by Chrissy as "a purple snuggie on backwards." So very becoming. Women have to wear them regardless of what is underneath, but men only need to put them on if they are wearing shorts. The mosque was very peaceful inside, they have over 15,000 worshipers on holy days. We walked around for a while just soaking it all in before Laura went off to the Islamic Art Museum and Lee-Rae and I headed back to meet up with one of her friends from Seoul to eat lunch in Chinatown and have drinks. After that we had just enough time to head back to our hostel and cover ourselves with bug spray before we were off to Kuala Selangor.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-roCsGqF6Ai8/TYctTPBBpTI/AAAAAAAADjE/Izh8daaavrg/s1600/IMG_6969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-roCsGqF6Ai8/TYctTPBBpTI/AAAAAAAADjE/Izh8daaavrg/s640/IMG_6969.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Love the open spaces and symmetry.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZroRSauCVEU/TYctUjmlsiI/AAAAAAAADjI/Nom8qIw3iP4/s1600/IMG_6977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZroRSauCVEU/TYctUjmlsiI/AAAAAAAADjI/Nom8qIw3iP4/s640/IMG_6977.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Beautiful carved marble screens.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gHa8o8bh1OU/TYctWv6hxTI/AAAAAAAADjM/Bi_nHT4bj2I/s1600/IMG_6984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gHa8o8bh1OU/TYctWv6hxTI/AAAAAAAADjM/Bi_nHT4bj2I/s640/IMG_6984.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Inside the prayer hall.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rSy82-0ERO4/TYctYs1tU-I/AAAAAAAADjQ/loYGMaskP-s/s1600/IMG_6989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rSy82-0ERO4/TYctYs1tU-I/AAAAAAAADjQ/loYGMaskP-s/s640/IMG_6989.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Rocking our gear. </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-bMngcmA3OQ8/TYctZlHHsVI/AAAAAAAADjU/OKo8Z3TG2bA/s1600/IMG_6990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-bMngcmA3OQ8/TYctZlHHsVI/AAAAAAAADjU/OKo8Z3TG2bA/s640/IMG_6990.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Beautiful. That little person gives you some idea as to the scale.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5b9E23mxL74/TYctat0adsI/AAAAAAAADjY/fc3Jk0fyXzM/s1600/IMG_6998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5b9E23mxL74/TYctat0adsI/AAAAAAAADjY/fc3Jk0fyXzM/s640/IMG_6998.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Symbol of Islam.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z__xwI_PAng/TYctbtVxzdI/AAAAAAAADjc/i7EWwH7XdFM/s1600/IMG_7003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z__xwI_PAng/TYctbtVxzdI/AAAAAAAADjc/i7EWwH7XdFM/s640/IMG_7003.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tombs of Islamic scholars.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ji5Gc-K_-PQ/TYctdKm-u1I/AAAAAAAADjg/bGYO_-7aOB8/s1600/IMG_7010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ji5Gc-K_-PQ/TYctdKm-u1I/AAAAAAAADjg/bGYO_-7aOB8/s640/IMG_7010.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The mosque (complete with minaret reflected in the water).</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Kw3b2gw6mt4/TYcugLa6BfI/AAAAAAAADjk/96DumpHb3cw/s1600/IMG_7021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Kw3b2gw6mt4/TYcugLa6BfI/AAAAAAAADjk/96DumpHb3cw/s640/IMG_7021.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Exploring Chinatown.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My friend Kate (from the DHC book project) went to Kuala Lumpur last year and strongly suggested that we do a trip out to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Selangor">Kuala Selangor</a> to see the fireflies. We talked Laurence into joining us and we were picked up from our hotel around 5:00pm. First up was a roughly two hour ride through the countryside, which itself would have been reason enough to go on the trip. We passed through upon miles of palm tree plantations lining the roads and some small villages along the way. Our first stop (after forcing the driver to stop so we could use the bathroom...at a gross gas station bathroom none the less) was at Bukit Melawati. Fort Altingsburg, a Dutch fortification overlooking the Straits of Malacca, is located on top of the hill. Visitors <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; line-height: 16px;">board a tiny "train" that takes you up the hill where the light house is still standing. Surrounding the light house and scenic overlook are HUNDREDS OF MONKEYS. Not exaggerating. There are monkeys everywhere. Gray monkeys, black monkeys, little orange baby monkeys. Vendors sell fruits and vegetables that you can feed to the monkeys and they know it. They study tourists with their wise little (creepy) faces and they can definitely spot the weakest one in a group (often a child) to approach for food. The weakest in our group was definitely Diana. They spotted that she was a mark from a mile away. As I tried valiantly to stay AWAY from the monkeys, she offered them food and had them literally leaping onto her. No thank you! As the sun started to set we headed back down the hill and off to dinner.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-w1EuEJkh_j0/TYcujIpsqHI/AAAAAAAADjo/Wt771a8kpgk/s1600/IMG_7026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-w1EuEJkh_j0/TYcujIpsqHI/AAAAAAAADjo/Wt771a8kpgk/s640/IMG_7026.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"Train" ride.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5UkdU2EYOlM/TYcukkaowLI/AAAAAAAADjs/nqGY5NKE-GI/s1600/IMG_7034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5UkdU2EYOlM/TYcukkaowLI/AAAAAAAADjs/nqGY5NKE-GI/s640/IMG_7034.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Baby monkey, I want to steal you!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QJ4R39JRXA8/TYcul5HEKXI/AAAAAAAADjw/SA2V-c-03eo/s1600/IMG_7070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QJ4R39JRXA8/TYcul5HEKXI/AAAAAAAADjw/SA2V-c-03eo/s640/IMG_7070.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>As close as I wanted to get.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PgmgDO7yatM/TYcunj6Rp1I/AAAAAAAADj0/GY1lwv5wBJc/s1600/IMG_7074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PgmgDO7yatM/TYcunj6Rp1I/AAAAAAAADj0/GY1lwv5wBJc/s640/IMG_7074.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Monkeys galore! Those people were giving out food, hence the monkeys crawling all over them.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n9MqpHAGEyw/TYcupK8L-SI/AAAAAAAADj4/AxV4yzimBt4/s1600/IMG_7081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n9MqpHAGEyw/TYcupK8L-SI/AAAAAAAADj4/AxV4yzimBt4/s640/IMG_7081.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Awesome shot of Diana getting attacked.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-GsIiU_5JmCM/TYcuqvICCjI/AAAAAAAADj8/j16fwxTbBlg/s1600/IMG_7090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-GsIiU_5JmCM/TYcuqvICCjI/AAAAAAAADj8/j16fwxTbBlg/s640/IMG_7090.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I had to capture this personal moment between Laurence and his new friend.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ATEZtFBy5Ys/TYcusWMwdwI/AAAAAAAADkA/hVCWZTQYLQM/s1600/IMG_7093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ATEZtFBy5Ys/TYcusWMwdwI/AAAAAAAADkA/hVCWZTQYLQM/s640/IMG_7093.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Stowaway monkey on the train. Someone tell that little boy to wash his hands.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-A4XGomT1psk/TYcuukC3QII/AAAAAAAADkE/v_2Su3uOcFo/s1600/IMG_7101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-A4XGomT1psk/TYcuukC3QII/AAAAAAAADkE/v_2Su3uOcFo/s640/IMG_7101.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Diana, Laurence and Laura at dinner.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-fPoqSUHBKEQ/TYcuwiN3TJI/AAAAAAAADkI/fzS0E-wP4jo/s1600/IMG_7102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-fPoqSUHBKEQ/TYcuwiN3TJI/AAAAAAAADkI/fzS0E-wP4jo/s640/IMG_7102.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lee-Rae and I before chowing down.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-17nxDInSiFQ/TYcuxFCvZNI/AAAAAAAADkM/ecGk11A8Fwo/s1600/IMG_7104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-17nxDInSiFQ/TYcuxFCvZNI/AAAAAAAADkM/ecGk11A8Fwo/s640/IMG_7104.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sunset on the river.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span>Dinner was quite beautiful, served at a tourist restaurant overlooking the river at sunset. It reminded me a lot of the Mekong Delta with boats speeding along past us as we enjoyed the steamy weather beginning to cool off. The food was good, though vegetarian options for Laurence were a little slim. It was also interesting to watch the giant Chinese business group who took the tables surrounding us sing and clap along with the speakers who popped up onto the stage at the front of the restaurant. When dinner was over we popped on some ultra flattering life jackets, boarded a small boat (just the five of us and a driver), and headed out onto the river. Those of you who know me (hell, probably even those of you who don't) know how much I love water. I would ride a boat pretty much anywhere if given the opportunity. The boat took us along the dark river, dodging floating trash along the way. I believe this is when Diana uttered one of her famous quotes of the week. In an exasperated voice she says "Ugh, why doesn't someone DO something about the ENVIRONMENT?!" Why indeed. The captain deftly navigated us through the rubbish icebergs, and or eventually pulled up along the side of the river. All along the river the banks are home to tons of mangrove (or "berembang") trees. Each night, tens of thousands of "kelip-kelip" (fireflies) come and feed on the nectar from the trees while searching for their mates. Covering the trees like pale Christmas lights they flash their lights on and off completely synchronized. Apparently the males flash about three times per second, while the females only flash once per second. The boat captain used a little laser pointer to attract some fireflies onto the boat, so we could look at them. They are a little smaller and more delicate than the ones we usually get on the East Coast, but basically the same. I can't really describe how beautiful it was, and it was absolutely impossible to take a photo, but trust me when I say that it was one of the top ten most beautiful natural things I've ever seen (others include the green tea fields in Boseong, South Korea; sunrise at Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park in Maine; sunset on the plains in Nakuru, Kenya; Alps around Adleboden, Switzerland; Franschhoek Winelands near Capetown, South Africa; and the Ring of Kerry in Western Ireland). If you find yourselves in Kuala Lumpur with a free evening, absolutely go check it out. 100% worth it. After the fireflies we climbed back in the van and headed back to KL to pack and go to sleep.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cRUTWOHEhro/TYcviiKnKeI/AAAAAAAADkQ/9yYRoCamLoU/s1600/IMG_7105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cRUTWOHEhro/TYcviiKnKeI/AAAAAAAADkQ/9yYRoCamLoU/s640/IMG_7105.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sweaty and throwing peace signs...story of our vacation, haha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ycWNtEnaVmo/TYcvj9d6UdI/AAAAAAAADkU/TGx5b8OB8ZU/s1600/IMG_7106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ycWNtEnaVmo/TYcvj9d6UdI/AAAAAAAADkU/TGx5b8OB8ZU/s640/IMG_7106.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Reflectors are all the rage.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; line-height: 16px;">Monday morning there was basically just time to eat breakfast, finish up the very last minute packing and haul ourselves and our luggage to the train back to the airport. Greatest invention? The airport check-in desk at the train station. You handed over your luggage and got your ticket and everything BEFORE even boarding the train. So much less struggling = much happier travelers. Thanks Malaysian Air! Sadly we weren't upgraded on the flight to Bali, but we did eat some delicious food and it was only about 3 hours so we weren't complaining. Plus, WE WERE ON OUR WAY TO BALI!!!</span></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-53748337341586249392011-02-17T14:58:00.000+09:002011-03-28T18:11:07.867+09:00Fishy Fun, a Super Seollal, and Goodbye Graduates!Well my lunar new year's resolution (what...that could be a thing) is to not let more than a week pass between blog entries (provided I am in the country with ample access to internet) and I've already failed! Oh well...it is the thought that counts, right?<br />
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Carin and I got back from Taiwan on Saturday, January 29, and I finally got home around 6:30pm. After catching up on some shows and doing the tiniest bit of unpacking, I hit the sheets in preparation for my big day that was beginning early the next morning.<br />
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Last year I had found out a bunch of information about various ice fishing/winter festivals occurring through-out Korea, but it always seemed that my info came too late, or the festival was at a time when no one else could go. This year I looked early and was dismayed to find that many of them took place the EXACT week Carin and I were in Taiwan. Finally I found the Inje Ice Fishing Festival, which was still happening on Sunday, and invited a bunch of people to join me. Sadly, the Inje festival was cancelled due to a major outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease that Korea is currently trying to keep under wraps. Its kind of a mess...they won't vaccinate animals because they would then lose their FMD-Free status (which apparently does not actually mean FMD-Free...) which would have a major negative impact on trade. Instead they are culling (read: slaughtering) hundreds of thousands of animals on the peninsula. Including burying large quantities of pigs alive. Its pretty <a href="http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2011/01/burying-pigs-alive-to-halt-fmd.html">horrific</a>. Anyway, a large number of festivals (especially those in predominantly agricultural southern Korea) have been cancelled since January. The Inje Ice Fishing Festival was simply one more. Thankfully, Shannon found an organized trip out to PyeongChang to their Ice Fishing/Trout Festival.<br />
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Our bus left Gangbyeon Station around 7:30am, and after doing some catching up with Diana and Shannon on the ride, we were out to PyeongChang lickety split. The day was organized by Warren Kim, a super fun Korean guy who is in charge of the Seoul Hiking Group. Jamie and Shannon have done two hikes with him and had really good experiences. It was easy to see why! He was energetic, organized and just a really good guy. Check out future trips <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=85178645485&v=wall">Seoul Hiking Group</a> is planning! It took right about two hours for us to arrive, and then it was only a few minutes walk to the festival grounds. Our band of merry travelers (Carin, Jamie, Shannon, Diana D., Diana C., Amanda, and Tom) grabbed our special ice fishing poles and headed down to the river.<br />
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Let me paint a mental picture for you first. The river cuts through PyeongChang, a city about 1/3 of the country in-land from the east coast. <a href="http://www.pyeongchang2018.org/language/eng/index.asp?hb_Manager_PK=VDENAA01&s=">PyeongChang</a> also happens to be in the running for the 2018 winter Olympics, and has a fair chance of beating Munich, Germany and Annecy, France when the votes are cast in 147 days. This city was the first place salmon trout were farmed in Korea, and now descendants of those first fish are released each year into the river for people to catch. On the day we went, it was a bright, sunny, COLD and windy day, with a wind chill of -33*C (-27*F). I was wearing tights, leggings, corduroy pants, a tank top, long sleeved shirt, hoodie, coat, giant scarf, and gloves with hand warmers and I was STILL frozen. The festival covers a fair amount of ground on and beside the frozen river. The ice is roughly 30cm (11.8 inches) thick, providing a great surface for ice fishing, ATV riding, icycle riding, skating, and a host of other winter sports.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x27Xg622x9k/TVyjiCukBwI/AAAAAAAADbo/wOmENa7Z6a8/s1600/IMG_3929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x27Xg622x9k/TVyjiCukBwI/AAAAAAAADbo/wOmENa7Z6a8/s640/IMG_3929.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Map of the festival.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AOHop6pmPlY/TVyjg-5L2II/AAAAAAAADbk/c7wn9L-Q84w/s1600/IMG_3906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AOHop6pmPlY/TVyjg-5L2II/AAAAAAAADbk/c7wn9L-Q84w/s640/IMG_3906.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Beautiful day for freezing your ass off.</i></div><br />
Being the eager ice fishermen we are, our crew headed directly down to the ice fishing holes. Right as we got onto the ice we came upon a drilling machine that was putting roughly 6inch diameter holes into the ice. Diana D. claimed that the noise would scare all the fish away, so we had to go to the other side of the river. Most of the holes on the opposite side had already frozen back over. Did we try extra hard to find an open hole? No. Did we wait for the electric drilling machine? No. We picked up a giant, heavy, metal ice pick and went to work. Uh...it wasn't the most successful thing I've ever done, but it kept us warm and got the job done. After we'd been working nearly a half hour Carin walked by and we gave her a chance to try. Damn if she didn't break through to the water within a few hits...some people have all the luck, haha. Once we finally made it through the ice we tried our hand at fishing...and failed. Nary a fish was pole caught by our intrepid team. After a (very) short time, we decided to go see what else was available at the festival and regain feeling in our extremities.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_lPlSSYsgfQ/TVyj3atl56I/AAAAAAAADbs/KkKcZtv0s7g/s1600/IMG_3913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_lPlSSYsgfQ/TVyj3atl56I/AAAAAAAADbs/KkKcZtv0s7g/s640/IMG_3913.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Frozen solid.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u6VTIwiaEIo/TVyj4YzB1PI/AAAAAAAADbw/WvI3_Ly3aT8/s1600/IMG_3896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u6VTIwiaEIo/TVyj4YzB1PI/AAAAAAAADbw/WvI3_Ly3aT8/s640/IMG_3896.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The little wind-protecting tents were only for families. Those of us not toting children or the elderly were forced to brave the elements.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OPmMaTeyT5w/TVyj5gNlX0I/AAAAAAAADb0/IOKopX74DHA/s1600/IMG_3899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OPmMaTeyT5w/TVyj5gNlX0I/AAAAAAAADb0/IOKopX74DHA/s640/IMG_3899.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>That metal ice pick thing was really heavy!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jyi_-IIRztk/TVyj6q2I1DI/AAAAAAAADb4/QCTgKWQDHes/s1600/IMG_3900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jyi_-IIRztk/TVyj6q2I1DI/AAAAAAAADb4/QCTgKWQDHes/s640/IMG_3900.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Shannon was the most energetic ice picker.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u_L_Zsk6qLM/TVyj7m_1-sI/AAAAAAAADb8/RRaUPzdDAUg/s1600/IMG_3901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u_L_Zsk6qLM/TVyj7m_1-sI/AAAAAAAADb8/RRaUPzdDAUg/s640/IMG_3901.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Teamwork? Haha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tpNbYEo2N_Q/TVyj9EqMemI/AAAAAAAADcA/MH5RDq3k2ho/s1600/IMG_3902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tpNbYEo2N_Q/TVyj9EqMemI/AAAAAAAADcA/MH5RDq3k2ho/s640/IMG_3902.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>No closer to water.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U7dLZrNOYUg/TVyj-awOx2I/AAAAAAAADcE/X6IdM5NoUoQ/s1600/IMG_3905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U7dLZrNOYUg/TVyj-awOx2I/AAAAAAAADcE/X6IdM5NoUoQ/s640/IMG_3905.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>It's like a crazy ice pogo stick, haha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ePRlAe478xI/TVyj_YAWAtI/AAAAAAAADcI/oAmObrOIgwY/s1600/IMG_3907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ePRlAe478xI/TVyj_YAWAtI/AAAAAAAADcI/oAmObrOIgwY/s640/IMG_3907.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Finally, we struck water!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mvz_0gpQht4/TVykAzXSOcI/AAAAAAAADcM/zQre07vSWZQ/s1600/IMG_3908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mvz_0gpQht4/TVykAzXSOcI/AAAAAAAADcM/zQre07vSWZQ/s640/IMG_3908.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin wins! </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(And looks pretty darn happy about it.)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkci5LVVZJk/TVykCudBQfI/AAAAAAAADcQ/Xy7jaUFlVf0/s1600/IMG_3909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkci5LVVZJk/TVykCudBQfI/AAAAAAAADcQ/Xy7jaUFlVf0/s640/IMG_3909.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Heeeere fishy fishy fishy.</i></div><br />
We found our way into the massive food tent and they were serving (surprise!) salmon trout! You could get it raw, grilled, baked, fried, in a soup, etc. We ended up getting one large baked fish and a plate of fried fish. It was pretty tasty, I must admit. The meat of the salmon trout (also known as coastal rainbow trout) is pink and both dishes were very good. It was during this time that I also discovered that the ladies at the hot chocolate tent were brewing Swiss Miss...basically my favorite hot chocolate ever (I am easy to please). Throughout the frigid day I consumed 3 or 4 cups.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-voxoOvfZB5k/TVymXMmKuyI/AAAAAAAADcU/BLXqybF1bx4/s1600/IMG_4004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-voxoOvfZB5k/TVymXMmKuyI/AAAAAAAADcU/BLXqybF1bx4/s640/IMG_4004.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Food tent!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gbBNjJByjIQ/TVymcESy3-I/AAAAAAAADcc/VUcgYeWFZ3c/s1600/IMG_3919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gbBNjJByjIQ/TVymcESy3-I/AAAAAAAADcc/VUcgYeWFZ3c/s640/IMG_3919.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fresh out of the oven.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TUy4C9z5YCc/TVymdPQCDNI/AAAAAAAADcg/jAHRhnu-IOI/s1600/IMG_3920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TUy4C9z5YCc/TVymdPQCDNI/AAAAAAAADcg/jAHRhnu-IOI/s640/IMG_3920.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Getting ready to dig in to our fishy dishes.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xahQFU_qxTs/TVymbTJ-SNI/AAAAAAAADcY/Ta290NXJRas/s1600/IMG_3933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xahQFU_qxTs/TVymbTJ-SNI/AAAAAAAADcY/Ta290NXJRas/s640/IMG_3933.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Apparently Diana didn't get enough to eat at lunch.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gMYJH5fWMvU/TVymeo9P5JI/AAAAAAAADck/cywv1n6OMiU/s1600/IMG_3930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gMYJH5fWMvU/TVymeo9P5JI/AAAAAAAADck/cywv1n6OMiU/s640/IMG_3930.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hangin' out to dry.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E2ILSA-qTTc/TVymgArMllI/AAAAAAAADco/gc0_ZsEzRyY/s1600/IMG_3932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E2ILSA-qTTc/TVymgArMllI/AAAAAAAADco/gc0_ZsEzRyY/s640/IMG_3932.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Here's a frozen face only a mom could love.</i></div><br />
After eating we headed back out to brave the cold. After finding our way through a little snow tunnel we discovered an ice slide. This was a slide, literally built completely of ice blocks, that went down a hill towards the river. Jamie, Shannon and Diana D. headed up to the top to try it out. As they waited for a young girl to finish her run, Jamie slipped on the ice at the top and started to barrel down the slide...heading directly for the small child. Her dad ran up and ripped her off the slide, just as Jamie skidded to a stop about a foot away from her. I was laughing to hard I was crying, which was bad since there was a very real danger of my tears freezing to my face! They did a few more (uneventful) runs before we headed off to meet everyone else for snow tubing. I had a good time taking pictures of everyone sledding in tubes down a big man-made hill. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FFQ45t5GrkY/TVynUq7os7I/AAAAAAAADcw/jqgiKjw6qKg/s1600/IMG_3922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FFQ45t5GrkY/TVynUq7os7I/AAAAAAAADcw/jqgiKjw6qKg/s640/IMG_3922.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Shannon (in penguin mode) and Jamie hanging out in the snow tunnel.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mFpdnNIhDnM/TVynVjTUF6I/AAAAAAAADc0/qeKJE6B4cxw/s1600/IMG_3928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mFpdnNIhDnM/TVynVjTUF6I/AAAAAAAADc0/qeKJE6B4cxw/s640/IMG_3928.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Diana, Jamie and Shannon (top to bottom) taking on the ice slide...and getting stuck.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bkaxAwWuiN4/TVynXZ1HCiI/AAAAAAAADc4/w1nFOztFS-s/s1600/IMG_3941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bkaxAwWuiN4/TVynXZ1HCiI/AAAAAAAADc4/w1nFOztFS-s/s640/IMG_3941.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Snow tubing! Ignore the shadow spots added by my camera.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rPN0gf_E-y4/TVynY35YPRI/AAAAAAAADc8/NmG7swYxEys/s1600/IMG_3946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rPN0gf_E-y4/TVynY35YPRI/AAAAAAAADc8/NmG7swYxEys/s640/IMG_3946.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Check us out! We have tubes!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KJHvcJ4bLe4/TVynTfhcxpI/AAAAAAAADcs/ljw5AFCXS4k/s1600/IMG_3952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KJHvcJ4bLe4/TVynTfhcxpI/AAAAAAAADcs/ljw5AFCXS4k/s640/IMG_3952.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The rest of our crew.</i></div><br />
Then it was time for the main event...bare handed fishing. There is a small, man-made pool on the festival grounds, that they stock with a bunch of salmon trout. You can sign up (free if you're a foreigner) to don festival provided t-shirts and shorts before jumping in the water and wrassling some salmon trout into submission. Keep in mind that its FREEZING outside. Who in their right mind would do that?! Jamie, Shannon, a hand full of other foreigners, and a troupe of Korean high school boys, of course! It was insane. Everyone walks out shivering in their inadequate clothing, and then when they're given the signal, they all jump into the pool. It was probably less than two feet deep, but with crazy teens running around splashing and having to reach in and out of the water, I'm sure it was very very cold. Future reference, the most effective strategy seems to not be swiping at the water like a bear (as Jamie tried) or walking around in the middle of the pool (as Shannon did). The best strategy is to force the fish to the sides of the pool, beat them against the rocks, and when they're incapacitated throw them out of the water. Lovely, huh? Once all the crazies had secured their two-fish-per-person, they headed back into the tent to chance into their dry, warm clothes, and get toasty next to an electric heater. Finally our group was victorious! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lj9xJRVfpUw/TVyoIwl7yZI/AAAAAAAADdE/BFVJSVECVVY/s1600/IMG_3954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lj9xJRVfpUw/TVyoIwl7yZI/AAAAAAAADdE/BFVJSVECVVY/s640/IMG_3954.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pond stocked with salmon trout...peacefully unaware of what was coming.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Eny7960b4zM/TVyoKVSIziI/AAAAAAAADdI/bl3prWgswus/s1600/IMG_3955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Eny7960b4zM/TVyoKVSIziI/AAAAAAAADdI/bl3prWgswus/s640/IMG_3955.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The pond.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GVCPn6KzaXU/TVyoMMLMo2I/AAAAAAAADdM/Z4akkV5F-T0/s1600/IMG_3960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GVCPn6KzaXU/TVyoMMLMo2I/AAAAAAAADdM/Z4akkV5F-T0/s640/IMG_3960.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jamie and Shannon already freezing...and they aren't even in the water yet!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ymD2yC72XbA/TVyoNecn3lI/AAAAAAAADdQ/7YgdWm6KFyw/s1600/IMG_3963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ymD2yC72XbA/TVyoNecn3lI/AAAAAAAADdQ/7YgdWm6KFyw/s640/IMG_3963.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sadly they couldn't keep these adorable shirts.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IVTmKKQM7X8/TVyoOlgpnLI/AAAAAAAADdU/vQSQOb7xfQI/s1600/IMG_3967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IVTmKKQM7X8/TVyoOlgpnLI/AAAAAAAADdU/vQSQOb7xfQI/s640/IMG_3967.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>On the prowl.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IpaQ-1KHQ10/TVyoQHZ2JGI/AAAAAAAADdY/CYLtzcuBepk/s1600/IMG_3969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IpaQ-1KHQ10/TVyoQHZ2JGI/AAAAAAAADdY/CYLtzcuBepk/s640/IMG_3969.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This kid was almost killed for sprinting through the freezing water and spraying it on everyone. Every face in this photo is hilarious.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pVypAi5ysCU/TVyoRmNoQbI/AAAAAAAADdc/h4zpTsTDQEI/s1600/IMG_3973.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pVypAi5ysCU/TVyoRmNoQbI/AAAAAAAADdc/h4zpTsTDQEI/s640/IMG_3973.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jamie decides to test his theory that "bear hands" would be better than "bare hands" by swiping at the fish. Result: still no fish, and he gets in trouble, haha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LJ-diidQQwc/TVyoTb8o4QI/AAAAAAAADdg/iWM_cc0qLuY/s1600/IMG_3981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LJ-diidQQwc/TVyoTb8o4QI/AAAAAAAADdg/iWM_cc0qLuY/s640/IMG_3981.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Everybody grabbing for fish.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Bgh4XkwKP0/TVyoVNTjsKI/AAAAAAAADdk/agW_kFTyaa0/s1600/IMG_3987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Bgh4XkwKP0/TVyoVNTjsKI/AAAAAAAADdk/agW_kFTyaa0/s640/IMG_3987.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Whaaat? Some boys started whipping off their shirts, presumably to use them as nets. Or perhaps just to show off.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fpug-zXfg2c/TVyoWtd3oaI/AAAAAAAADdo/li-c0--y3bE/s1600/IMG_4000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fpug-zXfg2c/TVyoWtd3oaI/AAAAAAAADdo/li-c0--y3bE/s640/IMG_4000.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hahahahahahahah. This little girl was so unimpressed.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vZxfVKPjkQ8/TVypgLLSyZI/AAAAAAAADds/PAYv-oHWc7E/s1600/IMG_4003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vZxfVKPjkQ8/TVypgLLSyZI/AAAAAAAADds/PAYv-oHWc7E/s640/IMG_4003.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One of the coolest people I've ever met.</i></div><br />
After the bare handed fishing and warming up a bit inside, we decided to check out the rest of the offerings at the festival. First came the crazy rides where they hooked a giant tube up to a crane or tractor and flung you around, then a little more tubing. We had been really interested in doing the ATV riding...until we found out that 1. it was literally just on straight ice so everyone was fishtailing all over the place and 2. it was dominated by children who were obviously not following any type of safety rules. Having my ATV run into by an out of control twelve year old without a helmet didn't sound fun to me, so I passed. So did everyone else. Right next to the ATV area was a big section of river where people were riding around on single and tandem ice bicycles (icycles if you will), as well as a bunch of little kids tooling around on ice cars. I don't even like standing on ice, let alone purposely heading out to slip around on it, so I found a nice spot to take pictures and laugh at people. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ERBesnMn8q0/TVyp_GG32xI/AAAAAAAADd0/wGir-N_s6fc/s1600/IMG_4017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ERBesnMn8q0/TVyp_GG32xI/AAAAAAAADd0/wGir-N_s6fc/s640/IMG_4017.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Diana, Shannon and Jamie being flung around.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wEhEz99JKGs/TVyqAL1I5PI/AAAAAAAADd4/5TZxpPQ6vL8/s1600/IMG_4023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wEhEz99JKGs/TVyqAL1I5PI/AAAAAAAADd4/5TZxpPQ6vL8/s640/IMG_4023.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The crew: Jamie, Diana D., Diana C., Amanda, Tom, Carin, Me, Shannon</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XxmilaIztOk/TVyqgKao94I/AAAAAAAADeE/EDFeD7U__xs/s1600/IMG_4026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XxmilaIztOk/TVyqgKao94I/AAAAAAAADeE/EDFeD7U__xs/s640/IMG_4026.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin and Diana C. on an icycle built for two.</i> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EHUjj22V754/TVyqCSiamKI/AAAAAAAADeA/IBCwL_4OuU4/s1600/IMG_4027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EHUjj22V754/TVyqCSiamKI/AAAAAAAADeA/IBCwL_4OuU4/s640/IMG_4027.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Various ice bikes.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OogWmQ9ooaY/TVyqyLUF4mI/AAAAAAAADeI/CEBpxbeLO9E/s1600/IMG_4031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OogWmQ9ooaY/TVyqyLUF4mI/AAAAAAAADeI/CEBpxbeLO9E/s640/IMG_4031.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Diana D. tooling around on her solo icycle.</i></div><br />
After everyone was done riding around, most of the group headed off to skate/push each other around on ice sleds, but Carin and I opted to go into a food tent and warm up. While there we were exposed to some of the most heinous karaoke I've heard in a long time. Our last group stop was another food tent where they grilled up two of Jamie and Shannon's freshly caught salmon trout. Holy crap, so delicious. They were so fresh and perfectly cooked...we absolutely decimated them. Great ending to a great day. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aaTHyg2hOa8/TVyrBQ5GJHI/AAAAAAAADeQ/aK4lMyagF8M/s1600/IMG_4034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aaTHyg2hOa8/TVyrBQ5GJHI/AAAAAAAADeQ/aK4lMyagF8M/s640/IMG_4034.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>How awkward does that girl look as she shares the ice couch with Shannon?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vsBbLzj-qto/TVyrCSaYIKI/AAAAAAAADeU/EDljlt5Kk8M/s1600/IMG_4036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vsBbLzj-qto/TVyrCSaYIKI/AAAAAAAADeU/EDljlt5Kk8M/s640/IMG_4036.JPG" width="640" /></a><i>Diana D., Carin and I lose feeling in our butts in exchange for a cute photo.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Verdict: Worth it.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nnp5ETkKDvU/TVyrEzjSRDI/AAAAAAAADeY/hweXuAy77SE/s1600/IMG_4038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nnp5ETkKDvU/TVyrEzjSRDI/AAAAAAAADeY/hweXuAy77SE/s640/IMG_4038.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jamie and Shannon's fish!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gjXUX6m-8eY/TVyrGlldQDI/AAAAAAAADec/peqFyOjEI1g/s1600/IMG_4041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gjXUX6m-8eY/TVyrGlldQDI/AAAAAAAADec/peqFyOjEI1g/s640/IMG_4041.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Steamy and amazing!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UUYKE0Zmzzs/TVyrIfMtMAI/AAAAAAAADeg/HAoBVAJJ8f4/s1600/IMG_4042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UUYKE0Zmzzs/TVyrIfMtMAI/AAAAAAAADeg/HAoBVAJJ8f4/s640/IMG_4042.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I was not kidding when I said we DEVOURED the two fish.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fqJgw-_1FWA/TVyrmM1zGlI/AAAAAAAADeo/Sb2gia5rtWY/s1600/IMG_4044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fqJgw-_1FWA/TVyrmM1zGlI/AAAAAAAADeo/Sb2gia5rtWY/s640/IMG_4044.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Warren, Jamie, Diana D., Shannon, Me, Carin, Diana C.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div>I slept the entire ride home, and the bus dropped us back in Seoul and we took a taxi home where I headed to bed since I knew I had to work the next day. It should be clear that I use the word "work" in only the vaguest sense. For a reason that is absolutely unknown to me, we had a five week winter break, followed by TWO DAYS OF SCHOOL, before a five-day national holiday weekend. Why, why, WHY did we have to come to school those two days?! I didn't teach at all, I'll tell you that much.<br />
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We were off Wednesday-Sunday for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_New_Year">Seollal</a>, or the Korean lunar new year celebration. Seollal (new years) and Chuseok (thanksgiving) are the two biggest holidays in Korea. It is serious business to travel back to your ancestral home, pay homage to your ancestors, and spend time with family. The stores are flooded with gift sets (mmm SPAM) and the city pretty much empties out for the holiday. It is really the only time of year that everywhere, even the 24-hour gimbap places, is closed.<br />
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Last year I was in Cambodia for lunar new year, so this year I wanted to do something special. After sleeping late on Wednesday and generally bumming around, I got my act together and went over to Jamie and Shannon's for dinner. We made delicious ddeok-mandu-guk, or rice cake and dumpling soup, which is the traditional meal for Seollal. So tasty! We also made it a multi-cultural affair with the addition of potato latkes made by Shannon's mom and pumpkin muffins made by me. It was a fun, chill night.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LkilB4B-L00/TVyr3tPLlLI/AAAAAAAADes/M5-bkc1W1KY/s1600/IMG_6627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LkilB4B-L00/TVyr3tPLlLI/AAAAAAAADes/M5-bkc1W1KY/s640/IMG_6627.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Shannon becomes one with the DHC book.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oK0YsdNexNY/TVyr4T0sTlI/AAAAAAAADew/gU7gslV8b-s/s1600/IMG_6623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oK0YsdNexNY/TVyr4T0sTlI/AAAAAAAADew/gU7gslV8b-s/s640/IMG_6623.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dave and Jamie show off the delicious spread we had!</i></div><br />
I found a fun new years event being held at a traditional folk village in Suwon, about an hour south of Seoul, on Thursday, the actual day of Seollal. I convinced Jamie, Shannon, Shannon's mom who is visiting, Carin, and Christina to join me. Armed with the directions provided by the Korean Tourism Website, we took a bus to Jamsil and prepared to head out. That is where the first problem arose. After walking around for a while and looking for it, and finally calling the tourism line, we found out that the bus that was supposed to come to Jamsil did not. We were given alternate directions that also happened to be messed up. Long story short, it took us almost four hours, three buses and a taxi to get to the Folk Village. AAAGH. We could have driven the entire length of Korea in that time! It was ridiculous. What especially sucked was that Shannon's mom has bursitis in her hip and wasn't able to keep walking around and waiting so they didn't even make it to the folk village, but rather headed home around the half way point. It was pretty crazy.<br />
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Once we FINALLY arrived, we ate some delicious lunch and headed into the folk village. That thing is MASSIVE and really cool. It shows examples of traditional houses from various time periods and regions in Korea, and provides opportunities to do some traditional activities including games, a tight-rope show, musical performances, watching traditional wedding, etc. There were a few special events for Seollal, and some little displays. This was the first time I saw a traditional Korean tight-rope show, so that was really cool. I also LOVED the exorcism ritual that they do in order to ensure good luck in the new year. They build a gigantic bonfire around freshly cut bamboo. After first producing a ton of smoke, the fire heats up the bamboo to the point where all of the sections explode, one at a time. The loud bangs created are said to scare off the bad spirits that would bring you bad luck in the new year. It was very cool. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5YTE3R_d1OY/TVysNfr5GII/AAAAAAAADe0/CUbFyAS3POU/s1600/IMG_6757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5YTE3R_d1OY/TVysNfr5GII/AAAAAAAADe0/CUbFyAS3POU/s640/IMG_6757.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Wanted poster on the gates to the village.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lVk_8ricx7A/TVysPdVBPgI/AAAAAAAADe4/2fVr5YDhUx4/s1600/IMG_6628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lVk_8ricx7A/TVysPdVBPgI/AAAAAAAADe4/2fVr5YDhUx4/s640/IMG_6628.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Traditional snowman?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RKj70pf8RiM/TVysTvHAeqI/AAAAAAAADfA/gIynXWuUfXU/s1600/IMG_6631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RKj70pf8RiM/TVysTvHAeqI/AAAAAAAADfA/gIynXWuUfXU/s640/IMG_6631.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One new year's tradition is to write a wish or resolution on a piece of paper and tie it to the ropes.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BUBc1xwX4H0/TVysVU2ZqhI/AAAAAAAADfE/xzrTCTvSGIY/s1600/IMG_6633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BUBc1xwX4H0/TVysVU2ZqhI/AAAAAAAADfE/xzrTCTvSGIY/s640/IMG_6633.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This was a huge mill grindstone. All of us agree that this would be great (useful) corporal punishment. "Oh, really, Tae Kyung? You don't want to listen in class? 15 MINUTES ON THE MILL!"</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6D56IRrXAU/TVysXaUQOWI/AAAAAAAADfI/eYRKXKgYapM/s1600/IMG_6639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6D56IRrXAU/TVysXaUQOWI/AAAAAAAADfI/eYRKXKgYapM/s640/IMG_6639.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin hard at work collecting water.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RahGfzm9OxU/TVysY00ay7I/AAAAAAAADfM/667k52pFgPs/s1600/IMG_6643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RahGfzm9OxU/TVysY00ay7I/AAAAAAAADfM/667k52pFgPs/s640/IMG_6643.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Christina snapping some photos.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lRTw7lyZgIQ/TVysaT1nlMI/AAAAAAAADfQ/E81UW7rQlNg/s1600/IMG_6644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lRTw7lyZgIQ/TVysaT1nlMI/AAAAAAAADfQ/E81UW7rQlNg/s640/IMG_6644.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jamie crushing up...something, haha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ua9YwXrGA4g/TVysbkP4JwI/AAAAAAAADfU/4RqqA6RmnmI/s1600/IMG_6649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ua9YwXrGA4g/TVysbkP4JwI/AAAAAAAADfU/4RqqA6RmnmI/s640/IMG_6649.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We all know I can't say no to arts and crafts! First the stamp is painted with ink.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SrrxxUjs0rM/TVysd1FYDlI/AAAAAAAADfY/WuMG3Un3PF0/s1600/IMG_6650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SrrxxUjs0rM/TVysd1FYDlI/AAAAAAAADfY/WuMG3Un3PF0/s640/IMG_6650.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Then a paper gets placed on top and you tap the whole thing with a rag ball.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kJ2j0eeeRvY/TVysgrbGfhI/AAAAAAAADfc/5e8IeiMP7NA/s1600/IMG_6651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kJ2j0eeeRvY/TVysgrbGfhI/AAAAAAAADfc/5e8IeiMP7NA/s640/IMG_6651.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Make sure you get all the sections covered!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hKk0RNEiFK4/TVysigCVYiI/AAAAAAAADfg/ZeMzeJyiCAg/s1600/IMG_6652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hKk0RNEiFK4/TVysigCVYiI/AAAAAAAADfg/ZeMzeJyiCAg/s640/IMG_6652.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Viola!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bmWDEiPnBHE/TVysktTvpmI/AAAAAAAADfk/wNEiNNWqgvw/s1600/IMG_6654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bmWDEiPnBHE/TVysktTvpmI/AAAAAAAADfk/wNEiNNWqgvw/s640/IMG_6654.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Clang clang clang parade!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tvseknjjVms/TVysmekAaGI/AAAAAAAADfo/UW3s9CN2GGY/s1600/IMG_6655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tvseknjjVms/TVysmekAaGI/AAAAAAAADfo/UW3s9CN2GGY/s640/IMG_6655.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Very peaceful and pretty.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZdBDEdnarus/TVysorYhbvI/AAAAAAAADfs/cGVPCwU0rbA/s1600/IMG_6658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZdBDEdnarus/TVysorYhbvI/AAAAAAAADfs/cGVPCwU0rbA/s640/IMG_6658.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>They had all different types of architecture from various periods in history and locations in Korea.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NYHY1cNNjSE/TVysrLoJUJI/AAAAAAAADfw/5F7H-lyzgiM/s1600/IMG_6662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NYHY1cNNjSE/TVysrLoJUJI/AAAAAAAADfw/5F7H-lyzgiM/s640/IMG_6662.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"Oh! Look, a petting zoo!" I think foolishly. Then Carin sets me straight. This was an enclosure where bunnies were being shown in honor of it being year of the rabbit. Some idiotic parent released their toddler into the enclosure to reek havoc. I mean come ON.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PgC3_YiET6M/TVyss9beC9I/AAAAAAAADf0/hr5H0NcsLrc/s1600/IMG_6671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PgC3_YiET6M/TVyss9beC9I/AAAAAAAADf0/hr5H0NcsLrc/s640/IMG_6671.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tightrope walker.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-50EPbPSN9oo/TVysuf3H3EI/AAAAAAAADf4/C4btmLPXhIM/s1600/IMG_6678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-50EPbPSN9oo/TVysuf3H3EI/AAAAAAAADf4/C4btmLPXhIM/s640/IMG_6678.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One foot!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n6oZn_w1mj4/TVyswObi0eI/AAAAAAAADf8/PCi5XYkJUis/s1600/IMG_6680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n6oZn_w1mj4/TVyswObi0eI/AAAAAAAADf8/PCi5XYkJUis/s640/IMG_6680.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>He only used his legs and body to propel him, never his hands. He'd stand, drop down to a sit, then pop back up to stand on the rope. It was pretty impressive.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_nVvDG9IO9I/TVysx7CRJlI/AAAAAAAADgA/Ex0d5lLBZRo/s1600/IMG_6685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_nVvDG9IO9I/TVysx7CRJlI/AAAAAAAADgA/Ex0d5lLBZRo/s640/IMG_6685.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hopping along cross legged!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cVYr0uog1dQ/TVysz3c3lAI/AAAAAAAADgE/2LsSsMUXS9A/s1600/IMG_6706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cVYr0uog1dQ/TVysz3c3lAI/AAAAAAAADgE/2LsSsMUXS9A/s640/IMG_6706.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jaeggi Chaggi is like traditional Korean hacky sack.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gFvCZUSFCYM/TVys1Vp-L6I/AAAAAAAADgI/sAqVO4mCVNM/s1600/IMG_6709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gFvCZUSFCYM/TVys1Vp-L6I/AAAAAAAADgI/sAqVO4mCVNM/s640/IMG_6709.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Got into the groove.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g3w7Vmjjqjg/TVys2lVyjnI/AAAAAAAADgM/2DoCC4NIdQE/s1600/IMG_6712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g3w7Vmjjqjg/TVys2lVyjnI/AAAAAAAADgM/2DoCC4NIdQE/s640/IMG_6712.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>You pass the frilly thing around with your feet, attempting to bounce it a certain number of times per person.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l21f3uxLfuI/TVys470iWfI/AAAAAAAADgQ/EpJ_LHeAmrY/s1600/IMG_6715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l21f3uxLfuI/TVys470iWfI/AAAAAAAADgQ/EpJ_LHeAmrY/s640/IMG_6715.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Drying some herbs.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-53eZp60O7Q8/TVys6s1CBdI/AAAAAAAADgU/Bxt_rEqCWwo/s1600/IMG_6730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-53eZp60O7Q8/TVys6s1CBdI/AAAAAAAADgU/Bxt_rEqCWwo/s640/IMG_6730.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>If it weren't freezing this would be a lovely place for a picnic along the river.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sadGlVzyygA/TVys8Pw-JvI/AAAAAAAADgY/15D_QnRdTeY/s1600/IMG_6732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sadGlVzyygA/TVys8Pw-JvI/AAAAAAAADgY/15D_QnRdTeY/s640/IMG_6732.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>WHOA! Something is on fire!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2dHGstjDwrg/TVys-c3KQ0I/AAAAAAAADgc/cKD5Ri7wxiM/s1600/IMG_6737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2dHGstjDwrg/TVys-c3KQ0I/AAAAAAAADgc/cKD5Ri7wxiM/s640/IMG_6737.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Plenty of smoke.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4dJZNPcMUVw/TVytAiQ-urI/AAAAAAAADgg/d7MjvDDo9oM/s1600/IMG_6743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4dJZNPcMUVw/TVytAiQ-urI/AAAAAAAADgg/d7MjvDDo9oM/s640/IMG_6743.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I love me some fire.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aM7T3y5biP8/TVytCIOIsAI/AAAAAAAADgk/Ty2GUHpY5xg/s1600/IMG_6744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aM7T3y5biP8/TVytCIOIsAI/AAAAAAAADgk/Ty2GUHpY5xg/s640/IMG_6744.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin and her friend playing an over-sized version of the traditional Korean game, yutnori. (With an audience, of course.)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qDd2jZBxru4/TVytDgJs5qI/AAAAAAAADgo/zYOw63RJqro/s1600/IMG_6746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qDd2jZBxru4/TVytDgJs5qI/AAAAAAAADgo/zYOw63RJqro/s640/IMG_6746.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Carin's turn to throw the yut sticks.</i> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFRQ2N2NVAE/TVytFgesZ1I/AAAAAAAADgs/-NE69r16rwY/s1600/IMG_6748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFRQ2N2NVAE/TVytFgesZ1I/AAAAAAAADgs/-NE69r16rwY/s640/IMG_6748.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Little to no safety...awesome. Keep in mind that the bamboo sections were EXPLODING.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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While we were at the folk village, Carin's Korean friend who lives in Suwon met up with us. Thankfully he was able to provide us with a MUCH faster way home, which consisted of a single bus that took us back to Jamsil in only 40 minutes. Argh. When we got back we gorged on a delicious, huge, expensive meal from TGIFridays and all was right with the world. The rest of the weekend was spent firming up some plans for Bali and Kuala Lumpur with Lee-Rae, Laura and Diana C, relaxing, and working on grad school crap.<br />
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Oh, yeah, so I guess none of you out there in the blog world know the good news yet...so far I've been accepted to two grad schools! George Washington University in DC and University of Pennsylvania in Philly both said they wanted me, so that is pretty exciting. Especially since they're both in my top four. I am still waiting to hear back from six programs, and in the mean time I am absolutely out of my mind worrying about how I'm going to pay for whatever program I end up attending! My life is pretty much consumed by searching for scholarships and fellowships and applying for them at a feverish pace. It is tiring and extremely stressful. My right eye twitches when I get stressed and it has been going non-stop recently! Hopefully it will all work out somehow. I am just psyched that I definitely have a place to go...that is for sure a load off my shoulders. In other exciting news, it appears that I won an iPad in a raffle that was held for people who signed up for www.buzz-korea.com. I have gotten little information from them, but I'll keep you posted on when I get it, what I think of it, etc.<br />
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Last summer when I was home I lost my camera and had to buy a new one. In December, my parents found it and they sent it to me in January. Here are a few choice pictures from my last few days at home.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LZ1SyjF-aV4/TVywD5E3vBI/AAAAAAAADgw/dSPEMOIzQsI/s1600/IMG_6619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LZ1SyjF-aV4/TVywD5E3vBI/AAAAAAAADgw/dSPEMOIzQsI/s640/IMG_6619.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Erin, Liz and I in the bird's nest at the <a href="http://www.avam.org/">American Visionary Arts Museum</a> in Baltimore. Hands down my favorite art museum ever.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9oM8nihR678/TVywEz3ay-I/AAAAAAAADg0/Yd9spOQRMpI/s1600/IMG_6597.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9oM8nihR678/TVywEz3ay-I/AAAAAAAADg0/Yd9spOQRMpI/s640/IMG_6597.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We finally made it to <a href="http://www.greatblacksinwax.org/">Great Blacks in Wax</a>! I've always wanted to go!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Verdict: Their wax sculptures are not so great. I don't know that I could have identified the above as Obama.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oadivU1ESdE/TVywGYfBh0I/AAAAAAAADg4/nwbDq6ExLvo/s1600/IMG_6602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oadivU1ESdE/TVywGYfBh0I/AAAAAAAADg4/nwbDq6ExLvo/s640/IMG_6602.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>No idea. but I love it.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I only taught a few classes last week and none this week. Last Thursday the whole school went out to dinner in honor of the teachers who are leaving our school next year. We had a great dinner made up of a billion little dishes. They have this big wooden thing that has all the food on it and it just slides onto the table. SO SMART. My picture is terrible, but it was very cool, and (as my student would say) very genius.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YpUJXoV8xys/TVy1sBJ9SVI/AAAAAAAADhE/bQ-58PjNSCg/s1600/IMG_6779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YpUJXoV8xys/TVy1sBJ9SVI/AAAAAAAADhE/bQ-58PjNSCg/s640/IMG_6779.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This saves so much time that you would have spent laying out all the food and the cleaning up all the plates.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yesterday was sixth grade graduation, and it was sad to say goodbye to kids I've had since I started here a year and a half ago. Granted, it would have been sadder if they hadn't been so hormone-y and annoying lately, but still sad.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kIgNAnXfQLw/TVy2BDDcTfI/AAAAAAAADhI/paE3yjX-I_g/s1600/IMG_6766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kIgNAnXfQLw/TVy2BDDcTfI/AAAAAAAADhI/paE3yjX-I_g/s640/IMG_6766.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Class 6-2 (part 1).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cj_DDN7_l0U/TVy2CKzzbuI/AAAAAAAADhM/h8EWa0Tqw2U/s1600/IMG_6768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cj_DDN7_l0U/TVy2CKzzbuI/AAAAAAAADhM/h8EWa0Tqw2U/s640/IMG_6768.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Class 6-2 (part 2).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SmaRR3u0aVM/TVy2DDuJkAI/AAAAAAAADhQ/A3O1cEcY5PE/s1600/IMG_6769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SmaRR3u0aVM/TVy2DDuJkAI/AAAAAAAADhQ/A3O1cEcY5PE/s640/IMG_6769.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Class 6-3 (part 1).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DABi23ABoS8/TVy2EU7ANYI/AAAAAAAADhU/JeOZUw-AuyA/s1600/IMG_6771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DABi23ABoS8/TVy2EU7ANYI/AAAAAAAADhU/JeOZUw-AuyA/s640/IMG_6771.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Class 6-3 (part 2).</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Please note the grim reaper next to me. Those zip-to-the-top hoods drive me crazy!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lkaf5cFlD8M/TVy2Fex6fEI/AAAAAAAADhY/UVVKhODnuqc/s1600/IMG_6774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lkaf5cFlD8M/TVy2Fex6fEI/AAAAAAAADhY/UVVKhODnuqc/s640/IMG_6774.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Class 6-4 (half).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3XeTM0f1Rc4/TVy2Gw5fQdI/AAAAAAAADhc/5DK9S-K5ksQ/s1600/IMG_6786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3XeTM0f1Rc4/TVy2Gw5fQdI/AAAAAAAADhc/5DK9S-K5ksQ/s640/IMG_6786.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Graduation ceremony with our (now ex-) Vice Principal speaking.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S0pGO135jZE/TVy2Ijs5zCI/AAAAAAAADhg/37Yvrm_p4ns/s1600/IMG_6788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S0pGO135jZE/TVy2Ijs5zCI/AAAAAAAADhg/37Yvrm_p4ns/s640/IMG_6788.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Awards being given out to high performing students by our Principal.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3xIow4cc_U8/TVy2J55MZnI/AAAAAAAADhk/jUoV9Re20io/s1600/IMG_6800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3xIow4cc_U8/TVy2J55MZnI/AAAAAAAADhk/jUoV9Re20io/s640/IMG_6800.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Kids trying to stay awake, haha. No parents are allowed at the graduation ceremony, which I think is really strange and a little sad.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Krz6sQcGjs/TVy2LbrA8hI/AAAAAAAADho/3aY0bSZKW78/s1600/IMG_6801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Krz6sQcGjs/TVy2LbrA8hI/AAAAAAAADho/3aY0bSZKW78/s640/IMG_6801.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ga Young being the "maestro" (her word) as the kids sang the national anthem.</i></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Tomorrow morning I board a plane for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where I will stay until Monday. Then it's off to Bali, Indonesia for a week. I am very excited and totally looking forward to baking on a beach, eating a ton of amazing food, and checking out the rice paddies and cultural scene. In Bali we'll be staying in Sanur for 4 nights (with day trips out to Ubud) and in Kuta for 2 nights. I am really excited to do a fireflies boat tour in Kuala Lumpur and a cooking class in Bali. Oh, and hitting a spa for some ultimate relaxation!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/KL-Skyline_Night_HDR.JPG/800px-KL-Skyline_Night_HDR.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/KL-Skyline_Night_HDR.JPG/800px-KL-Skyline_Night_HDR.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Kuala Lumpur!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.asiawebdirect.com/m/bangkok/hotels/bali-indonesia-com/mercure-resort-sanur/hotelBanner/hotel00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="http://static.asiawebdirect.com/m/bangkok/hotels/bali-indonesia-com/mercure-resort-sanur/hotelBanner/hotel00.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bali!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">See you in March!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-40538672531488369022011-02-01T23:22:00.001+09:002011-04-14T15:38:45.260+09:00Tantalizing Taiwan!So last week Carin and I took a week-long trip down/over to Taiwan. Let me just say...I LOVE TAIWAN. Like really, really enjoyed it. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't know a whole lot about that little sweet potato shaped island before heading there, but I was more than pleased with what I found. The weather was decent, the people were beyond nice, the sights were beautiful, the transportation was cheap and easy to navigate, the food was delicious...you really can't ask for more. I think the highest compliment someone can give a country is saying they could see themselves living there, and I could definitely live in Taiwan. It was an excellent quick trip, and we did the whole thing (including all flights, in-country transportation, food, activities and accommodations) for under $1000.<br />
<br />
We departed Seoul on a snowy Saturday morning. Our plane was scheduled to depart at 9:10am, so we ended up on the airport bus around 6:30am. Ouch. Thankfully we could snooze the whole way there. We checked in and found that it was a codeshared flight between China Airlines and Korean Air, so that got me excited, because Korean Air is amazing. Seriously. I've never been even slightly disappointed by a Korean Air flight. Everything, down to their flight attendant uniforms, is straight classy. When you see a group of Korean Air girls walk through the airport you know immediately that they have their shit together. Unfortunately, Korea doesn't know how to deal with snow, so we were delayed as they tried to clear the runway and de-ice the plane. We spent almost 40 minutes just taxing around the airport...so random. Finally we took off and the flight over to Taipei was only about 2.5 hours. On this tiny flight we got free drinks and a full (tasty) meal. Asian carriers are so much better than American carriers! You could drive across the whole US and not get a free drink, let alone a meal! We landed in Taipei about a half an hour after we were expected. (It is worth noting that the two landings on our long flights were the absolute cleanest landings I've ever experienced. You would think the giant hulking plane was weightless based on how lightly we touched down. We were surprised by how nice the ICN-TPE flight landed, so we were blow away by the effortless landing on the TPE-ICN flight. Beautiful.)<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>As we deplaned and started walking through the airport we were relatively close to a group of boys all wearing hats. Fervent whispers started, and suddenly people were pulling out their cameras and speeding up to walk next to them and snap photos. Thank god I had K-Pop crazy Carin with me, for she was able to identify them as popular K-Pop group <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTWCDAOURT8">B2ST</a> (the Korean word for two is pronounced "ee" so the band is Beast...or as Simon of EatYourKimchi calls them, Buh-two-st). Then, while about to go through Customs, we saw another group, called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g21AlfIuRYw">MBLAQ</a>. Like total idiots we did not take sneaky pictures or get autographs. We kicked ourselves for this moments later, when we walked through the doors from Customs and were greeted by HUNDREDS of screaming fans. It was a little (lot?) crazy. We soon found out that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnGZfGZwGow">Super Junior</a> was also on our flight. Basically all of first class must have been K-Pop boys and their handlers! And we had them stranded on the ground and then in the sky with us...sadly without our knowledge. I am fairly certain Carin would have stormed the first class cabin had we known.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf7Y7_b8uI/AAAAAAAADPc/73qHoGWFriQ/s1600/IMG_3275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf7Y7_b8uI/AAAAAAAADPc/73qHoGWFriQ/s640/IMG_3275.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Swear that's B2ST!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf7ZgL2PAI/AAAAAAAADPg/74o0qn9KwYU/s1600/IMG_3278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf7ZgL2PAI/AAAAAAAADPg/74o0qn9KwYU/s640/IMG_3278.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Whoa Taiwanese K-Pop fans!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf7aX5ZrDI/AAAAAAAADPk/if8RSd7JY6M/s1600/IMG_3283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf7aX5ZrDI/AAAAAAAADPk/if8RSd7JY6M/s640/IMG_3283.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>If you love Super Junior so much why don't you marry them? Oh...</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf7dKifqiI/AAAAAAAADPo/O8wTnGtStis/s1600/IMG_3277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf7dKifqiI/AAAAAAAADPo/O8wTnGtStis/s640/IMG_3277.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Customs beagles! I miss my dogs.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div>After spending some time watching the crazed fans and snapping some photos (and Carin making friends with some Taiwanese teenagers who approved of her choice when asked which member was her favorite) we headed out and caught the bus into downtown Taipei. We had booked our first three nights's stay at <a href="http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/STAR-Hostel-Taipei/Taipei/43313">Star Hostel</a>, and it was absolutely wonderful. It is located between Taipei Main Station and Zhongshan Station, so it provides easy access to trains, buses and the metro. While somewhat difficult to find (tiniest sign ever) the hostel is beautiful and the staff is extremely friendly and helpful. Our room was lovely, with two comfy beds and a really nice private bathroom. The only downside was the lack of elevator, but that really didn't make that much of a difference in the long run. Overall, it was an excellent choice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf74EPbWHI/AAAAAAAADPs/F_-6QP0SyvE/s1600/IMG_3290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf74EPbWHI/AAAAAAAADPs/F_-6QP0SyvE/s640/IMG_3290.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our very pretty room in Star Hostel.</i></div><br />
After settling into the hostel we headed out for our first afternoon of exploring. On the advice of one of the hostel desk staff, we purchased an EasyCard, Taipei's version of the T-Money card. You buy the card for 500NT (roughly $17 US), and that includes a 100NT deposit for the card itself. We used it all week (including to pay for our admission to the zoo...you could also use it at convenience stores, Mister Donut, etc) and on the last day I got about 160NT ($5.50 US) back for turning in the card with extra money on it. Pretty sweet. The subway is simpler and smaller than Seoul, but it is a fast and efficient. It is distance based, and most trips only cost about 50cents, while the longest ones are around $1 US. Pretty sweet.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8I8Uj5gI/AAAAAAAADPw/kqwSCTL6ykM/s1600/IMG_3703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8I8Uj5gI/AAAAAAAADPw/kqwSCTL6ykM/s640/IMG_3703.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Taipei MRT all decorated for the Floral Expo.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8J-FWDgI/AAAAAAAADP0/oiHhXhcLqkk/s1600/IMG_3704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8J-FWDgI/AAAAAAAADP0/oiHhXhcLqkk/s640/IMG_3704.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Inside the train.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8K9M5g8I/AAAAAAAADP4/lavvFzxzTmM/s1600/IMG_3889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8K9M5g8I/AAAAAAAADP4/lavvFzxzTmM/s640/IMG_3889.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Awesome card. And really...so easy.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSVLZAk2I/AAAAAAAADY4/23F1FAri76w/s1600/IMG_3726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSVLZAk2I/AAAAAAAADY4/23F1FAri76w/s640/IMG_3726.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Typical subway station.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSWaHLm8I/AAAAAAAADY8/ES-cC-IsLf8/s1600/IMG_3879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSWaHLm8I/AAAAAAAADY8/ES-cC-IsLf8/s640/IMG_3879.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>There was lots of public art pieces through out Taipei and in the subways. This was the creepiest...found in Taipei Main Station.</i></div><br />
We hopped on the train and went just a few stops away to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_kai_shek">Chiang Kai-shek</a> Memorial. Again, I didn't know much about Taiwanese history before visiting, so I will assume that you also don't. Chiang Kai-shek was the head of the Nationalist Army in China, which fought in a long civil war against the Chinese Communist Party. When the Soviet Union threw their support behind the CCP, the Nationalists were forced to flee the mainland and take up residence on the island of Taiwan. Taiwan is called the ROC, or Republic of China, while the mainland is the PRC, or People's Republic of China, largely in part to Chiang Kai-shek's rule over the island. Taiwan is democratic, while mainland China is (obviously) Communist. (Honestly, I am still not 100% clear on the relationship between Taiwan and China...) The feelings towards Chiang Kai-shek are mixed on the island; some view him as a hero, while others refer to him as a dictator. Since his death in 1975 many of his statues have been dismantled, but the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial in Taipei still stands. It is a MASSIVE complex, with two huge performing arts complexes, gardens, a large open courtyard, and the memorial itself. It really is beautiful. The main gate is a gorgeous blue and white, and the performing arts halls have stunning architecture and color. The statue of Chiang himself is very reminiscent of the Lincoln memorial. I think what I like best is that it was obviously a living, breathing, well-used public space. When we were there, high school students were practicing for a break dancing show, practicing in a marching band, and competing in some sort of event involving singing and dancing. It was just a really cool vibe. (Interesting side note, my brother's girlfriend Loran has a grandfather who escaped mainland China with Chaing Kai-shek and came to Taiwan before eventually moving to the US. Pretty cool.)<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8q1AOuqI/AAAAAAAADP8/rGeua6MLvVk/s1600/IMG_3294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8q1AOuqI/AAAAAAAADP8/rGeua6MLvVk/s640/IMG_3294.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>National Concert Hall</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8rhWskfI/AAAAAAAADQA/K8dBxjAl46c/s1600/IMG_3295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8rhWskfI/AAAAAAAADQA/K8dBxjAl46c/s640/IMG_3295.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Love me some corners.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8tQyR9EI/AAAAAAAADQE/ZQ8e1gHSj-w/s1600/IMG_3300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8tQyR9EI/AAAAAAAADQE/ZQ8e1gHSj-w/s640/IMG_3300.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Front of the concert hall.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8ue0gIuI/AAAAAAAADQI/LfiJjptQ-9U/s1600/IMG_3302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8ue0gIuI/AAAAAAAADQI/LfiJjptQ-9U/s640/IMG_3302.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gates to the memorial (it was so windy)!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8v1gAoFI/AAAAAAAADQM/E6kE6R8A4CQ/s1600/IMG_3306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8v1gAoFI/AAAAAAAADQM/E6kE6R8A4CQ/s640/IMG_3306.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tablet above the entrance to the National Concert Hall.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8xRIocFI/AAAAAAAADQQ/nem7ynkrTgM/s1600/IMG_3310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8xRIocFI/AAAAAAAADQQ/nem7ynkrTgM/s640/IMG_3310.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Love the blue and white of the gates.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8yaHok6I/AAAAAAAADQU/kAYYQBlf2Cw/s1600/IMG_3311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8yaHok6I/AAAAAAAADQU/kAYYQBlf2Cw/s640/IMG_3311.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Concert hall with flowers.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8zR6uMkI/AAAAAAAADQY/jCI4bSxmlW0/s1600/IMG_3312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf8zR6uMkI/AAAAAAAADQY/jCI4bSxmlW0/s640/IMG_3312.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Memorial building with toooons of steps.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf80fD1NkI/AAAAAAAADQc/nn9lzbkS0OY/s1600/IMG_3316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf80fD1NkI/AAAAAAAADQc/nn9lzbkS0OY/s640/IMG_3316.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Slovenly dress? I love it.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf81_LfR3I/AAAAAAAADQg/Ia1-IiKAJy0/s1600/IMG_3317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf81_LfR3I/AAAAAAAADQg/Ia1-IiKAJy0/s640/IMG_3317.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Looks very Lincoln-esque.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf83OykwmI/AAAAAAAADQk/mdKBN50jho8/s1600/IMG_3318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf83OykwmI/AAAAAAAADQk/mdKBN50jho8/s640/IMG_3318.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Beautiful ceiling of the memorial.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf84EmcWaI/AAAAAAAADQo/CHH3FW_4DwU/s1600/IMG_3323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf84EmcWaI/AAAAAAAADQo/CHH3FW_4DwU/s640/IMG_3323.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>National Theater.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf86J214-I/AAAAAAAADQs/XOjwgKmyvHw/s1600/IMG_3333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf86J214-I/AAAAAAAADQs/XOjwgKmyvHw/s640/IMG_3333.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Peeking through the wall.</i></div><br />
After leaving the memorial, we headed over to <a href="http://blog.taiwan-guide.org/2009/01/dihua-street-market/">Dihua Street</a>, which was about 30 minutes away from our hostel and suggested by the workers there. This street becomes a lively market every year around Lunar New Year as hundreds of people go there to buy the things they need to celebrate. Since we were there only a week before Lunar New Year, we figured we'd check it out. Um...we stayed for about 2 blocks (10 minutes) before escaping. There were a billion crushing people, and some pretty horrific smells. There is a "delicacy" in Taiwan fondly referred to as "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinky_tofu">stinky tofu</a>." It made me want to die. It was like being punched repeatedly in the face by a smell. It hit you right in the soft palate and was just uncomfortable. We fled the scene and went back to our hostel for an early night of TLC and Discovery Channel shows. Along the way we stopped and got some delicious food. Each person got their own tiny hot pot with meat, tofu, veggies, fish cake, and a plethora of other ingredients, that simmered in broth. Very good.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf924GPGcI/AAAAAAAADQw/NihvgxxAnQg/s1600/IMG_3337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf924GPGcI/AAAAAAAADQw/NihvgxxAnQg/s640/IMG_3337.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dinhua Street. Just be glad I couldn't capture the smell.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf93_lRGWI/AAAAAAAADQ0/DvI9l5o7mgA/s1600/IMG_3339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf93_lRGWI/AAAAAAAADQ0/DvI9l5o7mgA/s640/IMG_3339.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Mmmm, hot pot dinner.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf97kqNG7I/AAAAAAAADQ4/HMv7W-_U-eQ/s1600/IMG_3340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf97kqNG7I/AAAAAAAADQ4/HMv7W-_U-eQ/s640/IMG_3340.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The convenience stores have quite the selection of tea drinks.</i></div><br />
The next morning we headed out bright at early to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101">Taipei 101</a>. Now would be a good time to talk about the weather in Taiwan, I suppose. It rained pretty much the entire time we were in Taipei. And not real rain, just a steady, obnoxious mist that wasn't enough to require an umbrella but was enough to soak your clothes and make everything you own damp. As soon as we got out of Taipei it was beautiful, but in the city it was like we were in a rainforest. Anyway, we got to Taipei 101 and it was very hazy/cloudy. However it was really our only day to go to the top of the world's second tallest building, so we figured we'd do it anyway. We bought our tickets and took the insanely fast elevator to the top. They race at 55.2 m/sec, bringing you 89 floors in under 40 seconds. It is intense. The view from the top was (predictably) hazy, but hey, now I can say I've done it! I bet it is really spectacular on a clear day. It was also pretty fascinating to learn about the wind damper inside...a huge steel ball that keeps the tower from blowing over. They have these cartoon characters called "damper babies" that are little mascots of Taipei 101 (they also share my birthday) so they were pretty cute.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-Rmt8T5I/AAAAAAAADQ8/fuJasR0_wWM/s1600/IMG_3345.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-Rmt8T5I/AAAAAAAADQ8/fuJasR0_wWM/s640/IMG_3345.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Riding into the mist. It is supposed to look like a bamboo shoot. Each section has 8 floors, because 8 is an especially auspicious number.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-TNjCC-I/AAAAAAAADRA/qJBSuC1z9gs/s1600/IMG_3350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-TNjCC-I/AAAAAAAADRA/qJBSuC1z9gs/s640/IMG_3350.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gigantic mall in the base of the tower.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-UtYJ3gI/AAAAAAAADRE/kAzpK7skvQ8/s1600/IMG_3356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-UtYJ3gI/AAAAAAAADRE/kAzpK7skvQ8/s640/IMG_3356.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hazy view of downtown.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-Vrd9q0I/AAAAAAAADRI/uuc_mwHDOLY/s1600/IMG_3358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-Vrd9q0I/AAAAAAAADRI/uuc_mwHDOLY/s640/IMG_3358.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Come ON...that is too cute.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-W6iiqjI/AAAAAAAADRM/oqhHBLAPS4g/s1600/IMG_3362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-W6iiqjI/AAAAAAAADRM/oqhHBLAPS4g/s640/IMG_3362.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This damper baby looks like a bee. (Note that their eyes and mouth are 101.)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-XzTACJI/AAAAAAAADRQ/riO3D_m1wzM/s1600/IMG_3367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-XzTACJI/AAAAAAAADRQ/riO3D_m1wzM/s640/IMG_3367.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The actual wind damper. It looks like an alien spaceship.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-YidD9sI/AAAAAAAADRU/hSuY3J921eE/s1600/IMG_3369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-YidD9sI/AAAAAAAADRU/hSuY3J921eE/s640/IMG_3369.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Another damper baby wants to hold my hand!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-aNazgUI/AAAAAAAADRY/xXMhV2_Dyiw/s1600/IMG_3370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-aNazgUI/AAAAAAAADRY/xXMhV2_Dyiw/s640/IMG_3370.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Taiwan is a huge supplier of coral. This was an insane carving being sold in Taipei 101.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-bJwXTtI/AAAAAAAADRc/eRGFKilJMZs/s1600/IMG_3373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-bJwXTtI/AAAAAAAADRc/eRGFKilJMZs/s640/IMG_3373.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So...wait...I SHOULDN'T pee on the floor?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-cXSzP4I/AAAAAAAADRg/VOR2tGJxijY/s1600/IMG_3376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-cXSzP4I/AAAAAAAADRg/VOR2tGJxijY/s640/IMG_3376.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Happy year of the rabbit!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-dOup6UI/AAAAAAAADRk/iPl0XYmh58I/s1600/IMG_3378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf-dOup6UI/AAAAAAAADRk/iPl0XYmh58I/s640/IMG_3378.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>HAHAHA, I love these signs in the Taipei metro.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>That morning we hopped back on the metro and headed down to the Taipei Zoo. That thing is HUGE. I would say it is easily as large as the DC Zoo, and I was pleasantly surprised by the size and quality of the enclosures for the animals. It was one of the more pleasing trips I've taken to a zoo or aquarium in recent memory (aside from the enjoyment I took from seeing that sad, captive whaleshark). After spending over four hours walking around at the zoo we jumped on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maokong_Gondola">Maokong Gondola</a>. I figured this would be a quick, bottom of the mountain, top of the mountain, and back down trip, but it is really an extensive thing that goes to multiple stops, up and down, covering a few mountains. It was pretty sweet (and only cost about $3 round trip!) and we wanted to go back during the day for better views, but that just never happened. As it was we got a unique, pretty view of Taipei at night, and thankfully only had to put up with a gross Chinese couple and their mom for the ride up.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_iQx6NzI/AAAAAAAADRo/5Abw5DgjdRc/s1600/IMG_3421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_iQx6NzI/AAAAAAAADRo/5Abw5DgjdRc/s640/IMG_3421.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Self explanatory, dontcha think?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_j16rxMI/AAAAAAAADRs/NkBIEz1HyJI/s1600/IMG_3380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_j16rxMI/AAAAAAAADRs/NkBIEz1HyJI/s640/IMG_3380.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Entrance to the zoo.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_mId7ToI/AAAAAAAADRw/7om-Oi0mm00/s1600/IMG_3381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_mId7ToI/AAAAAAAADRw/7om-Oi0mm00/s640/IMG_3381.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Carin with her dinosaur friend.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_nsQiipI/AAAAAAAADR0/yTQKbig1rzc/s1600/IMG_3387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_nsQiipI/AAAAAAAADR0/yTQKbig1rzc/s640/IMG_3387.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Macaque monkeys are indigenous to the island.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_pB1ebuI/AAAAAAAADR4/8r34Gb2HAY0/s1600/IMG_3393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_pB1ebuI/AAAAAAAADR4/8r34Gb2HAY0/s640/IMG_3393.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Butterflies!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_quOfijI/AAAAAAAADR8/acuMl1uewFM/s1600/IMG_3406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_quOfijI/AAAAAAAADR8/acuMl1uewFM/s640/IMG_3406.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The last thing anyone wants is a lemur pooping on their head.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_sIt6phI/AAAAAAAADSA/1xewxvqyaSM/s1600/IMG_3411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_sIt6phI/AAAAAAAADSA/1xewxvqyaSM/s640/IMG_3411.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Adorable...and not the last time I took a photo of cute Chinese kids unbeknownst to their families.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_sqpvO6I/AAAAAAAADSE/EFHVxZzIRMA/s1600/IMG_3419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_sqpvO6I/AAAAAAAADSE/EFHVxZzIRMA/s640/IMG_3419.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Giant panda in its homeland...sort of.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_tdiramI/AAAAAAAADSI/nDuYG11BDD4/s1600/IMG_3422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUf_tdiramI/AAAAAAAADSI/nDuYG11BDD4/s640/IMG_3422.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Their faces are hilarious to me.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBAvO53fI/AAAAAAAADSM/zN2G6_XuK-Y/s1600/IMG_3423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBAvO53fI/AAAAAAAADSM/zN2G6_XuK-Y/s640/IMG_3423.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our gondola was complete with a see-through floor...which sadly didn't help much in the dark.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBBx5kKcI/AAAAAAAADSQ/rwT-vqbDSrM/s1600/IMG_3426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBBx5kKcI/AAAAAAAADSQ/rwT-vqbDSrM/s640/IMG_3426.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cheesin'</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBCRGkUeI/AAAAAAAADSU/K6GzvlE6prY/s1600/IMG_3432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBCRGkUeI/AAAAAAAADSU/K6GzvlE6prY/s640/IMG_3432.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Taipei by night. See that really tall building on the right? Taipei 101.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div>To finish off our long day of touristiness by going to <a href="http://www.dintaifungusa.com/">Din Tai Fung</a>, which was recommended by my SAS friend Sue Lee, who lived in Taiwan for two years (and has lots of family there). It did not disappoint. We got a few different kind of soup dumplings, some noodles, and steamed buns. All were delicious and extremely affordable. The first was a given, but the second was a surprise since Din Tai Fung was chosen as one of NY Times' best restaurants worldwide. Delicious. We went home stuffed and happy.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBZyfDt0I/AAAAAAAADSY/k4OBspnkODI/s1600/IMG_3437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBZyfDt0I/AAAAAAAADSY/k4OBspnkODI/s640/IMG_3437.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Necessary) directions for how to eat soup dumplings.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBah5NYHI/AAAAAAAADSc/F75RS_q3mjs/s1600/IMG_3438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBah5NYHI/AAAAAAAADSc/F75RS_q3mjs/s640/IMG_3438.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So delicious.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBcedhFVI/AAAAAAAADSg/doCyQtXvqW0/s1600/IMG_3439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgBcedhFVI/AAAAAAAADSg/doCyQtXvqW0/s640/IMG_3439.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Time to dig in!</i></div><br />
Monday morning we got up and took the metro over to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengjia_Longshan_Temple">Mengjia Longshan Temple</a>. In Taiwan there are basically three types of temples: Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian. The Taoist are extremely decorative, the Buddhist moderately so, and the Confucian are the most simple. I guess I've never seen a Taoist temple, because I was blown away. They were so intricately carved and painted...absolutely beautiful. Most of you who know me know I have a thing for the corners of Asian buildings...I LOVE THEM...and these temples did not disappoint. The temple was very busy with worshipers preparing for Lunar New Year by praying, leaving offerings, and generally just getting the temple decorated and ready. And, of course, the ever present smell of sandalwood incense, which I absolutely love. There were also many people throwing bei (crescent shaped wood pieces that are used for telling fortunes) but we weren't really sure what was going on. More on that later.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB0lFj9pI/AAAAAAAADSo/SkuufSyRURc/s1600/IMG_3443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB0lFj9pI/AAAAAAAADSo/SkuufSyRURc/s640/IMG_3443.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Longshan Temple.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB2er2w1I/AAAAAAAADSs/lYFZ6UpfbcM/s1600/IMG_3445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB2er2w1I/AAAAAAAADSs/lYFZ6UpfbcM/s640/IMG_3445.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Strike a pose. Man I need to get some sun in Bali!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB4DQgcnI/AAAAAAAADSw/Q0vuGQVioco/s1600/IMG_3452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB4DQgcnI/AAAAAAAADSw/Q0vuGQVioco/s640/IMG_3452.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Interesting vase holding a potted plant.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB50Egk7I/AAAAAAAADS0/5tikCxM9MTk/s1600/IMG_3455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB50Egk7I/AAAAAAAADS0/5tikCxM9MTk/s640/IMG_3455.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Offerings all set up.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB6xYcYlI/AAAAAAAADS4/Lrw9y2Nd_Rg/s1600/IMG_3459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB6xYcYlI/AAAAAAAADS4/Lrw9y2Nd_Rg/s640/IMG_3459.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dragon represents the male, and phoenix represents the female.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB8isdfII/AAAAAAAADS8/4PgsdOu-ZpM/s1600/IMG_3460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB8isdfII/AAAAAAAADS8/4PgsdOu-ZpM/s640/IMG_3460.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Offerings and incense and worshiping, OH MY.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB-I8gWbI/AAAAAAAADTA/gamDtvmU7iE/s1600/IMG_3464.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB-I8gWbI/AAAAAAAADTA/gamDtvmU7iE/s640/IMG_3464.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from behind the altar.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB_U-2Q1I/AAAAAAAADTE/US_lVgzPSTY/s1600/IMG_3470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgB_U-2Q1I/AAAAAAAADTE/US_lVgzPSTY/s640/IMG_3470.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hallway along the side of the temple.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgCAyAo6oI/AAAAAAAADTI/KxfCVzYkkyE/s1600/IMG_3475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgCAyAo6oI/AAAAAAAADTI/KxfCVzYkkyE/s640/IMG_3475.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Getting all decked out for Chinese New Year.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgCC0cQJ6I/AAAAAAAADTM/8Gt5T5lf_8A/s1600/IMG_3484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgCC0cQJ6I/AAAAAAAADTM/8Gt5T5lf_8A/s640/IMG_3484.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lush dragon fountain on the grounds of the temple.</i></div><br />
After we finished at the temple, we took the long route to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ximending">Ximending pedestrian shopping area</a>, passing the high court and presidential office. Ximen is a youthful area that really reminded me of Myeongdong in Seoul. Lots of shops and stores and restaurants, so it helps that it was closed to pedestrians. We tried to visit the Red House market and performance area, but it was closed on Mondays (as were many things), so we missed out. Carin and I walked around for a bit and then settled into a restaurant where we had a VERY tasty noodle lunch. We took the subway back to Star Hostel and relaxed for a bit before heading up to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shilin_Night_Market">Shilin Night Market</a>. The night market is a bustling area that sells "anything you could ever want to buy, pet, or eat" according to a description I read. We bought some fantastic street food and wandered around for a bit. It was here that I was first introduced to cold milk tea and I fell in love with it. But none of that tapioca business. So good. Most menus in Taipei had English on them, so it was pretty easy to order. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDOQZOgHI/AAAAAAAADTQ/Y-bGFsN8AVw/s1600/IMG_3490.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDOQZOgHI/AAAAAAAADTQ/Y-bGFsN8AVw/s640/IMG_3490.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pretty palm trees dot the city.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDPg0Y7HI/AAAAAAAADTU/g07pRRV96oI/s1600/IMG_3491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDPg0Y7HI/AAAAAAAADTU/g07pRRV96oI/s640/IMG_3491.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>High court building...made me miss DC.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDQ4rzyuI/AAAAAAAADTY/gySjtrJd39s/s1600/IMG_3494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDQ4rzyuI/AAAAAAAADTY/gySjtrJd39s/s640/IMG_3494.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Presidential Office.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDSrXshbI/AAAAAAAADTc/yqtJsjfubWo/s1600/IMG_3497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDSrXshbI/AAAAAAAADTc/yqtJsjfubWo/s640/IMG_3497.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I think he just works here and lives somewhere else.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDT3MKACI/AAAAAAAADTg/BYAN_5ViEFc/s1600/IMG_3499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDT3MKACI/AAAAAAAADTg/BYAN_5ViEFc/s640/IMG_3499.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ximending. Complete with craptons of scooters.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDVRBCLtI/AAAAAAAADTk/m5yv-TteG9c/s1600/IMG_3501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDVRBCLtI/AAAAAAAADTk/m5yv-TteG9c/s640/IMG_3501.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Mmm, noodley goodness.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDYBzs9BI/AAAAAAAADTo/1sCNem68h1s/s1600/IMG_3502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDYBzs9BI/AAAAAAAADTo/1sCNem68h1s/s640/IMG_3502.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pedestrian shopping area in Ximending.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDY9pemVI/AAAAAAAADTs/nt5p9fspl08/s1600/IMG_3507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDY9pemVI/AAAAAAAADTs/nt5p9fspl08/s640/IMG_3507.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The cutest donut I've ever eaten. Thanks, Mister Donut.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDaELBTxI/AAAAAAAADTw/hOnLaxz31Ds/s1600/IMG_3508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDaELBTxI/AAAAAAAADTw/hOnLaxz31Ds/s640/IMG_3508.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Streets near Shilin.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDayTT-3I/AAAAAAAADT0/7WpX5qtdIaA/s1600/IMG_3510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDayTT-3I/AAAAAAAADT0/7WpX5qtdIaA/s640/IMG_3510.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One alley at the night market.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDcpA9ikI/AAAAAAAADT4/l1D9rGA67pc/s1600/IMG_3514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDcpA9ikI/AAAAAAAADT4/l1D9rGA67pc/s640/IMG_3514.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Temple in the middle of everything.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDel7D-nI/AAAAAAAADT8/hbg_Plpgl6o/s1600/IMG_3516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDel7D-nI/AAAAAAAADT8/hbg_Plpgl6o/s640/IMG_3516.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>You can pray and eat within the space of 2 steps.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDgOiMW1I/AAAAAAAADUA/f55K61LkjjQ/s1600/IMG_3517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDgOiMW1I/AAAAAAAADUA/f55K61LkjjQ/s640/IMG_3517.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Amazingly tasty fried squid on a windy night.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDiF7r1zI/AAAAAAAADUE/WBROhdhFpFc/s1600/IMG_3518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDiF7r1zI/AAAAAAAADUE/WBROhdhFpFc/s640/IMG_3518.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Look, Mom, no refrigeration. AND we ate it. AND we didn't get sick.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDjWL7hiI/AAAAAAAADUI/_cCyWfR7PJ0/s1600/IMG_3519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgDjWL7hiI/AAAAAAAADUI/_cCyWfR7PJ0/s640/IMG_3519.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>What could "Mungbean Tears Mouthfeel" POSSIBLY BE?!</i></div><br />
After we had our fill of the night market, Carin and I headed back towards the subway. Along the way we stumbled upon <a href="http://www.moderntoilet.com.tw/en/about.asp">Modern Toilet</a>, an absolutely ridiculous restaurant that is apparently part of a chain of 12 around Taiwan. The theme is...you guessed it...toilets. You can get all sorts of food and drinks served in ceramic toilets, squat toilets, urinals, bath tubs, and sinks. All the seats are toilets with festive lids. The tables are made of covered sinks and bathtubs. It is utterly absurd, and so entertaining.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFq4xRH6I/AAAAAAAADUM/fwfmuSDR4CA/s1600/IMG_3523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFq4xRH6I/AAAAAAAADUM/fwfmuSDR4CA/s640/IMG_3523.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Comfy seats?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFsJzswjI/AAAAAAAADUQ/vj6tttDO46I/s1600/IMG_3524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFsJzswjI/AAAAAAAADUQ/vj6tttDO46I/s640/IMG_3524.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>What delicious dish would YOU like to eat out of a toilet?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFsywLpXI/AAAAAAAADUU/YfU8xUqVQKU/s1600/IMG_3526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFsywLpXI/AAAAAAAADUU/YfU8xUqVQKU/s640/IMG_3526.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The metal accents really add a touch of class.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFt9gUAqI/AAAAAAAADUY/6ROnJ6-mxUU/s1600/IMG_3528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFt9gUAqI/AAAAAAAADUY/6ROnJ6-mxUU/s640/IMG_3528.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Menu.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFuwFr6lI/AAAAAAAADUc/pnyIfnfcXeA/s1600/IMG_3531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFuwFr6lI/AAAAAAAADUc/pnyIfnfcXeA/s640/IMG_3531.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Coke tastes more refreshing when sipped out of a urinal.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFvwonhrI/AAAAAAAADUg/DT_OQrvkS0E/s1600/IMG_3534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFvwonhrI/AAAAAAAADUg/DT_OQrvkS0E/s640/IMG_3534.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Patbingsu (shaved ice with toppings) from a squat toilet? Carin is in!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFxbazUKI/AAAAAAAADUk/QNhW6BPDGL8/s1600/IMG_3535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFxbazUKI/AAAAAAAADUk/QNhW6BPDGL8/s640/IMG_3535.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>What a strange place.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFyulpFdI/AAAAAAAADUo/KIEkJXNl8zk/s1600/IMG_3536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgFyulpFdI/AAAAAAAADUo/KIEkJXNl8zk/s640/IMG_3536.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>But you have to admit the decorations are fun.</i></div><br />
Tuesday morning we bought bus tickets, at some fantastic western brunch at NYC Bagels, and headed down to Tainan. I had talked to a girl teaching English in Tainan through the CouchSurfing website before we left, and she had given us the (invaluable) advice to take the bus instead of the train. The bus takes about 4.5 hours (versus 2.5 on the train) and costs about $13 (versus $40 on the train). However, these are unlike what you think of when you hear "bus." The seats were huge and comfy, and had remotes that controlled the recline, foot rests, and head rests. Each seat had its own TV, complete with games, movies, TV, and music on demand. There were eight English movie options and I ended up watching a really excellent horror movie called Carriers. The trip flew by.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgGmOvT_7I/AAAAAAAADUs/OmBBJsWmNdQ/s1600/IMG_3543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgGmOvT_7I/AAAAAAAADUs/OmBBJsWmNdQ/s640/IMG_3543.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The seats were awesome!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>When we arrived in Tainan we took a taxi to <a href="http://www.travellerspoint.com/accommodation/53766-Iris-Tower-Hostel/">Iris' Tower Hostel</a>, where we were staying that night. We stayed in a four-bed mixed dorm room with one other guy from Germany. The hostel is brand new, just opened last August, and was very quiet because there were only a few of us there. We dropped off our stuff and then headed out to explore and enjoy the warm Taiwanese sunshine. Who knew it existed!? Our first stop, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tainan_Confucian_Temple">Tainan Confucian Temple</a>. After missing some landmarks on our map we actually thought that the temple was another site, but thankfully read a sign before walking off into oblivion. The temple was all decorated for the new year with pretty red lanterns. There were lots of people walking around and enjoying the weather.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHTUdj5pI/AAAAAAAADUw/i6I7z1ti35E/s1600/IMG_3551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHTUdj5pI/AAAAAAAADUw/i6I7z1ti35E/s640/IMG_3551.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tree on the grounds of the Confucian Temple.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHVLUAdaI/AAAAAAAADU0/NKop8K2Z7OI/s1600/IMG_3554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHVLUAdaI/AAAAAAAADU0/NKop8K2Z7OI/s640/IMG_3554.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Main building of the temple.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHVvShURI/AAAAAAAADU4/20pR-rE813w/s1600/IMG_3555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHVvShURI/AAAAAAAADU4/20pR-rE813w/s640/IMG_3555.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fun and simple temple topper.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHWisVVWI/AAAAAAAADU8/wZgvhvez200/s1600/IMG_3557.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHWisVVWI/AAAAAAAADU8/wZgvhvez200/s640/IMG_3557.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Awesome.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHYXTNYJI/AAAAAAAADVA/xsmpMMlO3nw/s1600/IMG_3559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHYXTNYJI/AAAAAAAADVA/xsmpMMlO3nw/s640/IMG_3559.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Roof support beams.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHZpEfJdI/AAAAAAAADVE/46ehx-4SUQo/s1600/IMG_3560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgHZpEfJdI/AAAAAAAADVE/46ehx-4SUQo/s640/IMG_3560.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fun lighting.</i></div><br />
After the Confucian Temple we walked passed the Taiwan Literature Museum and continued on to Tiantan, which claims to be the oldest temple in Taiwan. It is tucked back into a little alley and quite intricately carved and painted. We looked around for a bit and then headed to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chihkan_Tower">Fort Provintia</a>, with its famous Chihkan Tower. This fort was originally built by the Dutch when they colonized Taiwan in the 1600s, but was later surrendered to the Chinese forces. It was very pretty as the sun set on the beautiful architecture and colorful flowers.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgH-MLs4OI/AAAAAAAADVI/i00xsELzl0g/s1600/IMG_3567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgH-MLs4OI/AAAAAAAADVI/i00xsELzl0g/s640/IMG_3567.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tiantan Temple.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgH_im1T0I/AAAAAAAADVM/OGPFLK_lPfM/s1600/IMG_3570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgH_im1T0I/AAAAAAAADVM/OGPFLK_lPfM/s640/IMG_3570.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The altar.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIAm0_bvI/AAAAAAAADVQ/4wQDzAYy3F8/s1600/IMG_3572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIAm0_bvI/AAAAAAAADVQ/4wQDzAYy3F8/s640/IMG_3572.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fun decorated tower that was part of the temple.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIBwkV7VI/AAAAAAAADVU/3G2s1wlbWL8/s1600/IMG_3573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIBwkV7VI/AAAAAAAADVU/3G2s1wlbWL8/s640/IMG_3573.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fort Provintia and/or Chihkan Tower.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIDDjfYDI/AAAAAAAADVY/HxfBbKnCIQY/s1600/IMG_3574.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIDDjfYDI/AAAAAAAADVY/HxfBbKnCIQY/s640/IMG_3574.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chihkan Tower</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIEWkfKeI/AAAAAAAADVc/lLQFn32FjTQ/s1600/IMG_3578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIEWkfKeI/AAAAAAAADVc/lLQFn32FjTQ/s640/IMG_3578.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>There are flowers and sunlight in Taiwan!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIFyAR8rI/AAAAAAAADVg/4BAw4KJmRug/s1600/IMG_3579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIFyAR8rI/AAAAAAAADVg/4BAw4KJmRug/s640/IMG_3579.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Amongst the foliage.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIH4yrb3I/AAAAAAAADVk/6vtfKYv-CbE/s1600/IMG_3586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIH4yrb3I/AAAAAAAADVk/6vtfKYv-CbE/s640/IMG_3586.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Colorful koi.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIJkPZh_I/AAAAAAAADVo/IHgJXsqhcT0/s1600/IMG_3588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgIJkPZh_I/AAAAAAAADVo/IHgJXsqhcT0/s640/IMG_3588.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I loved the colors of the building as the sun started to set.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgILo-d5MI/AAAAAAAADVs/jwD33KepZpw/s1600/IMG_3590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgILo-d5MI/AAAAAAAADVs/jwD33KepZpw/s640/IMG_3590.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the top of the temple to the sea gods.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgINAktYqI/AAAAAAAADVw/i9SFG4N3PDM/s1600/IMG_3591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgINAktYqI/AAAAAAAADVw/i9SFG4N3PDM/s640/IMG_3591.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Overlooking Tainan.</i></div><br />
That night we went back to the hostel and asked them to direct us to a local restaurant with good food. Epic fail. Haha. They gave us vague directions and a paper with the name of the restaurant written in Chinese. They claimed it was close, so we figured we should be able to match the name on our paper to the sign of the restaurant. We were terrible at it. Even with such memory aides as "Ok, it is three characters. The first is a square with a seven balanced on it. The last is two e's facing each other." We looked around for a while, asked for directions twice (no one spoke English) and got completely different directions, and eventually we just gave up. We found a restaurant were we recognized a single word, "mutton," and we ate there. It was quite tasty. On the way back to the hostel I spotted our sign. Oh well. For dessert we enjoyed some milk tea from "Jurassic Tea," which had a delightful dinosaur theme (which blatantly violated Jurassic Park copyrights).<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgJxiAg5HI/AAAAAAAADV0/L2Mz8R0Wjcc/s1600/IMG_3597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgJxiAg5HI/AAAAAAAADV0/L2Mz8R0Wjcc/s640/IMG_3597.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lunar New Year store was an explosion of red and gold.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgJzDrab3I/AAAAAAAADV4/uzhIXnDhLV4/s1600/IMG_3601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgJzDrab3I/AAAAAAAADV4/uzhIXnDhLV4/s640/IMG_3601.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Mutton!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgJ0HwZuLI/AAAAAAAADV8/rQqEglNZ7og/s1600/IMG_3604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgJ0HwZuLI/AAAAAAAADV8/rQqEglNZ7og/s640/IMG_3604.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>They could make a really awesome commercial with a cup of tea shuddering like that cup of water in Jurassic Park.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgJ00FgluI/AAAAAAAADWA/ulV5gPWIhpI/s1600/IMG_3605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgJ00FgluI/AAAAAAAADWA/ulV5gPWIhpI/s640/IMG_3605.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>& Enjoy I will.</i></div><br />
That morning we struck off early in hopes of getting a lot done/seen before our bus back to Taipei left that afternoon. We started by heading out to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anping_District">Anping</a>, which is an adorable, charming little district in Tainan. It was originally built to house the colonists there from the Dutch East India Trading Company. We started our morning by visiting the former home of <a href="http://tainancity.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/tait-and-company-and-the-anping-treehouse/">Tait & Company</a>, a trading company that did business when European traders controlled Tainan. One of the major attractions here is an old warehouse that has been taken over by a bunch of banyan trees. It is SLIGHTLY reminiscent of <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/S5NhbyuhfQI/AAAAAAAABPQ/EhjXsxroQJA/s1600-h/ta+prohm.jpg">Ta Prohm</a> in Cambodia, but on a much smaller, younger scale, haha. There were lots of cute kids there who said hi to us in their fledgling English. Next we went over to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Zeelandia_(Taiwan)">Fort Zeelandia</a>, which was also built by traders when Taiwan was still Formosa (it means beautiful in Portuguese). The grounds were quite pretty with lots of big trees and flowers.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgL7BSxASI/AAAAAAAADWE/5_-5b4NijLY/s1600/IMG_3611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgL7BSxASI/AAAAAAAADWE/5_-5b4NijLY/s640/IMG_3611.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One of the buildings in the "Anping Treehouse."</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgL9c0HrwI/AAAAAAAADWI/p5b2_OMSNZk/s1600/IMG_3614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgL9c0HrwI/AAAAAAAADWI/p5b2_OMSNZk/s640/IMG_3614.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Canopy overhead.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgL-5_rgbI/AAAAAAAADWM/S6Ve4UlyAcA/s1600/IMG_3616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgL-5_rgbI/AAAAAAAADWM/S6Ve4UlyAcA/s640/IMG_3616.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Climbin' in yo windows, snatchin' yo people up. So hide ya kids, hide ya wife.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMBEjxMAI/AAAAAAAADWQ/44IbKWOXxNQ/s1600/IMG_3630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMBEjxMAI/AAAAAAAADWQ/44IbKWOXxNQ/s640/IMG_3630.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Not quite as impressive as Cambodia...</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMCpFu91I/AAAAAAAADWU/jlhjV0yFk_Y/s1600/IMG_3632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMCpFu91I/AAAAAAAADWU/jlhjV0yFk_Y/s640/IMG_3632.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Old Tait & Company building.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMETOo7EI/AAAAAAAADWY/8IQgzu_6qOY/s1600/IMG_3634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMETOo7EI/AAAAAAAADWY/8IQgzu_6qOY/s640/IMG_3634.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tower at Fort Zeelandia.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMFxJYE8I/AAAAAAAADWc/Z2BUGs8pVBw/s1600/IMG_3637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMFxJYE8I/AAAAAAAADWc/Z2BUGs8pVBw/s640/IMG_3637.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tree towering over the fort's walls.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMGh3TtvI/AAAAAAAADWg/93tBDEKU4YE/s1600/IMG_3641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMGh3TtvI/AAAAAAAADWg/93tBDEKU4YE/s640/IMG_3641.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Crazy staircase up the tower...with Carin at the top.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMHlf-yEI/AAAAAAAADWk/wKqJwIG_xnk/s1600/IMG_3644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMHlf-yEI/AAAAAAAADWk/wKqJwIG_xnk/s640/IMG_3644.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Wouldn't be Korean if I didn't take a selca.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMJZorGeI/AAAAAAAADWo/vpg0oHxVqwc/s1600/IMG_3649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMJZorGeI/AAAAAAAADWo/vpg0oHxVqwc/s640/IMG_3649.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fort walls.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMLAK-r0I/AAAAAAAADWs/ndU1j5KnHhc/s1600/IMG_3651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgMLAK-r0I/AAAAAAAADWs/ndU1j5KnHhc/s640/IMG_3651.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Downtown Anping.</i></div><br />
By that time it was time to head back to downtown Tainan and walk back to our hotel. We grabbed our bags and hopped on the next bus to Taipei. Once again it was very comfortable, and I split my time between watching movies and napping. We got back to Taipei around 6:45pm after hitting some traffic, and hopped on the metro to go down to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xindian_District">Xindian</a>, a district that was recently incorporated into southern Taipei. Carin and I had decided to take the leap and try our hand at <a href="http://www.couchsurfing.org/">CouchSurfing</a> for the first time. Basically, CouthSurfing is an internet community where people go to either host or find hosts as they travel. It is a free place to stay, with the idea that you pay back your hosts with interesting conversation, skills you have, etc. We had found Samantha Wu and her husband David online and they had a ton of good reviews, so we decided to try it out. Samantha is Taiwanese, and David is a New Yorker who is fluent in Chinese and has spent half of his life in Taiwan. He does independent contracting for translation services and has his hands in a few other pots as well. They are avid runners and cyclers who compete in marathons and triathlons. They have a big apartment, two cats, and are a very interesting couple.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgN_Z6s3dI/AAAAAAAADWw/mz5SVqG1KMk/s1600/IMG_3661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgN_Z6s3dI/AAAAAAAADWw/mz5SVqG1KMk/s640/IMG_3661.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Samantha and David's apartment complex.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOBd2oCjI/AAAAAAAADW0/_5cytrK5nWA/s1600/IMG_3886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOBd2oCjI/AAAAAAAADW0/_5cytrK5nWA/s640/IMG_3886.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from their balcony.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgODcE1HvI/AAAAAAAADW4/sL95pL3iMKE/s1600/IMG_3657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgODcE1HvI/AAAAAAAADW4/sL95pL3iMKE/s640/IMG_3657.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Xiao Hong getting comfy on Carin's lap.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOFOQF6zI/AAAAAAAADW8/xRI2-V6JrR8/s1600/IMG_3658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOFOQF6zI/AAAAAAAADW8/xRI2-V6JrR8/s640/IMG_3658.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Xindian streets.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOHL2wWvI/AAAAAAAADXA/m_FaACtrsHk/s1600/IMG_3663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOHL2wWvI/AAAAAAAADXA/m_FaACtrsHk/s640/IMG_3663.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Another Xindian street.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOIAZNkBI/AAAAAAAADXE/6QXCJZVxsmw/s1600/IMG_3883.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOIAZNkBI/AAAAAAAADXE/6QXCJZVxsmw/s640/IMG_3883.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This is Xiao Hong, which means Little Orange. He was super friendly and wanted to be in our room (where he wasn't supposed to be) constantly.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOJrZq7HI/AAAAAAAADXI/NGq-N7k7S1c/s1600/IMG_3884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOJrZq7HI/AAAAAAAADXI/NGq-N7k7S1c/s640/IMG_3884.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This is Xiao Hui, whose name means Little Gray. He was significantly more anti-social than his brother.</i></div><br />
Samantha met us at the station and we trekked up the steep hill and four sets of steps to their apartment to drop off our stuff. Then she took us out to a local restaurant (David met us there) where we got fantastic beef noodles, one of the dishes Taiwan is known for. Then we indulged in some conversation and watched Born Into Brothels with them before hitting the sheets. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOsEn50vI/AAAAAAAADXM/CMiQRuw5gMQ/s1600/IMG_3654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgOsEn50vI/AAAAAAAADXM/CMiQRuw5gMQ/s640/IMG_3654.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Beef noodles and dumplings. Cheap, delicious, local food.</i></div><br />
The next morning we had planned to go back out to Maokong Gondola, but David and Samantha didn't think we had time to get out there and back before our afternoon tour. Instead we all went out to breakfast at a local steamed bun restaurant that was TO DIE FOR. So good. Then David went off to work and Samantha took us across the river (on a very pretty suspension foot bridge) to a Taoist temple. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgO7u0VprI/AAAAAAAADXQ/Lf91szVafsY/s1600/IMG_3659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgO7u0VprI/AAAAAAAADXQ/Lf91szVafsY/s640/IMG_3659.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Mmm...fillings included pork, bamboo, cabbage, red beans, and other delicacies. </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgO8vBjWlI/AAAAAAAADXU/LawbMQ8EHWo/s1600/IMG_3660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgO8vBjWlI/AAAAAAAADXU/LawbMQ8EHWo/s640/IMG_3660.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Delicious breakfast.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgO-BRRMcI/AAAAAAAADXY/7bywXayrsCg/s1600/IMG_3665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgO-BRRMcI/AAAAAAAADXY/7bywXayrsCg/s640/IMG_3665.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>River off the right side of the bridge (complete with swan boats).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgO_cMIaWI/AAAAAAAADXc/_xkoONwef4M/s1600/IMG_3666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgO_cMIaWI/AAAAAAAADXc/_xkoONwef4M/s640/IMG_3666.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>River off the left side of the bridge (complete with outdoor concert area).</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>After a bit of a hike, we arrived at Taiping Temple. Samantha then proceeded to let us know exactly how you are supposed to worship. First of all, you always enter the temple on the right and work your way to the top before coming down the left side. When you first enter the temple, there is a set of sandalwood incense sticks, a burner, and a sign letting you know how many altars there are at that particular temple. At this one, there were seven, so we each took seven sticks of incense and lit them. Each altar is for a specific god in charge of a specific aspect of your life. There are some you ask for love, some that oversee prosperity or work opportunities, and others that are in charge of travel and health. You go up to each alter, mentally tell the god who you are and where you are from, and then ask for what you desire. After you are done, you bow and place the incense into the burner in front of the altar. This is repeated at each of the seven altars. By the time we made it to the top floor we had a beautiful view of the whole temple complex and the detailed carvings of the roof. It was very cool. Then we worked our way back down to the ground floor, dispensing of all seven incense sticks. Back in front of the main altar we were given the chance to use the bei that we had seen in action at Longshan Temple. Near the altar there is a vase filled with sticks with carvings on them. You have someone shake the container and you choose a stick at random. Then you pick up two bei, which are little crescent shaped pieces of wood that are painted red on their rounded side. Holding the carved stick in your hand, you ask the god a question, and then drop the bei. If both bei land face up, the question cannot be answered at that time. If both bei land face down, the answer is not favorable and you need to choose a new stick. If one bei is face up and one bei is face down, you have the correct stick. I had to go through 3 sticks before I got one that gave me a favorable result, but Carin got it on her second. You take your stick over to this little cabinet that has a bunch of drawers, and open the one corresponding to the carvings on your stick. Inside are little slips of paper with a fortune on it (written in Chinese). There is also a separate book that tells you how to interpret the fortunes. It was pretty fascinating (though it turned out to not be super accurate...) and very cool to have participated in. (Read more about a day at a temple <a href="http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xitem=53&ctnode=1372&mp=1">here</a>.) While I don't think I'm really a CouchSurfing person, I think there were some definite benefits to staying with locals. We never would have eaten the delicious local food we did, nor been able to go through the temple if we hadn't had someone with us. So that was great.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPl4QQFNI/AAAAAAAADXg/29bJn4b2eq4/s1600/IMG_3670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPl4QQFNI/AAAAAAAADXg/29bJn4b2eq4/s640/IMG_3670.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Awesome dragon.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPnQfv4AI/AAAAAAAADXk/0oUeW4daFmk/s1600/IMG_3673.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPnQfv4AI/AAAAAAAADXk/0oUeW4daFmk/s640/IMG_3673.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Looking out over Xindian.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPoayFBEI/AAAAAAAADXo/AhsGU8cf8b0/s1600/IMG_3675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPoayFBEI/AAAAAAAADXo/AhsGU8cf8b0/s640/IMG_3675.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our host, Samantha.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPrL1jJ4I/AAAAAAAADXs/csgGRgezMzc/s1600/IMG_3678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPrL1jJ4I/AAAAAAAADXs/csgGRgezMzc/s640/IMG_3678.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Very cool view of the temple complex.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPssNmusI/AAAAAAAADXw/SW8fQqyYvhY/s1600/IMG_3679.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPssNmusI/AAAAAAAADXw/SW8fQqyYvhY/s640/IMG_3679.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dragon side.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPuSSIj-I/AAAAAAAADX0/25BMPi4CVJY/s1600/IMG_3681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPuSSIj-I/AAAAAAAADX0/25BMPi4CVJY/s640/IMG_3681.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Phoenix side.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPvSTSd2I/AAAAAAAADX4/un9RqqJLZ_s/s1600/IMG_3684.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPvSTSd2I/AAAAAAAADX4/un9RqqJLZ_s/s640/IMG_3684.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carin and I with the phoenix.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPwoUpvUI/AAAAAAAADX8/DY-7Bh21miQ/s1600/IMG_3685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPwoUpvUI/AAAAAAAADX8/DY-7Bh21miQ/s640/IMG_3685.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Incense burning.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPx8gDEAI/AAAAAAAADYA/pI70HioQurs/s1600/IMG_3688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPx8gDEAI/AAAAAAAADYA/pI70HioQurs/s640/IMG_3688.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This is the sign that tells you how many incense sticks to take, and burners to light them.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPyhsmJbI/AAAAAAAADYE/CHpeknigrVc/s1600/IMG_3689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgPyhsmJbI/AAAAAAAADYE/CHpeknigrVc/s640/IMG_3689.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Decorating for Lunar New Year.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgP0LjwN5I/AAAAAAAADYI/kDRU1ctYy0A/s1600/IMG_3692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgP0LjwN5I/AAAAAAAADYI/kDRU1ctYy0A/s640/IMG_3692.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fortune sticks.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgP1OU5KLI/AAAAAAAADYM/qtRlSp3oEKo/s1600/IMG_3693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgP1OU5KLI/AAAAAAAADYM/qtRlSp3oEKo/s640/IMG_3693.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Bei.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgP2lkRbcI/AAAAAAAADYQ/te2pnley_0g/s1600/IMG_3695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgP2lkRbcI/AAAAAAAADYQ/te2pnley_0g/s640/IMG_3695.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>All the fortunes are in this cabinet.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgP3xUy0kI/AAAAAAAADYU/Dfq8Y8dwNBs/s1600/IMG_3696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgP3xUy0kI/AAAAAAAADYU/Dfq8Y8dwNBs/s640/IMG_3696.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Samantha interpreting my fortune.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgP5ZRJtmI/AAAAAAAADYY/AX-KZ3PTWy0/s1600/IMG_3697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgP5ZRJtmI/AAAAAAAADYY/AX-KZ3PTWy0/s640/IMG_3697.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Fortune explanation book.</i></div><br />
On the way back from the Taoist temple we popped into this little Buddhist temple on the way home. I have heard before about Buddhists monks who, when they are cremated, appear to have had <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Aar%C4%ABra">stones or gems</a> inside their body that survive the cremation. These are purported to be evidence of their great piety, and are only found in the most devout and devoted monks. On a little side street in Xindian, there is a small Buddhist temple called Haizang Temple, that houses a monk whose entire body was said to have turned to "stone" (evidence that he reached the highest level of piety). Samantha told us that the story was the monk (Qingyan) told his followers that after he died they were not to cremate him, but rather put him in a large pot and seal it for six years. He was placed, in a sitting position, into a tub that was then filled with charcoal before being sealed with cement, lacquer and asphalt. The tub was buried on a nearby hillside. When they opened the tub on the six year anniversary of his death, Qingyan's body was perfectly preserved. They covered it with lacquer and then a coating of gold. This "body relic" now sits in the temple, available for visitors to see. Absolutely fascinating. (Read an entire study/article I found <a href="http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~dmgildow/documents/GildowDouglas2002.BuddhistMummificationTwoCases.pdf">here</a>.) Sadly, I don't have pictures (it just felt weird).<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRBZfRNYI/AAAAAAAADYc/Jz8sEybpihc/s1600/IMG_3702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRBZfRNYI/AAAAAAAADYc/Jz8sEybpihc/s640/IMG_3702.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Buddha outside the temple.</i></div><br />
By that time we needed start getting ready for our tour. We grabbed some coffee and headed up to the Caesar Park Hotel to meet our tour guides for our trip to Wulai Waterfall and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_aborigines">Aboriginal</a> Village. The tour was...interesting. It was just the two of us and a couple from Philly who were in Taiwan for a wedding. We were in a little minivan with a driver and a guide. Turns out the minibus brought us allllll the way back down to Xindian, right by the metro station we had left about an hour before. Annoying. The drive was a MAD MAN. We took tons of hair pin turns in the rain at excessive speeds and I was constantly clutching the straps on the chairs in hopes of holding myself into the seats. It was insane.<br />
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Now for a little Taiwanese history. Taiwan has a history sort of reminiscent of the US, in that they are really only about 400 years old. The Portuguese first "discovered" Taiwan/Formosa, and then the Dutch colonized it. By the time the Chinese came, the indigenous tribes's numbers had already been greatly diminished. Aborigines were forced out of their territory and underwent some brutal assimilation tactics. Sound familiar? At this point, there are only 14 recognized aboriginal tribes in Taiwan, and only relatively small numbers of aborigines are in each tribe. Much of their culture (including head hunting and facial tattoos) has been lost, but some traditions (weaving and carving for example) remain. We went to visit an Atayal village, and honestly, had you not told me it was aboriginal, I wouldn't have known. It was simply a street with shops, and small Atayal musuem we visited. We were supposed to go on a push car ride there as well, but that was cancelled due to maintenance. After walking around the village, we went out to Wulai waterfall. It was pretty, but not spectacular. After snapping some photos in the soggy weather we were herded into an overpriced gift shop with pushy/hovering sales people to await a traditional dance performance. The performance was decent, but included a lot of overblown special effects like fire jets, smoke, and strobe lights, which I found odd. But the dancing was pretty great, especially since they were all between the ages of about 15 and 30 and all came from the tribe. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRg6tSvjI/AAAAAAAADYg/XBsPWBORYRg/s1600/IMG_3706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRg6tSvjI/AAAAAAAADYg/XBsPWBORYRg/s640/IMG_3706.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lake on the way to Wulai.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRioId8PI/AAAAAAAADYk/J5SqLDaK4CM/s1600/IMG_3713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRioId8PI/AAAAAAAADYk/J5SqLDaK4CM/s640/IMG_3713.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Aboriginal village.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRkV4AY8I/AAAAAAAADYo/vGrQUofrNBk/s1600/IMG_3714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRkV4AY8I/AAAAAAAADYo/vGrQUofrNBk/s640/IMG_3714.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg">Thousand year eggs</a>...the idea of which makes me die a thousand deaths on the inside.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRmBIg2EI/AAAAAAAADYs/1dQgbnLABFY/s1600/IMG_3718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRmBIg2EI/AAAAAAAADYs/1dQgbnLABFY/s640/IMG_3718.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Wulai.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRn1CwjaI/AAAAAAAADYw/brn9huJ5iiU/s1600/IMG_3722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgRn1CwjaI/AAAAAAAADYw/brn9huJ5iiU/s640/IMG_3722.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>And now featuring...a scooter!</i></div><br />
Then came the true horror...the wedding dance. (Let me preface by sharing a tradition the Atayal have. When a man and woman get married, the man puts this little wooden chair with straps on his back and has to carry the bride back to their home. This is a show of his strength and ability to care for his wife. Now back to the story.) Of COURSE they have to pull people up from the audience to participate in the wedding dance, and of COURSE they come over and target Carin and I. We say no, repeatedly, but they are insistent, and for ONCE in my life, I think "what the hell, how bad could it be?" and we go up. I am an idiot. We get up there and they start giving out these vests to wear. I notice my vest is a different color but figure, eh, what the hell. Then I get a headband no one else has. And a lei. And I'm being led up on stage when no-one else is...OH CRAP. Yeah, I was the bride in this little wedding scenario. I played along at the beginning. Bowing? Sure. Drinking out of the ceremonial cup? Why not. But then they brought out the chair...and it became eminently clear that they had scoped the audience for the biggest girl and were going to do a real feat of strength. I hope the audience heard me over the singing as I gasped and said "No. No (expletive)ing way. No way. No, absolutely not. There is no (expletive)ing way I am getting in that. No. No. No." In the end I was hefted into the chair that was strapped to the back of a spindly Taiwanese boy, probably having a negative impact on his joints and health for years to come. It was horrifying and scary and extremely embarrassing and they had the gall to not only take a photo, but try and charge me for it later. Um, hello? The only way I would buy that photo would be to burn it. And now we shall never speak of this again.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSEt9Lr2I/AAAAAAAADY0/BKQ7LRF9IPs/s1600/IMG_3708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSEt9Lr2I/AAAAAAAADY0/BKQ7LRF9IPs/s640/IMG_3708.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Statue in town showing off the wretched tradition.</i></div><br />
Our driver brought us back to downtown Taipei and we killed some time before meeting Samantha, David, two of their Taiwanese friends, an American expat and her half-Taiwanese four year old, and a man from Mexico for dinner. The place they had wanted to go was closed, so we ended up hoofing around for a while before ending up at a tasty beef noodle place where I ate some delicious spicy beef noodles and tasty veggie sides. After dinner we headed over to a cafe/museum owned by a doctor who collects Taiwan memorabilia. It was an interesting place, but we traipsed in just before they were closing. Luckily I spend most of the time bonding/playing with Emerick, the four year old. After the cafe we stopped at the original Din Tai Fung on the way to a night market that eventually brought us back to the metro. I had a fun ride home playing with Emerick, and then it was off to bed because we had an early start the next day.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSqRfxJ-I/AAAAAAAADZA/M0TvxAmx0jc/s1600/IMG_3728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSqRfxJ-I/AAAAAAAADZA/M0TvxAmx0jc/s640/IMG_3728.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Home of our second dinner of delicious beef noodles.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSsFnNEyI/AAAAAAAADZE/pf1MvBmN_cw/s1600/IMG_3732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSsFnNEyI/AAAAAAAADZE/pf1MvBmN_cw/s640/IMG_3732.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Museum cafe.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSt-8FzxI/AAAAAAAADZI/DA9s1JvCMbg/s1600/IMG_3737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSt-8FzxI/AAAAAAAADZI/DA9s1JvCMbg/s640/IMG_3737.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Absolutely precious dumpling mascot.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSu7oOpDI/AAAAAAAADZM/v5CQUt-btZw/s1600/IMG_3739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSu7oOpDI/AAAAAAAADZM/v5CQUt-btZw/s640/IMG_3739.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>David pushing Emerick in the stroller, with his mom Lynne and a family friend.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSwbN09oI/AAAAAAAADZQ/wac2vy7lIU0/s1600/IMG_3740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgSwbN09oI/AAAAAAAADZQ/wac2vy7lIU0/s640/IMG_3740.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>It has been 100 years since Taiwan officially became the Republic of China.</i></div><br />
Friday morning we had to wake up at the crack of dawn (4:13am, to be precise) in order to leave for our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taroko_Gorge">Taroko Gorge</a> trip. I heard a lot of hype about Taroko Gorge being stunning, and one of the seven wonders of Asia, so I was down to pay $150 for a day trip. 100% NOT DISAPPOINTED. It was a beautiful day. We left Samantha and David's house at 5:00am and headed up to our meeting point. After re-energizing with some McDonalds breakfast (long time since I had that) we took the mini-bus over to the local airport and took the quick half hour flight over to Hualien. Carin and I were both asleep before take-off and didn't wake up until the plane landed. It was, perhaps, the most restorative nap I've ever taken. We got to Hualien and were greeted by beautiful mountains, fluffy white clouds, and SUN. It was wonderful. Our tourguide, Josephine, took us to the beach first. Details are a little sketchy, but I am pretty sure it was the Pacific Ocean. So blue and stunning. Carin and I walked around a bit before it was time to meet up with the last of our group and head into the gorge. We were joined by a Filipino couple, and a family from Australia, made up of an Australian dad who is a biology professor, a Chinese-Australian mom, and their 17-year-old bilingual daughter. And, of course, our driver and Josephine. The gorge was really beautiful and my pictures don't even begin to do it justice. We spent most of the day driving through the gorge visiting a tea house, various bridges, a small temple, and a suspension bridge. The weather was perfect. We also ate a very tasty aboriginal lunch. It was just a great day.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTZmLv9dI/AAAAAAAADZU/zAdsZklXTPo/s1600/IMG_3742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTZmLv9dI/AAAAAAAADZU/zAdsZklXTPo/s640/IMG_3742.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Just touched down in Hualien's airport.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTbJhjoRI/AAAAAAAADZY/sO9dV_Dg7B4/s1600/IMG_3744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTbJhjoRI/AAAAAAAADZY/sO9dV_Dg7B4/s640/IMG_3744.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Either the Pacific Ocean or the Philippine Sea.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTb5UbjTI/AAAAAAAADZc/9CWklN8SC4k/s1600/IMG_3745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTb5UbjTI/AAAAAAAADZc/9CWklN8SC4k/s640/IMG_3745.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tropical!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTczaCeEI/AAAAAAAADZg/DYiYXolmDaY/s1600/IMG_3747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTczaCeEI/AAAAAAAADZg/DYiYXolmDaY/s640/IMG_3747.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Travelling buddies on the beach.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTeAOQj-I/AAAAAAAADZk/KPFzpjYObkI/s1600/IMG_3750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTeAOQj-I/AAAAAAAADZk/KPFzpjYObkI/s640/IMG_3750.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Look at all that Taiwanese marble and granite!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTgLWfKDI/AAAAAAAADZo/3suyIt9DLqU/s1600/IMG_3758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTgLWfKDI/AAAAAAAADZo/3suyIt9DLqU/s640/IMG_3758.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Entrance to the Gorge.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgThiEmP7I/AAAAAAAADZs/vttZTy_6MQw/s1600/IMG_3761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgThiEmP7I/AAAAAAAADZs/vttZTy_6MQw/s640/IMG_3761.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pretty backdrop.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTjyI_86I/AAAAAAAADZw/jOzprPOZhd0/s1600/IMG_3767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTjyI_86I/AAAAAAAADZw/jOzprPOZhd0/s640/IMG_3767.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>That path looks a little treacherous...</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTlFU0jEI/AAAAAAAADZ0/4QaCLcQVAzA/s1600/IMG_3776.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTlFU0jEI/AAAAAAAADZ0/4QaCLcQVAzA/s640/IMG_3776.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The roads were just cut into solid rock. It was pretty sweet.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTm3N5WZI/AAAAAAAADZ4/bvg8DzT_IqI/s1600/IMG_3780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTm3N5WZI/AAAAAAAADZ4/bvg8DzT_IqI/s640/IMG_3780.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The water was very pretty greens, blues and grays because it had a lot of mineral run off.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTohY_2yI/AAAAAAAADZ8/Ni9mHHzA0B4/s1600/IMG_3781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTohY_2yI/AAAAAAAADZ8/Ni9mHHzA0B4/s640/IMG_3781.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I match the scenery!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTppi_NlI/AAAAAAAADaA/F6u1X6crRZ8/s1600/IMG_3782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTppi_NlI/AAAAAAAADaA/F6u1X6crRZ8/s640/IMG_3782.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Just a few signs.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTrMaVgqI/AAAAAAAADaE/21Io28uWUnE/s1600/IMG_3795.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTrMaVgqI/AAAAAAAADaE/21Io28uWUnE/s640/IMG_3795.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bridge of Motherly Devotion. This one's for you, mom.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTtJAHTAI/AAAAAAAADaI/3049qWmQ8D0/s1600/IMG_3798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTtJAHTAI/AAAAAAAADaI/3049qWmQ8D0/s640/IMG_3798.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Taking in the gorge on a sunny day.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTupd50bI/AAAAAAAADaM/SJIS-plQsqY/s1600/IMG_3800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgTupd50bI/AAAAAAAADaM/SJIS-plQsqY/s640/IMG_3800.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Lion standing guard.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgT3nxHbuI/AAAAAAAADaQ/9BiIIZFsaJ8/s1600/IMG_3806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgT3nxHbuI/AAAAAAAADaQ/9BiIIZFsaJ8/s640/IMG_3806.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fun little baby pagoda.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgT5B-mfWI/AAAAAAAADaU/L_c3U4b1EEE/s1600/IMG_3810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgT5B-mfWI/AAAAAAAADaU/L_c3U4b1EEE/s640/IMG_3810.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Walking on the suspension bridge (that I suspect we were not allowed on without a permit).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgT68UxukI/AAAAAAAADaY/48H8nCXUMtc/s1600/IMG_3811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgT68UxukI/AAAAAAAADaY/48H8nCXUMtc/s640/IMG_3811.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the bridge.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgT8f_ZKCI/AAAAAAAADac/tSYENaquQs8/s1600/IMG_3815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgT8f_ZKCI/AAAAAAAADac/tSYENaquQs8/s640/IMG_3815.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tea house perched on the hillside. I drank a very sour, very tasty kumquat lemonade there.</i></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgT_fYnjyI/AAAAAAAADak/7JhMJrjM0CQ/s1600/IMG_3828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgT_fYnjyI/AAAAAAAADak/7JhMJrjM0CQ/s640/IMG_3828.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hard hat area made me look like a dufus.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUA1UQg6I/AAAAAAAADao/URgI-2o1ntM/s1600/IMG_3829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUA1UQg6I/AAAAAAAADao/URgI-2o1ntM/s640/IMG_3829.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Australians taking in the damage done by a recent rock slide.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUCGRxZmI/AAAAAAAADas/Hd3vGWxJrnE/s1600/IMG_3832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUCGRxZmI/AAAAAAAADas/Hd3vGWxJrnE/s640/IMG_3832.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Watch out for those pesky rock slides!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUDSSOSBI/AAAAAAAADaw/rzpE7xFrfPM/s1600/IMG_3837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUDSSOSBI/AAAAAAAADaw/rzpE7xFrfPM/s640/IMG_3837.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our fantastic aboriginal meal, including (clockwise): bean soup, bamboo rice, veggies, pork skin and cabbage, salsa, mushrooms, and fish.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUEZZH2qI/AAAAAAAADa0/HxRfRvlB05A/s1600/IMG_3840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUEZZH2qI/AAAAAAAADa0/HxRfRvlB05A/s640/IMG_3840.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"Aboriginal dancer" art piece outside of the restaurant.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUFw7ZbmI/AAAAAAAADa4/V15zZlqNc6c/s1600/IMG_3841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUFw7ZbmI/AAAAAAAADa4/V15zZlqNc6c/s640/IMG_3841.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Their cherry blossoms are already blooming! In January!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUHZUHPqI/AAAAAAAADa8/1fQb984tETQ/s1600/IMG_3854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUHZUHPqI/AAAAAAAADa8/1fQb984tETQ/s640/IMG_3854.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lots of art.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUJarvqbI/AAAAAAAADbA/uhMN1LL6T-w/s1600/IMG_3855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUJarvqbI/AAAAAAAADbA/uhMN1LL6T-w/s640/IMG_3855.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Temple in the mountains.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUMGT0djI/AAAAAAAADbE/UIiaCKurjl0/s1600/IMG_3856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUMGT0djI/AAAAAAAADbE/UIiaCKurjl0/s640/IMG_3856.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Close up!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUNeOiVGI/AAAAAAAADbI/y2PZ5-_X8xE/s1600/IMG_3865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUNeOiVGI/AAAAAAAADbI/y2PZ5-_X8xE/s640/IMG_3865.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pretty doorway.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUQKmUiYI/AAAAAAAADbM/YlFykVHstKM/s1600/IMG_3867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgUQKmUiYI/AAAAAAAADbM/YlFykVHstKM/s640/IMG_3867.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the side (with its name carved in the rock).</i></div><br />
After we were done in the gorge, we stopped at a rice cake/food outlet and a marble/jade outlet and showroom. The jade, especially seven-color jade which I had never heard of, was breathtaking. And way, way, way out of my price range (of course). When we were done at the factory it was time to board the train for the 2.5 hour train ride back to Taipei, which I spent reading and napping. I had hoped to meet Carl (who happened to be in Taipei visiting his girlfriend's family) Friday night, but that never happened. Instead we got dinner, went back and chatted with Samantha and David (said our goodbyes to Samantha who was leaving early the next morning), packed our stuff, and went to bed.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgWyyOTlVI/AAAAAAAADbQ/Vk08qE_QNFk/s1600/IMG_3872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgWyyOTlVI/AAAAAAAADbQ/Vk08qE_QNFk/s640/IMG_3872.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Happy Year of the (Marble) Rabbit!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgW0GPbvII/AAAAAAAADbU/aN-iwBrhp1U/s1600/IMG_3874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TUgW0GPbvII/AAAAAAAADbU/aN-iwBrhp1U/s640/IMG_3874.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fantastically beautiful seven color jade. It is hard to believe that this is naturally occurring.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Saturday morning we got some fantastic breakfast with David before heading to the airport. One thing I loved about Taiwan is that they have actual traditional breakfast foods. Saturday we had this thing where they take a thin crepe, top it with a layer of omelet, and then add meat before rolling it all up. They slice the roll into pieces and provide dipping sauce. So good! We also shared a tasty chicken sandwich (made me miss Chic-fil-a just a touch). The flight home took less than two hours and I was back at my apartment (freezing my ass off) by 6:30pm.<br />
<br />
General thoughts about Taiwan:<br />
+ People are extremely nice. They do common courtesy things you never see in Korea, like holding open doors, not staring at people, and picking up others' trash.<br />
+ It is extremely clean, which I very much appreciate.<br />
+ No one spits! TEN THOUSAND POINTS FOR TAIWAN.<br />
+ Taiwan not only has breakfast food, but bakeries that are stocked in the morning.<br />
+ Transportation is cheap and efficient.<br />
+ Taipei is much greener than Seoul, which I really like. Certainly the warmer temperatures help.<br />
- Scooters are everywhere, including all over the sidewalks.<br />
- Once you are out of Taipei, English usage definitely drops off.<br />
- Chinese is damn hard. Even matching the symbols was difficult for me, let alone knowing what they mean!<br />
<br />
Sunday was spent at an ice fishing festival which will be detailed in my next post. The good news is that I should have plenty of time to write it soon since this week is Seollal (Lunar New Year) and we have no school Wednesday-Friday, giving us a nice little 5-day holiday. More details to come!Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-15843601646762282142011-01-26T01:17:00.001+09:002011-01-26T01:17:00.334+09:00Happy Wave Day!Though I'm currently in Taiwan, I wanted to wish all my SASsy friends a very Happy Wave Day! In January 2005, we had no January 27th...and two January 26ths. That is the kind of bizarro world you live in when you zig zag across the international date line while being chased by low pressure systems and 65 foot waves.<br />
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45 degrees to starboard, 45 degrees to port, windows going all sky and all water, six hours in our live jackets...I'd do it all again in a second!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6yXfkXkHYTY" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6DBGhXI586k" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="640"></iframe></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-49441207121472716492011-01-21T23:04:00.000+09:002011-01-21T23:04:50.478+09:00Goodbye Winter Camp!Today was my last day of winter camp, and therefore my last day of camp in Korea. I spent the last two weeks at Cheondong Elementary doing my district camp and loved every minute of it. If I could do that all the time for my job, I would. It was well organized, I worked with good people, the kids were awesome, the location was stellar, and in general it was sad to say goodbye to them last Friday.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmGPNAR3CI/AAAAAAAADM8/Khzc1uiCDng/s1600/IMG_3117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmGPNAR3CI/AAAAAAAADM8/Khzc1uiCDng/s640/IMG_3117.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Journal from my student Eric. I love the giant squid entry.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmGQ79RAzI/AAAAAAAADNA/abHrMSd8oXI/s1600/IMG_3128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmGQ79RAzI/AAAAAAAADNA/abHrMSd8oXI/s640/IMG_3128.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Blue class performing "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" during our final performance.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmGSac2oZI/AAAAAAAADNE/NbjIJUihq-k/s1600/IMG_3151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmGSac2oZI/AAAAAAAADNE/NbjIJUihq-k/s640/IMG_3151.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Blue Class Photo!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Me, Eric, Paul, Jeff, the principal, Jane, John, Whinnie, Jasmine, Jenny, Ann, Cindy, Julie and Ellie (my co-teacher)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The district winter camp allows you to plan your own lessons about topics you choose, and work with a co-teacher. My school's winter camp is very different. It is run by a hagwon, or private academy, and that also runs the after school program at our school. They ran the camp last year and it went alright. I was called in to meet with the other teachers about a month in advance and given information on what I would be teaching. That's why I was a little worried when it got all the way up to last Wednesday and I still hadn't heard word one from EduBest (the hagwon). After some pressure from my co-teachers, the director from EduBest finally called me and said she'd send my t-shirt and textbook to me, so that I'd get it no later than Friday and I'd be able to have some idea of what I was doing for the week.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Friday, and then the weekend, came and went. No book. No t-shirt.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Monday morning I woke up and got to school early to try and get a handle on what the hell was going on. That is when my frustration started...and it didn't end until 12:20pm this afternoon when camp ended! The whole week was a mess. I was given ZERO lesson plans and really zero information about what I was supposed to be doing. We had "co-teachers", but most of the time they weren't even in the same room as us. I was given the lowest classes: first and second graders, many of whom couldn't even identify colors. The lessons they gave me to teach were bizarre and way WAY over their heads. Ever try to talk about the history of Mexico, the solar system, and/or Greek gods with kids who have a pre-school vocabulary? UPHILL BATTLE. Moral of the story, I am so very glad that this week is over. The one upside was that the kids were damn near painfully cute. And now I show you many pictures of them being adorable.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the cooking lessons was making the delicious (made up) foreign delicacy of "roll sandwiches." How do you make this delicious dish? Easy! Take a piece of white bread (stale if you want yours to be like our masterpieces) and tear all the crusts off. Then rip it in half. On top, place half a slice of American cheese. Then perch a single Vienna sausage on the cheese. Add a dab of mustard and roll that bad boy up. Secure with frilly toothpick. VOILA. (ugh)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmI55q7oMI/AAAAAAAADNM/zKcMQu1Bodw/s1600/IMG_3157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmI55q7oMI/AAAAAAAADNM/zKcMQu1Bodw/s640/IMG_3157.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Adorable, and ready to get down to business.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmI7TGkGII/AAAAAAAADNQ/OoRuQhlniKE/s1600/IMG_3159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmI7TGkGII/AAAAAAAADNQ/OoRuQhlniKE/s640/IMG_3159.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Delicious?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmI4Ta9pUI/AAAAAAAADNI/j0CFqaBZENY/s1600/IMG_3156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmI4Ta9pUI/AAAAAAAADNI/j0CFqaBZENY/s640/IMG_3156.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chowing down.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Through out the week there were a few lessons called "City Experiences" that took place in banks, hospitals, and stores. The kids had to do little role plays (that were mind blowingly boring and often Konglished up).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmKMDXm0cI/AAAAAAAADNU/WgxCamodaU0/s1600/IMG_3163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmKMDXm0cI/AAAAAAAADNU/WgxCamodaU0/s640/IMG_3163.jpg" width="632" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Who, exactly, considers it important for first graders to know how to ask about opening a checking account vs. a savings account in ANY language?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmKRDlfgJI/AAAAAAAADNY/BPJRKcO-JnM/s1600/IMG_3215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmKRDlfgJI/AAAAAAAADNY/BPJRKcO-JnM/s640/IMG_3215.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Looks like you've got a bad case of English fever.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmKSIj73LI/AAAAAAAADNc/HrP2cLbIpPQ/s1600/IMG_3217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmKSIj73LI/AAAAAAAADNc/HrP2cLbIpPQ/s640/IMG_3217.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Don't you dare make fun of my "gingerbread men" until you come into a class of rowdy first and second graders who don't speak English and are forced to describe various illnesses!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the more fun classes was making a piñata. Kids broke into groups and each one was given a paper bag with candy in it. Then they got strips of tissue paper which they cut into fringe and glued on to the bag. We stapled it at the top and taped it to a stick before giving kids a turn to whack it. They had a great time and it killed AN HOUR AND A HALF, so I can't complain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLM3YbhOI/AAAAAAAADNg/fJpYfJvWskI/s1600/IMG_3172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLM3YbhOI/AAAAAAAADNg/fJpYfJvWskI/s640/IMG_3172.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Getting down to piñata making.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLO3MRnRI/AAAAAAAADNk/gb7iVAtRyrg/s1600/IMG_3177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLO3MRnRI/AAAAAAAADNk/gb7iVAtRyrg/s640/IMG_3177.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Adding the fringe.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLQaaOz6I/AAAAAAAADNo/JwzBPibp6VE/s1600/IMG_3178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLQaaOz6I/AAAAAAAADNo/JwzBPibp6VE/s640/IMG_3178.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team 1 and their piñata.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLRhvareI/AAAAAAAADNs/nFlMzcMdGJk/s1600/IMG_3179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLRhvareI/AAAAAAAADNs/nFlMzcMdGJk/s640/IMG_3179.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team 2 and their piñata.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLTIKXh0I/AAAAAAAADNw/oYlQGPu_h5I/s1600/IMG_3181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLTIKXh0I/AAAAAAAADNw/oYlQGPu_h5I/s640/IMG_3181.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team 3 and their piñata.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLUXA-AYI/AAAAAAAADN0/RzsZWNmYPBQ/s1600/IMG_3184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="516" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLUXA-AYI/AAAAAAAADN0/RzsZWNmYPBQ/s640/IMG_3184.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team 4 and their piñata.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(All boys, all bad, haha.)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLWJR9xwI/AAAAAAAADN4/UDd_675CDa0/s1600/IMG_3185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLWJR9xwI/AAAAAAAADN4/UDd_675CDa0/s640/IMG_3185.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Team 5 and their piñata.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLY8zzvHI/AAAAAAAADN8/Z0k_2FXR9t4/s1600/IMG_3186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLY8zzvHI/AAAAAAAADN8/Z0k_2FXR9t4/s640/IMG_3186.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>IN IT TO WIN IT! Look at that face of determination!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLaah6-HI/AAAAAAAADOA/cIwMQi4KvVI/s1600/IMG_3188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmLaah6-HI/AAAAAAAADOA/cIwMQi4KvVI/s640/IMG_3188.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Collecting their spoils.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the classes that most made me want to bash my head against the wall was the science class during which I had to teach them about the solar system. Here is a direct quote from the book: "In Roman mythology, Mercury is the god of commerce, travel, and thievery. Mercury is also known as Hermes, the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology." ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Thankfully a combination of my mad solar system drawing skills and making a "planet garland" took up most of the class.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmM1IsqspI/AAAAAAAADOE/6fqbMvP3FM0/s1600/IMG_3199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmM1IsqspI/AAAAAAAADOE/6fqbMvP3FM0/s640/IMG_3199.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Theeeee sun is a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace where hydrogen is built into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees. Yoho its hot. The sun is not a place where we can live. But here on Earth there'd be no life without the light it gives. (You can thank Ms. Horvath's 7th grade science class for that one.)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmNXLsMEII/AAAAAAAADOI/XT7VRhicUoU/s1600/IMG_3193.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmNXLsMEII/AAAAAAAADOI/XT7VRhicUoU/s640/IMG_3193.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Putting together his garland.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmNYAGn3sI/AAAAAAAADOM/ZWW2m3if5xk/s1600/IMG_3195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmNYAGn3sI/AAAAAAAADOM/ZWW2m3if5xk/s640/IMG_3195.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Daniel, on the right, was baaaaaad but so so so cute.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmNY2uTrHI/AAAAAAAADOQ/0YVRMTz0oDo/s1600/IMG_3202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmNY2uTrHI/AAAAAAAADOQ/0YVRMTz0oDo/s640/IMG_3202.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Adorable girls.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmNbH6eDxI/AAAAAAAADOU/ADw2dF0E7yM/s1600/IMG_3204.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmNbH6eDxI/AAAAAAAADOU/ADw2dF0E7yM/s640/IMG_3204.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Everyone wants a piece of the action.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmNcghPo6I/AAAAAAAADOY/CdP1YV8z5po/s1600/IMG_3208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmNcghPo6I/AAAAAAAADOY/CdP1YV8z5po/s640/IMG_3208.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Schmoozing for the camera.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">During the other science period we made magnetic balloon darts, which had little to do with English, but were fun anyway.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmOJlO9JTI/AAAAAAAADOc/LIm4Z9DsEks/s1600/IMG_3227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmOJlO9JTI/AAAAAAAADOc/LIm4Z9DsEks/s640/IMG_3227.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Magnetic balloon darts unite!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmOVDWbldI/AAAAAAAADOg/Z49u0q_1YDY/s1600/IMG_3223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmOVDWbldI/AAAAAAAADOg/Z49u0q_1YDY/s640/IMG_3223.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Throwing their darts at the target.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmOW3ZsE1I/AAAAAAAADOk/pXFdtfe2BjU/s1600/IMG_3229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmOW3ZsE1I/AAAAAAAADOk/pXFdtfe2BjU/s640/IMG_3229.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Haha, alternate way to play, I guess.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our other cooking class was making mini kimbap rolls. That was pretty fun, but all the kids already knew how to do it. I just hope that when I get home next year I can find kimbap making kits like the one we used. Perhaps at some Korean grocery. I know I'm going to miss chamchi (tuna) kimbap like its my job.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmO2HlL7RI/AAAAAAAADOo/VbeFo5Pqri0/s1600/IMG_3237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="462" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmO2HlL7RI/AAAAAAAADOo/VbeFo5Pqri0/s640/IMG_3237.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Nothing like a little teamwork to get the job done.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmO3OnRWRI/AAAAAAAADOs/zBRZeSMU_EQ/s1600/IMG_3239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmO3OnRWRI/AAAAAAAADOs/zBRZeSMU_EQ/s640/IMG_3239.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Mixing the rice with a little sesame oil and dried veggie packet.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmPFa4Wc6I/AAAAAAAADO0/6UNlcXsesOU/s1600/IMG_3251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmPFa4Wc6I/AAAAAAAADO0/6UNlcXsesOU/s640/IMG_3251.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Then you put the rice on a piece of kim, or dried seaweed.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmPOLQGgdI/AAAAAAAADO4/qd65FLb93uc/s1600/IMG_3246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmPOLQGgdI/AAAAAAAADO4/qd65FLb93uc/s640/IMG_3246.jpg" width="448" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Next, add your veggies and fillings.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmPXOEzmkI/AAAAAAAADO8/OeY9Sx3zVCA/s1600/IMG_3243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmPXOEzmkI/AAAAAAAADO8/OeY9Sx3zVCA/s640/IMG_3243.jpg" width="544" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Then roll it up and enjoy!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today we had our last few classes before having a closing ceremony. Par for this weeks' course, I had no idea what was going on and just quietly seethed most of the ceremony. One of my girls burst into tears because she couldn't remember her part, the idiot Korean teacher made fun of her ON THE MICROPHONE, and I was just super glad it was over! I am going to write a letter expressing my displeasure and send it to the hagwon coordinator and my co-teachers. I mean, the kids and school pay for this program, you damn well better believe it should have been run better.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmP7nEd7II/AAAAAAAADPA/w5pqKEFGz7o/s1600/IMG_3261.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmP7nEd7II/AAAAAAAADPA/w5pqKEFGz7o/s640/IMG_3261.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Awesome project one of my little ones made for the closing ceremony. Yup, that's me in the blue holding the piñata on a stick! </i><i> </i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmP9nyj_uI/AAAAAAAADPE/IPG8JtGNcOE/s1600/IMG_3263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmP9nyj_uI/AAAAAAAADPE/IPG8JtGNcOE/s640/IMG_3263.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Two of my girls presenting their work.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmP_H-pkVI/AAAAAAAADPI/St191H8fxf4/s1600/IMG_3264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="574" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmP_H-pkVI/AAAAAAAADPI/St191H8fxf4/s640/IMG_3264.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Solar system show offs!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmQBgi1gPI/AAAAAAAADPM/J4hVGEPSRXk/s1600/IMG_3269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmQBgi1gPI/AAAAAAAADPM/J4hVGEPSRXk/s640/IMG_3269.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Goodbye Sincheon Winter English Camp...I shall not miss thee.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Outside of school some various interesting things happened this week. A corgi ran around in the subway station on Wednesday morning, confusing the crap out of me and some Koreans. I still do not know where he came from, or where he went...but he was a sweetheart so I hope he found his owner. Tonight I got to meet up with 5/7 of the Dasi Hamkke project girls (Changhye, Rachel, Kate, Erica and I were there physically, while Julia and Hannah were there in spirit) and get my hands on a copy of our book! A full year in the making, hours and hours of love and effort went into that project. It is so gratifying to have the actual, beautiful book in my hands! If you're living in Korea and would like a FREE copy, click <a href="http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150092223086726&id=241105929305">here</a> and follow the directions. It is an absolutely worthwhile read, I promise!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmSLKE1tjI/AAAAAAAADPQ/Xj6ZjKgQxJg/s1600/IMG_3274.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTmSLKE1tjI/AAAAAAAADPQ/Xj6ZjKgQxJg/s640/IMG_3274.jpg" width="446" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Check it out! SO FREAKING EXCITING!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I will be meeting Carin in less than seven hours (ouch) to hop on the airport bus that will spirit us away to Incheon, from which we will depart for a week in Taiwan. I am very excited, and ready to be in ever so slightly warmer weather. Catch you on the flipside, everyone!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-60752108291813251212011-01-18T14:18:00.003+09:002011-01-18T14:35:50.160+09:00Happy SASiversary!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cultivatedpages.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/gall-peters2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cultivatedpages.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/gall-peters2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The world is my classroom.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Wow, six years (SIX YEARS!!!) have passed since that fateful day when we sailed out of Vancouver and into the adventure of a lifetime. For the next one hundred days I laughed, cried, wondered, wandered, ate, drank, climbed, slid, rode (planes, boats, cars, buses, trains, horses, ferris wheels, sleds, cable cars, and god knows what else), walked, ran, and stood in frozen awe through ten countries. They told us early on that SAS would be trip of opposites, and it surely was. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I was privileged enough to see monuments of great power, like the Great Wall in Beijing, and great weakness, like the townships outside Capetown. Memories of a painful war at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, and a hopeful peace along the lonely sidewalk where the great Gandhi took his last steps in Dehli. My breath was taken away at the wonder of what man can build when I looked out over the vast, crowded cityscape of Hong Kong...and equally lost when I took in the stunning, untouched wilderness of Kenya's Lake Nakuru. I'll always remember the warmth of the Rio Negro as it flowed into the Amazon River near Manaus, and the cool mist in the cloud forests outside Caracas. I can still feel the blinding, overwhelming brightness of the sun on deck seven as we floated around near the equator, and the absolute darkness when they turned off the the ship's lights in the middle of the Atlantic and we were blanketed with stars.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Semester at Sea drop kicks you out of your comfort zone and it is an incredible, unique, fantastic experience. I doubt you'd find a single person from our voyage who regretted a minute of it. I've said it a million times, and I'll say it once more: I'd do everything again in a heartbeat, Wave Day included. I love how Larry Meredith puts it when he says that the "titanic wave baptized us into a community." We are all cemented with a bond forged in high seas and driving rain. By those few notes that played at the beginning of the announcements as "The Voice" came over the loudspeaker, the fear so easy to hear just under the surface, and told us to put on our life jackets and sit in the hallway, and later as Captain Buzz told us the worst was over. We are bonded by the few simple words: We Survived Spring '05. </span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And not only survived it. We flourished! We learned (definitely from other voyagers and those we met...questionably from classes, haha), and exchanged stories, hopes, fears, advice and e-mail addresses. We made connections that would serve us in the future, and had experiences that can never, EVER, be duplicated (no matter how badly we wish it to be true). In last year's <a href="http://bareyourseoul.blogspot.com/2010/01/sasiversary-5-years-later.html">SASiversary entry</a>, I shared a bunch of quotes from the journal I kept after returning home from SAS. This year, I'd like to share the words of two great men, both of whom are arguably the smartest and most well traveled person you'll ever meet. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The first is a speech delivered by Dr. Larry Meredith, one of my heroes, and a teacher of comparative religion classes on the ship. Some of my favorite memories involve Larry, and I do not exaggerate when I say that the Christmas letter I received from him this year signed "Stay SASsy" made my week. This speech was shared as part of the graduation ceremony on the ship for those who were missing their graduation ceremonies at home, or were simply seniors. I have highlighted my favorite parts below.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTUZxibfBwI/AAAAAAAADMw/xI6a7iMzypo/s1600/SAS+larry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTUZxibfBwI/AAAAAAAADMw/xI6a7iMzypo/s640/SAS+larry.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">Lawrence Meredith, Ph.D</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">Professor of Religious Studies, Emeritus</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><br />
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</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><i>I am grateful for the opportunity to share this valedictory and to thank Deans Susan Hansen, Jill Wright, and Becky Drury for their leadership and for making possible this experience of a lifetime. And I’m excited to arrive at our last port of call and lead my newly assigned FDP to the Ft. Lauderdale Adult Bookstore. We will be reading such adult literature as Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Melville’s Moby Dick, and, of course, that erudite classic Life Before Death.</i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">Charles Beard, the famed Columbia historian, was once asked if he could sum up what he learned from history in one sentence. He replied: “I could not do it one sentence, but I might do it in four.”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">1. The mill of the gods grinds slowly, but it grinds exceeding fine.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">2. Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">3. The bee makes honey from the flower, but it also pollinates the flower.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">4. When things get the darkest, the stars come out.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">If I were asked to characterize this voyage, I might also do it in four sentences.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">1. When my eldest son and I were traveling through India in 1978, we stayed at an ashram in Rishekesh on the upper Ganges. One evening we listened to an old guru, who shared with us this remarkable bit of wisdom: “The secret of life is to shoot an arrow into the air, and whatever you hit, call it the target.”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">Pittsburgh’s way of putting the same point is “flexibility.” And the first half of this voyage has seriously stretched out our notion of flexing. San Diego, Vancouver, North Pacific, “angry green angels of the sea,” the Poseidon adventure, Midway, no way, Aloha way, Semester-at-Air to California, nine hour Impracticum in the San Francisco airport lounge, Shanghaied to Shanghai, Panda bearing in Hong Kong, and multiple world hoteling in Ho Chi Minh City shooting arrows in every direction. Fill in your own flexibility multiple choice target.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">2. I am because you are.<br />
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Which is the Buntu version of Tennyson’s famous line: “I am part of all that I have met.” [Ulysses ] A scary thought, that. If I am part of you then I’ll have to get a laptop, a digital camera, a cell phone, an I-pod, a tattoo just above my posterior, and four piercings (two you can see and two you can’t). May I have your attention please! I carry my valuables down there among my valuables, where no one goes without my permission! Good grief! Well, you better enjoy it, Kenn, because one of these days, no one will go there—even with your permission.<br />
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But its true. We are part of each other now. We always were, but we didn’t realize it until January 27. That is what we celebrated April 20, with song, dance, and satire—including The Dong Diaries’ testosteronic response to a women’s night of “Nothing Could Be Finer Than To Speak Of Your Vagina,” and a circle of deans, faculty and staff all dancing to the Beatles, singing “All You Need Is Love” –while Peter Baofu’s body was taken over by aliens.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">3. If you haven’t been to Waxahachie, you haven’t been to Waxahachie.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">My old ethics teacher at Southern Methodist University used to say that. He was an existentialist, which meant that actual existence was prior to the abstract essence of a thing. Waxahachie was a little town about thirty miles south of Dallas—and the point was plain.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><b>If you haven’t been there, you haven’t been there. You can watch slides and movies, hear speeches and lectures, read hand-outs. But the experience of Waxahachie will elude you. You have to go there. </b></span></i></span><br />
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</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">Now I doubt if John Tymitz or Max Brant or C.Y. Tung ever heard of Waxahachie, or thought much about existentialism for that matter. But their vision includes the idea that education can be as epic as Homer’s Odyssey: the great Buddha in the mist at Lantau Island, Varanasi at Shiva’s birthday, the killing fields in Cambodia, the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam, the prison cell on Robben Island that held Nelson Mandela, the Slave Church in old Salvador, not to mention the paroxysm of sight, sound and apocalyptic yellow and green that is Brazilian soccer Semester-at Sea was born in this proposition: the sense of place is irreplaceable.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">It is not exactly a secret that SAS is difficult to administer. We all know that Utopia quite literally means “no place.” But our adventures in learning around the world can begin to break open our absolutes, and end our cultural apartheid.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">Not that this openness is automatic with travel. Some of us have remained intentional tourists, trying on different cultures like so many changes of dress, but remaining untouched by the fundamental differences we have encountered.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">Some students on this voyage have never ceased to ask me how a Christian can remain true to the belief that Jesus is the only way to salvation and still accept other faiths as genuine paths to God. Or to say it differently, at what point does tolerance become treason?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">What does the phrase “multiple world views” really mean? It means just this: facts don’t determine what we think of as true. Our world view determines what we are willing to accept as fact. Facts are located by an angle of vision, and when the angle is different what we label as act is different. Did the sun rise on our shipboard Easter morning, or did the earth turn? Unbiased opinion is more rare than the opening of the Red Sea, and True Believers have no sense of irony. Ask any Muslim what he or she would accept as evidence that God did not dictate the Qur’an. Even such a question might be taken as blasphemous.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><b>Voyages are no guarantee of new vision. But just for a moment, when the usual cultural cues are missing or rearranged, when the full force of liberal education is pressed up against our prejudices, when what we are seeing no longer matches what we are feeling, transformation may be possible.</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">Psychological studies suggest that children, until they are ten or so, think the whole world revolves around them. Make that twenty or thirty-six or sixty. Seventy-five, even.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">The Original Sin is exactly this:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><b>the whole world revolves around me. And I do mean me. Oh, I’ve run for God, but I’ve never been elected. Most of those who know me think I’m not even in the right district. This difficult and dangerous experiment in education, this Semester-at-Sea, moves us into so many places of consequence that we just might see how paralyzed we are by our cultural, intellectual, and religious autism. </b></span></i></span><br />
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</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">4. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living, but he doesn’t get the last word tonight.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">I say that the unlived life is not worth examining</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><b>And that takes courage. Not just the courage to sail, but to give up your comfort zones, to move into the unknown, and study under difficult circumstances. I mean real courage</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">: the courage to give up your clichés: inscrutable Chinese, primitive Africans, idol-worshipping Hindus, fanatical Muslims, decadent Brazilians, treacherous Vietnamese.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">A booze cruise IS a ship of fools, insulated by consumption, and simply carrying the person you were around the world untouched. Semester at Sea is dedicated to making that difficult—if not impossible. We can risk growing up: as Zorba said “cutting the rope and being free,” as Joseph Campbell said “following your bliss,” or, as I would say it,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><b>risking openness on the open seas</b>. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">And I am part of you. When the Titanic wave hit and baptized us into community, many of us were looking heavenward for a little assurance. Now the Lord and I have been close for years, and I remember sliding around on the seventh deck and saying, “Lord don’t you think we’ve had just about enough?” And a voice answered back—I have to tell you this was the real Voice— “Larry,” — we’re on a first name basis—“isn’t about time you renewed your commitment to live the life given you more abundantly?” “Abundant” is the right word. It refers to the waves of the ocean, undulating, never ceasing, always rolling on, wave after wave…after wave…after wave. Life. Abundantly.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><b>And during this adventure I have renewed my sacred promises and, as the last moment of my teaching career, share them with you now:<br />
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I promise to exercise my freedom by helping all others to be free, and to show my compassion by using things and loving people, rather than loving things and using people.<br />
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I promise not to impose my idea of morality on any other human being, engaging instead in probing discussion, honest exchange of views, and consensual allegiance to the common good.<br />
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I promise not to equate my nation’s cultural values with divine standard of behavior, or my own faith with absolute truth, believing that in the vastness of this one world there are many sacred paths.<br />
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I promise to give thanks every day for the life of the mind, for the gift of reason, and every community of inquiry that audits our ignorance.<br />
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And I promise to always have a little madness in my life, that I can pray and party at the same time, and that in the midst of the laughter, continue to love my family and the family of Earth.<br />
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So now, with some inspiration from Robert Frost, I say to you all:<br />
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The ocean is vast, dark and deep,<br />
But I have promises to keep,<br />
And miles to go before I sleep,<br />
And miles to go before I sleep. </b></span></i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">The second speech was provided by our Global Studies professor, Robert Fessler. This was a farewell speech, and I couldn't imagine it any better. He spoke so clearly (and CORRECTLY) about the feelings we were all going to have once we got back to solid ground. His words played in my head during difficult moments during the next few months and still sometimes pop up unexpectedly into my thoughts. Again, I've bolded a few of my favorite parts...though really the whole thing could be bold!</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTUbFqSbJHI/AAAAAAAADM0/lB2CSrNKW78/s1600/SAS+fessler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="460" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TTUbFqSbJHI/AAAAAAAADM0/lB2CSrNKW78/s640/SAS+fessler.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">Robert Fessler</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">Professor of Psychology</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">Point Park University</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; line-height: 17px;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">he Last Lecture – April 16, 2005</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>As far as I know, there is no course taught anywhere…in any university or any country…that is quite like this one. You have heard from a lot of different lecturers…representing many different disciplines. History. Economics. Music. Sociology. Political Science. Oceanography. Anthropology. Theater. Religion. Biology. What kind of course is this, anyway? What kid of course talks about the temples of Angkor one day and ocean currents the next? Female circumcision and media and haiku and Hinduism and Ho Chi Minh?<b> What kind of course tries… in one semester…to enrich your experience…not only of the world, but of ten specific countries?</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>No, wait, scratch two…add another one. Wait…Hawaii’s not a country. Zigzagging around the dateline. January 25<sup>th</sup>…January 27<sup>th</sup>. What happened to the 26<sup>th</sup>? A hole in the space/time continuum. Smack. The gods are angry. Wham. Waste baskets and televisions bouncing off the walls. Furniture tumbling over people…but don’t put your feet on the furniture! Wait. Where are we now? Fly non-stop to Shanghai. Okay…one stop. Wait some more. Over the dateline again. Where are we now? Does anybody have any idea what day it is? What a long strange trip this has been.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I knew from the beginning that there was no way that we could do everything in Global Studies. I remember telling the faulty that we could easily spend the entire semester on any <u>one</u> of the topics that I was asking them to present in 30 minutes. The history of China…Apartheid… Buddhism…in 30 minutes? So what was it all about? What was this kaleidoscope of information intended to do for you?</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Let me take you back to that first session of Global Studies and repeat a few of the things that I said to you then. <b>Anyone who has been around the world should not come back unchanged. You can do it, of course. People do. They travel around the world and stay in Western hotels and eat at Western restaurants and watch CNN. They may hear that India has a caste system…they may see the Candomble women with their colored necklaces. But all they come back with is a lot of pictures and video. They’ve seen the sights.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>But as you know, the experience is very different when you know <u>why</u> the Candomble women wear those necklaces. When you know what it <u>means</u>. And when you understand how the caste system developed…and how it is intertwined with India’s history and religion…and how it affects relationships and politics and everything else in India. <u>That</u> was one of the aims of Global Studies – to help you see below the surface. To help you understand the underlying dynamics so that your experience would be richer…deeper…more profound. To help you become a “world traveler”, not just someone who has been around the world.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Global Studies was also designed to give you a concrete experience of how the academic disciplines interrelate. You have learned that the theater of South Africa cannot be separated from South Africa’s history and politics. You have learned that you cannot fully understand the music of Brazil without understanding the slave trade…and you cannot fully understand the slave trade without understanding colonialism and economics and African religion and so on. Each academic discipline has given you a slightly different profile of what is in fact an interrelated whole. And you have learned that the more you know about one discipline, the more you need to know about the others.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>There was not enough time to do it all…but Global Studies was never intended to do it all. Only to assist you in getting here…today…with a greater global awareness.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Back at the beginning of the voyage I talked to you about the difference between individualism and collectivism. You had just come on the ship…650 of you…from different backgrounds, different schools, different religions, different countries…with different interests, different dreams, different hopes, different plans. And in those first few days you were trying to get your sea legs…and just beginning to get to know each other. There was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm…mixed with some apprehension about how the voyage would unfold…about what it would be like to travel around the world with all these strangers.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Look at you now. Shipmates. Friends. Many of you have found yourselves talking to people you never would have approached at home. Many of you have made friends with people you didn’t know you could be friends with. Slowly…so slowly that you can’t quite put your finger on when it began to happen…650 individuals became a community. </b>The diversity is still there… maybe even more so than it was at the start. You are shaved and braided. Beaded and saronged. But you have learned to live with that diversity. And you have learned to be incredibly accepting and tolerant of each other. Want to shave your head? Okay. Don’t want to shave your head? That’s okay too. Guy wants to wear a skirt? Doesn’t bother anyone. <u>Professor</u> wants to wear a skirt. Yeah…whatever.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>And it has been more than simply learning to <u>accept</u> the diversity. You have learned to <u>appreciate</u> the differences…to appreciate what each individual brings to the whole. It takes threads of different colors and textures to make a tapestry. It takes tiles of different sizes and shapes to make a mosaic. This is a collective society and each of you has your place in it. Not one of you can be removed without all of us losing something. Seniors and kids. Staff and students. Family members and crew members. Happy people. Cranky people. Serious people. Silly people. New Yorkers. Californians. South Americans. Canadians. Sky divers and poets. Myopics and mystics. Scientists and surfers. Philosophers and fools. Poker players. Preachers. Atheists. Smokers and weight lifters and drummers and sunbathers. Each of you belongs here. Not one of you can be removed without all of us losing something. Not one of you can be removed without disturbing the “wa”.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>And we have achieved that in less than 100 days. Learning to look out for each other. Leaning to take care of each other. But most of all, learning to <u>listen</u> to each other. Social scientists have shown that the only way to break down the walls between people…or between groups of people…is to put them together in a situation that allows them to get to know each other…to get to see what they have in common. From the outside, it is too easy to make judgments about those who are different…to hold stereotypes. Us and them. But when we sit down together, the differences in our values…in our beliefs…in our assumptions…that looked so divisive from the outside, begin to be seen more as interesting variations…because we discover that there is so much more that we <u>share</u>.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>We have shared a lot on this voyage. Some of it exhilarating. Some of it frightening. Some of it very funny. Some of it tragic. But all of it…enlightening. And those shared experiences have brought us together. </b>Back in that first class I told you that you would have many new experiences on this voyage. Not one…not ten…not a hundred…but wave after wave of amazing experiences. To much to process all at once. <b>Do you have any idea how much we have been through together? How much we have seen and tasted and touched and smelled?</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Lunatic rickshaw drivers playing bumper cars in the streets of Chennai. Children without homes. Beggars without limbs. Open sewers and open sores. Neon nights in Hong Kong. Lion kills. Shantytowns. Dolphin and dong. Flying fish and flying pianos. Buddhism/Hinduism/</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Caodaism/Confucianism/ Shintoism/animism/Feminism/Socialism/Communism/Capitalism/ Nationalism/Colonialism. The smell of popcorn in the Piano Lounge. A legless man crawling toward you across the sidewalk. A masseuse…with wandering fingers. Candomble. Germaine’s Luau. The untouchables. Babies holding babies. Midgets on tiptoe. Table Mountain. Rolex knockoffs. Dock time. Hidden orixas and inner fetuses. Rough seas and cubed cheese. A dead bicyclist lying on the pavement. Tiger beer and Tusker beer. Suck and blow…and the Panda Hotel. The Rex…the Voice…the bistro…the Bantu. Vagina monologues and Abba interruptions. 45 degrees to port…45 degrees to starboard. Samba…sunsets…street mimes and Swahili. Poverty and paper shortages. Life boat drills and laundry day. Lantau Island. Robben Island. Larium. Imodium. Clogged toilets. No toilets. Head wobbles and thumbs up. Rain forests and rhinos. Polygamy and polyrhythms and pasta who-knows-what? A surrealistic Alice-in-Wonderland voyage where clocks are retarded and sweatsocks are bartered and doctors shampoo tangerines.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Ba-ai-ah!</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(Come on…this is audience participation. All you soccer fans, let’s try it again)</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Ba-ai-ah! Ba-ai-ah!</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I knew you knew that. And that’s my point.<b> It is our shared experience that brings us together as a community and which makes our differences much less important.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I was in a jewelry shop at the Waterfront in Cape Town with my wife. She was looking at rings. And there was a black African couple there. The woman was trying on earrings…and the salesgirl was oohing an aahing about how fabulous they looked. The woman’s husband was standing back a few feet…and for a split second we caught each other’s eye…with a look of mutual recognition. In that brief second, there was no black or white…just two clueless guys who both knew we were in danger of spending a great deal of money on little sparkly things whose allure we did not understand at all. It was a “guy” moment. And it was great.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I hope you have had moments like that. I think you probably have. Maybe it was a moment when someone smiled at you. Maybe it was a moment when language differences stopped being a barrier and you found yourself communicating. Or when you quit worrying about being ripped off and just started talking to a street vendor. Or when someone taught you to dance a new dance …or play a new instrument…or sing a new song. Don’t get me wrong. <b>I don’t expect the world to change easily. But I do know that the only way it </b><u style="font-weight: bold;">can</u><b> change is by finding the common ground. The smiles…and the “guy” moments.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>You now know, more than you have ever known, that you are <u>privileged</u>. Sure, some of you have more money than others. But <u>each</u> of you has more money than most of the people in the world. More money…more freedom…more education…more opportunity. You are privileged. And in addition to that, you now have a global awareness. Don’t buy the myth that one person can’t change things. Whether you become a CEO or a lawyer or a Peace Corps volunteer doesn’t matter. You <u>are</u> in a position to do something…and a far better position than you were in three months ago. I don’t care if you spend the rest of your life in Kansas…you will always have a global awareness…an enriched understanding of your place in the larger whole. Make good use of that…and the voyage will never end.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Find a cause. Something you believe in…and work for it. It doesn’t have to be some big sweeping world movement. In fact, one of the things you have learned on this voyage is that small local projects…like the Grameen Bank…are often far more effective and productive than large decisions made high above or far away by people who may have good intentions, but who don’t fully understand the local implications. It may seem trite to say, “Think globally, act locally”…but small community-based and community-designed projects work. <b>And small changes are real changes.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>We are all in favor of the big things, like World Peace and the abolition of hunger. Those are things that are easy to believe in, but very difficult to do anything about directly.<b> </b><u style="font-weight: bold;">That’s</u><b> the reason why people throw up their hands and say, “One person can’t do anything”. Well, one person can. </b><u style="font-weight: bold;">You</u><b> can. You’re smart…you’re free…and you are a lot more independent and confident than you were three months ago.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>You have communicated with people from different cultures, different backgrounds and different languages. You can figure out how to get from here to there in India, just because you want to. You can bargain with the best of them in Beijing.<b> You have <u>skills</u>. If you can cross a street in Saigon, you can do anything.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>This voyage has been an incredible gift. It has changed you. And now you’re going home. No you’re not. At least…not to the home that you left in January. When you get off the ship in Ft. Lauderdale, you are going to know that. You already know it in your head. But when you get off the ship in Ft. Lauderdale you are going to know it in your <u>bones</u>. You are going to feel it in your <u>skin</u>. The world that you left behind isn’t there any more.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>There is a story that I like to tell my students about a fish in a fishbowl. There is a way in which a fish swimming around in a fishbowl knows nothing at all about water. Because water is so much a part of the fish’s life. It is surrounded by water. It is embedded in water. In that sense, the fish does not really <u>know</u> water. If you want the fish to really understand water, you have to take the fish out of the fishbowl and say, “Look, that’s water.” Now…if you put the fish back in…the water never looks the same again. Well, in a certain sense, we’ve all been taken out of our fishbowls. You have been out of your fishbowl for 3½ months. Now you have to go back.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>It may not happen to you immediately. Caught up in the excitement of seeing your friends and your relatives…it may take a day. Maybe a week. But sooner or later there is going to be a moment. It might happen to you at the airport. It might happen to you in your hotel room. Maybe not until you get home. But sooner or later there is going to be a moment when you realize that the world just doesn’t “fit” the way it fit before.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Many of your friends…even your <u>good</u> friends…are going to seem suddenly, strangely… stupid. You’ll want to talk about India. And they will say, “Yeah. Right. Sounds great.” And somehow that is just not going to be enough. And you’ll say, Yes, but I was in Varanasi…let me tell you about the colors and the smells and the people…and the bodies! Let me tell you about the burning bodies!” And your friends will say, “Uh huh”. And you will watch their eyes glaze over as they smile and nod and glance over your shoulder. So you’ll try Vietnam. “You know, I was in Vietnam. Saigon. Well, really it’s Ho Chi Minh City, but everybody just calls it Saigon. And they have the most unbelievable traffic! Hardly any traffic lights…and no one pays attention to them anyway.” And your friends will say, “Oh.”</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>And then your friends will suddenly get enthusiastic again when they begin to tell <u>you</u> all the great things you missed while you were gone. Like that big party…where everyone threw up on each other. And that really great episode of “Desperate Housewives”. And they will start telling you some of the lines…and getting excited as they are telling them to you. And you will be crawling out of your skin.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>And you’ll say, “But I saw beggars. I saw children begging. Did you know that parents sometimes actually maim their kids to make them better beggars?” And your friends will say, “Awesome”. And you’ll <u>know</u> that they don’t get it. In fact, you might even begin to wonder if some of your friends really know what it<u>means</u> for something to be…awesome. Standing on the Great Wall of China and seeing it zig zag off across the mountains into the mist, that’s awesome. Waking up in a hammock on a small boat chugging up the Amazon River, that’s awesome. Floating in a hot air balloon over the Serengeti Plain at dawn, that’s awesome. The big party you missed while you were gone, isn’t.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>And you are going to hear yourself sounding pretentious. You won’t <u>feel</u> pretentious, but you are going to hear yourself <u>sounding</u> pretentious. You know, here on the ship, if you are sitting around with one of your friends or your roommate and you start a sentence like, “One night in Saigon I was taking a rickshaw back from the War Remnants Museum…” That doesn’t sound odd, here. But can’t you just see your friends back home rolling their eyes? You are going to have to <u>choose</u> between sounding pretentious…and being silent. And you are going to long to be back here with us…where you can be normal.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>And maybe you have a relationship back home. An important one. One that seemed really comfortable and promising…last January. Oh boy. All those emails you wrote? Or <u>didn’t</u> write? Some of them maybe feeling a little forced as you wrote them? That relationship might not feel right any more. Like an old pair of jeans that’s comfortable…but no longer your style. And you think, “I just can’t do this any more.”</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Many of you have become independent on this voyage. Much more genuinely concerned about the world. About other people. Stronger. Braver. <u>Better</u> than you were last January. And the life that you had planned for yourself might not seem big enough any more. You might be thinking about changing directions. A new major. A new career. Maybe even a new country. Who are you going to talk to? How are they going to understand?</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>There are a thousand little ways in which the world is just not going to <u>fit</u> any more. And a thousand little reminders that it doesn’t fit. Television commercials are going to look really stupid. Houses and cars are going to be obscenely big. Restrooms are going to be disgustingly sanitary. Salespeople will look at you like you’re an idiot when you try to bargain. And everybody is going to have so much…stuff.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Even <u>words</u> aren’t going to seem the same. You’ll hear the word, “Shanghai”. Shanghai is a <u>place</u>…it’s not just a word. Cape Town. It all comes back. It’s not just a word any more. How could you possibly have imagined, back in January, that you would spend the rest of your life getting chills whenever you thought of the words, “Put on your life jackets and get into the hall right now!” With the steady haunting moan of the fog horn in the background. Who else will ever understand that? <b>The world is never going to be the same again.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>So what do you do? Well, I think one of the things you have to do is to forgive your friends. Looking at the pictures…listening to your stories…it’s not the same as having been there. You know that. You’ve looked at people’s vacation pictures before. You know that pictures can’t capture the same experience. They are going to be looking at it and listening to it…you’ve <u>lived</u> it. It has changed you…it hasn’t changed them. So you have to be a little patient with them… you have to be a little forgiving if they don’t quite get it. But I think that you can only do that if they are willing to let you be the person you have become. It is not the places you have been to …and it is not the things that you have done that have to be shared. It is who you have become that has to be shared. Y<b>ou don’t have to find people who have been around the world to understand you, but you have to find people to understand you. And if your old friends won’t let you be the person you have become, make new friends. </b>There are a lot of people out there. You know those foreign students on your home campus? Those strange people with the accents? You see them wandering around confused and not knowing what building to go into. Been there. Done that. Go talk to them.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>There are a lot of people out there who can confirm who you are…and who you are becoming. Even if that is not clear to you now. In many ways, the person you will be six months from now is still developing right outside of consciousness. <b>You don’t know yet how much you have changed. And you won’t know for another six months or a year.</b> It isn’t a good idea to make any major life decisions before then. You might want to…but give yourself some time.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Earlier I suggested that you might want to find a cause…something that you believe in…and work for it. I think that’s a good idea. But I’m not worried about you. I don’t think that you have to be urged to do that…you don’t even need to be <u>reminded</u> to do that. I think you are going to <u>have</u> to do that in order to feel at home. If the world doesn’t fit any more, then you have to create a world for yourself that does fit. A place where you can feel at home.</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I have been on previous voyages…and gone home. So has Dean Wright…Dean Hansen… Kenn…Adrienne…and some others. We’ve all been taken out of our fishbowls and put back in again. And I think I can speak for all of them when I say, <b>“Come on in. The water’s fine.”</b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Thank you.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And I'll just leave you with a toast, also provided by Larry Meredith:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px;">Here's to the four cardinal sins of those who travel the seven seas: Stealing, Lying, Swearing, and Drinking. When you steal, steal away to a grand adventure. When you lie, lie in the heart of wisdom. When you swear, swear allegiance to the truth. And when you drink, drink with me!"</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">HAPPY </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">SAS</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">IVERSARY EVERYONE!</span></b></span></span></div></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-15757038530244274012011-01-13T20:46:00.000+09:002011-01-13T20:46:24.309+09:00Buzz Korea!<div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A few weeks ago I registered for the site <a href="http://www.buzz-korea.com/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.buzz-korea.com</a>. They're a new site aimed at promoting...you guessed it...KOREA, and in order to get people to sign up they are holding a drawing for a free iPad. As part of the registration process you are asked if you have a blog. Obviously I said yes, and provided the address, thinking nothing of it.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Today I got an e-mail saying they had read my blog and one of my entries had been selected to be part of a separate competition. Twenty blog entries were chosen, and visitors to the site vote for their favorite. The writer of the entry with the most votes wins a DSLR camera! Now the last blog competition I was in yielded nothing but bragging rights and a nifty banner for the blog, so this tangible reward is pretty darn exciting. Plus, its one I WANT, haha.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In order to vote, you have to go the <a href="http://www.buzz-korea.com/eng/together.php">Buzz-Korea site</a>, and click "VOTE" in the center of the page. A menu of 20 entries will pop up, and you should find the one titled "Awesome Autumn" with a picture of Seoraksan and my name. Click "VOTE" under the picture and you'll be asked to register. The good news is that registering enters you into the drawing for the free iPad too! You have nothing to lose, and a shot at an iPad to gain! </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In conclusion, all the cool kids are doing it. In fact, many of the cool kids are actually IN the blog entry, and thus, famous as well. </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">You can vote once a day, so vote away until January 25 and I'll be forever appreciative! Tell your friends, family, even that weird girl in class. Every vote helps!</span></div><div><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><div class="photo photo_none" style="clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-66501958065430601792011-01-13T20:15:00.001+09:002011-01-13T20:51:50.899+09:00Brrrr. Winter in Korea!Well we are in the full throes of winter here again. You may remember that last year we got slammed by a huge snow storm last January. Ten inches on the first day of winter camp was WAY TOO MUCH SNOW for Seoul to handle. Though it has snowed many more times this year, the accumulation hasn't been more than an inch or two. It comes down, people sweep it around, it turns to ice, I slip on it, it melts, then it snows again the cycle continues. Winter here always threatens to force me into hibernation mode. The fact that I'm trying very VERY hard to save for my upcoming trips to Taiwan and Bali/Kuala Lumpur has made me pretty anti-social since the holidays. I've made it out once or twice to meet for coffee/dinner and I have had a few memorable outings.<br />
<br />
The first was ten of us hitting up a luxury noraebang (karaoke room) in Cheonho. Amazing times...the room we had was GIGANTIC and any time you add ten ridiculous people + alcohol + 80s hits you are sure to get a quality good time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7KTIeGibI/AAAAAAAADKU/96YYMyxtj4Q/s1600/IMG_2912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7KTIeGibI/AAAAAAAADKU/96YYMyxtj4Q/s640/IMG_2912.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>It's rainin' men... HALLELUJAH, its rainin' men.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7KXCu-oVI/AAAAAAAADKY/mLRl8ub_mj0/s1600/IMG_2926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7KXCu-oVI/AAAAAAAADKY/mLRl8ub_mj0/s640/IMG_2926.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This occurred during an absolutely ridiculous "Kung Fu Fighting" inspired dance off.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7KaejvPJI/AAAAAAAADKc/OEV4GJzivso/s1600/IMG_2934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7KaejvPJI/AAAAAAAADKc/OEV4GJzivso/s640/IMG_2934.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>I am pretty sure Chrissy could take Erich and Joseph.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7KhH7xGBI/AAAAAAAADKg/xDaQN0AUMEM/s1600/IMG_2937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7KhH7xGBI/AAAAAAAADKg/xDaQN0AUMEM/s640/IMG_2937.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Look at the size of this room! And it was only $3/person an hour! We could host events here.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7KkypypvI/AAAAAAAADKk/ZxJyrKC8EIA/s1600/IMG_2939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="510" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7KkypypvI/AAAAAAAADKk/ZxJyrKC8EIA/s640/IMG_2939.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The noraebang crew. We are bringing group pictures back in style.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Melissa, Frank, Shannon, Jamie, Joseph, Josephine, Erich, Chrissy, Julia and I</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Later that week (the week I had off during Christmas and New Years) Laura organized a trip out to <a href="http://english.president.go.kr/main.php">Cheong Wa Dae</a>, or the Blue House. This is basically the Korean White House, as the president lives and works on the complex. The Blue House itself is a symbol of the Korean president and pretty easily recognizable by the traditional blue tiles used for the roof. Long ago the office of the king had blue tiles, and the tradition has continued on for the president. After departure point confusion that led to FIFTY-FOUR MINUTES of walking around in the frigid cold (and completely circumnavigating Gyeongbokgung Palace) we began the walking tour. I have to say, having grown up outside DC, that the security measures were absolutely laughable. I don't even think that metal detector worked. After getting some swag (free Blue House mugs!) we took our walking tour of the complex. Though they told us about 100 times there wouldn't be translation services, they had these nifty little free ear piece things that we could listen to in English. And they gave WAY more information than the tour guide. So that worked out swimmingly. It was kind of cool to see the palace and the Blue House with snow on the ground. I'd like to go back in spring (maybe when my brother comes to visit) when it is a little more pleasant to be outside. Moral of the story, the Blue House is definitely worth a visit.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OAwBoOuI/AAAAAAAADKo/eQCY_2_mpKQ/s1600/IMG_2942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OAwBoOuI/AAAAAAAADKo/eQCY_2_mpKQ/s640/IMG_2942.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gyeongbokgung Palace all snowy!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OEHkquPI/AAAAAAAADKs/O3DLnqD1vBw/s1600/IMG_2943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OEHkquPI/AAAAAAAADKs/O3DLnqD1vBw/s640/IMG_2943.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>It looked so pretty. (Yes, even with the mud showing through...)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OGYlMZCI/AAAAAAAADKw/r3oOyfFktco/s1600/IMG_2944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OGYlMZCI/AAAAAAAADKw/r3oOyfFktco/s640/IMG_2944.jpg" width="586" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This picture was the only benefit to the trek around Gyeongbokgung in search of the meeting point.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OIloHJHI/AAAAAAAADK0/sc7WVJDwO3c/s1600/IMG_2948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OIloHJHI/AAAAAAAADK0/sc7WVJDwO3c/s640/IMG_2948.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Famous tree on the grounds of Cheong Wa Dae. If you look closely you can see two little deer sitting under it. A small herd of about six deer live on the complex.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OMEWwBPI/AAAAAAAADK4/gQiVlWw_zFg/s1600/IMG_2952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OMEWwBPI/AAAAAAAADK4/gQiVlWw_zFg/s640/IMG_2952.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Blue House!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OPe8hwmI/AAAAAAAADK8/FPAQ6PzdRq8/s1600/IMG_2954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OPe8hwmI/AAAAAAAADK8/FPAQ6PzdRq8/s640/IMG_2954.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Building used for hosting events. We weren't allowed in because they were preparing for an event that evening. Sad face.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OSbc4pPI/AAAAAAAADLA/zJmb6RQ79o4/s1600/IMG_2963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7OSbc4pPI/AAAAAAAADLA/zJmb6RQ79o4/s640/IMG_2963.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>After the tour we went into the museum where they had this English speaking robot. It would interact with you and even give you a tour if you let it. It was kind of terrifying.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The last exciting recent event in my life was a trivia night that I set up with Jamie and Shannon at Bunch, our local brunch place. It was great! Over thirty people came out and we played 25 questions with Jamie acting as Quizzard. They were HARD! The winning team got to split a pot of about 90,000won, so it was a great night (no, sadly we did not win). We are going to try and repeat it in the future.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last Monday (January 3), I started English camp. Thankfully I got placed at Cheondong Elementary again, where I worked this summer. The school is a 10-minute walk from my house, the staff is great, and the kids are lots of fun. I wish I could work English camp all year! I get to school around 8:30am and I'm done at 12:30pm. Then I go home, get into my nice, warm, cozy bed and sleep/watch West Wing obsessively/generally vegetate. It is pretty sweet. At our first winter camp meeting we had to choose co-teachers and pick subjects. Immediately when SoMi (the coordinator) said we had to choose co-teachers one of the women pointed at me and said "I WANT SHANAHAN." Um...ok. Her name is Ellie and she was there this summer too. I didn't know much about her outside the fact that her English wasn't real strong and she didn't get along with her summer camp co-teacher at all. So I was...less that excited. For the most part it has worked out alright, though. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7Vxf_PXlI/AAAAAAAADL0/Cecfc6sxlrE/s1600/IMG_3022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="554" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7Vxf_PXlI/AAAAAAAADL0/Cecfc6sxlrE/s640/IMG_3022.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo courtesy of a student who stole my camera.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7VzJBkZ7I/AAAAAAAADL4/OuDZ2E7DyH4/s1600/IMG_3023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="550" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7VzJBkZ7I/AAAAAAAADL4/OuDZ2E7DyH4/s640/IMG_3023.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellie, my co-teacher.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7WK4UrlsI/AAAAAAAADL8/oOUGUqRiZGY/s1600/IMG_3051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7WK4UrlsI/AAAAAAAADL8/oOUGUqRiZGY/s640/IMG_3051.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our classroom (same one I had this summer and the nicest one in the bunch).</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7Wm7KpojI/AAAAAAAADMA/d0KUNiuBI5U/s1600/IMG_3111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7Wm7KpojI/AAAAAAAADMA/d0KUNiuBI5U/s640/IMG_3111.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Another view of the classroom.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7XpwJznzI/AAAAAAAADME/NQ4o8qJFugw/s1600/IMG_3107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7XpwJznzI/AAAAAAAADME/NQ4o8qJFugw/s640/IMG_3107.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One of my kids from my homeroom, John, with the animal he created. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"It is a dinosaur, with the horn of a rhinoceros and the feet of a CHICKEN!"</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7X8TQK-iI/AAAAAAAADMI/Z8rUHxfLtHE/s1600/IMG_3109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7X8TQK-iI/AAAAAAAADMI/Z8rUHxfLtHE/s640/IMG_3109.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jasmine (also from my homeroom) with her rabbit-bird hybrid.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7YJe3p7YI/AAAAAAAADMM/pn9P8KO2KFU/s1600/IMG_3021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7YJe3p7YI/AAAAAAAADMM/pn9P8KO2KFU/s640/IMG_3021.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>These three are a trip. Paul, Jeff and Eric are all in my homeroom class. I'll miss their antics.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7Yb8f5IAI/AAAAAAAADMQ/u5An67ItnbI/s1600/IMG_3048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7Yb8f5IAI/AAAAAAAADMQ/u5An67ItnbI/s640/IMG_3048.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Eric (pictured above) wants to be a chef or a baker. One day he brought in these cookies for Ellie and I. After taking a bite (they were good) I asked if he had an oven. "No teacher, you make cookies in the skillet. And cakes in the rice cooker." Of course...how stupid of me.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7aBZouuWI/AAAAAAAADMU/CQWFqsKY8JU/s1600/IMG_3027b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7aBZouuWI/AAAAAAAADMU/CQWFqsKY8JU/s640/IMG_3027b.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One day I walked onto the fourth floor hallway where my classroom was and thought "Man, its especially cold today." Soon I found out why....the construction on the roof had come inside! They used a jackhammer on the roof and chunks of rock crashed down into the stairwell. Snow fell through this exposed hole during the day, too. I love that it was not blocked off from the kids at all. Aigh. Lawsuit much?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our main subject (taught in two 80-minute periods to all the students) was Storytelling, and our minor subject (taught in one 80-minute period to half the classes) was Architecture. Yes, architecture. That was my dumbass idea. Never again. I had big plans for architecture....and slowly they fell apart, haha. After learning building/house related vocabulary and doing a few activities we were going to read an article about the world's tallest building, and then slip seamlessly into three building challenges. First, teams of four would see who could build the tallest tower out of popsicle sticks, straws, tape, and newspaper in 10 minutes. Then, teams of three would have 10 minutes to see who could build the tallest tower of cards. Last, each student would make a "gingerbread house" using graham crackers. Easy peasy. UNTIL EVERYTHING WENT WRONG. The cards that were purchased were NOT normal playing cards and they were so flimsy that you couldn't build a damn thing with them. Graham crackers are extremely obnoxious to buy in Korea and I ended up spending $40 out of pocket to buy eight boxes. And, perhaps most of all, eighty minutes is just NOT ENOUGH TIME to finish all of that. The first class was an utter disaster. By the third class, I had whittled it down to ONLY the vocabulary activities and gingerbread house building. I am glad the kids didn't stage a coup...apparently they actually had a good time (even though I nearly lost my mind each time I had to teach it)!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7R4P-rP2I/AAAAAAAADLI/VIcxLlfhCZk/s1600/IMG_3029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7R4P-rP2I/AAAAAAAADLI/VIcxLlfhCZk/s640/IMG_3029.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Let's learn house related vocabulary!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7R1VgCxMI/AAAAAAAADLE/xW_VY5Jb8g4/s1600/IMG_3006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7R1VgCxMI/AAAAAAAADLE/xW_VY5Jb8g4/s640/IMG_3006.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gaaaah Korean children and your lack of fine motor skills. WHY would you take the top OFF a bottle of glue?! They all did it...it drove me crazy.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7R7qm2JqI/AAAAAAAADLM/WIryHEVXkM0/s1600/IMG_3034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7R7qm2JqI/AAAAAAAADLM/WIryHEVXkM0/s640/IMG_3034.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Such attention to detail. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Note glue bottle again.)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7R-qKk6xI/AAAAAAAADLQ/HGllrT2sH4g/s1600/IMG_3037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7R-qKk6xI/AAAAAAAADLQ/HGllrT2sH4g/s640/IMG_3037.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Using M&Ms like a pro.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7SCy02hsI/AAAAAAAADLU/PbKlVLG7_wY/s1600/IMG_3038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7SCy02hsI/AAAAAAAADLU/PbKlVLG7_wY/s640/IMG_3038.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gluing the damn things together.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7SHJKondI/AAAAAAAADLY/sqfjEQdcyBI/s1600/IMG_3040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7SHJKondI/AAAAAAAADLY/sqfjEQdcyBI/s640/IMG_3040.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Some did really come out cute.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Yes, they are decorated with marker and glued together. No, the children cannot eat them. Yes, I'm over it.)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7SL4w2PFI/AAAAAAAADLc/qTnr_JqfvGI/s1600/IMG_3041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7SL4w2PFI/AAAAAAAADLc/qTnr_JqfvGI/s640/IMG_3041.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Little architect striking a pose.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7SRXw5KUI/AAAAAAAADLg/fGrJkLTNxVk/s1600/IMG_3043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7SRXw5KUI/AAAAAAAADLg/fGrJkLTNxVk/s640/IMG_3043.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Showing off his creation.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7SYo_VuII/AAAAAAAADLk/sANYk68oP4w/s1600/IMG_3046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7SYo_VuII/AAAAAAAADLk/sANYk68oP4w/s640/IMG_3046.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Almost perfect (note WWE symbol on the roof...apparently this is a wrestling house).</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In our storytelling class, I built the lessons once again off an old favorite: <u>If You Give A Mouse A Cookie</u><i style="text-decoration: underline;">.</i><b> </b>We did a whole bunch of activities about storytelling in general (using emotion, cause and effect, parts of speech) and that specific story, culminating in them writing their own. The kids at my last winter camp definitely GOT this assignment more...but to be fair they'd had a whole week of 40-minute lessons leading up to it, rather than one 80-minute lesson the week before. Whatever, the kids worked hard and produced some hilarious (if nonsensical) stories. Also, for being kids from grades 3-5 they had some pretty awesome illustrations if you ask me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7aw5BB01I/AAAAAAAADMY/L4DYkUZt3zU/s1600/IMG_3011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7aw5BB01I/AAAAAAAADMY/L4DYkUZt3zU/s640/IMG_3011.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Kids taking turns reading "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie".</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7a1xqnzQI/AAAAAAAADMc/dtprsE1VcLc/s1600/IMG_3112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7a1xqnzQI/AAAAAAAADMc/dtprsE1VcLc/s640/IMG_3112.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Planning our own stories. I wrote such gems as "If You Give A Cat A Cupcake" and "If You Give A Spider Spaghetti". NY Times best sellers for sure.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7a9oS3AGI/AAAAAAAADMg/EqkCu-Kw50A/s1600/IMG_3113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7a9oS3AGI/AAAAAAAADMg/EqkCu-Kw50A/s640/IMG_3113.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Her cats were adorable!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7bEJzBpgI/AAAAAAAADMk/TCHh1_KzkzA/s1600/IMG_3114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7bEJzBpgI/AAAAAAAADMk/TCHh1_KzkzA/s640/IMG_3114.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Small house cat indeed. (This was the lowest class.)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7bJts-K1I/AAAAAAAADMo/XrTKg1CguDU/s1600/IMG_3115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7bJts-K1I/AAAAAAAADMo/XrTKg1CguDU/s640/IMG_3115.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Wow, I didn't realize how popular cats were in this class!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7bRAHQS-I/AAAAAAAADMs/HD_l6uuTGNM/s1600/IMG_3116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TS7bRAHQS-I/AAAAAAAADMs/HD_l6uuTGNM/s640/IMG_3116.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Kids hard at work.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I took pictures of some of my favorite stories and made them into mini-slideshows. Sorry I can't make them bigger...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">If You Give A Rabbit A Watermelon</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><embed allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="gW=299333&bC=2d2d2d&aC=d20039&v=1.2" height="425" name="gw299333" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="best" src="http://goodwidgets.com/widgets/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="500"></embed><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">If You Give A Dog Rice</span></b><br />
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<div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><embed allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="gW=299324&bC=2d2d2d&aC=d20039&v=1.2" height="425" name="gw299324" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="best" src="http://goodwidgets.com/widgets/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="500"></embed><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><b>If You Give A Dog A Marshmallow</b></span></b></span><br />
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<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><b><embed allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="gW=299327&bC=2d2d2d&aC=d20039&v=1.2" height="425" name="gw299327" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="best" src="http://goodwidgets.com/widgets/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="500"></embed><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">If You Give A Cat Pizza</span></b></span></b></span><br />
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<div><b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><embed allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="gW=299328&bC=2d2d2d&aC=d20039&v=1.2" height="425" name="gw299328" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="best" src="http://goodwidgets.com/widgets/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="500"></embed><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">If You Give A Lion a Lemon</span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></b><br />
<div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><embed allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="gW=299329&bC=2d2d2d&aC=d20039&v=1.2" height="425" name="gw299329" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="best" src="http://goodwidgets.com/widgets/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="500"></embed></span></span></b><br />
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</span></b></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-62334752596553187312011-01-01T13:59:00.001+09:002011-01-01T14:04:27.158+09:00Holidays!The holidays are always the time when its hardest to be away from my family. Thankfully I have awesome friends here who make it a lot easier. I admit, this year I was significantly more homesick than last year. One of the things I'm most looking forward to in 2011 is being closer to home and being able to spend holidays with loved ones. Hopefully this year was the last year in a long time when I had to spend the entire stretch of winter holidays away from my family.<br />
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On <b>Thanksgiving </b>we ended up at the same restaurant we were at last year: <a href="http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal/restaurant/chef-meili-austrian-heart/">Chef Meili</a>. Last year there were only four of us, but this year we had a whopping 18. I am sure we annoyed the crap out of other patrons and we definitely were right in the middle of everything, but it was lovely. During dinner we all went around and said something we were thankful for, we toasted to good friends, and we gorged on delicious food. Chef Meili is such a warm and inviting restaurant (in fact that chef gave me a big hug when we got there for bringing so much business, haha) and I really couldn't have asked for more.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6iayZYJeI/AAAAAAAADG4/jhtA-0aHRW8/s1600/IMG_2573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6iayZYJeI/AAAAAAAADG4/jhtA-0aHRW8/s640/IMG_2573.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I made hand turkeys with my students for a good week and a half before Thanksgiving, so I had plenty of time to perfect mine. Thankful for so much!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6idv1DLlI/AAAAAAAADHA/7YOMS4s54P4/s1600/IMG_2577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6idv1DLlI/AAAAAAAADHA/7YOMS4s54P4/s640/IMG_2577.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our beet soup appetizer. Just like last year, this soup left me wondering "If all beets are this delicious, why don't I eat them ALWAYS?"</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ieP8A7jI/AAAAAAAADHE/NGsIHT8psHg/s1600/IMG_2578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ieP8A7jI/AAAAAAAADHE/NGsIHT8psHg/s640/IMG_2578.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Thanksgiving dinner with all the necessities: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, veggies, mashed potatoes, etc. Very tasty...we all cleaned our plates for sure!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6im5UpEYI/AAAAAAAADHs/Wks8t6jjD8I/s1600/IMG_2591.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6im5UpEYI/AAAAAAAADHs/Wks8t6jjD8I/s640/IMG_2591.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fancy pants pumpkin pie.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ie-Cxg7I/AAAAAAAADHI/0tO_MXsTtRs/s1600/IMG_2580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ie-Cxg7I/AAAAAAAADHI/0tO_MXsTtRs/s640/IMG_2580.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Everyone happily chowing down.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6inavi4xI/AAAAAAAADHw/fAZPjBIH8_k/s1600/IMG_2594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6inavi4xI/AAAAAAAADHw/fAZPjBIH8_k/s640/IMG_2594.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Posing with the chef...this guy is awesome.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6imGn77zI/AAAAAAAADHo/MkJhOVizDO4/s1600/IMG_2590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6imGn77zI/AAAAAAAADHo/MkJhOVizDO4/s640/IMG_2590.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Yeon Ah, Ga Young, and I</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ifuu0guI/AAAAAAAADHM/EjDjqOrBSbw/s1600/IMG_2582.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ifuu0guI/AAAAAAAADHM/EjDjqOrBSbw/s640/IMG_2582.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Melissa, Frank, and (birthday girl) Julia</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6igUdd77I/AAAAAAAADHQ/qdKeHnct2Gs/s1600/IMG_2583.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6igUdd77I/AAAAAAAADHQ/qdKeHnct2Gs/s640/IMG_2583.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Erich, Chrissy, and Jamie</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6igxIxExI/AAAAAAAADHU/9x4T98nGuDU/s1600/IMG_2584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6igxIxExI/AAAAAAAADHU/9x4T98nGuDU/s640/IMG_2584.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>David, Erika, and Casey</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ilSxvbMI/AAAAAAAADHk/k8OyL5SXdoU/s1600/IMG_2589.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ilSxvbMI/AAAAAAAADHk/k8OyL5SXdoU/s640/IMG_2589.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Laura, Yeon Ah, and Ga Young</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ikheyV3I/AAAAAAAADHg/JcPRD-35EMM/s1600/IMG_2587.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ikheyV3I/AAAAAAAADHg/JcPRD-35EMM/s640/IMG_2587.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sarah, Diana, and Shannon</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6iioBePPI/AAAAAAAADHc/w066tlgg2Cg/s1600/IMG_2586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6iioBePPI/AAAAAAAADHc/w066tlgg2Cg/s640/IMG_2586.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sarah, Carin, and Sarah</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ihl2cZ-I/AAAAAAAADHY/iGy_uxzcTHQ/s1600/IMG_2585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ihl2cZ-I/AAAAAAAADHY/iGy_uxzcTHQ/s640/IMG_2585.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dana, Joseph, and Josephine</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ib8ZAe9I/AAAAAAAADG8/tkT3OPoRO5s/s1600/IMG_2576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6ib8ZAe9I/AAAAAAAADG8/tkT3OPoRO5s/s640/IMG_2576.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Awesome friends. I am undeniably thankful for them.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next holiday we ran into was <b>Julia's Birthday</b>, which happened to be the day after Thanksgiving this year. We celebrated all weekend, with dinner and a Monkey Beach outing on Friday and a get together at Shannon and Jamie's on Saturday. Always a good time. Though I took roughly eight billion pictures Friday night, here are just a couple of my favorites.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6lKyA9McI/AAAAAAAADH0/bNj_DJOOxJA/s1600/IMG_2598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6lKyA9McI/AAAAAAAADH0/bNj_DJOOxJA/s640/IMG_2598.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The birthday girl blowing out her candles at Fresh House.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6n7wYjgZI/AAAAAAAADIQ/VuzSKSBT5kM/s1600/Julia%2527s+Birthday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6n7wYjgZI/AAAAAAAADIQ/VuzSKSBT5kM/s640/Julia%2527s+Birthday.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The birthday dinner crew: Diana, Chrissy, Frank, Shannon, Julia, Eric, Jamie, Stephanie, Erich, Josephine, Derek, and I.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6lLTVQShI/AAAAAAAADH4/3wYjDnEbny0/s1600/IMG_2603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6lLTVQShI/AAAAAAAADH4/3wYjDnEbny0/s640/IMG_2603.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cheers! Monkey Beach is known for its buckets...try Malibu Orange- it is dangerously good.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6lMMt-kjI/AAAAAAAADH8/VZzsPGX1IfI/s1600/IMG_2711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6lMMt-kjI/AAAAAAAADH8/VZzsPGX1IfI/s640/IMG_2711.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This picture, pitting good against evil, is pretty indicative of the descent into madness that was Julia's birthday festivities, haha.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've got to say, I really struggled to get into the Christmas spirit this year. I don't know if it was just homesickness, or what, but it was really a last ditch effort that finally got me feeling the slightest big Christmasy. We did have a couple of light snowfalls (maxing out at about 2 inches) that helped. So did doing a little volunteering (wrapping festive packages for <a href="http://soapforhopecharity.webs.com/aboutus.htm">Soap for Hope</a> and shopping for kids at an orphanage in northern Seoul). And decorating my apartment.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6l9lHjjBI/AAAAAAAADIA/SvywelYnbWM/s1600/IMG_2857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6l9lHjjBI/AAAAAAAADIA/SvywelYnbWM/s640/IMG_2857.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>First snowfall.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6l-XkphuI/AAAAAAAADIE/GmsFISJqV0M/s1600/IMG_2858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6l-XkphuI/AAAAAAAADIE/GmsFISJqV0M/s640/IMG_2858.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>As they would in pretty much any country, the kids lost it.</i> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6l_ZLXeSI/AAAAAAAADII/w1Sy8kB5S8k/s1600/IMG_2859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6l_ZLXeSI/AAAAAAAADII/w1Sy8kB5S8k/s640/IMG_2859.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Big, chunky flakes.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6mAHaaUcI/AAAAAAAADIM/BBdmzGtOabQ/s1600/IMG_2866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6mAHaaUcI/AAAAAAAADIM/BBdmzGtOabQ/s640/IMG_2866.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Soap for Hope Christmas sale packages.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6sDxxeE0I/AAAAAAAADJQ/JiO9oAbr8DQ/s1600/IMG_3001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="328" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6sDxxeE0I/AAAAAAAADJQ/JiO9oAbr8DQ/s640/IMG_3001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cabinets decorated (complete with cards from my adorable returner twins David and Grace.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6sG9KMfvI/AAAAAAAADJU/eHi77Pn7MwY/s1600/IMG_2905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6sG9KMfvI/AAAAAAAADJU/eHi77Pn7MwY/s640/IMG_2905.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Christmas tree corner, with gifts from home ready to go!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then <b>Christmas </b>was finally upon us! Christmas Eve I had a tiny get together at my tiny apartment. Frank, Melissa, Josephine, Chrissy and David came over and we ate a bunch of pizza while watching Gremlins and Die Hard (BOTH Christmas movies, thank you very much). Then Chrissy and David slept over (Chrissy and I both clad in new Christmas pajamas). Christmas morning we got up and the three of us did a mini-gift exchange before cooking up a storm in my apartment. It was all very domestic, haha. At 2:00pm it was finally time to head up to Frank and Melissa's apartment where we had just about the most amazing potluck I've ever been to. SO MUCH DELICIOUS FOOD! There was pork, chicken, steak, green bean casserole, cheese cubes, dips, sweet potato casserole, salad, pasta salad, macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and desserts galore. I ate so much I was pretty sure I was going to die...but I would have died happy. After the food we did a Yankee Swap and I ended up with a lovely bottle of Jose Cuervo and a list of recipes. An excellent time was had by all. Christmas night in Korea was Christmas morning in the states, so I got to video chat with my mom and grandparents and open gifts together. I was extremely spoiled this year with a new Kindle, lovely Ugg boots, beautiful jewelry, some fantastic clothes, Season 5 of HIMYM and various other treats.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pFAdIYeI/AAAAAAAADIU/jG14ti5rWo4/s1600/chrissy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pFAdIYeI/AAAAAAAADIU/jG14ti5rWo4/s640/chrissy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chrissy and I: Christmas sleepover ready.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pQqAHXCI/AAAAAAAADIY/oJqawar_K-s/s1600/IMG_2877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pQqAHXCI/AAAAAAAADIY/oJqawar_K-s/s640/IMG_2877.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Brand new pans to cook the green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole! But...wait...they don't fit in Meaghan's easy bake oven....</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pRpyQQ9I/AAAAAAAADIc/Zcrsmq-186k/s1600/IMG_2878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pRpyQQ9I/AAAAAAAADIc/Zcrsmq-186k/s640/IMG_2878.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Crisis averted by Chrissy's superhuman strength.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pSfHSAxI/AAAAAAAADIg/LrXy3iwLIZo/s1600/IMG_2881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pSfHSAxI/AAAAAAAADIg/LrXy3iwLIZo/s640/IMG_2881.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chowing down while crammed into Frank and Melissa's apartment. We make cozy look good.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pTMNozoI/AAAAAAAADIk/xkGGnMes9WU/s1600/IMG_2882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pTMNozoI/AAAAAAAADIk/xkGGnMes9WU/s640/IMG_2882.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So much delicious, so little time!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pULuzGEI/AAAAAAAADIo/AYfcglm0PuM/s1600/IMG_2883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pULuzGEI/AAAAAAAADIo/AYfcglm0PuM/s640/IMG_2883.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Plate lickin' good!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pVmX09kI/AAAAAAAADIw/vibXz-FKw1c/s1600/IMG_2885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pVmX09kI/AAAAAAAADIw/vibXz-FKw1c/s640/IMG_2885.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Good friends, good food, and good conversation...that's how we do.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pWjW5F-I/AAAAAAAADI0/jkvDX1webk4/s1600/IMG_2886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pWjW5F-I/AAAAAAAADI0/jkvDX1webk4/s640/IMG_2886.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Food on every surface!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pXdrpQII/AAAAAAAADI4/WeCr_5plgnI/s1600/IMG_2890.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pXdrpQII/AAAAAAAADI4/WeCr_5plgnI/s640/IMG_2890.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Erich and Julia posing with my fish pillow. I got a "Merry Fishmas" package from Liz containing this fish. Written all over it are fish related puns thought up by my friends at home. It is so amazing. Some favorite puns include (but are not limited to): "We're praying to COD that you return soon." -Bruno; "Being bored WALLEYE wait for you to return." -Tristan; "Maryland isn't the same wiTROUT you." -Carl; "HOOK yourself a nice KOI-rean boy." -Gabriel; "REELy. Leave that SCHOOL." -Daria; "I hope your Korean experience is a 10 on a SCALE of 1-10." -Greg; "Can't wait to see you when you FINish in Korea." -Liz. Seriously, what did I ever do to deserve such awesome (and hilarious) friends? Merry Fishmas and a CRAPPIE New Year, indeed.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pYQuZduI/AAAAAAAADI8/4-UAtFprO24/s1600/IMG_2891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pYQuZduI/AAAAAAAADI8/4-UAtFprO24/s640/IMG_2891.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hahah, madness.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pdYB5mbI/AAAAAAAADJI/n_6na-DxMFs/s1600/IMG_2904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6pdYB5mbI/AAAAAAAADJI/n_6na-DxMFs/s640/IMG_2904.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Yankee Swap gifts.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6se_NR7sI/AAAAAAAADJc/w2KAJ6P8khY/s1600/IMG_2897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="497" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6se_NR7sI/AAAAAAAADJc/w2KAJ6P8khY/s640/IMG_2897.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Is any holiday complete without family fights?</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6sc9eqMVI/AAAAAAAADJY/c_D6pXBwNrM/s1600/IMG_2896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6sc9eqMVI/AAAAAAAADJY/c_D6pXBwNrM/s640/IMG_2896.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Really though, all of us here in Korea hope you had a spectacular Christmas. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Love: Shawn, Eric, Frank, Michael, Joseph, Chrissy, Derek, David, Jamie, Julia (with moo), Erich, Lee-Rae, Melissa, Josephine (with Fishmas fish), Shannon and I.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This past week has been pretty chill. <b>New Year's Eve</b> DEFINITELY snuck up on me, though! (Whoa, snuck isn't a word? Who knew!) The crew had a little planning meeting earlier in the week and we decided to go up to Jongno where they ring this big bell 33 times. Everyone made it sound like a Times Square type of experience, so I went with high expectations. More on that later. First, yesterday afternoon, Jamie, Shannon, Matthew, Josephine, Carin and I went to see the movie Tron in 4D. That means not only is the movie in 3D, but you are in seats that move, air shoots out, smells are pumped into the theater, etc. It was AMAZING. The movie itself was alright, but the 4D experience kind of blew me away. I think I'm going to need to go see every movie that comes out in 4D here. Exciting (very Korean) way to spend the last afternoon of 2010. We bid our adieus to injured Shannon and her posse (Jamie and Matthew, obviously) and Carin, Josephine and I headed up to Jongno. We found ourselves a spot at a Holly's Coffee and settled in to play games for about an hour and a half. Good times. Then we met up with everyone else and headed over to the Dream Palace building for dinner. I attempted to order the stew type stuff we'd eaten there a few times before, but we ended up with just Korean bbq. However the meat was excellent, so no one was complaining! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6urcHWtOI/AAAAAAAADJg/AXh7RY1Qnsk/s1600/IMG_2969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6urcHWtOI/AAAAAAAADJg/AXh7RY1Qnsk/s640/IMG_2969.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chrissy, Julia, Erich, Carin and Josephine enjoying dinner.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6usCAyuMI/AAAAAAAADJk/O1n699Hr8CA/s1600/IMG_2970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6usCAyuMI/AAAAAAAADJk/O1n699Hr8CA/s640/IMG_2970.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Frank, Joseph and Melissa enjoyed it too...even if they don't look like it!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6utGcnjoI/AAAAAAAADJo/2UVk2JqE1vE/s1600/IMG_2974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6utGcnjoI/AAAAAAAADJo/2UVk2JqE1vE/s640/IMG_2974.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Yay 2011! Check out the tiny hat barrette I borrowed from Shannon. DAPPER!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After dinner and securing the rest of our party from the metro station, we headed over to Hope Haus Bar, which is on the Cheonggyecheon for some drinks and games. The bar owner was less than pleased with our group size, volume, and perceived lack of purchasing power so that blew a little, but eventually we settled down, played some Kings, and generally had a good evening. Around 11:45pm we headed over to Jongno for the ringing of the bell. It was...um...anti-climactic. There was a count down, yes. Then a bunch of Koreans released balloons with wishes on them, yes. That was pretty cool. But then everyone just kind of immediately left. It was really strange. We stood in the middle of everything wishing people happy new year and waited til the crowd dissipated. I was just expecting more, I guess. This year in lieu of making resolutions, I stole an idea from Simi over at <a href="http://www.straightfromthecurls.com/">Straight from the Curls</a>. We each took a small piece of paper and wrote down something we wanted to let go of in the coming year. It could be a bad habit, relationship baggage, a negative experience, whatever. At midnight we all burned the papers and said goodbye to the things we wanted to release. It was great!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vhjMlmFI/AAAAAAAADJs/e6mAEKIWtVc/s1600/IMG_2975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vhjMlmFI/AAAAAAAADJs/e6mAEKIWtVc/s640/IMG_2975.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fun lights by YBM.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vitgPQTI/AAAAAAAADJw/ZpzoMrxpPZw/s1600/IMG_2978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vitgPQTI/AAAAAAAADJw/ZpzoMrxpPZw/s640/IMG_2978.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Second NYE in a row with these ladies. Love!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vjsboDEI/AAAAAAAADJ0/Cixh7ItSx_A/s1600/IMG_2982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vjsboDEI/AAAAAAAADJ0/Cixh7ItSx_A/s640/IMG_2982.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lots of people.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vkGdRaRI/AAAAAAAADJ4/fiEsp3lTdbI/s1600/IMG_2983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vkGdRaRI/AAAAAAAADJ4/fiEsp3lTdbI/s640/IMG_2983.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The thing on the right there (Asian looking building) is where the bell is housed.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vkpj6kiI/AAAAAAAADJ8/HHzhf_tHSOs/s1600/IMG_2985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vkpj6kiI/AAAAAAAADJ8/HHzhf_tHSOs/s640/IMG_2985.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Me, Chrissy, Diana, Erich and Josephine all ready to burn our papers!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vlghIkhI/AAAAAAAADKA/zUf7jQMJRPM/s1600/IMG_2992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6vlghIkhI/AAAAAAAADKA/zUf7jQMJRPM/s640/IMG_2992.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>There were roughly 8 billion police out.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="450" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/18337775?portrait=0&color=36ff33" width="600"></iframe></div><a href="http://vimeo.com/18337775">Last Moments of 2010!</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2261292">Meaghan Shanahan</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Here are the last few moments of 2010 on our side of the world! Today I cannot help but wonder how much wildlife will die thanks to Korean New Years wishes.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After we left Jongno we took a leisurely walk down the Cheonggyecheon, stopping for pictures, before hailing a taxi and heading home. I was asleep by 2:00am, haha.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6xUi7WifI/AAAAAAAADKE/I7c_KcbZYxA/s1600/IMG_2995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6xUi7WifI/AAAAAAAADKE/I7c_KcbZYxA/s640/IMG_2995.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cheonggyecheon still decorated for Christmas!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6xXDFimRI/AAAAAAAADKQ/W03K1duSseI/s1600/IMG_2999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6xXDFimRI/AAAAAAAADKQ/W03K1duSseI/s640/IMG_2999.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fun lights say goodbye to 2010.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6xVUu81CI/AAAAAAAADKI/4FuzndP5mrc/s1600/IMG_2996.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6xVUu81CI/AAAAAAAADKI/4FuzndP5mrc/s640/IMG_2996.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Maryland represent!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6xV8-AcOI/AAAAAAAADKM/S4RB1p7a0Yo/s1600/IMG_2998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TR6xV8-AcOI/AAAAAAAADKM/S4RB1p7a0Yo/s640/IMG_2998.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One last photo for the night.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Happy New Year from Julia, me, Carin and Glenn!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Overall, 2010 brought me some wonderful moments. Meeting new friends. Adventures to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Japan. Visits from Jo Anna, Mike, Carl and Monica. Unforgettable trips to Jeollanam-do, Nami Island, Jeju, Busan and all corners of Seoul. A million hilarious experiences with my students. A renewed appreciation for what I have back in the States. Countless memories I'll always share with my friends from Korea.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I hope your 2011 is filled with health, happiness, love, and laughter. I hope you explore the world (even just your corner of it) and yourself with a renewed passion. I hope you're surrounded by people and things you enjoy, and that this time next year you're in an even better place than you are right now.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Happy New Year!</span></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-64436604831956565672010-12-30T19:57:00.000+09:002010-12-30T19:57:15.692+09:00Thankful!Blog entry #100! Crazy! Thanks to all the readers out there, both those I know and those I don't. All of you should thank my Mom, because she's the one who bugs me about entries when they are few and far between. I wouldn't write as often without her. I apologize in advance for the slowing of blog entries that inevitably comes with winter. I am too busy hibernating to blog (plus how uninteresting are entries about me laying under the covers in my bed watching old X-Files episodes?).<br />
<br />
So over a month ago it was Thanksgiving and last week it was Christmas, and this whole holiday season always makes me think about the many things I'm thankful for. I've led an immensely lucky and blessed life, and I am thankful for so very much.<br />
<br />
<b><u>My Family</u></b><br />
I was born into a family who had the means and drive to make me an independent, informed, well-traveled, person with a passion for helping others.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TP8hq1WAHSI/AAAAAAAADFw/rZMwccXmNFQ/s1600/mom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TP8hq1WAHSI/AAAAAAAADFw/rZMwccXmNFQ/s640/mom.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My mom is one of the best people I've ever known, and such a force in my life. I don't know how she didn't murder me in high school, but I am glad we got through it and got so close. She is one of my very best friends.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TRxjHvCGUDI/AAAAAAAADGo/hcfH50ewOpQ/s1600/Picture1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="550" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TRxjHvCGUDI/AAAAAAAADGo/hcfH50ewOpQ/s640/Picture1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My dad and his other child.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TP8hqBofI6I/AAAAAAAADFs/L_sRvPaIVdc/s1600/mike+and+i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TP8hqBofI6I/AAAAAAAADFs/L_sRvPaIVdc/s640/mike+and+i.jpg" width="476" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My brother, who I really only became friends with a few years ago. Glad we're past the days of you stealing my covers and opening my windows in the middle of the night (in winter). Our intense travel competition always encourages me to explore new places (like I needed a reason).</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TP8hpJrlN3I/AAAAAAAADFo/LKzACofqNE8/s1600/grandparents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="403" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TP8hpJrlN3I/AAAAAAAADFo/LKzACofqNE8/s640/grandparents.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My mom's parents have been a huge part of my life as long as I can remember. Whether it is coming to all my birthday parties (regardless of location) or just their continuous support of all my crazy plans, they are wonderful. (Special shout out to honorary family member, Monica!)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TP8hmEoX95I/AAAAAAAADFc/W5OWny-lg0k/s1600/patti+and+rachel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="433" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TP8hmEoX95I/AAAAAAAADFc/W5OWny-lg0k/s640/patti+and+rachel.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My aunt, uncle, and cousins on my mom's side are all really close. Aunt Patti never ceases to make me laugh and Rachel is like the younger sister I never got to have. I don't know how she got so much older when I didn't, but it's pretty crazy.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TRxkXdGUCPI/AAAAAAAADGs/AUW_JZNVgzw/s1600/baylors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TRxkXdGUCPI/AAAAAAAADGs/AUW_JZNVgzw/s640/baylors.jpg" width="570" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My Uncle Todd is one of the coolest fathers I've ever known. He can crack me up whenever we talk, and is generally just an awesome guy. Michae and Ty are, again, more like younger siblings than cousins. I'll go ahead and run the risk of sounding trite when I say they're growing up faster than I can believe, but I am excited to see the people they become.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u>My Friends</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have long said that one of my strongest attributes is my ability to surround myself with awesome people. At home I have some of the best friends anyone could ask for, and the past year and a half spent in Korea has proven that distance can't break these bonds. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TP8lDJtjUNI/AAAAAAAADF8/Tqz9hDE1p6g/s1600/group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TP8lDJtjUNI/AAAAAAAADF8/Tqz9hDE1p6g/s640/group.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our last camping trip in July 2009. This picture has all but a few of the most important people in my life stateside. Renee, Carl, Lyndsay, Jo Anna, Monica, Liz, Debbie, Greg, and Amanda have all been key players in my life over the past ten years. Find somewhere to cram in Bruno, Gabe, and Erin and you've got pretty much everyone.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TK8mUWEjmYI/AAAAAAAAC2s/7D_42wmdVHU/s1600/IMG_1035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TK8mUWEjmYI/AAAAAAAAC2s/7D_42wmdVHU/s640/IMG_1035.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Then I came to Korea and stumbled into another great group of friends. And I was doubly lucky in that most of them stayed a second year. Without Dana, Dave, Laura, Chrissy, Julia, Jamie, Erich, Shannon, and Derek I'd probably lose my mind here. Julia, Brigid, and Ayzia also belong in this picture for their major influence on my first year, but those silly geese decided to go home early. Diana is also conspicuously absent (from the picture but not my heart!).</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u>My Education</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As a strong and vocal supporter of education, I know exactly how blessed I was to attend well-funded, challenging schools with dedicated and creative teachers. From my formative years at <a href="http://htrinity.org/">Holy Trinity</a> (where I learned to love school), straight through the hellish years of high school in the science and tech program at <a href="http://www.pgcps.org/~erhs/">Roosevelt</a> (where I learned to hate attending classes), I was exposed to a lot and learned a ton of (questionably useful) stuff. Then I went to Marywood, where I truly got to know who I was and flourish in a fantastic, supportive, environment. The people I met, the organizations I participated in, and the places I served all had a lasting impact on me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Maryarch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Maryarch.jpg" width="516" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Love Electric Mary and the arch, especially with fall colors behind it.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While we are talking about being thankful for education, I'd be remiss not to throw out another little shout out for Pencils of Promise. This year they're starting a new initiative called <a href="http://www.pencilsofpromise.org/promises">Season of 1,000 Promises</a> and their goal is to get 1,000 people agree to sponsor a student's education for $10 a month. It's such a tiny commitment that has the power to make huge, lasting changes in a child's life. Not to mention that child's family and future offspring. PoP is an amazing organization (while you're on the site you might as well click around and learn more about their spectacular schools in Laos and Nicaragua), but they can only do it with your help. So consider making a promise this season...I already made mine!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u>Semester at Sea</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I don't have the space (or appropriate words) to express how deeply the <a href="http://www.semesteratsea.org/">Semester at Sea</a> program has affected my life. I knew from the moment that we pulled away from the docks on that rainy, cold January morning that SAS would always be with me, and it's true. SAS has helped shape me into the person I am today, and given me some incredible experiences I wouldn't have had the opportunity partake in otherwise. The only thing stronger than the memories I brought home are the bonds and friendships I'll forever share with my shipmates. Simply, SAS is love. I am forever thankful that my parents allowed/encouraged (depending on the day) me to go and have such a stellar experience. Every moment- from standing in breathless awe on the Great Wall, to crying as I volunteered in the orphanage in India, to sitting in the hall for six hours in my life jacket (watching the waves slip up onto the fifth deck), and getting the chills when looking up at the the insanely starry sky that night they turned off all the lights in the middle of the Atlantic- is permanently ingrained in my heart.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was actually talking about high school and university the other day with Diana and it really made me think about what an impact SAS really had on me. My grades coming out of high school were pretty terrible, namely because I didn't go to class. I went to school...but not to class. Special, I know. Then I got to college and the first semester I was still a mess. I ended up with a 1.42 GPA. Life lesson: a low GPA is a lot harder to bring up than a high GPA is to bring down. The school threatened my scholarships, my mom probably threatened my life, but the single biggest motivator for me to go to class and do well was a poster for SAS hanging in our student center. After finding out that I needed a 2.5 GPA, I worked hard to make it happen. Spring semester of my freshman year yielded very different grades, because I now had something I was working towards. By the time I came back from SAS I was changed...I didn't want to squander the educational opportunities I had been given when so many others weren't. So I went to class, I worked hard, and I graduated with a 3.49 GPA. Moral of the story...SAS very well might have kept me in school and definitely had a hand in getting me to Korea and most of the other places I've traveled.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://uvamagazine.org/images/uploads/2008/spring/0801_UD_vessel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="http://uvamagazine.org/images/uploads/2008/spring/0801_UD_vessel.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Home away from home: the MV Explorer.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u>My Job</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Teaching can be a stressful, exhausting, thankless job. Don't even get me started on how little teachers are paid (universally) for the job that we're doing. But when it comes down to it, I love what I do. I love working with kids every day and being someone who helps them make progress and overcome various challenges. Working at Hilltop was eye opening for sure, and it introduced me to some great friends with whom I share a million hilarious inside jokes and memories. The kids there left a lasting impression on me, and sometimes I find myself randomly wondering how Demari and Jonathan are doing in middle school, whether Gunner still looks forward to earning buses each day, and if that absolutely insane little girl is keeping Charlita and Debbie on their toes. Though I was often made miserable by the absurd expectations and ridiculous bureaucracy, I loved those kids. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TQg5QZvAoDI/AAAAAAAADGA/qhggTNXa_Zg/s1600/hilltop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TQg5QZvAoDI/AAAAAAAADGA/qhggTNXa_Zg/s640/hilltop.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hilltop's fifth grade class of 2009. What a colorful crew.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And then I set off for Korea. Though sometimes this country drives me bat shit crazy, I really do love it here. Korea has forced me to grow up in a lot of ways and really see what it's like to be living completely on my own. Though there are things about Korea I'll never understand (too many to list), there are lots of things I love. I love that every single day, no matter how stressful, a kid or adult says something to make me laugh. I love that I get to explore new places in this country and go to fascinating festivals. I love the easy access I have to the rest of Asia. In the two years I've been here I will have gone to 8 new countries (South Korea, North Korea- DMZ COUNTS, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Indonesia). I love that somehow, almost imperceptibly, the country has become family...you know how you can bad mouth your brother all you want, but as soon as someone says something negative about him you get all defensive? Yeah, that's me and Korea. Just ask Diana....she likes Japan better, haha. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am sure the next six months will fly by and before I know it I'll be back at home getting ready for grad school. As it stands I can barely believe I've been here nearly 16 months already!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TQg_styqIgI/AAAAAAAADGM/9VSV-w1a-sw/s1600/stolen+children+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="582" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TQg_styqIgI/AAAAAAAADGM/9VSV-w1a-sw/s640/stolen+children+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This still ranks as one of my favorite photos of my entire stay here.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I promise that very very soon I'll have a real update about the (little) that has been going on in my life, including Christmas and New Years festivities and a trip to the Blue House (Korean equivalent of the White House). I hope you all sail happily into 2011 and that it is filled with love and happiness for you and all you care about. Happy New Year!</div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-80434782258838777402010-12-02T20:39:00.000+09:002013-06-17T16:53:44.074+09:00Top 10 Countries I'd Live to Visit!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is my 99th post on this blog! That is pretty crazy if you ask me, especially since I write so damn much.I was going to save this post for number 100 and have my Thanksgiving post first, but then I realized that the things I'm thankful for (in Korea and abroad) deserve the glory of the milestone post, so I did a little switcheroo. I wanted to steal an idea from Chris over at <a href="http://www.aussieontheroad.com/">Aussie on the Road</a> and make a top 10 list of places I'd like to go. I've been ridiculously privileged so far in my life, having already visited 23 countries. <a href="http://www.semesteratsea.org/">Semester at Sea</a> obviously played a big part in that (9 countries), but travelling with family (5 countries), Girl Scouts (3 countries), and friends (6 countries) has provided me with many wonderful experiences as well. However, as per usual, its not enough! There are so many amazing places in the world that I can't wait to explore. In January I'm going to Taiwan, and in February I plan to visit two more countries (Malaysia and Indonesia), bringing my total to 26 countries in 25 years. I hope to keep my count up by visiting at least one new country each year for as long as I am able!<br />
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So here is my list. The hardest parts were narrowing it down to only 10 and putting them in order.<br />
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<b>10. Greece</b></div>
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<a href="http://as1.wdpromedia.com/media/abd/europe/greece-vacations/Greece-Slide1-Santorini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://as1.wdpromedia.com/media/abd/europe/greece-vacations/Greece-Slide1-Santorini.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Tons of history, stunning blue water, beautiful architecture...I mean you really can't go wrong. Especially since I've gotten over my fear of unfamiliar foods (and then some, haha) and I'd be willing to eat random things wrapped in grape leaves. Um...and baklava? Totally worth the trip.</div>
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<b>9. Croatia</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/images/nov_05/croatia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="417" src="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/images/nov_05/croatia.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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From all I've heard, Croatia is an absolute gem that is almost always overlooked. With great beaches, unique experiences, and a strong cultural history, Croatia is so unknown to most people that you'd probably get a bunch of screwed up faces and questions like "You're going...where?" But isn't that half the fun of travel?</div>
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<b>8. Finland </b></div>
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<b></b>(especially in winter)</div>
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<a href="http://budgetmonkeytravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/finland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://budgetmonkeytravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/finland.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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I love snow. Especially when I don't have to be in charge of clearing it. Finland is a great winter destination because in addition to having tons of attractions like dog sledding and ice hotels, you can also see the Northern Lights during their ultra-long nights. </div>
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<b>7. Iceland</b></div>
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Blame it on the Girl Scouts. When I was in high school we worked the <a href="http://www.embassy.org/embassy_row/page19.html">Goodwill Embassy Tours</a> (which I just learned were cancelled after 9/11, which is a damn shame because it was such an awesome idea). Basically embassies, consulates and residences along Embassy Row in DC would open their doors and provide tours, cultural demonstrations, etc. One year I worked at the Icelandic Embassy and got to hang out with the ambassador's wife all day. Iceland captured my fancy then and has yet to release it. Hot springs and the <a href="http://www.blacktomato.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/Northern-Lights-Iceland.jpg">Northern Lights</a> in a country whose people are consistently ranked one of the happiest in the world? Awesome.</div>
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<b>6. Egypt</b></div>
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I mean, obviously. For any history lover, Egypt pretty much has to make the list. Add to that great experiences people I know have had there (Casey studying abroad there during university, and my grandmother's cousin Shirley teaching there after university- just like me teaching in Seoul!- but quite a few years before my time) have really inspired my desire to visit Egypt. I could do without the camels, but I would love to volunteer there as well as soaking up some history.</div>
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<b>5. Chile</b></div>
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Miners and earthquakes aside, I've always heard only positive things about Chile. Breathtaking scenery, lovely people, cheap steaks, amazing wine...all of these things are high on my list of "Awesome Country Attributes". I love mountains and the Andes are hard to beat. Also, the idea of getting to go all the way down to the weeeeee little tip of South America is very cool to me. Plus then I could just hop on a boat and hit up that pesky Antarctica!</div>
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<b>4. Turkey</b></div>
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No one has ever, EVER, said anything negative about Turkey. No, seriously. Ask around. Everyone who has ever been there left with totally fond memories and will laud this country as one of their favorites. There is something about Turkey that draws people and enthralls them. Busy street markets, a beautiful blend of eastern and western cultures (it is one of only a handful of countries that literally reside in two continents) and some of arguably the most beautiful buildings in the world are a good enough draw for me!</div>
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<b>3. Mongolia</b></div>
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Mongolia is just a fascinating country to me. I don't know when it started for sure...but if I had to cite the first time I remember really wanting to go was while I watched Ewan McGregor and his friend ride their motorcycles through Mongolia on their documentary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Way_Round">Long Way Round</a>. Ewan McGregor's hotness aside, I was struck by how welcoming the people were, the vibrancy of their culture, and the fact that they had survived so long on those crazy, windswept mountains and valleys. Plus I wouldn't mind catching some of their strange (and fiercely competitive) traditional games involving animals bones, horseback riding, and skillful archery challenges.</div>
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<b>2. New Zealand</b></div>
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Why is this whole country so gorgeous?! Seriously, I bet you have no idea how many movies have been filmed in New Zealand to take advantage of their wide open spaces and beautiful natural backdrops. Add to this that they speak English (though some might rightly argue that it is definitely a foreign language when compared to American English) and you're in heaven! I am also absolutely enamored with the Maori people and their strong defense of their native lands and traditions. If you haven't seen the movie <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_Rider">Whale Rider</a>, you should. It's lovely. Also, just FYI, I could watch those guys dancing the haka any day of the week.</div>
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<b>1. The Maldives</b></div>
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<a href="http://karmatrendz.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/130312_conrad_maldives_rangali_resort_01__r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://karmatrendz.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/130312_conrad_maldives_rangali_resort_01__r.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Maldives are the actual definition of a disappearing paradise. This chain of approximately 1,190 (!) islands is the lowest nation in the world. It's highest point is 2.3m above sea level, while the average is 1.5m. This is a problem if, oh, say the SEA IS RISING thanks to global warming. These islands are incredible with a extreme biodiversity in the ocean and some of the most stunning hotels I've ever seen. I want to gooooo!</div>
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<b>Honorable Mentions:</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.compassmovingservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/removals-Czech-Republic.jpg">Czech Republic</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.romaniatourism.com/images/splash-castles-rasnov.jpg">Romania</a></div>
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<a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2012/11/12/1352745105312/Neuschwanstein-Castle-nea-008.jpg">Germany</a></div>
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<a href="http://costa-rica-condo-rentals.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/waterfall.jpg">Costa Rica</a></div>
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<a href="http://kabiza.com/kabiza-wilderness-safaris/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Visiting-Uganda-in2013-best-to-plan-now.jpg">Uganda</a></div>
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<b>So, now it's your turn. What are the top 10 countries YOU want to visit?</b></div>
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Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-69074177590215615932010-12-01T20:45:00.000+09:002011-04-14T15:57:44.108+09:00Thoughts on North Korea!First and foremost, know that I'm fine. The bombing that took place was many kilometers of open ocean and dense city away from where I live. This picture shows how far away Yeonpyeong Island is from Seoul. And keep in mind I am on the <b>far</b> eastern side of Seoul (just ask my brother who bitched about the long commutes to anything in the city EVERY DAY while he was here).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.ft.com/cms/51b1a2ea-f73c-11df-9b06-00144feab49a.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="http://media.ft.com/cms/51b1a2ea-f73c-11df-9b06-00144feab49a.gif" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Though this is clearly a significant issue, and should be treated as such, I am a little sick of the foreign media making it sound like everyone over here is cowering in their bomb shelters, because really...its not like that. Every day I read news articles from CNN and BBC that make things sound significantly more dangerous here than it feels. Yes, North Korea is pledging to retaliate if the US joins South Korea in military exercises in the Yellow Sea. No, their words do not carry much weight. Pyongyang said the exact same thing in July after the US military came over and started running drills after the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROKS_Cheonan_sinking">Cheonan</a> was sunk. As Fox News says in <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/07/24/aircraft-carrier-increases-pressure-north-korea-pyongyang-warns-retaliation/">this article</a>, "The North routinely threatens attacks whenever South Korea and the US hold join military drills, which Pyongyang sees as a rehearsal for an invasion." This is not new. But you better believe that every time it happens the media reports it like this is something fresh horror. Moral of the story, Pyongyang talks a really big game, which is almost comically over-dramatic, and everyone can just take a breath. Tell your mom, friend's sister, cousins, and co-workers that I'm fine, I'm not leaving Korea any time soon, and that I always carry my passport on me in case stuff unexpectedly turns bad. And I am familiar with where I have to go in case of <a href="http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/korea/threat-level-low-no-plans-to-evacuate-families-in-south-korea-u-s-officials-say-1.126932">evacuation</a>, so no worries. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now, I am not one to repost political stuff, but I have to say that I was pretty disgusted by Sarah Palin's little "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/24/sarah-palin-north-korea_n_788107.html">slip</a>" on Glen Beck's radio show last week. While I agree with the many people who excuse it by noting that anyone could accidentally say North instead of South when saying the sentence "Obviously, we have to stand with our North Korean allies" I would like to think that the majority of us would have immediately CORRECTED OURSELVES. Instead Palin blithely sailed onward as the host corrected her. Yes, everyone makes mistakes. But significantly worse that the mistake itself was her unwillingness to recognize it! I mean, come on. Her lack of immediate correction/response leads me to wonder WAS it a mistake? Or does she seriously not know the difference between North and South Korea. I mean, there are just a few small differences in areas like politics, allies, economy, and...oh yeah...EVERYTHING. Gaah. Also many have brought up the point that the rest of us who may have made the mistake aren't running for president or presenting ourselves as policy experts. I think this writer basically says it all in his <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mitchell-bard/why-sarah-palins-north-ko_b_788647.html">article</a>. As a resident of South Korea I hope for damn sure that the leaders of ALL nations know the difference between North and South should things turn bad. Anyway, moving on. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While all this craziness gives great coverage to that tiny, insane tyrant, Kim Jong Il, it leaves the appalling violation of human rights that occurs daily in North Korea exactly where it has been for years: firmly in the shadows. I am certain most American's don't really know the extent to which people are suffering in North Korea...I mean I really didn't before coming here. Sure, we all know "North Korea: Dictatorship + Nuclear Weapons = BAD" but while we might know about the government of the north and their interactions internationally, we pay very little attention to the domestic policies of the North Korean government that leave hundreds of thousands of people starving, living in extreme poverty, and/or serving time in concentration camps.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Over the past week I've spent a few days with a North Korean defector named Chung Hyuk. He is a student at the University of Seoul, and is in an English class taught by my friend Andrea. Andrea and I had been friends on Facebook for a while, actually since January when we were supposed to both work on the DHC book project (this was before she had university classes scheduled at the same time and had to give up the project), but we didn't meet until last Saturday. She's a super passionate and inspiring girl, and I'm excited to have finally met her. It is clear that she really cares about Chung Hyuk and is dedicated to getting his story out, and helping him in any way she can.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Chung Hyuk escaped North Korea in 2005 at the age of 18. (Kind of crazy to think that I was disembarking a trip around the world as he was preparing to leave the only life he'd ever known.) He fled the disastrous conditions of North Korea into the disastrous conditions of living in hiding in China. China does not recognize defectors as refugees, and if they are caught they're sent directly back to the North Korean government. Best case scenario, they're sent to prison camps for hard labor. Worst case scenario, they're executed. Chung Hyuk made is way into Mongolia, illegally crossing yet another country's border, where he was then able to seek asylum at the South Korean embassy. It was over six months before he was able to actually come to South Korea and join the over 20,000 North Koreans who have defected here. His story is like that of so many other North Korean refugees- they leave one hell only to find themselves in a whole new, terrible, and dangerous situation. Here's an insane statistic: 80% of women who escape North Korea into China are sold into the sex trade. EIGHTY PERCENT. That is an almost unimaginable number.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last Thursday I had the opportunity to watch part of a documentary made by a Korean newspaper called the Chosun Ilbo. It followed the journey of one group of defectors as they fled China in hopes of finding a place where they no longer had to live in fear and hiding. This group, including a nine-year-old boy, left northern China and board a train for a 3-day trip down to southeastern China. Once there, they illegally crossed the river border into Laos in the middle of the night. They had to remain silent as their small boat crossed the fast moving water, lest they arouse the suspicion of the guards posted along the riverbanks. Once in Laos, their journey was far from over. They hiked for 18 hours, slipping and sliding up the side of a mountain covered in dense rain forest and down the other. Finally they arrived in Thailand, where they met another guide who drove them the many hours down winding dirt roads to Bangkok. It was only once they entered the compound housing the South Korean embassy that they were safe. Until then they were at the mercy of bounty hunters hired to find and capture those illegally travelling through China, Laos and Thailand. The story was harrowing, for sure; it sounded like something out a movie. But the truth is that people do this every day. They face their fears, and very real risks of imprisonment and death, to seek out a better life. And, thankfully, some are successful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Chung Hyuk came here and started studying. Even though the North Korean education system leaves a lot to be desired, he worked his butt off and took the South Korean college entrance examination. His scores qualified him to enter the economics program at the University of Seoul. Unprepared for the rigors of South Korean academics (ESPECIALLY in math), school has definitely been a struggle for him. But he is an exceptionally hard worker who is very dedicated to bettering himself. One of the most fascinating things he talked about during the Q&A portion of his speech last week was how difficult it is living in South Korea. I am sure that worldwide, people find themselves in horrible situations and just think "when I get out of here, everything will be perfect." While South Korea is certainly a better situation for him to live in, it is still fraught with challenges: fierce competition for jobs, very little monetary support from the government, discrimination, and an educational system that moves at the speed of light. It is a constant struggle for him, his older brother, and mother (all of whom have defected to South Korea since 2005) to keep their heads above water. They also have constant worry about his other brother who remains in North Korea. They have very little contact with him; when they do need to get in touch the word travels through four or five people. In addition to all of this, Chung Hyuk has a side company, which is actually how I met him. He makes soap. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After arriving in South Korea, he attended a high school for North Korean defectors. The principal of this high school is a pastor who has done extensive work both inside and outside of North Korea, attempting to better the lives of people there. He is friends with the owners of <a href="http://www.semcraft.com/">Sem & Soie</a>, an all natural soap/cosmetics/candle manufacturer in Seoul. The company itself deserves recognition, as well as the couple who run it. Headed by a female president, the company was started to provide a sheltered workshop-type atmosphere where people with cognitive disabilities could hold a steady job. They currently employ around fifteen adults with mental disabilities who work there full time to earn a living. The company uses 100% natural ingredients and makes some really great products. They worked out a system with Chung Hyuk, allowing him to come in on weekends and make soap. Any soap that he makes, he is allowed to sell. Chung Hyuk takes the profits from these sales and donates them to help North Koreans escape Kim Jong Il's brutal regime and find another place to settle. Two Sundays ago I had the privilege of helping him make soap, along with Andrea and her friend Sabe.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtSHQCPII/AAAAAAAADD0/Z9ROX3uxSg4/s1600/IMG_2514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtSHQCPII/AAAAAAAADD0/Z9ROX3uxSg4/s640/IMG_2514.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Soaps ready to be packaged up and sent off.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtaDh41SI/AAAAAAAADEM/JaXrAyy4LeI/s1600/IMG_2527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtaDh41SI/AAAAAAAADEM/JaXrAyy4LeI/s640/IMG_2527.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Soaps as far as the eye can see.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtY5uw_uI/AAAAAAAADEI/pyszyu_uli4/s1600/IMG_2526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtY5uw_uI/AAAAAAAADEI/pyszyu_uli4/s640/IMG_2526.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Scents scents scents.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We met way up north at Ssangmun Station before heading out on a little tour of the criss-crossing streets and lane-ways that led us to the unassuming Sem & Soie factory. Nestled on a residential street, the only real clue that it is a factory at all is the wonderful aromas that you can smell from down the street. It smells so fresh and clean! We met the owner and after some prolonged discussion about what scent, color, and shape soap we wanted to make it was time to get to work. Chung Hyuk got the materials all ready and we were off.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtTHypuFI/AAAAAAAADD4/i8kcLKhvygc/s1600/IMG_2515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtTHypuFI/AAAAAAAADD4/i8kcLKhvygc/s640/IMG_2515.jpg" width="610" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The soap mold shapes we decided upon.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtUN2ohjI/AAAAAAAADD8/3qBnZBVus-M/s1600/IMG_2516.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtUN2ohjI/AAAAAAAADD8/3qBnZBVus-M/s640/IMG_2516.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Various color choices (we chose the colors of the three bars in the middle- red, pink with red specks, and cream).</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Soap making involves a lot of melting and stirring. And then some stirring. And more stirring. All in a clockwise circle. Stirring in a clockwise circle is easy...until someone tells you it can ONLY be clockwise, not counter-clockwise. Then it takes all your concentration just to keep going in the same direction, haha. Various ingredients are melted together, copious amounts of scented oils are added, and the temperature is checked about a million times. Once it has solidified a little, its time to put it into the molds. These silicone molds are really just like the ones you buy to make fun shaped ice cubes. Once we had filled up hundreds of fun shaped impressions with soap, we cleaned up and sent our coolers of soap off to one of the cooling rooms.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtVK3R1uI/AAAAAAAADEA/oUVZZDLwYw4/s1600/IMG_2517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtVK3R1uI/AAAAAAAADEA/oUVZZDLwYw4/s640/IMG_2517.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chung Hyuk getting us started.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtWKGvZ7I/AAAAAAAADEE/qScqbke-yR0/s1600/IMG_2524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="580" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtWKGvZ7I/AAAAAAAADEE/qScqbke-yR0/s640/IMG_2524.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our ingredients all set up and ready to go.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtbu5JutI/AAAAAAAADEQ/JWarcDPY2yA/s1600/IMG_2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtbu5JutI/AAAAAAAADEQ/JWarcDPY2yA/s640/IMG_2529.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Melting.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtcpyrDKI/AAAAAAAADEU/ETlgsMM7PDc/s1600/IMG_2531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtcpyrDKI/AAAAAAAADEU/ETlgsMM7PDc/s640/IMG_2531.jpg" width="326" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Andrea stirring.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtdVo8eDI/AAAAAAAADEY/pO2oBYr_t2s/s1600/IMG_2532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="542" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYtdVo8eDI/AAAAAAAADEY/pO2oBYr_t2s/s640/IMG_2532.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Stirring as it was still melting.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYyq6kxz5I/AAAAAAAADEg/8pUlwklxFIU/s1600/IMG_2534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYyq6kxz5I/AAAAAAAADEg/8pUlwklxFIU/s640/IMG_2534.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Stirring my fully melted soap with food coloring. This one actually turns out to be the cream color! Crazy.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYzDfeEH-I/AAAAAAAADFA/oty9SK-r_iY/s1600/IMG_2536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYzDfeEH-I/AAAAAAAADFA/oty9SK-r_iY/s640/IMG_2536.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The owner taking her turn stirring (with Chung Hyuk looking on).</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYzEQ28iXI/AAAAAAAADFE/lmahhkf6vTM/s1600/IMG_2538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYzEQ28iXI/AAAAAAAADFE/lmahhkf6vTM/s640/IMG_2538.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pouring the soap into the molds. I was a master at this step.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Continuing their nearly ceaseless acts of kindness, the owner of Sem & Soie and her husband then treated us to lunch. We had brought food also, which lead to a funny international mod podge- jjajjangmyeon and peanut butter sandwiches, kimchi and Pringles. We also shared some great conversation about the changes that are happening in South Korea and what the future has in store. It was just a really nice way to relax and share our thoughts. Sometimes the communication got a little sticky, but for the most part we were all able to get our thoughts across. It was lovely. After taking some photos and being showered with SWAG (seriously...8 bars of soap, two packages of decorative soap, herbal skin creme, and a deliciously wonderful soy candle) we were on our way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYzWSWuTAI/AAAAAAAADFI/dIqq40Uj34Y/s1600/IMG_2539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYzWSWuTAI/AAAAAAAADFI/dIqq40Uj34Y/s640/IMG_2539.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Posing with the owner's husband, who provided some incredibly thought provoking conversation over lunch.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYzXmW59gI/AAAAAAAADFM/F5d38HhUTxQ/s1600/IMG_2540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYzXmW59gI/AAAAAAAADFM/F5d38HhUTxQ/s640/IMG_2540.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I am pretty sure I could train my dog Rusty to take a better picture than the woman who took this shot. Out of four pictures, on two cameras, this was the BEST. Aigh.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYzdfEoX-I/AAAAAAAADFQ/_N6vaMhAm4E/s1600/IMG_2542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPYzdfEoX-I/AAAAAAAADFQ/_N6vaMhAm4E/s640/IMG_2542.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chung Hyuk with the owner of Sem & Soie and her husband.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I got to see Andrea and Chung Hyuk again on Thursday (Thanksgiving), when I left school early and met Dana to go hear him speak at the University of Seoul. We trekked all the way up north (and it is a trek...I hate Line 1 AND the Jungang Line) and found our way to the S Cafe. It was really great turn out of people, so that was wonderful. First we watched part of the Chosun Ilbo documentary I mentioned before, and then Chung Hyuk told some of his story through translators. After that the floor was opened for Q&A session which really brought a bunch of information about his past to light. At the end Andrea thanked everyone for coming and sold some soap. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPY1AtR8R1I/AAAAAAAADFU/SIVO-Ygq9eM/s1600/IMG_2567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TPY1AtR8R1I/AAAAAAAADFU/SIVO-Ygq9eM/s640/IMG_2567.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chung Hyuk speaking at S Cafe at the University of Seoul. Thank you, Andrea, for setting this up.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>We will be going back to make some more soap on Saturday, December 11. If you are in Seoul and interested in joining us, please let me know. Chung Hyuk is a quiet, dedicated, nice boy who is a pleasure to meet and help. The more we help him, the more he can help others. And isn't that what the holiday season is all about?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I wanted to share a few short videos that give a bit of background to what I've been saying, or simply underscore some points I've made. The first was made by LiNK, or Liberty in North Korea, an American based North Korean support group. It really made me think when I saw the other day, and it is worth a watch. Plus I really appreciate their message about what you can do to help the situation: get educated, and educate others.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="505" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rwwyzpEnK0M?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rwwyzpEnK0M?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Second is a video that was made in 2007. While it is slightly out of date (the numbers are only higher now), it gives good insight into what it is like to live in China after escaping North Korea. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="505" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Fe1G63j1Jqw?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Fe1G63j1Jqw?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-62901942804134547302010-11-14T23:44:00.005+09:002010-11-16T07:29:42.917+09:00Potpourri!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">There have been a bunch of things going on recently that I'd like to discuss, but none of them deserve a full blog entry, so here goes.</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The G20</span></u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNyFSQL0nrI/AAAAAAAADA8/kDIAN1csQ9M/s1600/2010_G20_Seoul_summit_logo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNyFSQL0nrI/AAAAAAAADA8/kDIAN1csQ9M/s400/2010_G20_Seoul_summit_logo.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></u></b></div><div>This week is the G<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">roup of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"> (G20) met in Seoul. Korea has been gearing up for this summit for ages, with lots of publicity and various campaigns. Starting as far back as September and October there would be fairly large groups of people standing outside of major subway exits (like Jamsil, where I work) wearing sashes emblazoned with the G20 logo. They often were also holding large signs or handing out pamphlets (or, my favorite, little tissue packets). I didn't know what they were doing, in fact I thought they might be protesting the G20, but my friend Changhye informs me that they were actually holding up signs saying things like "Don't spit on the ground!" "Hold the door open for the person behind you!" "Cover your mouth when you cough!" etc. It was entirely a campaign to polish the residents of Seoul! How crazy is that?!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNyFzjwmITI/AAAAAAAADBE/8cL9xyYyWds/s1600/g20+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNyFzjwmITI/AAAAAAAADBE/8cL9xyYyWds/s640/g20+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><i>Public awareness/polishing campaign.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><i>(Stolen from Changhye's Facebook)</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNyFjbGYY7I/AAAAAAAADBA/vNalzmV9lZI/s1600/g20prep+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNyFjbGYY7I/AAAAAAAADBA/vNalzmV9lZI/s640/g20prep+2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>As Changhye noted, the Korean government recently made a lot of cuts to what they spend on social welfare programs...you can't help but wonder how much all this cost!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Stolen from Changhye's Facebook)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was a little nervous because when the G20 was in Toronto in June it got TRASHED. Totally ripped apart by protesters. However, the Korean government is pretty hardcore, and as my dad says, terrified of things getting out of control. They have set up a 2km buffer around COEX where they are doing body searches and background checks, and the routes of subways and buses have been disrupted. They have also headed off a few potential protesters by simply not allowing them access into the country. In fact, some of the people the Korean government has black listed are not even protesters, but women like Jean Enriquez from the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women- Asia Pacific (CATW-AP). For more information on that, you can check out <a href="http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20101110-302512/Another-Filipino-activist-deported-from-South-Korea">this article</a>. I get that Korea wants to present a bright, shiny face to the rest of the world, but that seems to be taking it a little too far. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">How has the G20 being here changed my life? Barely at all, haha. There has been a HUGELY increased police presence, however, especially in large transfer stations like Jamsil, Jongno 3-ga, etc. I can't walk through my station on the way to school in the morning without running into regular Korean police, Korean para-military police, and G20 volunteers wearing sashes every five feet. And though the police officers they usually station in the subways look to be roughly twelve years old, now they are putting real police down there. The police have done a ton of (totally bizarre) training exercises to prepare themselves for anything protesters might throw at them. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the recent coverage of Korean police training exercises.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dpphoto.slideshowpro.com/albums/005/474/album-145857/cache/day040087.sJPG_900_540_0_95_1_50_50.sJPG?1289521016" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" src="http://dpphoto.slideshowpro.com/albums/005/474/album-145857/cache/day040087.sJPG_900_540_0_95_1_50_50.sJPG?1289521016" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Protesters planning to lay shirtless with a watermelon on your stomach, a blindfolded, sword-wielding, hanbok-wearing police officer is coming for you. You've been warned.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Source: <a href="http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2010/10/south-korean-field-training-exercise/">Denver Post</a>)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://publicintelligence.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/g20ninjas1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://publicintelligence.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/g20ninjas1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>For, you know, when you need to fly through the air and punch apart an offensive protest sign.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Source: <a href="http://stream.adamdodson.org/items/view/3229">Adam Dodson</a>)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://publicintelligence.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/g20ninjas7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://publicintelligence.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/g20ninjas7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I find this hilarious. In what situation, exactly, do they foresee the need to explode beer bottles by hand?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>(Source: <a href="http://stream.adamdodson.org/items/view/3229">Adam Dodson</a>)</i></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><br />
</i></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://publicintelligence.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/g20ninjas9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://publicintelligence.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/g20ninjas9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>They also split the police in half and had some (those who drew the short straw, apparently) act as protesters. The others hosed them down with high powered water cannons (Whale Wars?). Keep in mind its about 40 degrees Fahrenheit in Korea right now...that would SUCK. As Carl said, I love the hats, wigs and single sign. Makes it so much more realistic. Haha.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yesterday was the first day of the actual conference, which is being held only four stops from my school at COEX. I was really thankful that I don't take a bus because traffic was all sorts of screwed up between the summit and some ridiculous thunderstorms we were having. It was also a hideous air quality day (level: HAZARDOUS) so in general it was a great way to welcome the G20, haha. Way to go, Seoul. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am pretty sure Obama was stalking me yesterday, because he was at the summit at COEX (four stops from my school) and then at Yongsan Army Base (four stops from where I had my DHC meeting last night) later. Yongsan was CRAWLING with MPs, in addition to all the regular Korean police. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was a little surprised (and a little impressed) to see a lone high school student standing in the Jongno 3-ga station last night protesting. He stood there by the purple line trains, in front of a group of about six police officers, holding a sign that said NO FTA (with -ucking, -rade and -greement after each letter in smaller font). The rest of the sign was in Korean so I didn't know what it said, but it was pretty ballsy. I knew he was a high school student because he was still in his school uniform. I did think it was a pretty random place to protest though...maybe he was just waiting for a train and happened to have the sign? Haha.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Friday morning, when I walked out of my subway exit at Jamsil, I was surprised to see riot police lining the sides of the exit with huge shields. I looked across Olympic-ro at Lotte World and there were a crap ton of police milling around, as well as ELEVEN full Korean police buses parked on the street. I had a brief moment when I hoped that the foreign finance ministers were being treated to a day at the world's largest indoor amusement park open 365 days per year, but that passed quickly. I got to school at my usual time, 8:10am. We don't have to be here until 8:40am, but I like to get things done in the morning and get myself prepared for the day. I was the first one in my office, which is normal, but I thought it was unusual that there were ZERO students here, nor had any other teachers in the school shown up yet. Suspicious. When it got to 8:35 and school was still silent, I decided to call my co-teachers. Ga Young didn't pick up, but Yeon Ah did. Here is what transpired:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Me</b>: Hi, I was just wondering why no one is at school.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Yeon Ah</b>: (pause) Are you at school now?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Me</b>: ...Yes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>YA</b>: Oh, I'm sorry. Today is (unintelligible) so government agencies go in one hour late.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Me</b>: Uh...ok. Well...I guess I'll see you later then.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>YA</b>: Yes, at 9:40.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">AAAAAAGH. That is an hour I would have LOVED to sleep in. Arianna informs me that it is Songpa-gu wide (basically the whole part of our district that I work in) in order to help alleviate traffic concerns for the summit. Obnoxious. I mean, I suppose its not as bad as that holiday last year that they forgot to tell me about. That frigid day I pulled myself out of bed, schlepped to school, and found all of the doors padlocked. Aigh.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><i>Verdict</i>: I won't be sad when the G20 is over.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u>Weather</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.webdesign-guru.co.uk/icon/wp-content/uploads/weather.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.webdesign-guru.co.uk/icon/wp-content/uploads/weather.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Yup, we skipped autumn. It is already in the 40s most days, and I can see my breath as I walk to work. Once again I am thrown into the whirlwind of Korean heating/not heating patterns that throws my body all out of whack. I wake up in my comfy apartment, get ready for work, and then head off. Three minute walk to the subway: frigid. Forty minute ride: sweltering. Ten minute walk to school: frigid. Hallways at school: frigid. Classroom: sweltering. Cafeteria: frigid. Office: usually decent, sometimes cold (like when my co-teachers open the windows to "get fresh air"). Walk to subway: frigid. Ride home: sweltering. Repeat, ad nauseum. You have to be constantly prepared with never-ending layers, which quite frankly are annoying to carry around!</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We have also had some crazy thunderstorms lately, which I do not remember from last year at all. Loud, bright, at random times...they are kind of a nuisance. To borrow a word from Winnie the Pooh, it has been quite blustery this week with lots of extremely puffy clouds and high winds. The trees in town are exceptionally pretty, though, which apparently has something to do with how fast the temperature changes.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_WBWl_HSI/AAAAAAAADBI/YVH3mMXskcA/s1600/IMG_2155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_WBWl_HSI/AAAAAAAADBI/YVH3mMXskcA/s640/IMG_2155.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>LOVE the red maples and yellow ginkos. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(HATE the ginko berries that rot on the ground and smell like dying.)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_WCQlaMBI/AAAAAAAADBM/W6U4kyEN9Ic/s1600/IMG_2156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_WCQlaMBI/AAAAAAAADBM/W6U4kyEN9Ic/s640/IMG_2156.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pretty trees lining our school grounds. Note crazy clouds as well.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_WDDlBIYI/AAAAAAAADBQ/R8rEjhV5shI/s1600/IMG_2163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_WDDlBIYI/AAAAAAAADBQ/R8rEjhV5shI/s640/IMG_2163.jpg" width="458" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ginkos are everywhere...I really wish they didn't smell so bad.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Verdict: </i>I am sad there weren't more days of hoodie/sweater only weather.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u>Murder Mystery Dinner</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u><br />
</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_Xr7QekjI/AAAAAAAADB4/LQ8XoJBH8kQ/s1600/IMG_2147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_Xr7QekjI/AAAAAAAADB4/LQ8XoJBH8kQ/s640/IMG_2147.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u><br />
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</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first Saturday in November I was invited to my first Murder Mystery Dinner by my friend Dave. I had never been to one before and I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. It was so much fun! Ahead of time we each received invitations with the background story and a description of our assigned character. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Story Line:</b> This mystery is set in the wine region of Napa Valley, California. Five yeras ago, Barry Underwood, owner of the prestigious Underwood Wine Estates, mysteriously disappeared during the valley's annual wine festival. A massive search at the time failed to turn up any clues and the case has been in the FBI's unsolved files since then. Now, five years later, it is once again the annual wine festival in Napa Valley. Last night, family and friends gathered at the stately Underwood mansion to celebrate. At midnight, a minor earthquake shook the mansion, causing an old wooden floor in the wine cellar to buckle. Barry's well preserved body was discovered under the cedar planks. It is a clear case of murder. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was Bonnie Lass, a Scottish tourist who has attended the wine festival while vacationing in California. A mystery writer and best-selling novelist, she knows a thing or two about hidden bodies and old wine cellars. For my costume I did the entire country of Scotland a disservice, haha. I bought a tartan shawl in a subway station and used that as a skirt, as well as a knit tam with a fuzzy fur ball on top. Eh, best I could do.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here were the other players:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_Xdv2qYEI/AAAAAAAADBU/9m4GHDHXIHI/s1600/IMG_2134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_Xdv2qYEI/AAAAAAAADBU/9m4GHDHXIHI/s640/IMG_2134.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Otto Von Schnapps (Erich)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A German wine merchant. Boisterous and fun-loving, Otto attends wine festivals around the globe, buying the best vintages for distribution in Europe. It is said OTto's preference for red or white can be influenced by green.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_XfYao3_I/AAAAAAAADBY/WhT20fUX9OQ/s1600/IMG_2135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_XfYao3_I/AAAAAAAADBY/WhT20fUX9OQ/s640/IMG_2135.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hedy Shablee (Shannon)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The owner of a neighboring vineyard and a fierce competitor of the Underwoods. Barry's disappearance has uncorked a new vintage of troubles for unhappy Hedy.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_XgCWz9oI/AAAAAAAADBc/mul0jgqXUlk/s1600/IMG_2137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_XgCWz9oI/AAAAAAAADBc/mul0jgqXUlk/s640/IMG_2137.jpg" width="482" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Papa Vito (Dave)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Brought over from Italy sixty years ago by Barry's grandfather to develop Underwood Wine Estates, Papa Vito has devoted his life to the vineyards. Now he just wants to retire and drink a little vino in the afternoon...salute!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_Xg5UvOuI/AAAAAAAADBg/ezcsnwGgB7Y/s1600/IMG_2138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_Xg5UvOuI/AAAAAAAADBg/ezcsnwGgB7Y/s640/IMG_2138.jpg" width="506" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bud Wizer (Jamie)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The FBI agent assigned to investigate Barry's murder. Bus is a beer-drinking man with no appetite for wine. He's determined to put a cap on this unsolved mystery.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_Xhj7yOvI/AAAAAAAADBk/bI_mySgVqlQ/s1600/IMG_2141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_Xhj7yOvI/AAAAAAAADBk/bI_mySgVqlQ/s640/IMG_2141.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Marilyn Merlot (Chrissy)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Marilyn was crowned Wine Princess at the festival five years ago, and then went on to become a Hollywood movie star. She's returned to Napa Valley for the Wine Festival and to gloat over her success.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_dTLfoGLI/AAAAAAAADB8/7Xiz2uzK1g4/s1600/IMG_2144a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_dTLfoGLI/AAAAAAAADB8/7Xiz2uzK1g4/s640/IMG_2144a.jpg" width="452" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ralph Rottingrape (David)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Barry's first cousin and heir-apparent to the Underwood Wine Estates. Long considered the black sheep of the family, Ralph took over as manager after Barry's disappearance and has been running things his way ever since.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_dVK32fkI/AAAAAAAADCA/-LJYfdQkyi0/s1600/IMG_2144b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_dVK32fkI/AAAAAAAADCA/-LJYfdQkyi0/s640/IMG_2144b.jpg" width="422" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tiny Bubbles (Fe)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Barry's finacee at the time of his death. Perky and pretty, Tiny has an effervescent personality and a razor-sharp mind. She is now married to the new winery owner, Ralph. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I won't give anything else away, but know that there were some intense moments...like the one shown below, haha.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_XktQy9oI/AAAAAAAADBo/NwxdvWIobjE/s1600/IMG_2142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="590" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_XktQy9oI/AAAAAAAADBo/NwxdvWIobjE/s640/IMG_2142.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fear Hedy Shablee.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We also took some awesome group pictures, thanks to self timer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_Xps6DzBI/AAAAAAAADBw/QzCt1Ph0zFk/s1600/IMG_2145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="408" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_Xps6DzBI/AAAAAAAADBw/QzCt1Ph0zFk/s640/IMG_2145.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><i>Choose your weapons! Various steak knives, a wine bottle, corkscrew, min-nerf gun and...a potato peeler. Haha.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_XqlUe68I/AAAAAAAADB0/YrslHFRcJCQ/s1600/IMG_2146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="371" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_XqlUe68I/AAAAAAAADB0/YrslHFRcJCQ/s640/IMG_2146.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We are pretty badass.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Verdict: </i>Awesome time had by all, only slightly soured by the horrific cab ride home that made me severely carsick even though I sat up front.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">--------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><u>Korean Class</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://seoulbysubway.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/hangul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://seoulbysubway.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/hangul.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Frankly, it is kind of kicking my ass! Korean 101 was relatively easy, lots of new vocab, but at a leisurely pace and not too overwhelming. Right off the bat Korean 102 came at you at a much faster pace, full of complex grammar rules and confusing exceptions to said rules. It definitely didn't help that I missed the first two classes thanks to the flu. Thankfully Shannon met up with Lee-Rae and I last Sunday to do a review for the week, including going over the new stuff we learned. After meeting with her for two hours on Sunday, and then studying for three hours at school on Monday, I felt like things were pretty under control. Then I went to class Monday night and got so confused and overwhelmed that I cried a little. Obnoxious. Thankfully after spending three more hours studying at school on Wednesday I think I have the hang of it. Tomorrow I have a day off so I'll get in some review time before class. Overall, our class has dropped from twelve members to only six. Lee-Rae decided that she wasn't happy, so she has opted out, leaving Erika the sole member of our class who is taking it in their first year. She's crazy. Shannon keeps telling me she can't believe I'm so confused by the grammar rules and indignant about them not making sense when I am an English speaker and we are the founding fathers of stupid language rules with a million exceptions. I keep telling her that I'm glad I'm a native speaker because I don't think I would have the patience to learn English. No exaggeration. It would drive me nuts.<br />
<br />
<i>Verdict: </i>I will stick it out for 103 in December to finish the first level...but I can't make guarantees past that. I will probably have forgotten everything by the time March rolls around and I am able to be in class consistently again.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><u>Seoul Lantern Festival</u></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_zlu1De_I/AAAAAAAADDk/ad3bsw_xmGw/s1600/IMG_2229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_zlu1De_I/AAAAAAAADDk/ad3bsw_xmGw/s400/IMG_2229.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><u><br />
</u></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><u><br />
</u></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Each year lantern craftsmen in Korea get multiple chances to show off how awesome they are. The <a href="http://bareyourseoul.blogspot.com/2010/05/arts-crafts-is-my-middle-name.html">Lotus Lantern Festival</a> in May blew me away, so I was excited for this festival. I found out about it too late last year and missed it, so I wanted to make sure I saw it. Basically artists create more beautiful, detailed, gigantic hanji lanterns and set them up along Cheonggyecheon, a man-made stream downtown. It was very pretty. Thankfully the stream is only a few blocks away from my Korean class, so after class on Friday I headed over and met up with Diana, Lee-Rae and Michael (and Sarah, ever so briefly) to check out the lanterns. Erich, Stephanie, Eric and Josephine were brave enough to wait in the forever long lines that allowed you to walk along the lower part of the stream, but the rest of us stayed up top where it was a little less crowded. One of the highlights for me was the huge, real hot air balloon that they had tethered at one end of the festival. I thought it was fake and they were just lighting it for show until I realized that it would start to sag and dip lower towards the water until they fired it up, then it would buoy again. Very cool.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sS9ztK7I/AAAAAAAADCE/CZ8N9NCJHr0/s1600/IMG_2167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sS9ztK7I/AAAAAAAADCE/CZ8N9NCJHr0/s640/IMG_2167.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Functioning hot air balloon.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sToEnDkI/AAAAAAAADCI/e311Y1o1GRQ/s1600/IMG_2168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sToEnDkI/AAAAAAAADCI/e311Y1o1GRQ/s640/IMG_2168.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Korean cartoon characters.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sU8lZmXI/AAAAAAAADCM/PayycTSN1u0/s1600/IMG_2174.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sU8lZmXI/AAAAAAAADCM/PayycTSN1u0/s640/IMG_2174.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Tiger family. (Zetas REPRESENT!)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sVl2EUQI/AAAAAAAADCQ/pSJ3O6v__t0/s1600/IMG_2178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="462" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sVl2EUQI/AAAAAAAADCQ/pSJ3O6v__t0/s640/IMG_2178.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>More Korean cartoons.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sWwpF3CI/AAAAAAAADCU/umqvBoInAuo/s1600/IMG_2179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sWwpF3CI/AAAAAAAADCU/umqvBoInAuo/s640/IMG_2179.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Traditional turtle ship.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sZ8LakBI/AAAAAAAADCY/rVHsomQWhfg/s1600/IMG_2184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sZ8LakBI/AAAAAAAADCY/rVHsomQWhfg/s640/IMG_2184.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Korean child playing.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sbxUfEPI/AAAAAAAADCg/TB-PPBdjXBU/s1600/IMG_2193.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sbxUfEPI/AAAAAAAADCg/TB-PPBdjXBU/s640/IMG_2193.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Looking down Cheonggyecheon.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sc84HsKI/AAAAAAAADCk/xkC_fiR4hkw/s1600/IMG_2195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_sc84HsKI/AAAAAAAADCk/xkC_fiR4hkw/s640/IMG_2195.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Playing some sort of traditional game. I could identify most, but not this one.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_xyjcophI/AAAAAAAADCo/jKeUvZRL6A8/s1600/IMG_2196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="562" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_xyjcophI/AAAAAAAADCo/jKeUvZRL6A8/s640/IMG_2196.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Yeah, no idea what they are doing here either...but it looks like an average day in the hallway where fifth grade boys are messing around.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_xzTHMImI/AAAAAAAADCs/cHTUPKxV4HE/s1600/IMG_2199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_xzTHMImI/AAAAAAAADCs/cHTUPKxV4HE/s640/IMG_2199.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Beautiful.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x0W3f8eI/AAAAAAAADCw/jh7jVd_K508/s1600/IMG_2200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x0W3f8eI/AAAAAAAADCw/jh7jVd_K508/s640/IMG_2200.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lotus.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x1zejghI/AAAAAAAADC0/Ek3q1CSdHFA/s1600/IMG_2202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x1zejghI/AAAAAAAADC0/Ek3q1CSdHFA/s640/IMG_2202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>These are associated with some Korean folktale.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x2umCjtI/AAAAAAAADC4/7_YehGQegws/s1600/IMG_2203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="538" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x2umCjtI/AAAAAAAADC4/7_YehGQegws/s640/IMG_2203.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>So is the rabbit riding the turtle.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x4eaF-pI/AAAAAAAADDA/qat0S1ZOwAA/s1600/IMG_2207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x4eaF-pI/AAAAAAAADDA/qat0S1ZOwAA/s640/IMG_2207.jpg" width="356" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Clang! Clang! Clang!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x5HqJAcI/AAAAAAAADDE/hqfEG9g5x5U/s1600/IMG_2212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x5HqJAcI/AAAAAAAADDE/hqfEG9g5x5U/s640/IMG_2212.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Newlyweds.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x56xQx1I/AAAAAAAADDI/v1mkJ_x7Ifk/s1600/IMG_2214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x56xQx1I/AAAAAAAADDI/v1mkJ_x7Ifk/s640/IMG_2214.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>What?! Not ready for Christmas decorations yet, thank you very much.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x6-hXzSI/AAAAAAAADDM/WC7UE2Q26aE/s1600/IMG_2215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x6-hXzSI/AAAAAAAADDM/WC7UE2Q26aE/s640/IMG_2215.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Adorable creatures representing Yeosu, home of the 2012 World Expo. Let's not talk about how pissed I am that the World Expo is coming to Korea the year after I leave. I'm bitter.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x8RMytvI/AAAAAAAADDQ/k2ROS-6hBu4/s1600/IMG_2216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x8RMytvI/AAAAAAAADDQ/k2ROS-6hBu4/s640/IMG_2216.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lanterns all alight.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x-FowrrI/AAAAAAAADDU/sHm5joWK-mM/s1600/IMG_2218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x-FowrrI/AAAAAAAADDU/sHm5joWK-mM/s640/IMG_2218.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>World monuments.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x-7ykanI/AAAAAAAADDY/WH27HvMu_w4/s1600/IMG_2219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x-7ykanI/AAAAAAAADDY/WH27HvMu_w4/s640/IMG_2219.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <i>So pretty!</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x_kFaaPI/AAAAAAAADDc/Jc0wZVfwUsg/s1600/IMG_2221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_x_kFaaPI/AAAAAAAADDc/Jc0wZVfwUsg/s640/IMG_2221.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Really, I never knew what a sucker for lanterns I was until I moved to Asia.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_yAXe53PI/AAAAAAAADDg/CayY86tXIPI/s1600/IMG_2224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_yAXe53PI/AAAAAAAADDg/CayY86tXIPI/s640/IMG_2224.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Stunning and intricate pagoda.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_zsvdiliI/AAAAAAAADDo/ltTHxeR33bE/s1600/IMG_2231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TN_zsvdiliI/AAAAAAAADDo/ltTHxeR33bE/s640/IMG_2231.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Love the detail and colors.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Verdict:</i> Lovely, even though it was cold. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><u>General Life Fun Facts</u></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><u><br />
</u></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">1. I got a haircut. I now I have bangs. Pictures will be forthcoming.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">2. I have been watching a lot of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_(TV_series)">Dexter</a> lately and I am almost caught up. It is quite good.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">3. Today I finished the seventh and final book in Stephen King's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Tower_(series)">Dark Tower Series</a>. Most of you probably know that I am an extremely fast reader, and I read frequently so I go through books and series pretty quickly. Well this series is LONG (roughly 1,295,000 words) and I've been reading it since this summer. It was quite good even though I was not 100% in love with the ending. Oh well. Can't expect to love every ending!</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">4. This weekend, my friend Josephine and I spent a lot of time working on some potential book covers for our center's anti sex-trafficking book. I am very excited. We had a photo shoot with Dana and then Josephine has been working her PhotoShop magic. I am pumped to share the potential covers with the girls and other staff at DHC and see what they think. If you want to weigh in, let me know!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span">5. I found out last week that my school is kind of screwing me on vacation this year. I get all the days I am supposed to, coming out to 3.5 weeks off, but no two weeks are connected. That blows, and seriously throws a wrench in travel plans. As it stands, I am done with school on December 24, and have off from December 25-January 2. Then I work three weeks of half-day winter camp from January 3-January 21. Then I have one week off from January 22-January 30. Then I have to go back for TWO FREAKING DAYS, during which I won't teach, from January 31-February 1. Wednesday through Friday we have off for Lunar New Year, so I'm off February 2-February 6. I go back to work (to only questionably teach) from February 7-February 17. Finally I have eleven connected days of break from February 18-February 28 before the new school year starts on February 29. I have decided that during that time I will go to Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) and Indonesia (Bali) to do some sight-seeing, cultural exchange, and (perhaps most importantly) relaxation on a beach. A few people have expressed interest in joining me and I think Laura is almost definitely in, so that is exciting. I just know I'm not hanging out in frigid Korea alone for 3.5 weeks this winter!</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">6. The last few weeks have been extremely hard for families near and dear to my own. The 10-month-old daughter of one of my brother's best friends had to be hospitalized after she stopped breathing, and subsequently had cranial surgery. It has been very hard for Chris and Marleah to have their baby in the hospital, and thankfully she's doing much better and is home now. Also, a dear friend from my sorority's father was in a bad car accident, fell into a coma and passed away this week. Very sad, and she's been in my thoughts a lot. Moral of the story, if you have some extra time to send love, prayers, or good thoughts to the Domergue and Schoenberg families, it would be much appreciated. </span></div></div></div></div>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761579805822661008.post-57731131948360883482010-11-03T15:03:00.000+09:002010-11-03T15:03:39.550+09:00School and Halloween!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">That's right, lucky readers, you get another blog entry. I happen to have some time on my hands because I've been at home sick with the flu for the past three days. More on that later.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Life has been hurtling along in an exceptionally busy fashion. Last week was VERY busy; I had something to do basically every night of the week. Monday and Wednesday night I had Korean class. I really enjoy it and I'm definitely learning a ton of new vocabulary and grammar. Korean is not the easiest language ever, but it is not terrible. At least not right now. Our teacher at YBM speaks no English to us and teaches pretty much just in Korean. She is very expressive and uses a lot of hand motions and facial expressions, so I don't feel too confused. I have the utmost respect for Lee-Rae, Erika and Josephine, though...I don't think I could have done this my first year. Each level (101, 102, etc) runs for one month, with ten two-hour classes per month. I just signed up for the second month, so Korean 102, here I come!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNDsqIByLuI/AAAAAAAADAA/mAh9vwRDCsw/s1600/IMG_1897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNDsqIByLuI/AAAAAAAADAA/mAh9vwRDCsw/s640/IMG_1897.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Our teacher, Yoon Young Ju (Korea) in the polka dots. Daniella (US), Wen Dong (China), Erika (Canada), Lee-Rae (Australia), and Ando (Japan) are listening attentively. Not pictured: Karla (Canada), Me (US), Shannon (US), Josephine (US), Megumi (Japan), and Kenneth (Scotland). </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Tuesday we had a school outing. The week before at dinner Yeon Ah and Ga Young had mentioned that the school was going hiking and they didn't want to go but had to. They asked if I wanted to hike and I said not especially. Fast forward to Monday, when they tell me I need to come prepared the next day to hike. Ugh. The last thing I want to do is be forced to climb a billion stairs (Korean hiking) and panting after all the teachers in my school. I am not super proud, but the next day I may or may not have faked an injury to my ankle in hopes that they wouldn't make me hike. Lo and behold it wasn't even necessary because Yeon Ah and Ga Young had already decided they were going to straight to the restaurant where everyone was meeting afterwards. This mountain is up near the top of a mountain is a really pretty, rustic place. We took a VERY windy ride from school that lasted about a half an hour. Once we got to the restaurant we spent a few hours reading/studying, drinking some lovely tea, soaking up the joys of ondol heating, and basically just vegetating until everyone else arrived. Then it was time to laugh and eat and gossip and drink drink drink. The principal has to go around to each person and have a shot of soju with them. Thankfully she was only taking 1/4 shots, because she is a tiny lady and I don't think she would have made it all the way around the table.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNDu6aCPNxI/AAAAAAAADAE/WfWkrbL24XY/s1600/IMG_2064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="548" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNDu6aCPNxI/AAAAAAAADAE/WfWkrbL24XY/s640/IMG_2064.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Posing with my special subject co-workers (we share an office). </span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Mr. Yu, Na Mi, Ga Young, Yeon Ah, Me, Jung</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After dinner, Ga Young's parents came and picked us up after offering to take me home. Traffic was abysmal and it took me over an hour to get home. I was so very carsick by the time I got back to my apartment...a hugely filling dinner of duck + multiple bowls of magkeolli + a full shot of soju + stop and go traffic with me in the back seat = recipe for disaster. Her parents were lovely though, and they invited me over for dinner. Turns out that three of my favorite Korean foods (japchae, chamchi gimbab and kimchi jiggae) are three of the foods she prepares the best (or so I am told). That will be nice. Getting out of the car I even got to use a little of my new Korean and say "pang gap sum ni da!" or "nice to meet you!"</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thursday night I had a DHC meeting. It is so strange that it is now just down to Changhye, Rachel, Kate and I. We have been working on this book since January and it is finally all coming together. We only have like two more chapters and a million rounds of proofreading and then it is going to press! We also decided on a name, which is a huge step. Look forward to reading/hearing about <u>Exposing the Price Tag: An In-Depth Look at the Fight to Eradicate the Sex Trade in South Korea</u>!!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Friday after school I still had to get together a few things for my ajumma Halloween costume, and Kate had mentioned the night before that it was market day in Moran (her neighborhood) and she was sure I could find everything I needed there. Right after school I went down to souuuuthern Seoul and met her at the metro station. Moran Market happens about twice a week in a huge parking lot. Hundreds of vendors come from all over to sell just about everything you could imagine. Including some things I didn't want to imagine. Moran has a huge meat market where they have everything from goats to chickens to pigs. And dogs. They have them in cages in the meat market and it was seriously damaging for me. Even though we obviously didn't go down that aisle I could still see and hear them and it was really upsetting. I don't think I'll ever be going back there. The upside was that we did find three major pieces of my costume: garish lipstick, a huge sparkly visor, and shiny zebra print arm protectors. I also bought two tiny pumpkins, so that was exciting!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After returning home Friday night I cleaned a lot, and did the same thing most of Saturday morning. Diana came over around 3:00pm so we could get ready for our evening of Halloween debauchery. After grabbing some food we came back to my place where she curled my hair into a perfect ajumma-fro and I painted giraffe spots all over her hands and face. Thanks, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bare-Escentuals-Mai-Tai-Glimpse/dp/B000TT5MQE"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Bare </span></a><a href="http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=bare+escentuals+sex+kitten&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=9012682748026480016&ei=a_PQTKDBNpHCsAPZmpm4Cw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CEMQ8wIwAA#"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Escentuals</span></a>! Then we got dressed and headed off to meet Julia at Gangdong.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNDz8rYfNcI/AAAAAAAADAI/qx9ubwy2rLE/s1600/IMG_2079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TNDz8rYfNcI/AAAAAAAADAI/qx9ubwy2rLE/s640/IMG_2079.jpg" width="480" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Giraffe master.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Saturday was Jin's birthday, so our plan was to head over to Apgujeong by taxi for dinner at StaSera, an Italian restaurant that was recently featured on a major Korean drama called <a href="http://www.koreandrama.org/?p=975"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Pasta</span></a>. Our original plan was to take a taxi...but after hearing about some nasty traffic that others heading in the same direction got caught in, we changed our minds and took a round-about way on the subway instead. Want to get stared at? Walk up and down a Korean subway car in full costume. Aigh. We met Jin at Cheonho, and made our way to Apgujeong where we took a taxi to the restaurant. There were a CRAPTON of people that came out, over 20, so that was really nice. The food was decent but the service was HORRIBLE. So so very slow and inattentive. You don't tip in Korea so they have little motivation to be stellar.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND1BemzyII/AAAAAAAADAM/_Wh8I_3m-Kc/s1600/IMG_2077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND1BemzyII/AAAAAAAADAM/_Wh8I_3m-Kc/s640/IMG_2077.jpg" width="480" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Animal kingdom! Diana the giraffe and Julia the panda (I also did Julia's eyes...but with the added level of difficulty of doing them on a moving subway).</span></i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND1DcmG82I/AAAAAAAADAQ/NV9Cn1l3x-M/s1600/IMG_2078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND1DcmG82I/AAAAAAAADAQ/NV9Cn1l3x-M/s640/IMG_2078.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Ajumma, giraffe, panda and K-drama character off to dinner!</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND1VuUO_CI/AAAAAAAADAU/TMJPApjeOeU/s1600/74829_10100521728398994_9322363_76182749_1046657_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND1VuUO_CI/AAAAAAAADAU/TMJPApjeOeU/s640/74829_10100521728398994_9322363_76182749_1046657_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">One of three tables dinner guests sat at. </span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Linda, Serena, Desmond, eric, Julia, Me, Diana, Derek, Erich, Jin, Siobhan, ?, Naomi.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After dinner we walked about 15 minutes over to Monkey Beach. This bar was chosen partially because it was having a Halloween party, but more because if you go there on your actual birthday, they give you a FREE full sized bottle of whiskey. Whaat? They also have bucket drinks, which happened to be made in little jack o'lantern buckets this time. It was totally rockin'. I had a delicious Malibu Orange and didn't regret it for a second. There were lots of people to watch and judge, the drinks were good, and the company was fantastic, so I can't complain.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2E1mcaII/AAAAAAAADAY/7jiD35uLeuE/s1600/IMG_2083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2E1mcaII/AAAAAAAADAY/7jiD35uLeuE/s640/IMG_2083.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Me, Diana, Naomi, Linda and Jin enjoying our buckets!</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2GFl666I/AAAAAAAADAc/pYHfHjqodEc/s1600/IMG_2085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2GFl666I/AAAAAAAADAc/pYHfHjqodEc/s640/IMG_2085.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Julia, Sal and Erich (an unfit mother, hahaha) taking a sip!</span></i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2Hgm1RmI/AAAAAAAADAg/S73u1A7VcUA/s1600/IMG_2089.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2Hgm1RmI/AAAAAAAADAg/S73u1A7VcUA/s640/IMG_2089.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Reenacting the <a href="http://multimedia.asiaone.com/Multimedia/News/Story/A1Multimedia20101005-11041.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">crazy ajumma on line 2</span></a> situation.</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2Iux3bKI/AAAAAAAADAk/pbj4BRhCeR0/s1600/IMG_2099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2Iux3bKI/AAAAAAAADAk/pbj4BRhCeR0/s640/IMG_2099.jpg" width="480" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Sarah had one of my favorite costumes of the night: jellyfish.</span></i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2J75c_cI/AAAAAAAADAo/UTjfpwoCBVA/s1600/IMG_2100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2J75c_cI/AAAAAAAADAo/UTjfpwoCBVA/s640/IMG_2100.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hahahah, random stranger also dressed as an ajumma CLEARLY calls for a picture.</span></i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2LOe95dI/AAAAAAAADAs/WIWx1l36fQw/s1600/IMG_2125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND2LOe95dI/AAAAAAAADAs/WIWx1l36fQw/s640/IMG_2125.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Sweaty panda! Love this photo.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After about an hour and a half at Monkey Beach, Sarah, Diana and I hopped in a cab and headed up to Itaewon. We were hoping to meet up with Jamie, Shannon, Chrissy and Dave, and halfway succeeded when we met Chrissy and Dave in Rocky Mountain Tavern. They had all been at a Halloween party together, but Jamie and Shannon headed home after a drunken political argument soured the vibe. Oh well. We hung out for a bit at RMT, and then walked towards the Wolfhound. It was, as predicted, a total shitshow in Itaewon. Every single imaginable costume was out and running around. There were a billion people. I decided that what I really wanted was a couple kebabs and my bed, so I bid my farewells to the cowboy, army girl, giraffe and jellyfish and caught a taxi home around 1:00am. (Getting a taxi was blissfully easy...I know some people who waited almost 40 minutes for taxis! I just got really lucky.)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND5SOyvnvI/AAAAAAAADAw/5bEb36H-3e0/s1600/IMG_2130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND5SOyvnvI/AAAAAAAADAw/5bEb36H-3e0/s640/IMG_2130.jpg" width="480" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Stoic.</span></i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND5TOqRyqI/AAAAAAAADA0/LHeCqNSfOz0/s1600/IMG_2131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n6TeWPHYw28/TND5TOqRyqI/AAAAAAAADA0/LHeCqNSfOz0/s640/IMG_2131.jpg" width="480" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I don't know why, but this is one of my favorite pictures of the entire night. A cowboy's gotta eat...right?</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday I got up late, tidied up the apartment, and had Shannon, Julia, Erich and Jin over to watch scary movies. We watched The Descent (decent, some good jumpy scares) and The Orphan (in my top 5 horror movies produced in the last couple of years...so good). Then they headed out and I went to bed.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I woke up Monday morning and went to the gym to meet Shannon. I wasn't feeling super, but I figured it was general up-at-5:30-don't-want-to-work-out blahness. However, by the time I was walking home I was extremely nauseated and within fifteen minutes of getting home I had thrown up twice. It has pretty much been downhill from there. Monday I developed a fairly high fever and chills, so I went to the doctor and was told I have the flu. I got Tamiflu and came home and went back to bed. I got up and took a shower and I was going to try and force myself to go to Korean class (I really hate missing and falling behind) but then Lee-Rae came over to tell me she wasn't going and neither was Erika because they were sick as well. She took one look at me and was like "Are you SURE you want to go? You look terrible." And thus, I did not go, haha. Today was my third day home with nausea, terrible chills, a slight fever and sheer exhaustion. Yesterday I went out to get food and water and came back and took a two hour nap. I am going to try my best to be at school tomorrow, but ugh, I just feel terrible. I got a super sweet e-mail from Ji Hyun, one of my fourth grade co-teachers, though. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">I hope you get well soon. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Don't worry about tomorrow class and really thank you for the beautiful ideas and files. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">(I will be glad if I can see you tom though.) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Don't forget that the most important thing is your health. W</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">hat made me blue most was being sick while I was away from my family. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Remember you are not alone. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">You have me here. </span>If there's anything I can help you, please tell me. -</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Jihyun."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">She's right, being sick away from home suuuucks. I am thankful that I did feel slightly better today- I was even able to do my dishes without needing a nap!- and I hope that I will just continue in this vein.</span>Meaghan Shanahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14903874587007013907noreply@blogger.com2