Fall has fell

If Spring has sprung is correct then I suppose the correct saying appropriate for the week is fall has fell. The weather has been exquisite this week. It has been in the fifties every morning and evening this week. I am so happy that the heat is finally on it's way out. As if a literal monsoon season isn't enough, the hot was pretty awful. Not as bad as Florida, but still pretty rough. I cant wait until the leaves start to change.

Hello fifty?

My overall feelings from China were pleased but also very thankful I am in Korea. There is a safety I feel here that is simply non-existent there. Also the communist thing plays in a bit. Everywhere we went there were cameras. The peopleacted differently. They acted like they were being watched. (and rightly so I suppose) It was also a bit disheartening that I couldn't go to pretty much any of my favorite websites because they are all blocked in China. The shady factor was pretty high when it came to different people who approached us.

Despite all of the above, I had a really great time. The views were breathtaking and the amount of history I saw is hard to digest even now days later. You can see a full set of our pictures here, but below are a few of my favorites.

China Rundown

Well our trip to China is finally finished. It was super amazing but also one of the most exhausting and stressful vacations ever.

DAY I
We arrived in Beijing last Saturday and were quickly approached by a man in a leather jacket with the simple sentence, "Hello, fifty." It took us a while to realize he was trying to offer us a ride. Apparently Beijing has various "no stop" zones for their cab drivers. As such, we couldn't find anyone to give us a ride. We eventually reluctantly gave in as we were completely in the middle of nowhere and didn't even know where to walk if we had chose that option. We walked over to an alley, got in, and took off. I am surprised Jonathan and Justin didn't both just pee themselves... haha We finally arrived and turned in for the evening.

DAY II

The next morning we were off sightseeing. We saw the Temple of Heaven, Tienanmen Square, ate some authentic Peking duck, and then saw the forbidden city. It was enormous. It is literally the size of a small city. On the way out we bumped into a travel agency guide and she gave us a card for her company. On the way home we took the subway as close as we could get to our hotel and thought we would take a cab. Unfortunately we once again found ourselves in a no-stop zone. We walked back to the hotel and made it in just over an hour.

Day III

May I just say TGFTC (Thank God for travel companies!) Our tour guide picked us up in a really nice van and whisked us away to various locations in the city. They varied from a jade and silk factory to the oldest tea house in Korea and the Great Wall of China. It was an intense day. The wall was amazing. And may I also say, GREAT. It was so freaking huge. The steps were incredibly steep. I felt like I was dying by the end of our trek. My legs are still feeling a bit like jello even four days later. The wall was my favorite site of the trip. The tea house was my favorite experience. We had a personal tea lady come in a teach us about the various teas and brew up various kinds for us to sample. When we finally made it home we just grabbed some McDonalds and went to bed.

DAY IV

With a better grasp on the city we felt a bit more prepared to go out and face the wilds of the city life in Beijing. We hit the streets after a late start and headed to the Beijing zoo. We saw a few sections of it and then grabbed some lunch. We ate at a Dairy Queen. Afterward, we went to the Pearl Market. It was pretty awesome. I am surprised I didn't get pick-pocketed. I bought a pair of knock off boots for the winter and the guys bought some random stuff as well. We caught another shady black car or illegal taxi and headed to the theater so we could see the Kung Fu Show. The theater didn;t allow us to take pictures or video, but I managed to sneak a few things. You can see them on Picasa. :D

DAY V

We woke up around 7 to head to the airport for our 11 o'clock flight. Little did we know that Jack accidentally switched the arrival time with the departure time. Thus we missed our flight by two hours. We managed to get another flight without being charged, but it was not until the next day. The following 24 hours consisted of us randomly meandering through the incredibly depressing Beijing airport. Needless to say it was a pretty restless day.

DAY VI
We finally managed to make our flight. We boarded and zoomed back off to Seoul. We grabbed some lunch in Gangnam. Jonathan and I went to Dos Tacos, potentially the best Mexican restaurant I have ever eaten at ( and I have been to Mexico) and the boys went to Butterfingers (the greatest breakfast joint ever that is known for its chocolate pancakes) The boys spent the rest of the day sightseeing in Insadong. I lovingly informed them that if I walked any further my feet my actually detach themselves from my body and go on strike. As such, I split off the pack and went to the JimJilBang for the afternoon. It was pretty relaxing. I spent the after noon in a hot tub while the guys foolishly ran all over the place. We met up later that night in Itaewon for dinner at a Austrian place. We had snitzel, beef tips, and steak. It was awesome. :D

Last Sunday for a While...

As you may know, Jack and I were working at Eun Gwang Presbyterian CHurch in Gwangju. We were working as English Pastors. This week they hired a full time staff member from the Philippines to take over the position. It is a bittersweet transition. We will have much more time to relax and focus on school, but we will miss our students and congregation greatly. This Sunday will be our final interim service before the new pastor comes in full time.

We have had fun in the meantime. :) It was a fun time, but we are very welcoming of a break. We have had back to back services for seven months with only two services off. I am not going to know what to do with so much extra time on the weekends and so few obligations to stay in Gwangju. We will be traveling a bit more on the weekends as a result. We have yet to go to the Eastern sections of Korea. I am marking it down on my to do list. :D

We have also heard of another English service on the weekends in Gwangju that happens at 2:00 in the afternoon on Sunday's. I though it might be interesting to check out as well. I believe the pastor is from Germany, so that could be interesting. I don't know honestly, but we will see. :D Mr. Han mentioned potentially starting an English service later on in the year or maybe even next year in three or four months in Sang Mu but there is nothing set in stone. As for now, sabbatical here I come!

A birthday in Korea

Jack turned 24 today. I am afraid that we are getting old. haha. His birthday this year is full of presents, but few are things he will get to keep. His best friend is coming to Korea on Friday to visit for two weeks. Also, we are going to Bejing in two weeks during our vacation. I almost feel guilty like I should get him a card since I don't have anything to tangibly hand to him. I am thinking of buying him so hand-held weights that he mentioned he liked from Lotte Mart, but I am still undecided. I am also thinking maybe of just having some people over this weekend for food and a movie or something equally cheesy. We will see.

As for now, Happy Birthday love.

I am glad you were born. :D

Burn RUbber to Discover!

So today I had the eerie joy of watching the Magic School Bus in Korean. IT WAS STRANGE! ha ha It comes on everyday an I normally flip right over it, but it was one of my favorite episodes from when I was younger, "The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System." I laughed so hard watching all these super nerdy white kids rattling off in Korean.

Just wanted to share. Thought it might make you smile.


and yes, they do play the theme song with people singing in Korean. Sorry I couldn't find it online. It's great!