Snow Day!

Today we got a nice surprise - a snow day in Busan! School was canceled this Valentine's Day so we enjoyed a three-day weekend. It's snowed a few times this winter but nothing ever sticks because the temperature is usually pretty mild. Anyway, Bob and I stayed in and watched a movie and then went out for a romantic Quiznos dinner. : )

Our Korean friend Mr. Kang warned us that when it snows even a little bit in Busan, the traffic comes to a standstill and most schools shut down. He wasn't kidding! It only snowed 2 or 3 inches, but there are no snow plows in the city because they rarely ever have snow. There are no snow shovels either - we saw most people clearing their sidewalks with brooms or two-by-fours. This is so different from Nebraska, where it takes 6 or 8 inches for us to really take notice!

***Bob and Lindsey***

Haeundae Beach and Aquarium

Today is Lunar New Year in Korea, so we have a 5-day weekend to celebrate. Happy New Year!

We decided to forgo the ski trip and instead are just staying in Busan relaxing. Yesterday we really enjoyed our day off. We had great weather (about 50 degrees out!) so we went to Haeundae Beach for a bit of sunshine and some lunch. Then we went to the Busan Aquarium.

The aquarium is very similar to the one at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. They also have the glass tunnel you can walk through and see fish swimming all around you. There are some HUGE sharks and sting rays, as well as giant crabs and one very active octopus. It was a great day. Photos

***Bob and Lindsey***

1st Birthday Party

Last weekend was very busy but a lot of fun! On Saturday we attended a 1st birthday party for our Korean co-worker's son, Abe (his English name of course). It was a very fancy affair - Lynn, the mother wore a fancy wedding dress and her 6-year-old daughter Chloe had a miniature version. The father wore a full tuxedo and even the baby had on a tux! Then we sat down to a delicious buffet and watched the main event.

They have a special tradition in Korea for a baby's first birthday. On a table six props are set out that are meant to represent the baby's possible future: a microphone, computer mouse, pencil. golf club, stethoscope and money. Then the baby sits down in front of all the objects and the one he or she chooses is his or her future profession. (The parents traditionally hope the baby will choose the money!)

Abe went right for the stethoscope and even put it on his ears! Looks like he will be a doctor when he grows up. Birthday Photos

Sunday was the annual Corem English Concert for our kindergarten students. Each class presents a sort of mini-musical for all of their parents to watch. The kids did a great job singing and dancing and their costumes were pretty unbelievable - lots of sequins, glitter and bright colors. The English teachers got in on the action too. I played the part of a grandmother in one performance. Bob had a much busier day. He was Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music and Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid.

Next month it's on to Kinder Graduation. Most of our little babies will be graduating and in March we'll have a new batch of kindergarten students!

***Bob and Lindsey***

Christmas, New Year's and Such

A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Yikes! 2010 is over already!? Time is certainly moving fast. Almost three weeks ago our sisters arrived in Busan to help us celebrate the Christmas holiday. It was GREAT to see them and I hope they had fun seeing our new home. Here's the highlights from our Very Korean Christmas

-cable car ride up a mountain
-Christmas Eve dinner at Gwangalli beach
-our portable, paper Christmas tree
-Christmas mass in Korean
-the Christmas lights in Nampo-dong
-Korean BBQ with our new Korean friends
-Kinder classes
-dining on home-cooked Korean food in a Korean-style apartment (also with our new Korean friends)

The 9 days just flew by and soon we were waving goodbye to Shannon and Kate at the Busan airport. We're so glad they were able to come visit us. Thanks especially to our parents (who helped make it possible) for giving up their remaining children for the holiday!

The first few weeks of 2011 have been really busy for us. There are extra classes going on at school this month, which means earlier mornings for the next couple of weeks. We also got two new teachers (goodbye to Kadie and Ryan: ( The first week in February is Lunar New Year, so we'll have 3 days off of school, plus the weekend. We're in the middle of organizing a skiing trip for a few nights during our break. Should be fun!

***Bob and Lindsey***

December is Here!

Well, Thanksgiving and Bob's 24th birthday have come and gone. Hard to believe! We celebrated both occasions. For Thanksgiving we had a dinner with the other English teachers at school. We got rotisserie chicken from CostCo, dinner rolls, corn, potatoes and even pumpkin and apple pie. For Bob's birthday the two of us celebrated with a movie and a few drinks at our favorite bar/lounge.

Next up is Christmas and our sisters' visit : )

We've been busy the last few weeks with work and getting ready for the holidays. We have a few Christmas decorations around the apartment - a new Santa Claus door hanger and a Santa countdown calendar. Bob also surprised me with two strands of Christmas lights! We put one up in our apartment and the other around our desks at school.

Last week was a lot of fun at school. Thursday was "Doctor Day" for the kinders. Instead of classes, the teachers were stationed at different booths made to look like doctors offices. I was the dentist for the day. There was also an eye doctor, pediatrician and surgeon. The kids visited each doctor and got a fake prescription from each of us. Then they took it to the pharmacy station and got their pills and cough syrup (M&Ms and orange juice). Bob was the pharmacist.

Then on Friday the kids took pictures for kinder graduation, which is coming up at the end of February. They had tiny caps and gowns and a library backdrop with a globe for the kids to pose with. They took group pictures with all of the teachers too, so Bob and I got to don graduation garb as well.

Tonight Bob just started taking Korean lessons from one of the teachers at our school. I'm still working on learning the alphabet : ) Two weeks from tonight we'll be at the airport picking up Shannon and Kate! We can't wait!!!

***Bob and Lindsey***

Sports Day

Yesterday was the 6th Annual Sports Day for all the kinder kids at Corem. There are actually 8 branches of our school, Corem, throughout the city of Busan. Every year the director of the company rents a basketball arena and all the schools are divided into two teams, blue and white. Then the kids compete all day in fun sports activities like relay races and tug of war. Photos

Track and field day was an event for the whole family. Mothers, fathers, grandparents and brothers and sisters were invited. They had events to get everyone involved. There was a shoe kick competition for the grandmothers and grandfathers and a team relay race with the fathers. It was a lot of fun to watch! The parents also helped the kids with some of games. There was a race where the parents pushed the kids in these little carts. Very cute!

Here is a photo of one of my students, Vicky, after the blue team (our team) won the whole competition! The kids were very excited : )

***Bob and Lindsey***

Korean War Memorial

Last Sunday we went to the UN Korean War Memorial in Busan. I am very interested in history in general and we were especially interested in this part of Korean history that is so intertwined with American history. Bob's grandfather, Emil, was a Marine in the war here. We heard that there was a wall at the UN Memorial that listed the names of every fallen soldier.

Before we planned our visit we called Bob's grandpa and asked if there were any names of friends and fellow soldiers he'd like us to look for and take pictures of for him. He gave us a small list of some of his close friends who did not survive the war and we found their names on the wall and sent grandpa the photos. More photos from the memorial

The memorial was very beautiful and SO well kept. There were gorgeous flowers everywhere and elegant architecture. It was a very peaceful and respectful atmosphere. The Wall of Remembrance (pictured above) was an especially beautiful sight. There was also a cemetery where 36 American soldiers are buried, as well as 2,300 other soldiers from the other 20 UN countries that fought in the war.

We saw many photos, letters, medals and other artifacts from the war, as well as a thank-you sign for each country that aided South Korea in the war. It was such an interesting place and I'm glad we got to spend time there.

***Bob and Lindsey***