Ahhhhh! The Skulls!!!!

The Skulls -the most feared English Teaching duo in Nowon-gu - are taking off on Sunday. Not so cool. They have been here for one year and have taught diligently for 11 months and 17 days. We've loved getting to know them, hang out with them, noraybong with them (no two have ever sung 'Hero' so true to its intended glory) , jimjilbong with them (no pictures here cuz that would just be wrong), talk with them and get to go to Dokejokedo with them too! They have been wonderful friends whom we cherish and will miss dearly. But, we take comfort in the fact that they will soon be able to buy yogurt in larger-than-1-tbsp sizes, 4L LOWFAT milk, and breathe real clean(er) Canadian air. So at least they're not going to something worse.
It's been great with the Skulls! With their departure, the Gang o' 6 is suddenly reduced to 2, but here are some pics to remind us of some highlights together:

Lydia and Nathan on their hogs. Not many couples can pull off biking with so much 'tude, but these two do it effortlessly.

Weird faces at restaurants and hofs. Pretty much anywhere we went these guys were always making interesting pictures and sights for the other patrons.

Sharing the tuna and rameon!!! Soooooooo good.....
Quite possibly the first clear day in Korea we ever experienced (back in May) -on our way home from the Doke. That whole weekend was such a wonderful time with the Skulls -we were so glad to have gone together.

So yes, we must now say goodbye as they are about to take off on Sunday and head back to Canada and various travel adventures! We hope you guys have a great trip back and a wonderful autumney autumn (yes, that's an adjective now). You will be missed guys!

BikeFest

Yah, so ve vent on an amazing biking photo extravaganza on Sunday at Ilsan Lake, and so it vas fun, und das ve thought ve vould share das pictures ***

And who could forget the newby teachers, our new pals Colin and Anne...

Busan Here We Come

With a holiday bookended-weekend, Hilary and I decided to quit this here popsicle stand and head on out to Busan. Two days prior to leaving the weather suddenly turned absolutely gorgeous with the sun utterly dominating the sky. It was so good to finally be clear of the rain in the city. So, we up and boarded the Mugunghwa train bound for Pusan earl-i in the mornin', and as it crept ever so slowly down to the South-Eastern seaboard we enjoyed the vistas and cool countryside. It's interesting that the entire country has really similar mountains and that the flora remains remarkably constant throughout the entire span of the country (our trip brought us through nearly all of the country North to South). There were so many small towns along the way and it was quite refreshing to see something other than city everywhere. So yeah, 5.5 hours later we showed up in the quaint city of Busan. And it was stifling hot! Totally great and sweat-filled.












Here's a view of Haeundae beach -Korea's most famous- jam-packed with Koreans. It was CRAZY. The 20ft-wide swimming area left a lot to be desired mostly because it was filled with hair, bandaids, watermelon, and - lest we forget - 200,000 people. The only way to really sit on the beach was to rent space from the monopolizing umbrella owners (Canada, how we miss your free beaches!). So on day one, we decided just to rough it and of course, we got burned. But it was great while it lasted. (And I don't know why this section is underlined.)

























There was also this Star Wars festival in Pusan at the time and a couple of Storm Troopers were oot and aboot, so we just couldn't let this opportunity pass. After the pic he tried to steal my popsicle so I gave him a left hook and ran for it. Dude shoulda thought about bringing the real blaster if he was so intent on struttin' his stuff by the beach. Silly storm trooper...














Hil: "Once in a while I like the taste of a Hite: when I'm really thirsty and there's nothing else to drink." And wouldn't you know she actually started liking it from this point on. With nothing else to eat but fried chicken and a side plate of popcorn.













And who can resist the cool bikes but Adrian every time he sees them. Especially with random words like "Handy STD" on them. Sheesh.













The next day (Sunday?) we went to explore the coastline a bit. Man, was it hot. Not even Seoul gets this hot in the summer. I got heat stroke (I think, anyway) the day before just trying to keep up with Adrian on an afternoon meandering through the rocks along the beach and an unexpected encounter with this international conference building and a free tour through it! In our beachwear, of course. We saw Canada's special seat for the prime minister (they had sort of a round table in there with the names of countries on them). Fun times on the beach.

Adrian got all shifty and had to move, see. Can't get enough adventure, that one. I had the pleasure of observing and daydreaming such thoughts as shall be made known in the following scenes...

If you look at this picture for a long time, it looks as though the rocks form a monster mouth that will shortly engulf this confident form before you. Beware, oh picture of youth and uncanny climbing ability, beware!

After this stunning escapade, we walked down the coastline further, past the over-crowded beaches and caught some cool views like this pagoda far centre.

Adrian is hot next to the two Russian dudes (as found out later) surfacing for a visit on the little rock island he swam out to, beyond swimming limits, I may add. I didn't know whether there was going to be a conflict about to arise. Unfortunately, he forgot all the Russian his dad had ever spoken to him. All I could see was distant bodies approaching one another...

The Rain

It's amazing, but true: Korea receives 70% of its rain during late June to late July. Prior to their rainy season, we were all like 'Dude, rain shmain; we're from Van and we've seen some rain. We can deal with rain.'
Boy oh boy.
This was something new. One moment it would be drizzling, and then the next few hours would be a near-deafening thwump of water pouring from the sky. The entire sidewalk (high and low-points) would be covered with 1 - 2 inches of water; rivers rose (seriously) 6 feet in two days; playgrounds looked like this most of the time:

We got soaked everywhere. It was refreshing, cuz it was the first time in 6 months the air was remotely clean. But, after 20 something days of straight rain and no sun, we were DEFINITELY ready for some actual summer sun.

And of course, just like the stores here, it all changed over night. The next thing we knew it was hot, humid and sunny. Now we smile and sweat the days away. It's humid bliss...

Goin' out with style...

Just like the renowned singer Vanessa Williams once sung,
"[Jamie and Jennica] go and save the best [noraybang experience and meat-fest] for last"
Too true, Vanessa. Too true.
Take for example, our last night spent with the Grahams.

These stellar dudes engaged many in an evening dedicated to eating frying pig in lettuce with garlic and kimchi, and of course, to raising our soju-soaked glasses in a heartening cheer of "Gambay!" We're still not sure what that word means, but we think it's something similar to "I dare you to drink this!" or "Here's to rubbing alcohol!" In either case, we 'gambayed' ourselves to a wonderful capitulation of time spent with such stellar dudes as the Grahams.

And then Nathan got all squirrelly and we had to go somewhere else.

But thankfully that was Puuuuuuuuurincess Noraybang!!! No lewd acts this time, just pure vocal amazingosity to the tenth degree. Do you doubt? Here's proof:

Hil and Lydia just bustin' out the moves as the Grahams sing away the night...

So Nathan and I had to show them all how Ricky Martin does it... We mostly just walked back and forth but they got the idea.

Sometimes it is sooooooo good to sing!!! This was definitely one of those nights. We belted it out something fierce (I got hoarse -wasn't using my diaphragm properly, it turns out) and you should hear the Koreans sing! It blows yer top. One of the Grahams/Skuls' supervisors was there and he sang with such passion and so little accent that it absolutely floored us. Great times, and a great way to say goodbye.

JAMERS et JENNICLES

Our dudes, our buds, our Grahamers:
You two guys are some crazy dudes
With your cars and your bars and your generous 'tudes
It's been sweet, it's been great, it's been 90% grand
But now youze be packin' up yo bags and heading back to Van

You both be leavin here your homies who be missin' you lots
Fashiz: it just won't be the same, not even bipimbap dolsot
Now there's a hole way up in Nowon-gu.
Doo-wa, doo-wa.

So long to coffee, to nor-ay, to street meat and hofs
Well I guess we'll still do them, but we'll be missin you lots
You guys are bombs, um, yeah, the kind that blow up and get louda
Jen the Spark, James the Fuse, and your love is the powda

Alright now yo, uh-huh, why don't you play it Mr. DJ
We have to go to work, but guys we'll see you late today
But we love you dudes, we'll miss you too and if you're ever alone
Please don't hesitate to call cuz yo we still got your phone

This rap is dedicated to our almost departed (Korea-wise) friends, Jamie and Jennica: they helped us get used to this country, introduced us to friends and food, and were there for some wonderful memories. You guys are great and we hope you have a wonderful time settling back in Canada. Raise some chocolate milk for us; we'll raise some cream for you.

THE HAN

That's right, nothing but capital letters will suffice to capture the immensity of the HAN. RiVER. It's largish and longish and brown. Bridges and boats cross the waters and we decided it was time, a few weeks back, to finally brave said waters on a sweet little joy ride.














And thankfully, it was on a day that was absolutely beautiful -we could actually see the mountains in the distance. Such rare treats are precious in this city.

June 12th Special (one month late!)

As it is, I was the one (Hil) who was supposed to get this thing together, but as time went by post-appendicitis, I kept leaving it... sorry to those who've been waiting! So finally, here are our 2-year anniversary shots. I took the liberty of planning the evening on the 11th, and Adrian on the morning of the actual day, as we both had to work late on the 12th. So to start things off, I surprised Adge with a trip down to trendy Apgujeong, where I planned to take us to a cool restaurant that I read about in a magazine. The place was called Samwon Garden, and it's one of the finer places to eat in Seoul. The owner of the restaurant has a daughter who is a pro-golfer (Grace Park) and he slashes the prices in half whenever she wins a game. We weren't so fortunate to get such a deal, but we did have a good time. Afterward we hung out on the grounds, ate Haagen Daas, got some free candy, and then went to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf for some cheesecake and sweet drinks. A little excessive on the diet, yes, but we enjoyed every minute of it! Needless to say our anniversary involved food, food, and oh yes, more food. The next day Adrian took me up the mountain by our place after making an amazing breakfast and we sat up in one of our favorite spots and enjoyed the view.

So what, you may ask, has two years of marriage taught us? Um, I think Love your neighbor as yourself. It's wonderful to be able to plan romantic stuff together, as when you're married, you see each other all the time. Sometimes it takes a little extra effort to make things romantic. But it's so worth it!! I don't want to turn this into a bragfest by any means, but I think that for us, we've been blessed to actually grow together over this time and learn how to live under the same roof, with lots of grace for each other in-between. I can be a basketcase... my fam knows that, and Adrian IS a basketcase (ust-j idding-k). ANyways, that being said, Adrian has taught me lots about what it means to love, like the selfless kind of love. I can only say that I've been blessed more than I've ever been by anyone through the love he shows to me, and I hope to live out the same kind of love for him.

Here's a somewhat blurry picture of the restaurant we went to. It was really cool on the inside though. We were served in a hall-like dining area, with many interesting Korean dishes on the side to go with our galbi, which is barbecued pork that you cook on your own grill at the table. Prime meat it was. And a cultural experience to boot.

Our restaurant that we went to had beautiful rock walls with waterfalls outside and little pools with lots of colorful fish in them.

We majorly enjoyed our evening. We even found free cotton candies outside on the grounds!

Ha, ha. On our walk after our din-din, we came to this sign. And many other random sights, as you shall soon see...

Sebas, this one's for you. Adrian with "Wagener".

In Adrian's words, "Possibly the sweetest bicycle in the world." Seen outside the subway station.

As we were walking back to the subway station, I had to adjust my glasses to see if I was seeing things correctly across the street.

On the morning of the 12th, Adrian had a very romantic idea...

We enjoyed a delicious three-course breakfast, compliments of Adrian, in one of our favourite mountain spots. And Adrian was able to find BACON. How we miss the stuff (which in Canada we ate on a much more regular basis). Couldn't have been a nicer morning!