Han guk mal mol la yo. Annyeong???

6.10.2011

Zip lining

Andrew and I met up with Becky and Nick for some Eco adventure in Deagu last weekend. Here is a small glimpse of all the fun we had.

Amanda's Big Day on the Zip-line from Andrew Tisue on Vimeo.

4.30.2011

Got my hair permed today. It was a lot more expensive that I expected it to be, but I think it will be a lot easier to do in the morning before work. The lady said it should be less curly in a few days, but i kinda like how curly it is in the back. AND it doesn't even smell!

4.27.2011

seoul part II

It's been maybe 3 weeks since we have been back from Seoul. I was going to give a pretty detailed itinerary of what we did but with moving, cleaning, and unpacking I am just finishing my photos and have no motivation for labels, descriptions, and itineraries. I do believe Andrew explains some good stuff in his blog though. I have slimmed down 350 photos from Seoul down to 105. Below are my favorites, but you can check out the rest on my flickr page. Soon I will have some other photos I have taken since we got back up. An update! I am making a Korea book. I have started to put all of the photos I want into it, so that all I have to do is design the book (the fun part). I will work on it from time to time, so when I fly home it will be finished. Also the Ipad 2 is suppose to come out Friday in Korea, Cross your fingers and maybe I'll have one by next week.

4.14.2011

we are alive!

It is 5 minutes before our first class but I just wanted to tell you all that we are alive. We went to Seoul last weekend and it was one of the best times we have had in Korea so far. But you won't be seeing any of our experiences on flickr or our blogs for some time still. The Thursday before we left we were told by our neighbor that we needed to move out of our apartment while we were gone. WHAT?! ya I know, that was my reaction. The building wasn't built to code and the city found out about it so they needed to evacuate to do a month long renovation on the electric wiring. We were scheduled to move out, while we were gone to this very small attic with 3 windows, where the walls weren't taller than 3 feet and slanted ceilings. Glen and ourselves didn't think this was a good idea to move twice in a month or so far away from the school, so Glen found us a new home. Monday at 7 am (after our long trip back from Seoul) we had to move out of our apartment into the new one. For the last 4 days we have been eighter cleaning with bleach or teaching. Our apartment is now 75% clean and hopefully this weekend we can get the rest done. It's much smaller so arranging our furniture and belongings is quite the task but soon it will be home for only the next 6 months. Hopefully we will also get the internet at home up to par. That's all! have to go teach now! Wish us luck!

4.05.2011

no matter where I am in the world, I still love flowers

At the beginning of this journey we were greeted with mountains of stone, laid by one man over a 10 year period. We climbed to the top of the mountain, the tallest point in Masan (from what I saw) and then down to the other side where a beautiful lake lay between 5 mountains. We had lunch on a pavilion and then hiked up the other side and around the peak back down. Lots of flowers are starting to bloom for the start of spring is here. You can see the spring in the pallet below and on my flickr page.

4.03.2011

photo finale

About a month or so ago I said I would finish all my photos. Going to Seoul next Friday I didn't want to come back with a stack of projects so I have finally finished the last set. 3 weeks ago we walked around Jeo-do Island with the Kangs and Choi's parents. I'm sure you saw all about it on Andrew's blog. Well here are my favorites and you can check out the rest on flickr if you would like.

Also today we spent the day hiking with the Kangs and Choi's parents again around a different mountain. It had a big lake in the middle. It was windy and chilly today so we didn't run for the water, but it was still a really good time. I will have those photos done by Wednesday. I hope.

4.01.2011

roh moo hyun

Almost a month ago now we went to the recently past korean president Roh Moo Hyun. We got to see were he lived, and a replica of his home growing up. Next to their home is a mountain which he climbed everyday. It's also where he jumped from, committing suicide about 2 years ago. That I know of, everyone in Korea loved him. They would visit his home every day and and still do.

The last half of the photos are from a restored pond that the president created to be a chemical free rice plantation. We were there around sunset and I got some great photos. Enjoy 174 of the 300 on Flikr. Below are my favorites.

3.21.2011

seoul part I

I finally finished my pictures from Seoul. Little late but oh well. Andrew and I are going back up April 8th so I'll have a lot more to edit. 300 photos slimmed down to 115. I don't like all of them, but thought for those that have been waiting would want to see all of them. Here's the link to my flickr account to see them all.

3.19.2011

korean haircut

Since I got to Korea I regretted not cutting my hair before I came. I don't know what I was thinking. I thought I could go 12 months and not cut my already extremely long hair. Getting ready for school was a chore: washing, blow drying, curling, and often resulted in me being late everyday. I couldn't put it in a pony tail because the thickness gave me headaches and I often experienced neck pains from the weight.

I had planned to get it cut when I was in Seoul for New Years, but everyone we crossed was closed. Andrew and I are planning to go back to Seoul in less than a month and I was going to get it done then. Wednesday morning I woke up and decided, I don't care, it's good as gone this weekend. I decided that I would get it cut longer than wanted and if it was horrible I would get it fixed in Seoul.

So Jinyeong is a very small place. No one speaks English or understands it here, so Glen came with me to get it cut. I had asked for layering and thinning because I have so much hair that without it, it would just get frizzy, especially when the rainy season starts. My friend Choi said to have the director of this one shop cut it. But the director wasn't there and apparently is the only person in the shop that knows how to cut layers. So we waited an hour for the director to come.

I'm glad I waited. He had me very worried for a bit and cut a little shorter than wanted, but it looks great, I don't have to go to Seoul to get a hair cut! And it was less than 10 dollars. Here are some before and after photos.

3.01.2011

Cooking

I miss cooking. Even though it stresses me out, which Andrew has pointed out after trying to help in the kitchen, I like being able to put all the things together and in the end taste something DELICIOUS! Today we have off of work because it's some holiday. It's a Tuesday, which is weird but we'll take it.

The other day I said I was going to start editing photos, but instead I started finding all of these great recipes that I would love to cook but can't. In 8 months when I am back home I hope to try them all but until then YOU can try them and let me know how they are, or you can drool over the photos with me. Click on the name and it will take you to the web page with the recipe.

CHAI LATTE