Back to the Cradle

Moved!

2008-07-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

No we're not all moved into our new digs yet but, I am moving my blog away from passthekimchi.blogspot.com

This one was built for our travels and, as the address suggests, was a little too place specific. For Ethiopia I kept the URL but changed the name. Now it's time to simply move and start over, something a little more inclusive of all the pots my fingers are in.

So come see the new blog at http://ericswanderings.blogspot.com/

This is where I'll be from here on in, so change your bookmarks, blog links, whatever.

Hopefully I'll be posting regularly over there and it's going to be the best way for all of you, our friends all over the world, to keep tabs on us. So go check it out!

Moving Mayhem

2008-07-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

What a long weekend! My parents are in the process of moving out, we're in the process of moving in and the end result = four people's belongings and none of it in the right place. Seriously, the house feels like a tornado tore through it and that was after we spent the past 2 days working in it! But I would like to be the first to point out that my darling wife is being extremely (and maybe suprisingly) patient through it all and, despite her burgeoning belly, did a lion's share of the work. She's a machine. My machine. My sexy machine.

But this weekend did mark the fruition of a project! I've been working on building a bookcase for our new office.

Due to our new digs being so spacious we not only have a baby room, but I finally get an office (slash/ scrapbooking room =) I've been working away, sanding and cutting. (Thank God for good weather!)Here the wood is "getting its stain on"......And here is me "getting my stain on".With a little expert help from the 1-800-CALL-DADDY line I got the pieces put together and moved upstairs.And then, viola! From design to completion, there it was!With room for all of my books and space for me to buy a few more (right honey?)Still a few touches to the room, a chair to add, some pictures to hang but... this was really the first time I got to do a room how I thought it should be and I kinda like it.

One more day off for me and then back to school for another 3 1/2 weeks. And then summer can begin! Actually, I have a bunch of reading and research to do for my Master's but at least that's at my own pace and now I have a great office to do it in!

Obama vs. Ol' Dobby

2008-06-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Now you may not look at the news but this one one is fresh off today's, "Obama Dismisses Dobson" coming after yesterday's, "Dobson Blasts Obama on Bible." As you can see, a little dispute is brewing.

Now a caveat, I'm not an Obama groupie. Don't think he's going to change the world, or even America for that matter. I think he's a better choice than Bush. I don't think he's a miracle worker.

Another caveat, I'm not a Dobson fan. I think his organization does some good things and I think he's a headline grabber. I don't like his political stances and I think he misrepresents Christianity. He ashames me for the most part.

It's always better to let people know where you're coming from, the good ol' post-modern way. Situate, situate, situate.

Now to simplify this little dispute. Obama thinks the Bible's not really that applicable to governing a country. To support this he quotes Leviticus where slavery seems to be okayed and shellfish are an abomination. Obama also claims sections such as the Sermon on the Mount are too radical for governing a country.

Ol' Dobby refutes this claim and says Obama is misquoting the Bible to support his own twisted theology.

Here's where I put my foot down, whip out my most imposing lecture face and start swinging around my right pointer finger...

Obama's right. America is not a Christian nation and has a set of laws to govern it, not the Bible. He's right, slavery in not okay in America. And most importantly, he's right when he says the Sermon on the Mount is too radical for governing a country!

All Christ-imitators should be saying in unison, "My goal is not to change or rule a nation". Say it with me!

The Bible clearly states that our goal is to love Christ and then love our neighbor, the two most important commands. No governing of society. Christ's radical demands on Christian life just don't jive with civil rule. Government serves the "will of the people". The Bible is about the "will of God". They don't mix and, as the Bible clearly states, "You can't serve two masters."

So this is where Ol' Dobby gets in trouble. He rather likes the mixture of government and God, civil rule and Christianity. He likes getting his hands dirty and mixing it up politically, whether it's gay teletubbies, John McCain or Ted Haggard. He think his job is to "Christianize" America.

This is where I run fast and far away. My job as a Christian is not to change society... it's to have Christ change me and change individuals through me. We've seen how Christian societies turned out (Google "Munster" and "reformation" together and see what I mean, or try "Calvin" and "Geneva"). In fact, after the debacles of Munster we had guys like the Mennonites saying we need to remove ourselves completely from society, we're just too radical for governing!

So, as official scorekeeper for Dobby vs. Obama: Biblical Interpretion I score the Democrat 1, the confused Republican 0.

Africa Reads

2008-06-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

I've been reading alot of books about Africa lately, I think on last count about 12 in the past 3 months or so. I know not everyone has my great fascination with the Dark Continent but here are a few reads I highly reccomend for those with an interest in Africa or in a good read.

First, Dervla Murphy's "In Ethiopia With a Mule". Imagine a single woman heading off into the wild Ethiopian highlands by herself, sans map... in the 1960's. Then imagine bandits, leopards, and mules falling off cliffs. That's this books. She's blunt and fearless and treks more than a 1000 miles, living with the fleas, the Ethiopians and the hyenas. Super fascinating book by a famous travel writer.

Ok, so the 750 pages might seem a little intimidating at first but they fly by. "The Fate of Africa" is African history since independence that focuses on many of the big personalities, weaving all the connections and bringing the headlines to life. If you want to know recent African history, this is the book. His writing style gives the history life and you often forget you're reading history.

If there was one man I might want to emulate on the international aid scene it would be Stephen Lewis. He's a tireless advocate for human right, women's right and African rights. And he's Canadian. He was most recently the UN envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa and has tons of first hand experience. He knows AIDS in Africa. In "Race Against Time" he speaks out against the inaction and failings of the UN, the IMF and the Bank. He's honest and yet hopeful that these organizations can rectify their failures the fulfill their potential.

A couple more: Alexandra Fuller's "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight". One girl growing up in the unique world of Rhodesia.

Stephanie Nolen's "28: Stories of AIDS in Africa". A Canadian journalist gives stories and faces to the many crises that AIDS is causing in Africa.

Romeo Dallaire's "Shake Hands With the Devil". Ok, this one's been out there a while but I am constantly amazed at what he's gone through and his tireless advocacy for peace in Africa. And he's Canadian.

So, if that light summer reading just isn't your thing (I know it's not mine), grab one of these books and become edumacated. Ya HEARD.

Summer of BBQ

2008-06-08T17:01:00.001-07:00

I declare the summer of 2008 the Summer of BBQ! The last couple of summer we haven't been around to take advantage of long sunny evenings, a deck and a BBQ so now... we're going to! We've got a great big deck, a BBQ, and lots of recipes to try.

I planked again, this time for my mom.
Tried two different salmon recipes: Terriyaki Pineapple and Sun dried Tomato. Both were yummy but all agreed the Sun-Dried Tomato was to die for... seriously yummy. I've been out BBQ'ing this week, rain or shine (mostly rain) - steaks, chicken, pork. I'm thinking meat and veggies is a solid diet. Normally that wouldn't fly with my Sweetie, but thanks to the bump in her tummy she's realized the importance of things like protein and iron! So fire up the BBQ, stock the fridge - we're having a BBQ. Once we move in proper, it'll be time to have guests over to share our deck abundance. Nothing beats a warm evening, a steak with a mug of Blackbery Porter, cool tunes and good friends to share it with.

As for everything else... I am half done my crazy days of classes, just 3 more weeks of mayhem. I've been putting in 10-12 hour days at school just to make sure everything gets done. Taking 4 semester long classes in 7 weeks isn't as easy as I remember it to be...

The little one in the tummy is growing. Had our first ultrasound last week, saw him/her just lounging around. Even got the ol' thumbs up. Pretty cool. And the last 2 night I got to feel the baby kicking for the first times, way cool! Guess this whole baby thing is for real.

Otherwise, life is moving on. Kinda weird to be in the grind and yet still feeling in limbo until we properly move and unpack everything. Be good to get everything out and feel properly settled... though there's no complaints about the current roof over our heads from this end!

For those of you who are still hoping to see us... it's all gonna settle down soon. I promise!

And a parting shot. Me and the little hoodlum.

Travelphilia

2008-05-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

I have a condition where I simply can't stay in one place too long. My feet get itchy, my eyes roam, and my mind wanders to other places. Seriously, I am always planning the next big trip (road trip to Mexico, Tam!) or thinking of where I want to go next (Belize). I have a top ten list of places to visit. I love travel. Doesn't matter where it is, as long as I am moving and seeing new things.

So for my birthday I asked for travel! This weekend we packed up the car and headed up island for a relaxing wekend away in Ucluelet, compliments of my family (thanks guys!). A beautiful drive (minus the crappy roads the last 30km or so) and I was reminded of just how beautiful BC truly is, especially this island we call home.

We had a nice little B&B on the ocean with a hot tub on the deck (it pretty much doesn't get better than that!)I got to spend the weekend whiling away the hours with my sweetie (again, does it get better than that!) as we watched movies, walked along the beach and explored the ocean (I won "Who can find the biggest crab"!).All in all, a sweet way to spend a weekend and a temporary relief for my itch. I am reminded again of how much we all sometimes just need to get away. Even if you do the same things you might do at home, just getting away from the feeling of responsibility and feeling the road underneath does some serious good. Fun times.

Plank It!

2008-05-12T19:54:00.001-07:00

I fancy myself to be fairly handy in the kitchen. Nolana on the other hand, well... as she said yesterday, "I am glad you can cook so we can eat". My particular strengths are a willingness to try anything, especially if it is a touch different, and the ability to make up things that taste good.

So for Mother's Day I was requisitioned to cook for Nolana's mom which gave me the chance to try something new that I had been dying to try: planking!

I made up the menu: planked brie with a roasted red pepper, peach picante topping, planked shrimp gratin with asiago cheese, roasted potatoes with parsely and parmesan and grilled balsamic portabello mushrooms with bell peppers.

Planking involves cooking with a cedar plank on the ol' BBQ which is much more manly than just plain cooking! First I soaked the planks for a couple hours and prepped the rest which included marinating the veggies.

First to ready was the brie. Layered roasted red peppers on the bottom, then the brie wheel and then the sauce which I concocted (and turned out swell I must say).Next came the shrimp. Again, I layered sliced lemons on the plank, then put the shrimp mixture on top.

They both got transported out the BBQ where they smoked away with that sweet cedar smell filtering its way into the food.The brie slowly melted inside the skin until it burst and the shrimp slow cooked away. While this was happening my lovely wife set the table... (and I would be remiss to not mention her aid in the kitchen preparing as well, love ya honey!)And when everything had soaked up the delighful cedarness we sat down to eat with an excellent bottle of wine and had a great Mother's Day meal.And thus, my first planking experience was a huge success and I will most certainly try some more recipes on the plank... who's coming for dinner?!

Facebook Pictures

2008-05-03T14:21:00.001-07:00

If you're a Facebook friend, I've posted some more Ethiopia pictures there. Go check 'em out!

In the Whirlwind

2008-05-01T13:03:00.001-07:00

It's true. All those rumors and celebrity like sightings are indeed confirming what most of you now know, Eric and Nolana are back in Canada! We were scheduled to be back in Victoria in July but as your calendar will point out it is only May.

So why are we back? As some of you already know, Nolana and I are going to be parents!

So, you can see, it has been quite the month. We arrived home on the 8th of April, with only our parents knowing we were returning. We slipped into Victoria Aiport, avoided the paparazzi and bunkered down for a few days to recover from our 30 hour trip. Since then Nolana has had way too much fun suprising all of our friends and family with the news we are back!

I think my favorite moment was suprising Jani who had recently broken a rib so the excitement caused a bit too much movement for her rib so she was convulsing in a state between ecstasy and immense pain, crying, laughing, gasping... Though it was pretty sweet to suprise Lori coming back from New Zealand too.

The neat thing for Nolana is that two of her close friends are also pregnant, one of them due 2 months before her and the other due about 4 days later. Oh yeah, we're due around Nov. 1 and no we're not going to find out the sex and no we have not decided on names (just heading the questions off before they come, I'm a pro now!).

Not everyone was happy to see us back as we were greeted with uncharacteristically cold weather and an April record for snow in Victoria.

But we're settling in. We've bought a car.

Four door special. And we have a place to move into, top part of a house with 3 bedroom, great area, and the best thing about it is that it's a steal (thanks Mom and Dad! lol). So yesterday I painted the baby room and we're making plans to get somewhat moved in the next couple of weeks while the parents are moving out.

Nolana's started back at the hospital and already has a full time job which is great, she'll work enough hours to get her maternity leave in a few months. Myself... due to some complications I am back in school for this year, taking some courses to qualify me for my teaching certificate. Starting May 12 I am a student again. Not sure how I feel about it but at the same time I feel up for the challenge.

As for future plans... we are all up in the air. We loved Ethiopia and would love to go back there or possibly somewhere else on the fair continent of Africa, so we're looking around for opportunities and hoping God will lead. We are back in Victoria for at least a year and then we'll have to see. So if we haven't seen you around yet, we have some time to catch up with everyone!

Hopefully I'll be updating this more regularly but no promises. Hope you are all as well as we are, which is pretty peachy keen!

School Days

2008-04-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hey there Blogger world, we're finally here for a much needed update. Due to a tropical virus our computer was down for some time and we were unable to post. But now it's all good. So I thought I would share some pictures of my school and my kids. Enjoy!
My Grade 4 class which is my absolute favorite. 24 kids who for the most part love to engage and think the world of me. We have a lot of fun. I see them about 7 periods a week.My Grade 6 class which is quite small. The 7 kids and I have some great discussion such as "Is it ok to beat your wife?" or "Is it ok for a Muslim to marry a Christian?". The girl in the hijab in the back is the smartest girl in the school, she could easily go to school in Canada and excel.These are 3 of the boys in my Grade 5 class. You are looking at trouble. Just this past week 3 of them (including the 2 on the left) were expelled for a week. That class just does not know the meaning of quiet or of work. Amazing how 11 kids can cause so much trouble! This is Hamdiya, one of the 3 Canadian children at the school. She was born in Canada and has lived there all her life until 2 years ago when her family moved back to Ethiopia. Her English is excellent and she has a pretty sharp wit. Always talking away and asking me to sing the Canadian anthem for her!Some of my Grade 2 and 3 girls. I taught them at the beginning of the year and now I don't so they miss me and love to just come chat with me. I love my kids' smiles. Some of them go a long way in making a crappy day a lot better.The boy in the back is Feysal and he is my biggest fan. He's in Grade 6, stands about 5 foot 9 and is incredibly affectionate. He started off the year failing miserably until he got in my class and all of a sudden decided he was willing to work at it. Now he averages around %70. He always states how much he loves me and always has to hug me or kiss me on the cheek. Ethiopians in general are way more affectionate but to see a teenage boy trying to kiss his teacher still sometimes gives me a bit of a shock! Me and the boys! They like to chill, play football (soccer) and cause trouble like most boys do. And suprisingly enough most of them love their English teacher. Which makes what I do here all so worth it.

Trekking in North Wollo

2008-02-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

Time is flying! It really feels like that here as we passed the half way mark and have so quickly come upon 4 months left here in Ethiopia (ok, soon it will be four months). At school we finished the end of semester finals and I got to take some time off! Had most of a week to relax and catch up on some things and Nolana took half of that week off so we had a chance to just hang out together and take a break from our busy schedules… it was sweet! And then last week we headed off for five days of trekking in the north of Ethiopia .

We hooked up with a company called Tourism in Ethiopia for Sustainable Future Alternatives (TESFA) which has taken some small communities and worked with them to build a sort of tourism infrastructure so that they do not have to rely as much on their subsistence agriculture. We stayed in tukuls (local huts) built by the communities, had locals cook food for us, had local guides, got invited into community tukuls to have injera and coffee made for us, and spent our days moving like a real Ethiopian (walking) in the mountains and the farmland, in places where the only foreigners are the ones TESFA brings and the occasional NGO worker.

All of the TESFA sites are ideally situated in the cliffs, looking out at the beautiful mountains, mesas and valleys.

So you wake up each morning, open the window and see the sun rising over the mountains. You wake up and have a leisurely breakfast in the morning sun.

Most mornings we were on the trail by 9am for our daily trek. We had a donkey to carry our packs and a couple local guides supplied by the town we stayed in that night, as well as our guide for the whole trip. Most days we trekked about 5 hours, some uphill but mostly flatland along the edges of the mesas where the communities were.

We would stop for a picnic lunch somewhere along the way and usually arrived at the next community around 2pm, had a snack and time to just relax and have some fun.

It really was a great way to see how the majority of Ethiopians live and do it in a way that aids them. The majority of people in Ethiopia live outside of cities and a recent UN report said that around 70% of Ethiopians live on less that 2$ a day. In the country I am sure that number is something like 97%. And yet they were quite friendly for the most part. They invited us in and cooked for us.

The kids tending the cattle and goats in the fields all ran when they saw us to have a picture taken. The communities we stayed in were grateful and we had one evening where we stood around with some of the men and some children, they gave us some local brew beer, served to us in a re-used tin can (recycling on a new level!), one man pulled out his prized battery-operated tape player, turned on some music and we danced a bit with them until it got too dark to see.

I don’t want to romanticize life in the country (which is what we Westerners tend to do). It’s hard and dark. Women bear the brunt of the work, cooking, taking care of kids, hauling water, etc…

Life is good if you own a cow, some goats, some chickens and a dark little tukul that keeps the rain out when it comes.

Most kids don’t go to school. TESFA has been working with Save the Children out in this area and still no more than 50% of kids are in primary school and most will never go to high school. There’s no money to do it, no school nearby and even if they did, no opportunities to use the learning. Kids stay in the same village, grow up there, marry there, work there and die there. When we arrived back in Addis it all of a sudden felt pretty luxurious, imagine being able to take an automobile to go get a pizza! Can’t say I ever thought of life in Addis as easy before but that’s exactly what it is compared to the country. Guess it is all a matter of perspective.

We had a great break and are happy to be back in the city, back into the routine and starting to think of all the things that have to be done before we arrive back in Canada . Hope to see you all there

Nolana’s Random Chaotic Bits of Ethiopia

2008-02-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

Every time we get water, when we turn our water on for the first time, it comes out of the tap brown for the first 5 seconds.

The grossest thing I have seen is a dog chewing on a goat head (same as chewing on a bone, I guess???)!

In the hospital I have learned how to be creative in order to work with the limited things we have available to us. I have recreated a few things we use back home.

Because our water usually doesn’t come on (usually 1-2x a week) til 10pm or later, and goes off by 6:30 am (a good way to keep people from using water is to have it on only during the sleeping hours) and because it takes 1-2 hours for the water heater to heat the water once the water turns on and we have plugged in the water heater, this has resulted in infrequent running water showers. This means we resort to boiling water from our barrel and showering with a bucket of boiled water! The last time we had a hot running water shower at our house was in early Nov. The longest we have gone without getting running water to refill our barrels is 8 days.

Fruit and veggies are cheap here! Papaya and mango 60¢/kg, limes and grapefruits 50¢/kg, oranges 40¢/kg, bananas and tomatoes 35¢/kg, carrots 30¢/kg, potatoes 25¢/kg… just to name a few.

I sunburn easier here because of the high elevation.

I also have a brutal farmers tan because of always wearing t-shirts during the day.

I have never seen hydrocephalus (water on the brain) before. This is because back home people either abort or if they have the baby the baby receives treatment. But here I have seen so many cases of hydrocephalus in 2 year olds that haven’t been treated. Their heads are huge! Once it gets to this point, it is too late for treatment to be that effective.
All the drains in our house (sinks, bathroom floor, + shower floor) are at the highest point. So we have a line of brick at the bathroom entrance to keep the water contained. And after we shower, we have a squeegee to bring the water on the floor to the drain.

The scaffolding here looks so sketchy. Just eucalyptus sticks! Apparently there are lots of injuries resulting from the scaffolding here.

I love the food here. It is fun to eat with your hands, well actually with your hand. You use you right hand for eating and shaking people’s hands and your left hand is supposed to be used for other things that are dirtier such as bathroom things!

I think beauty is children in school uniforms on their way to school. That is a privilege here.

I find it sad to see so many children working on the streets during the day, running change for taxi’s, cleaning and polishing shoes, selling lottery tickets, or begging!

There are a lot of beggars in Addis. First of all, everyone asks for money from us even if they aren’t beggars because we have white skin. Second, the most interesting place I have been when asked for money was in the bakery. I was buying bread and after paying, the bakery lady, asked for more money, so I thought I hadn’t given her enough for the bread. After attempting to communicate with my limited Amharic, I realized she was begging while working a job!!!

It is very common to see boys or men riding on top of a massive load of what ever on the back of a large truck while flying down the highway.

It is also very common to see boys and men peeing on the side of the road, or where ever they please, including facing the street!

I have been pick-pocketed once. It happened right outside our apartment complex at 6 in the morning as I left for work. It happened to quick. I felt a hand in my front jean pocket and it took me a second to process what was happening. Then I realized the 12 yr. old boy who had just passed me had tried to pick-pocket me, but when I turned around to chase him I realized he wasn’t running??? That is because my money wasn’t in that pocket, it was in my inside jacket pocket! Too bad for him and lucky for me!

Occasionally on the side of the street you will pass a pile of goat skins, beside a pile of goat hooves (feet), beside a pile of goat heads.

When I go home from work during rush hour, our place is a very busy place to get to with not enough minibuses for all the people. This results in some bruise-making pushing to get on the minibus. So when in Rome do as the Romans do! So I push. And not to brag but I can push like any good Ethiopian can. I love the feeling of pushing my way on to the minibus, looking around at who got on and seeing that I am the only female that pushed their way on. And the people on the bus always look at me surprised that I, a ferenji (foreigner) managed to get on!

I want to adopt so many children here!

2008

2008-01-03T12:28:00.000-08:00

While many people choose the start of a new year to look forward and make resolutions they know they'll never keep I am choosing to look backward on the year 2007 and wonder at how God has led us and be thankful for the many things I have learned and experienced. Here are some of the things that I am thankful for.

1. A wife who supports my craziness, my need for exploration and who is willing to grow with me in love for each other.

2. Family who supports us and who we got to spend 5 weeks with this summer.

3. Friends who travel and share their spirit for adventure and stories with us. Especially those travelling friends who take time out of their adentures to visit, thanks Nils, Matty and Angela!

4. The joy of visiting Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore this year on holidays.

5. Friends we have made in Korea and Ethiopia and who have encouraged us with their passion for what they do and their acceptance of us.

6. Walking to work at 6am and seeing the sun come up.

7. The open doors that led us to Ethiopia and that ignited a passion for Africa.

8. Small moments that make you glad you're alive and where you are at that exact moment.

These are some of the big things as well as small joys like strong Ethiopian coffee, cooking, good music and iPods to play it, showers (when I get them), and restaurants that serve good foreign food. Most of all I am thankful for the faith that no matter where I am God has me there for a reason, even if I don't understand it. May the new year be as full of blessing as the last one was for all of you.

Lalibela - More Pics

2007-12-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

X marks the spot of.....? John the baptist baptizing Christ

Deep in the bowels

Some intricate carving and painting

The winding trail to the top

Ladies inside one of the monastaries

One of the intricate Lalibela crosses that each church has

Pastoral countryside

Admiring the churches

The sunset

Lalibela

2007-12-28T12:21:00.000-08:00

I HAD 5 HOT SHOWERS!!! With that most exciting news out of the way I can now proceed to tell you about the rest of our trip to Lalibela, the unknown, unofficial 8th wonder of the ancient world. I took a few days off for Christmas and we flew out Wednesday morning, arriving in Lalibela by 10am. Upon arrival we promptly slept the day away. We’re real adventurers. We seriously slept the whole day with a small break for lunch at around 1 and then a short break from sleeping for one of those coveted hot showers. Guess we were a little worn out and in need of a break.

The next day we rented a 4X4 to go over an hour out of town to a monastery built into this massive natural cave. It was in the middle of nowhere, somewhere along a winding trail of bumpy roads. The monastery is built in the entrance of the cave and is unique because it is made of granite and wood, alternating in each layer of the church. It was a neat trip and the church was a highlight because it went from eerie to awe inspiring in seconds. The eerie was walking in your socked feet (you can’t wear shoes in any of the churches) in the pitch black to the back of the cave, upon which the guide turns his light on and you realize you are in the middle of a graveyard filled with mummified remains of ancient pilgrims. You’re not really sure what you stepped on to get there and you have to pick your way out, through the bones. The awe inspiring was looking at the ancient pictures in the church and recognizing them as biblical stories such as Christ’s baptism, the triumphal entry or Mary with the Christ child. Realizing that over 1000 years ago Ethiopians were painting these intricate works by the lights of candles in this remote cave was astounding for me.

That afternoon we explored the well known, rock hewn churches in the town. The scope is amazing. Some of the churches are 12 meters high and inside all intricately carved and painted. All of them dug out of the ground but each quite different in design. We wandered through and saw the old burial sites in the churches and in the walls (one set supposedly for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), the old baptismal pools and the ‘fertility pool’, which is still in use today. Phenomenal when you think of how these works were done 1000 years ago with primitive tools.

The next day we hired some mules to get us to the highest peak in the area (around 3500m) where there was another monastery carved into the side. We rode the mules halfway up as we picked our way through the pastoral mountainside and the winding, narrow pathways. We hiked the last half to the peak where you notice a small hole with stairs leading into the mountain. You climb them and enter the courtyard of a monastery built into the mountainside. Supposedly there is an underground tunnel all the way down through the mountain! Super amazing views and the scenic hike up was probably the highlight of my trip.

The afternoon we explored the rest of the rock hewn churches in town (11 all told). This set was neat because there were tunnels connecting them all in haphazard fashion. We walked through a pitch black tunnel, guiding ourselves with our hands on the wall, me joking about how I hoped there were no drop offs! There were none and we made it out.

The last day and a half we spent relaxing in the sun, watching the sunset over the mountain range, having nice dinners and enjoying each other’s company. We flew back Sunday afternoon and were home by dinner. It was a perfect blend of seeing amazing sights and catching up on some much needed relaxation. It was amazing to get out of the city and into the mountains and countryside. No pollution and clear skies to watch the stars.

And now we’re back to the grind… and planning the next trip in February!

The skeleton graveyard.

The monastery in the cave.

St. George church carved into the rock in a cross shape.

At the top of our climb.

By mule to the top.

A little hut on the way.

Among the massive church complexes carved in the ground.

A partially unfinished church.

The view from the top of the mountain.

Nolana’s Trip to Sasiga (Belo) Ethiopia - More Pictures

2007-12-17T22:32:00.000-08:00

The adult literacy class meeting after the children's school day.

Meeting the boy my parents sponsered.

Goat for supper!

The children presenting us with flowers.

My Amharic lessons

The market.

Nolana’s Trip to Sasiga (Belo) Ethiopia

2007-12-17T22:09:00.000-08:00

Well, as many of you know, back in Nov I had the privilege of going 4 from Lambrick Park Church as well as 4 other from Canadian Food for the Hungry on their Sasiga, Ethiopia. We went out west about 9 hours drive from Addis Ababa . I am sorry it has taken me so long to blog about my trip. But better late than never I guess. I have tons of pictures from the trip as I am sure some of you could have predicted. Anyways, I narrowed it down to the ABSOLUTE MUST post ones and was still left with 66. I have been told that is too many so we will see how many I actually get to post!

So the trip was 6.5 days with 4 full days in Sasiga. During our time there we saw many of the projects that Food for the Hungry (FHI) is working with the local people on. We had meetings with church leaders and community leaders in a variety of the communities within the project to hear about what they are doing and how change has affected their communities. We went to a few schools, 2 of which we had the most amazing welcome ever with singing and flowers and hoards of children. Actually the hoards of children wasn’t unique to the schools, anywhere we, the ferenji (foreigner) went there was a mass of children and adults that appeared out of nowhere. Anyways the welcome we got at the school was especially cool! We also saw a new veterinary post that was recently built. We visited a coffee tree nursery which will soon be giving 50 plants each to over 500 farmers. We saw a few model farmers’ gardens where they were growing papaya, avocado, peppers, onions, + tomatoes. We went to the local market on market day where people come from as far as 25 km (one way) walking to either buy or sell things. You can buy anything there: livestock (we had sheep for dinner that night), clothes, shoes, food… anything the people need, you can buy there! We saw many wells that had been built and springs that were capped. We also saw a few of the adult classes in the afternoons after the kids are done, some of the adults who never got to go to school go to the school and have adult classes to complete grades 1-3 in 2 years. Then at the end of our time in Sasiga, we got to go and meet some of the newly sponsored children that people in Lambrick has sponsored the Sunday we were on our way out to Sasiga. The child sponsored kids were either orphaned by one or both parents or where vulnerable kids. This was especially neat because I got to meet the little boy that my parents sponsored.

Oh, we also got to visit the rural hospital in Nekemt on our way to Sasiga. I took lots of pics there but none of them are among to few chosen ones. It was very similar to the large government hospital here in Addis. I was glad I had seen the one here first cause it took to shock out of it for me. Maybe pics from that another time.

So that is what we did on our trip. I was really glad I went. Before I went, I wasn’t sure why I was going but once I was there I knew why. For one it was so nice to get out of the city and see the country and the way the majority of Ethiopian people live. The people in the country seemed to have so much more hope than the poor people in Addis. Even though they had so little, they were so happy and hopeful and eager to make a difference for their community. It was also really good to see Ethiopians helping Ethiopians! Also the countryside is so beautiful and the air to clean and fresh (except the dust). Second, it was really good for me to connect/reconnect with some people from Lambrick. In the last couple years, I haven’t really felt like we had a church back home because of being gone and such. So it was really good for me to get connect with Lambrick people and feel like I had a church family back home. Third, the trip just confirmed my love of Ethiopia ! I already loved it here but the trip just made it that much more certain in my mind that I was meant to be here!

So that is my trip to Sasiga (Belo), Ethiopia ! I hope you enjoy the pics that made it into the top 18. The rest you will have to wait til we get home in the summer and I can post all I want!

Eric and I are off on a little vacation for 5 days to the north to Lalibela for a little pre-Christmas vacation! So we will tell you about that when we get back! Merry Christmas!

Photo Album

2007-11-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

I know you all love to see pictures so here are a few of some Ethiopian sights.

These are some pictures of the crazy traffic that sometimes develops here. The blue and whites are what Nolana and I use to get around. Maybe 12 cents for a ride.

Here are some of the Orthodox worshippers. Some of the churches are beautiful and ornate and some mere walls. At least 50% of people here are orthodox.

From the overpass. You can see the fruit stall as well as the coal seller.

The grandeur of the Sheraton contrasted with the shacks just outside. The Sheraton in Addis is ridiculously opulent compared to its surroundings.

Some of the many many country boys that roam the streets. Most roam or sell lottery tickets or perform odd jobs. Always with the blankets, that's how you know them.

Us and some of the people she works with at the hospital cutting a friendship bread of sorts. The Ethiopian lady in the front had us all over. She is an amazing lady and super friendly. Calls Nolana her daughter and always makes sure she come over and hugs/kisses us.

These are the 2 children she just adopted. She makes about $100 a month but said, I see all the Americans adopting our kids and thought i should help too. Amazing.

So, these are some snapshots of our life here, hope you like them!

Triple Bummer

2007-10-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

Another week has come and gone. We have settled into routine. The only thing is that some of that routine is quite odd if we stop and think about it. Every evening we wait for the water to come on. Every other evening or so we need to fill the barrel that we store water in. After I shower (if the water comes on in time) I fill a basin with hot water and sit in front of our wardrobe in the bedroom which has the only mirror in the house so I can shave. We both wake up early, before 6am and we’re out the door shortly after. Nolana doesn’t arrive home until almost 7. Friday Nolana has off but as she always tells me, it’s not really off. She does the laundry by hand (which is no easy feat), she does the grocery shopping and cleans. Sometimes surviving a week seems like a challenge!

Nolana has been doing great at the hospital. She did a major presentation this week on wound care and said she got a great response and some changes made so she feels a lot better knowing that she is making a difference there. School has been up and down for me. Last week we lost the other foreign teacher and soon we are losing our other English teacher (she is Nigerian). So I will be solo for a while. I interviewed a fellow from the UK and he is coming but won’t likely be here for another month. But they love me here and would stand on their heads if I asked. I love the teaching, at least most days! It has been a great growing experience so far.

Nolana also had a great opportunity confirmed this week. The Place (a church in the homeland that we attended) has a partnership with a small town here in Ethiopia and Nolana is going to join with their group when they come in November. I am so jealous that she is getting to go out of the city and see the rural life and help out there. It will be an amazing experience. The downside to all this is that I’m going to be alone here for 1 weeks! WHO’S GOING TO DO MY LAUNDRY!! Just kidding, but it will be really quite odd. And I will miss her like crazy. This summer we were apart for the first time for a couple days and now 1 weeks. And the double bummer… it’s over our anniversary! But I told her there was no way she wasn’t doing it because it will be great. Did I mention I was jealous? It will be exam week here so I will be swallowed up with grading. Triple bummer.

Well, that’s that. We are meeting more great people though we have yet to connect with people our age. They’re just not that common here. But we’re hoping soon. Not that we don’t love all the older people you just need someone to connect with you on that level. We’re thinking of you all back home and send our love.

One of the many donkeys.

A sunrise on Nolana’s way to work.

Two of Nolana’s little patients. One with a cleft lip to be fixed and one already fixed.

Some pretty typical Ethiopian food.

The walkway to the old Emperor’s palace where there is a museum now.

God is Good, All The Time!

2007-10-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

Well, last weekend I was beginning to feel a bit frustrated at not having somewhere to volunteer here. I had the one mother child hospital that was too slow and had no patients and was not in need of my help. And I also had a bunch of other possible opportunities but nothing was actually happening with any of them. Then we went to the other international church on Sunday. We were walking there and we actually got picked up on the way by an American couple who stopped and asked if we were going to the church and gave us a ride. On the way we were talking and I said I was a nurse looking for an opportunity to volunteer and I found out they worked at a hospital. The hospital is called Myungsung Christian Medical Center . It is a hospital that is supported by a church in Korea and is run by Koreans. It has some Korean volunteers but is mostly staffed with Ethiopians. The couple both work there, she worked as a dietician and he works in Human Resources and part of his job is to get N. American influence in the hospital. What do you know! Thye have been working there for 2 months but have lived in Ethiopia for 7 yrs. There is also a doctor from England here for a few months and a nurse from Seattle who just started there 1 month ago. She is working in labour and delivery and NICU (newborn ICU) working with the nurses to better the nursing care.

Okay, so I met the couple on Sun and made a meeting ot go on Mon am to check out the hospital. I went on Mon for 4 hours, toured around, met all the head people and got the okay to volunteer there. So I spent Tues, Wed, and Thurs there.

I am going to work on the surgical unit and the emergency room working with the nurses to better their nursing care. I spent Tues in meetings and touring around more with the head matron (head nurse) who is Korean and then in the afternoon I spent with Judy (the American nurse) in the NICU (which I loved and am seriously considering specializing in if we ever settle down in Canada ). Then Wed and Thurs I just observed on the surgical unit and took a lot of notes. I really have my work cut out for me. The nursing care needs so much work. What is scary is that this hospital is known for having the best nursing care in the country so that says a lot.

I was feeling a really overwhelmed by Thursday not knowing where I would start with these nurses but I just have to do one step at a time and I think that the most important thing to do first is build relationships with the nurses so they are willing to hear what I have to say.

So I will be working at the hospital Mon to Thurs from 8-5. The hospital is on the complete opposite side of town from where we live. Judy lived 20 min walk from my house though as well as another guy who works at the hospital. In the morning I leave at 6:15 and walk to Judy’s where the 3 of us get a ride most of the way to the hospital with a guy who works for Food for the Hungry. Then we walk the rest of the way to the hospital stopping for breakfast and coffee on the way. We take a contract taxi home. I will take that sometimes cause it gets me home sooner (6 or 6:30ish. It is expensive though so sometimes I will take the minibuses which takes longer and gets me home around 7. So it ends up being a long day. That is why I will do 4 days a week. Then Friday is my house work day. I will clean and grocery shop and do laundry on Friday.

So that is what I am up too. I am so happy have found something that is perfect fit for me. I know it will be challenging for me but I am excited to see what kind of a difference I can make there. It really is a perfect fit for me because they are used to having foreign staff and are wanting that influence. It is also nice to have another nurse there to be able to talk to. She is retired so she has lots of experiences and it is nice to be bale to share our struggles with working here. I look forward to the next 9 months there!

Thanks for reading my long post (assuming you got to the end of it)!

Random Chaotic Bits of Ethiopia (‘cause that’s what it’s like)

2007-10-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

In the morning when I walk to work it always smells of burning. I think it might just be the charcoal ladies but more likely is that they were burning garbage.

Internet in this country drives me nuts because it’s so slow… that’s when it’s working.

There is a lady who lives under the underpass on a pile of dirt and cardboard. Sometimes she breaks out two plastic water jugs and starts beating them together, smiling a big toothless grin.

Kids always want to come up to you and shake your hand. Sometimes their hands are wet.

Beggars don’t annoy me, I just feel sad for them. People who are walking normally down the street and then when they see me stop to beg me for money – they annoy me.

If I pay more then a dollar for lunch, I have spent too much.

Avocadoes are a very popular fruit here. And now mangoes are out of season so we are sad.

I am certain one day I will be walking down the street and see a shirt from my high school. I have seen them from other schools, every major city in the U.S. and the a few gas station shirts. Wonder where shirts no one wants go? To Africa !

I have yet to be pick pocketed.

It can rain here like nobody’s business. It will be sunny and then the clouds will roll in and the skies will open. Usually just for 30 min or less but it rains cats and dogs. The streets get flooded and yesterday I saw a truck stuck in water past the wheel wells. One time we had hail and it was like snow in Ethiopia ! They were trying to sweep it off the ground….

I gave my first test and most of the class failed. They say test remarks reflect the ability of the teacher…

When I walk to work I have to dodge goat droppings and donkeys. Last week there was a herd of 30 or so walking down the road that I couldn’t pass. Oh yeah, and I almost got ran over by a cow with big horns.

I am writing this while waiting for internet pages to load. And while it rains.

There is a golf course near to my house. It makes me laugh to think of one of the people I pass on the street playing golf. They say it’s pretty much foreigners there. And if I can get a cheap membership I just might join them. Who would have thought I would have golf in Ethiopia ?

I kinda miss the food in Korea . All that spicy goodness…. Mmmmmm.

But I miss all you people back home even more!!!

A Month in Africa

2007-10-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

We’ve been here a whole month already! It’s kind of amazing to think of. Only 3 months ago we were in Korea . Then almost a month in Malaysia , a month at home and now a month living in Ethiopia ! So many changes and things to adjust to.

We’ve met so many good people already. Our neighbors Zerfay and Tena are extraordinarily friendly and often have Nolana over for lunch and coffee. Even though they don’t speak a lot of English it’s enough for them to get along pretty well. We’ve also met, through them, Messfin who is a nursing student and has been so friendly. He’s taken us to a couple international churches, offered to take Nolana to the hospital he works at, etc… The teachers at school, the people we met at church, everybody is very friendly here.

We were talking with Messfin today and I had a sudden realization. We were talking about how much a nurse makes here and he said maybe between $80-$200 dollars a month. This is after 4 years of school. On a super stat holiday, like Christmas Day, Nolana might make $75 dollars an hour. It seemed like such a silly amount when you hear what they make here. And then it hit me, that when someone like World Vision says that a dollar a day makes a big difference, it’s for REAL. $30 a month could be a third of a trained professional’s salary. For a lot of people here they live on less than that dollar a day. It makes a lot of things back home seem rather exorbitant.

We’re growing in confidence here and can get our way around to a lot of places now. The way we get around most of the time is mini-vans which run a certain route like buses. They fit anywhere from dozen to 20 people in a rickety old van. Sometimes they break down. We’ve been in one when the tire blew. They’re anywhere from 6 cents to 30 cents depending on how far you go. They are bumpy (that’s usually more the road’s fault), squishy and smelly but they do the trick. In comparison, a regular taxi might cost between $3-$7 dollars or so.

Well, we’re doing swell and feeling proud of ourselves for adjusting so well to the extreme changes that Ethiopia is. Thankfully we’ve met some great people, we have great people back home supporting us with prayers, emails, etc… and we’ve been able to find some small pleasures to treat ourselves with.

Here are some pictures from our life here. The first is Nolana doing wash in our kitchen. We have to wash all our laundry by hand which is a huge chore. Nolana is going to have huge arms when we get back!

The second is of Nolana roasting coffee beans at our neighbors place. She often goes over there for coffee and one time they dressed her up in Ethiopian clothing and she raosted and made the coffee.

Lastly is a few friends (including our neighbors) over for a dinner where Nolana made yummy spaghetti. Our living room is pretty well set up but that is our only table!

I’ll try and post again soon!

Hallelujah!

2007-09-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

So we haven’t been able to get onto Blogger over here in Ethiopia . The internet here is really quite crappy so we’ve been limited to emails and the occasional Facebook visit. We are just going to send updates to our parents and they will post on here for us so you can all keep up to date with what we’re doing. Please still leave us comments and the ‘rents will just send them to us.

We’ve been here three weeks already and we’re settling in and getting used to all the different things. After a week in a hotel we finally moved into our place. When we went to look at it, it was just a concrete shell. No carpet, no closets, counters, etc… Just concrete floors and concrete walls with a bathroom and kitchen sink. The school furnished it for us and now it feels kinda like home….. minus a few things. We don’t have running water during the day and have a big plastic tub we fill to flush the toilet, wash hands, cook with, wash dishes with etc… during the day. Water comes on sometime at night and occasionally is quite late so we don’t have water all day. The power here is also a little touch and go so we often lose power and our power switch seems to be finicky so our power sometimes just goes. The things we take for granted back home.

Otherwise we are settling in here. The apartment is decent sized. The school provided us with a TV dish that gives us a couple English channels. We are learning foods we can cook here. We are learning where to shop close by and where to eat. Our area is pretty scarce for restaurants so we’ve been cooking mostly.

Outside of our place we have also been settling into our jobs. I have had my first week of classes and teach two Grade 1 classes, two Grade 2 classes, a Grade 4 class and a couple short kindergarten classes. The Grade 4’s are my most frequent class as I see them 7 times a week. All the others 3 times and the KG only twice. Hopefully they are getting a KG teacher and I won’t teach them all year. Just not my thing, especially because they don’t really have any materials for them. The teachers I work with are friendly and even though the school is somewhat unorganized I am enjoying it so far. I walk to work and back each day which is about 30 min. each way. I walk through a busy area and sometimes have the time to stop for a coffee and watch the bustle. Everybody walks here. When you walk you have to dodge the goats, donkeys and cows. There are beggars everywhere. People walking everywhere. The roads are potholed and dusty, even if they are paved. Walking to school can be quite the adventure!

Nolana has been talking to a couple organizations and hospitals here. She agreed to help with a center for youth to learn about AIDS when it opens and she has spent a couple days already at a Mother and Children’s hospital. It doesn’t seem to be too busy there because it is new and she will likely only go in once or twice a week. She has a meeting with the Dean of Medicine of the largest public hospital here in Addis on Tuesday and I am sure when she goes there it will be more than busy enough!

Just today we went to church for the first time. It was an English service but still mostly Ethiopians. Maybe about 300 people. And it was totally what I envision African Christianity to be. It was an energetic, passionate, sweaty service. The kind of worship where an hour goes by and you actually only sang maybe 5 songs. Every fourth word is “hallelujah” or “amen” and the crowd loves to get involved. It was long (two and a half hours) but it was pretty fun and quite good. There is another English service closer to us that will probably try out too. It was quite a large service so that can be hard to get involved in.

We are growing used to all the changes. The lack of water doesn’t faze us much anymore. The power out is a minor annoyance. Hand washing our clothes seems normal to Nolana now. Being accosted on the street by everyone wanting money doesn’t seem too foreign. Africa is busy, dirty, and crazy but it is seeming not so odd. The people we have met have been phenomenal to us and it offsets the people who try and rip you off. We are making some friends and I am sure as we find our routine and get out and explore more it will only get better. The first week was a shock but now we’re feeling a lot better about our decision to be here. Even though being home made us realize what great friends and family we have, we are enjoying the challenge and adventure that living in a country like Ethiopia offers.

Hopefully we’ll be posting more as we figure out all the glitches and even though internet here is SO slow we’ll try and send pictures to upload because pictures tell more than my words ever could. Hopefully this finds you all loving whatever adventure your life holds. Keep us in your thoughts.

We are here!

2007-09-06T01:21:00.000-07:00

Wed afternoon update:
Well, we arrived in Addis Ababa safely in Sat night. We made all our connections and the only delay we have was a longer delay on the plane in Kartoum than expect. All of our luggage arrived too! Hooray!

We got picked up by the school driver and Derek, the other foreign teacher at Eric’s school. The school set us up at a hotel for the first night or two because our place wasn’t ready yet. On Sun morning, the school director picked us up and took us to the school and then showed us our apartment (a short mini-bus ride from the school). Here are some pics of the apartment he showed us. It was basically a cement box which he was going to furnish… to what extent we are not sure. It had three rooms plus a very basic bathroom. The bathroom was the only room with a door. The only thing in the other 3 rooms was a sink in the kitchen. Anyways, since Sun we have been told everyday that we would move in tomorrow. It is now Wed and I have stopped repacking everyday! So we might move in tomorrow but it will be a different apartment than he showed us but in the same complex.

Eric started work on Monday. Monday they had a training day. Tuesday was a half training day which included him giving 2 presentations. Tuesday afternoon, Eric and Derek went into town to find some more school books without any luck. Derek also showed Eric around a bit and showed him how to take the mini-buses. The rest of the week is just class preparation for Eric at work.

As for me… I have been just hanging out at the hotel everyday not knowing if we would be moving that day. I am not feeling too adventuresome to go out and find my way around yet. Just waiting to get our place and then I will start exploring. I do have a meeting next week with an organization here that I might volunteer with depending what exactly they do and what kind of work they would have for me.

So hopefully we will be moved into our place by the end of the week. Then we have from Sat to Wed to find our way around and get settled. Next week is the Ethiopian millennium so Eric has no work Mon to Wed. Then classes start for him on Thurs.

So that is our first update. Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend at home!

Thursday morning update:
Well, I wrote this on our computer at the hotel yesterday and then took it on the USB thing to the internet café where I waited 10 mins for one internet page to load. After ten minutes and no results I gave up and decided to come back later. When Eric got home, we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner and just as we sat down, the power went off (our first of many power outages, though Eric already had one at school). So it remained off until bedtime and obviously I didn’t get back to post this thing. That was fine though because we got a candlelight dinner out of it. Then this morning we woke up to no power again… but finally it is back on now and I am going to have a hot shower once the water warms up and then go post this thing (priorities!).

Oh, and apparently we are moving this afternoon!

I can't get the pics uploaded. Too slow. Sorry!

Looking Back

2007-08-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

When we were in Malaysia in July we did a tour with this one company. They have compiled some of the pictures and video and made us a little video to share. You can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD6hWla-R0o

It was a great community based company that funneled the money they made right back into the communities. Instead of abusing the communities and land they were fighting to protect it. Our guide was a fabulous source of information and we had a great time. If you're even in Malaysia they have some GREAT tours.

Just about Set to GO

2007-08-28T10:02:00.001-07:00

Well, after a couple weeks of preparing, almost not getting our visas done in time, and hanging with friends and family... we are ready to go. Mostly ready at least.

Couple of days ago we hadn't received our passports and visas back yet, even though we had sent them weeks ago. So we called the embassy only to find there was a problem. The sponsorship letter from my school so I could get a business visa was addressed to me and not the embassy so I couldn't get a visa. And instead of trying to call me and tell me they had just filed our passports away. So we were 3 days from leaving with no visa and no passports. After some serious worrying, a helpful soon-to-be colleague who answered a late night international call, prayer and Fed-ex we should be alright.

So we depart Friday morning at 7:30 from Victoria, fly to Toronto and then on to Frankfurt and the last leg is to Addis through Khartoum, Sudan. 21+ hours of actual flying time and even with super tight connections that leaves us with 30+ travel hours. We arrive 8:45 pm in Addis and hopefully someone is there to pick us up and take us to our place... which we have no clue what it will be. Sounds like the start of a serious adventure!

It hasn't been easy but I think I am ready to get to Africa and see what's in store for us. We are really uncertain what to expect and we know it won't be easy once we're there either. We just hope it will be worthwhile and rewarding. As they say, nothing good comes easy.

So we'll be updating when we can, hopefully with some pictures of our new home!

Have breath, Will travel

2007-08-08T20:22:00.001-07:00

When we arrived back in Victoria we just wanted to stay put and relax, see friends and just enjoy being home. But I think I have a sickness. I have the inability to sit still (unless Nolana needs some housework done!) I decided to take a marathon road trip to Calgary to see my grandmother who was just diagnosed with cancer.

But first I had a wedding to attend in North Vancouver. Not only was I attending, I was the preacher man! Lately I have been hearing alot about how I look alot like my dad and sound like my dad so I figured, why not start acting like my dad!

I got asked by my friend Nik to officiate his wedding in North Van. He is from Finland and they had already been officially married in Finland so they didn't need anyone official to do the ceremony in Canada.It was quite the experience. Beautiful wedding right on the water, it was great fun to be involved like this.Saturday night I slept a bit in the car and then early Sunday morning hit the road for Calgary. Arrived that afternoon and stayed there Monday. Tuesday morning I left and made it all the way back to Vancouver that night. It was amazing scenery, through 4 national parks. One of the nicest trips in Canada.

But NOW I am staying put. At least for a couple weeks until we leave for Ethiopia.

Changes

2007-08-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

As you can see there are a few changes to the blog, most noteworthy being the new name. The blog will not be moving and you can still find updates on our adventures at www.passthekimchi.blogspot.com

Nolana was a little confused with the new name so let me explain. Ethiopia and and the surrounding area is widely considered to be the "cradle of civilization", where it all began. It has an incredible history and is vastly unique from the surrounding African countries. The blog name illustrates our desire to "go back" and learn some of this history and to explore the fascinating country.

Stick with us as we no doubt will have some adjustment time when we arrive and blogging might be more of a challenge but we hope to continue to update this as frequently as possible.

Update

2007-08-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the massive delay in posting, things have been quite hectic since getting back. If you're on my Facebook then I now have some pictures up there. If you're not you should hopefully be able to see them at the link on the bottom.

I'm currently in Calgary visiting my grandparents and Nolana is in Whistler. Our first time apart. I am pretty sure she is out partying while I am taking care of gramps and gran.

When I get back on Wednesday I will update you further with what we've been up to and what else is going on. Hope you're all having a fabulous long weekend!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17199&l=4946d&id=547056250

More Diving pictures

2007-07-25T01:13:00.000-07:00

Diving Malaysia

2007-07-25T01:05:00.000-07:00

Here are two video's. The first is of me diving in Mabul with a couple schools of jackfish. The second is of diving Sipidan which was phenomenal. It's a bit long but looking at it is so beautiful. It was the reknowned Costeau's favorite spot to dive and world reknown as one of the best spots in the world. It was so amazing. A 2 metre white tipped reef shark glided right by me. A large green turtle floated right over top of me. Schools of fish swarmed around me. So amazing. Also, I am going to share some photos from my diving in Mabul, an island neighboring Sipidan. Enjoy and more pictures and stories from our trip will be coming!!

Malaysia update!

2007-07-14T04:41:00.000-07:00

Hey all, just a quick note to tell you all we are alive and kicking in the jungles/rivers/beaches/depths/street vendors/internet cafes of Malaysia. We have had a great time despite some hectic travel that always seems to get delayed somehow. The big guy upstairs is getting a real kick out of finding new ways to delay us somehow. But we keep on.

I did my diving course the first few days on the Perhentians, it was great. I did one more dive after that and have at least one more full day of diving yet. Saw some giant whiprays, tons of fish that you wouldn't see anywhere else, a large jelleyfish, etc...

Last night we went on this great eco/community tourist adventure and saw a giant mangrove forest/swamp, had a snack in a small fishing villiage, saw a floating fish farm, toured down the river at night and saw a gazillion fireflies. They're making a video so we can share it all with you guys. When they let us know, I'll let you know. Now we're in the Cameron Highlands. The bus barely made it up the steep, narrow roads (and that was after we went to catch the early bus and it was full so we had to wait a couple hours for the next one). Such is life and we are enjoying it. We will put up lots of pics when we get back on the 26th! Can't wait to see all you Victoria family and friends!

Done!!

2007-07-05T03:06:00.001-07:00

It's a wrap. We finished our last day at school and are finishing the last bits of packing. We gave away all our extras to friends yesterday. We've said our goodbyes. We have our tickets and tonight at midnight we catch the bus to Seoul and then a flight out in the morning to Singapore and Malaysia. It's all a little wierd.

So I thought I would post my musings on what I will miss and then what I won't miss about this crazy country. So here it is.

I WILL MISS:

1. All the amazing friends we made here. All of ya all.

Seriously, you guys made life here more than bearable and helped us make a home here.

2. Vashajn. Seriously bro, I better see you in Ethiopia. Thanks for the coolness, the chill factor and just being able to listen to hip-hop, smoke, eat dinner, etc... You the man.

3. Devin and Geordie for the great times playing basketball.

4. All the great food that you can cook and play with right at your table.

Samgyepsal, shabu-shabu, fried rice.... I am slightly afraid that all my favorites back home that I am longing for are going to taste a little bland after all the spicy food I have grown to love.

5. Being able to see this from my window.

6. And being able to go walk in the amazing park that is right down the street. Every city should have a park like this.

7. Being able to drive my scooter with no silly road rules to slow me down.

Seriously, red lights are for wussies. Driving in Canada is just gonna be a little different. No driving on sidewalks, no budging to the front of long lines...

8. All the great little kiddies who love us at school.

Some of them stole our hearts. Today was really sad for some of them, one girl started crying when she heard I was really not coming back. They are all so affectionate and energetic and we loved hanging with them most days.

9. The beautiful Korean scenery (outside of the city).

10 All the crazy sights and smells. Yes, that's right, I will miss it. Spices up life and makes going down the street for a walk an adventure.

11. Going to the orphanage in Busan.

I had some great times hanging with the kids there. We had fun as a group going there and those kids were just amazing in how they smiled and just loved to play and enjoy life. It was good times.

THINGS I WILL NOT MISS:

1. The incompetence and down right low-downness that went on daily at work. Enough said.

2. People constantly staring at what you have in your bag. Walk down the street and people will not even look at you but intently peer at what the foreigner has in their bag.

3. The humidity. The smoggy days. The intense heat. All the crazy weather that you just don't get in mild Victoria.

Really, looking at those two lists it is easy to see that I appreciated my time in Korea more than I disliked it. It's just too bad that work took up so much of my time. But I guess that's life.

We're off for a fabulous 3 weeks in Malaysia so will likely be mostly incommunicado. I might be able to post a blog or two but we'll have to see. If not, we will bombard you with pictures when we get back. Also, look for changes to the blog before we head off for our next adventure.

We're OFF!

Canada Day (in Korea)

2007-07-02T02:33:00.000-07:00

While Canada celebrated its birthday with fireworks, BBQ's and mass celebrations, tucked away in a corner of Korea, a group of dedicated Canadians (with an odd American and Brit) celebrated its national birthday. We got together after church for pizza with Canadian bacon...

And had fun hanging with our friends for one of the last times here...

In the evening our pastor had a farewell party for us and we got to hang out with everyone again.

And had special cookies that Nolana made...It was a great day. The church took a suprise love offering for us going to Ethiopia and it was an amazing reminder of the great generosity of people and the strong community one can find within the body. It just really stood out as a stark reminder that not all Koreans are money-grabbing hagwon owners who will do anything they can to rip you off. We felt loved.

So even in Korea you can have a great Canada day. Something tells me this won't be our last Canada day in a foreign country...

Tagged

2007-06-27T05:22:00.000-07:00

So I got tagged by Nanc. over at http://lent4all.blogspot.com/ and here's my 7 random facts:

Sometimes I wish I was black. Not really sure why but it seems more radical than the middle class, white life I live. Pretty sure it's not PC to wish to be a marginalized minority but hey, sometimes I do! And no, I don't want to be Eminem.
My dream is to buy a shack on the beach of some remote island and just chill, Thoreau style. Have a little boat for fishing, do some reading and writing and just chilling. Grow a garden, chat with the locals (learn the language) and learn to be content with so much less.
I'm a bad student. I think I hold the record for the most classes skipped while still passing. I've slept in and showed up an hour late for a final... which I passed. But I'm getting better.
I am the hesitant owner of 2 state of the art hearing aids. Don't like them (but I like hearing) and they don't like me too much. They're not built for tropical climes and for getting beat around, they prefer to be worn by a little ol' grandma. It's a testy little relationship we have.
Come September I'll have lived and worked in 3 different continents... just 4 to go.
If I could have any job I would be a rock star in a band. To make music and get payed for it would be phenomenal. Or even just having that kind of talent would be phenomenal. I would just sing for myself and wow my friends. Too bad that's never gonna happen.
Sometimes I find things molding. Could be a coffee cup, could be a shirt... I guess I am not so neat. So it's a good thing I have a neat wife. Though it's not so good for her. So I am trying to remember/find things before they start molding.

The Last Days

2007-06-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

We're down the final countdown, just 11 days left til we jet this place. We've been using the time to hang out with many of the good friends we have made here...
This weekend we went to the orphanage for the last time. It was a great time as usual, just playing and hanging out with the great kids there. Nolana took the chance to go see Beomeosa again and the fish market in Busan. She took some great pictures. Of the temple...And of this fish market which she said was quite overwhelming with all the seafood everywhere and the accompanying smells...We've starting packing (well, Nolana's been doing that for a while!) and we're doing all the last minute things before we leave. We also got our tickets booked for Ethiopia so I guess that means we're going for sure! Lots happening in the last days...

Malaysia Planning

2007-06-19T03:50:00.001-07:00

Life has been rolling along and as of today we have 17 days left in Korea and only 12 working days! It's kinda crazy to think about. All the stuff I have learned (how to read/speak Korean, how to get around the city, etc...) will all become obsolete. And we've got some good friends that we're gonna leave behind here so as much as we're totally looking forward to getting home it will be a bit of a shock to the system.

What's been occupying the majority of my time recently is our upcoming trip to Malaysia. I've been planning away and also decided to take my scuba diving certification (so stoked!) so I've also been studying my theory. Since I have little else to post I figure I would share our plans with you. We have almost 3 weeks there and it's gonna be sweet!!!! Just the relaxation we need.

We fly into Singapore and right away transit to Perhentian Kecil.

Here I am taking 2 days to finish my dive certification and Nolana's going to do some snorkelling and relaxing on the beach. Then we're off for a 2 day package deal on a nearby island, Redang.

Alot more relaxing on the beach, snorkelling and I am getting a day of diving in transit between Perhentian and Redang. Package means no worries so it'll be more chill than our usual "flashpacking" style. Then it's off for a few days to the Cameron Highlands.Tea plantations, jungle trails to hike and I've already booked an evening/night trip where they take you to see the firefly colonies.Back to the capital for Kuala Lumpur for a quick stop before we fly out to Borneo! There we have a couple days in the capital of Kota Kinabalu, maybe take a day trip out to some islands there for some snorkelling. Then flying to what promises to be highlight for me, Sipadan. It's one of the top dive destinations in the WORLD!Swimming with turtles and sharks in crystal water. There for 3 days of which I am diving one and spending one snorkelling with my lady (can't always desert her for diving!). And then lastly we have a 3 day trip in the jungle where we will hopefully see some crazy Borneo wildlife.Finally we unwind with a day and bit in the big city of Singapore.Some lazing around, eating, shopping, etc... And then we fly out for our marathon journey home. We honestly are getting quite excited and it's making these last weeks go rather slowly. But we have alot to do before we go so the days should still keep moving. Almost home!

Hanging in the Alps

2007-06-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend we got to chill in the Youngnam Alps of Korea with some friends and it was sweet.

But before we got to do that we had to work. I know, you're saying who works on a Saturday? We did 'cause we traded it for a couple days off the end of our contract which was sweet for us. So we headed to the beach with a pile of kindergarten students and their parents.

They played some games and made some sand sculptures...But as we were told before we went, the most important thing was for us to be in pictures. So we went from picture to picture for a few hours. Wasn't so bad considering we were getting what we wanted too. The beach was pretty nice but the weather was pretty chilly.

Then we took off from their and took our scoot into the mountains. These were real mountains and I'm a little suprised the scoot made it with both of us on it but the 125 cc's of brute force powered us through some seriously beautiful mountains...

Our church had rented a place in the mountains, right on the river...We BBQ'd and just hung out. Had a campfire and played with the little kids..A couple of us guys whiled away the night on the roof, just chilling in the beautiful mountains.We woke up in the morning to an amazing western breakfast of French toast, bacon and eggs...And then were quickly reminded that we were still in Korea when we had to eat it with chopsticks! Played around a bit in the morning and then I scooted back while Nolana took the bus. So tired (cause you sleep on the floor Korean style which is not so comfortable) but it was alot of fun!

Temple by the Sea

2007-06-07T04:27:00.000-07:00

So I'm not sure if anyone reads this anymore due to the lack of comments.... seriously people, Nolana wakes up in the morning and checks the blog, desperate for someone, anyone to comment! And when no one does she's grumpy for the rest of the day. And when she's grumpy you know who she vents on. Which makes me grumpy. So really, lack of comments is the direct result of my life being miserable. So please.... for my sanity's sake.

Wednesday was a day off so we went out and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We took the scooters out with our friends to go see a temple by the ocean. It was a nice 45 min ride through the Korean countryside....

The rice fields have just been planted and the mountains are green again. The temple itself was pretty standard but because it was right on the ocean it was beautiful.These guys greeted you upon arrival...

Then you walk down the cliff side to the temple...

Inside is the temple and surrounding buildings and a great big golden Buddha. I hear the more Buddha's you see the the more Buddhist you become so we are well on our way let me tell you! Here's a few more pics from the temple.It was a smokin' hot day for a ride which meant a little burnage but fun times. The rest of the day I went and played basketball for a couple hours with the boys while Nolana met some of the girls for dinner. Seriously, I think the countries around the world should agree to make Wednesday a day off, split up the week. A day off in the middle of the week does a body some good.

School Daze

2007-06-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

In a couple days we hit the one month remaining mark! Crazy to think that we've called Ulsan, South Korea home for the past 11 months (well, I'm pretty sure Nolana didn't call it "home" per say but at least she lived here!)

This past week at school we had our open house where the parents can come and see a class. It was a huge deal for our head teacher so we have been practicing with the kids for 2 months. Same class, 2 months. The kids were bored stiff by the end. It all was pretty anti-climactic actually... all that work for a morning of classes. Here's some pics of the finest teachers around though....

Silly thing is the moms come to see how their kid is doing and how the classes go but it's all just a big set-up and the kids have just memorized their few lines that they have to know. Oh well, that's Korean hagwons for you.

This morning I couldn't sleep (I have had the worst sleep patterns lately) so at 5 I decided to go for a walk and catch the sun rising since it's been so long since I've seen the sun rise. Here's some pics of our home for the past year...

I grew up in the boondocks and the biggest town I lived in before I hit high school was probably like 400 people. Then Regina at what: 150,000? Victoria at 350, 000 and that was big city, let me tell ya! Now Ulsan at about 1.2 million. Next is Addis Ababa at around 4 million. Let's hope it doesn't keep going up though there is some sort of urban jungle beauty to some large cities. I've gotta say somewhere around that Victoria mark is a nice size I think.

When was the last time you saw the sun rise?

Hodeok

2007-05-28T02:42:00.000-07:00

It's your favorite time.... Korean eats!

Upon a recent trip to Busan we discovered what has quickly become one of my favorite treats here. You can't get good ones here in Ulsan as far as we know so it's a treat I can only get when we go to Busan and there have been times that I have been tempted to make the hour+ trip just for them. They are hodeok. Kinda like a fried donut with a cinnamon and nut filling. But it's not only the treat but the experience.

You get to brave the throng to get one.

Once there you see the hodeok man shaping them, frying them, patting them down...
And yes, that is a pool of butter you see them being fried in. When they're all done you get to sprinkle some more cinnamon/nut on top...Then you get to eat the delicious treat. Man, 500 won of amazingness! That's like 50 cents! So I usually try and get 2.... and just suddenly I realized why I am not losing any weight here!

It's Official

2007-05-24T06:08:00.000-07:00

Folks, we are officially headed to Ethiopia for next year. I have accepted a job at a school in Addis Ababa and I start September 1.

You can check out some pictures from the country that will be our new home here:

http://web.mac.com/susimedici/iWeb/Foto%20in%20inglese/Ethiopia.html

They are a neat look at the diversity of Ethiopia.

We are both excited and nervous as we plan for the new adventure. So in the next 2 months, between flying Korea to home and then to Ethiopia we will be flying about 3/4 of the way around the world. Now that's jet lag!

Matty Boy

2007-05-23T02:04:00.000-07:00

I had a great weekend chilling with my friend Matty. He was one of my first friends in university, the one I always did crazy things with, my best man, etc... It was great to see him.

We just chilled. Friday night we went for Korean BBQ after he got in and then ust chatted and hung out with Nolana. Saturday, when Nolana went on a temple trip with her friend, we took it easy, went for a walk, went to the driving range to hit some balls (first time here!), walked around the market, etc... Saturday evening we had Lee and Christine over too for drinks and some chicken. We decided to set up a taste test with about 8 different beers. The girls poured...

And the boys tasted....Sunday we woke up late, went for a walk in the park again (saw a skate demo) and goofed around.Sunday evening we walked the market looking for a couple Korean things I wanted him to try but we couldn't find them. So Nolana made us some pa john at home, we mixed some soju drinks and chilled some more. Now that's a weekend! Thanks for coming Matty!!

On the future plans.... I finally got an interview with the second school in Addis that I was considering. They offered me a job and the contract looks pretty good. I asked a few questions and barring any absurd answers I will likely accept it. So we're pretty much for sure headed to Ethiopia next year! Wow, can't even believe it. Lots to get ready before then.

Also, we finally found out exactly when we leave Korea (we were negotiating a change in the contract) and it's 6 weeks tomorrow! So we're eagerly planning our vacation in Malaysia and looking forward to getting home. It's all happening so fast!!!

Teacher's Day

2007-05-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was Teacher's Day here in Korea. Unfortunately, they don't know what teachers want very much and they still make us go in to school and work.

Instead we got a bunch of gifts and cards from our kids which was sweet.

Cookies, a handkerchief (my 2nd this year), socks (I have gotten over a dozen pair for various gift giving holidays), flowers, fruit, etc...

The most astounding gift that Nolana got came in this fine little box.

Yes, that does say Sexy Cookie. And no, I don't know what a sexy cookie would look like. Inside was... underwear!I guess in Korea it's okay for kindergarten kids to give their teacher lacy underwear.... As you can see Nolana wasn't exactly thrilled with it. Oh those Koreans....

Goodies

2007-05-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

Looks to be shaping up like a good week! No really. It's my birthday this week and my momma sent me some goodies that she baked...

Man, Mom's are great! Then this past weekend was quite a nice one. Saturday we went into Busan to go play with the kids at the orphanage. It was pouring rain so we had to devise ways to entertain them inside for a couple of hours. I taught some of the girls how to play slaps...My boy Vashajn and I rough housed with the boys (and some girls). Vashajn is always a hit there because he's willing to just play... and, well, 'cause he's black. Seriously, its good for the kids because the perception of Blacks in Korea is less than favorable, even compared to back home standards.

Stanley is also a hit (just so happens I am friends with pretty much the only 2 Black guys in Ulsan), this little guy was attached to his hip and wouldn't let him go. Stole my glasses for this shot...

Good times were had by all despite the weather. I was so tuckered though from beating up little munchkins all afternoon, they have endless energy!Sunday was another great day. After church I went with a friend and his Korean girlfriend to an Ulsan soccer game. As you can see we pretty much had our pick of the seats when we walked in.Everyone stuck to the shaded areas. It was great fun, chilling out in the great weather, watching the game... Ulsan kicked butt 4-0 and fireworks ensued on each goal.It was a nice way to spend a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon.

And then tonight Nolana and I are off for a birthday dinner (hopefully the first steak in over 10 months!) and then this weekend my boy Matty is coming to Ulsan to visit!! It'll be great to see him, we're going to have some fun times! Shaping up to be a good week... just hoping school doesn't ruin it all for me!

Happy Birthday Hun!

2007-05-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

Today is Eric's 24th birthday. The great thing about Korea is that we get everything a day early. So today in Korea is Eric's birthday. Unfortuanately we have to go to work today. We would rather just go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather we have been having. But we must go to school. But after school, we are going for a birthday treat to the Outback Steakhouse for some hopefully delicious dinner. Then I think we will get a tub of Baskin Robins! Hmmmmm!

Anyways, I just wanted to say happy birthday to him. Who knows where we will be for his next birthday???

Children's Day

2007-05-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

Last week (May 5th) was Children's Day in Korea and it's quite a big day. Unfortunately it fell on a Saturday so we didn't get the day off of school but on Friday our school had a big party for our kindergarten kids. All the parents brought some food and we played some games, etc...

There were about 70 kindy kids and you can see the spread in front of them. Chicken, pizza, fruit of all kinds, drinks, sandwiches, etc... What you don't see is the 8 bags of chicken and half dozen pizzas that didn't even make it to the pizza. It was a ridiculous amount of food. The kids did their worst to it and it still looked like this...All the staff had their fill, then we fed all the afternoon kids and still had bags and tubs of food left over. It was rather sick how much food was left over. We also had a couple kids start upheaving at the end because they had eaten so much crap. It was a great party! Sounds like some of the adult parties I have been to... :)

An update on future plans: got some offers from a couple schools in Ethiopia but the two I have gotten formal offers from both can't provide housing there. So we are looking into the logistics of finding housing there. Still have to talk to another school there if can ever connect. The thing with having to find our housing is that we will likely have to dip into our savings or raise some kind of support to work there which we were hoping to have to avoid. Guess we'll have to see how it all works out. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Road Trip: Pt. 1

2007-05-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

Two parts to this so make sure you don't miss Part 2 below this!

We decided to hit the open road this weekend and take the bus pretty much to the other side of Korea to see some sights. So Friday night we hopped the bus for a 5 hour trip to Gwangju where we stayed the night. Saturday morning we rode another 45 min. to Damyang which is home to the largest bamboo forest in Korea and to check out the last day of a bamboo festival that was going on there. The celebrations were all along the river and there was hordes of Korean enjoying the nice weather and the activities (they flock to anything!).
There were lots of food stalls, places to buy bamboo products (which Nolana quite enjoyed), activities for the kiddies, etc... One of the more unique activities was this pen where the kids got to take their bamboo basket and try to catch fish.We wandered around a bit and then went and checked out the bamboo forest to see what all the fuss was about. It was quite regal and impressive. It was amazing to hike around in it and see nothing but tall bamboo trunks. Very peaceful and relaxing. We decided to hang around for the afternoon to check out the forest at night when they turned the lights on. We just chilled and looked around a bit. Took it easy because it was smoking hot (it's been around 30 during the days). Had dinner...The server/owner spoke some English and even after he commented on me speaking Korean and learning that we had been here 10 months - he still tried to explain that the dish in front of us was kimchi. Yeah, 10 months and we've never seen the stuff. Anyhoo, when it got dark we went back to the forest. It was lit up and fun to walk through in the dark.We walked back through the celebrations: lights, people, fireworks, vendors... truly Korean.So many things that we just take as normal now. We took the bus back to Gwangju, hoping to catch a bus right away to Boseong, our next stop. But we missed it by 5 minutes (that's what we get for stopping at Dunkin' Donuts!!). So we stayed the night in Gwangju again.

Road Trip: Pt.2

2007-05-06T22:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we took the bus from Gwangju to Boseong which was about an hour and a half ride. There we headed to the green tea plantation to walk around and explore. We had woken up to a misty rain and it stuck with us for the whole morning and part of the afternoon. It actually was a nice change from the heat on Saturday. And it made the plantation look so green and beautiful. It was gorgeous.
Rows and rows of misty green, perfectly groomed bushes were etched into the mountain. It stretched way up and contrasted with the grey sky and Japanese maples. Spotted with colorful umbrellas (a good Korean wouldn't be caught dead in the rain without one!).We walked around a for a while and joined the hordes in their picture taking frenzy.Then we took a break and sampled green tea bibimbap (rice dish), green tea noodles, green tea yoghurt ice cream and green tea milkshakes. We took the bus back to Gwangju where we had some time to just chill in Starbucks and read. We took the bus back to Ulsan and were back by midnight aftere a hectic 48+ hours. We are super tired today but it was a great trip and helped us see and appreciate a little more of Korea! Just 9 more weeks to do so!!!

Korean Fruits

2007-04-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

Another installment of Korean eats....

We have been able to try alot of new foods here in Korea and for the most part they are things you just never knew existed before. Even with my mom always bringing home the lastests, strangest fruit just to try we ran into a couple new fruits that they eat here in Korea.

This is a Korean melon and they sell them by the bucket from the backs of trucks all over the city. We bought one to try and it is quite bland compared to a canteloupe or honeydew. Not really sure what the appeal is but they alot of it. Must be healthy or something....

These are kumquats and they are kind of like a mini orange. They are about the size of a cherry tomato and you eat it whole; rind and all. It's tangy and eating the rind gives it more flavor. Quite good actually. I think they are actually a Japanese fruit but they eat them here too. It's fun to be able to try all these new things!

As for updates on the future.... I have been offered a position with one school in Ethiopia and have an interview with another one. Nolana has been in contact with a number of people and NGO's in Ethiopia in regards to nursing positions and there has been some response with possible opportunities, things we need to look more into before we can know for sure. But we are definitely focusing our energies on getting positions there for the next year. Hopefully the right doors will be opened and we both find something that fits us and that will be a great experience.

Red Light, Green Light

2007-04-18T05:06:00.000-07:00

Life is full of transitions. There are many doors to be opened and for every door opened there is another closed. I firmly believe that there is always an open door to be explored, it's just a matter of finding it.

For me, the door marked "Master's degree" has been temporarily closed. Meh, it only led to an ivory tower anyways. So that means Nolana and I are exploring a different door for the time being - Africa!

We are looking into the possibility of moving to Africa for a year. I have already sent my resume to a couple of schools in Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia) and I am looking further into opportunities to teach English in East/Central Africa. Nolana is looking for opportunities to nurse, either with an aid organization, mission, or hospital. Hopefully we can find something that matches up. So if you know of any opportunities for either of us, let us know! We want to make the most of the time we have and have both wanted to go to Africa for some time. So why not now?

It's exciting to think we might be off on another adventure to experience all that another culture has to offer. People in Victoria - don't worry, we're coming home in between! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we try and nail some things down in the next month or so.

What you Do....

2007-04-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend was jam packed and today (Sunday) we are just relaxing, talking to family back home, blogging and recuperating.

Friday night was a big birthday party for a couple of our friends and it was nice to go out and just chill with friends. Sometimes we get so little interaction with other people that it's weird to just go hang out with a big group of people.

Saturday we got up bright and early to go to Busan for the day. A bunch of us were going with our church group to go visit an orphanage there. It was really neat actually. It was a totally nice place and the kids were so happy and friendly. It was like a big family it seemed, all the kids calling the lady who ran it "Mom". We played basketball and soccer with the boys while the girls just hung out and played games.There were about 94 kids or so there but we only hung out with some of them, most of them age 6-13 or so. They loved hanging out with us and just loved the attention.I really wasn't sure what to expect but it was nothing like "Annie"! We're planning on going back once in May and once in June, I think with a bit more of a structured program.

After that we went back into downtown Busan and did some shopping in the big market there and had dinner with a few of us. The market really gets hopping after dark and I love the energy of wall to wall people, lights, vendors selling anything under the sun, the smells of food, and just hanging out with friends. Something so foreign to a place like Victoria... and even more so Regina!

Some great deals there and we'll likely make a trip back next Sat. evening just to get a few things and enjoy the crowd again.

On a side note, one of the things they sell are glasses and I decided to be so vain as to purchase a pair of non-prescriptive glasses. Just mixing it up a bit....

Only downfall was that Nolana got all nauseated on the way home and isn't feeling good (didn't that happen last time we went out?). But we're relaxing and getting ready for only 12 more weeks!

Korean Pizza

2007-04-11T06:04:00.000-07:00

In another installment of things you only see in Korea... pizza.

So you can get pizza anywhere in the world. But in Korea pizza is not really what we're used to back home. Exhibit 1.

Yes, those are potato wedges on the pizza. Here potato is a great topping. I have learned to at least accept it though the large wedges still throw me off.

Exhibit 2.

Sweet potato pizza is quite the delicacy. I still quite detest it on my pizza. All mushy and sweet... not what pizza is meant to be. Other toppings that are quite common here are canned corn, whole shrimp and crazy sauces. Even places like Pizza Hut here serve these.

We've found a place that does a decent pineapple/ham pizza and a bulgogi (beef) pizza with no corn or sweet potato to speak of. Except that Nolana says she kinda likes corn on her pizza now....

Blissfully Ignorant

2007-04-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Koreans really do love the English language. They pay lots of money to educate all their children in English (hence why we have jobs) and more than that, English is the 'cool' language in Korea. Kids love to repeat the few lines they know and everyone buys shirts with English sayings on them.

And yet, they can't quite seem to get a real good grasp of the language. Living here in Korea we have gotten so used to the misspelled words and misuses of English. It's commonplace. Everyone who has lived in Korea has a bunch of stories of seeing shirts that were 100% innapropriate... and usually worn by 12 year olds. I would tell some of mine but my mother reads this blog.

Signs everywhere feature English that would shame the least educated of us. Here are a few to make you chuckle.

For those of you with large children....

In case you need to tell someone....

This is an ad from an English school...

... and another school...

Or you could send your kids here...Say what?

I think this means something else...

And finally, to make you just a little hungry...

We have seen so many that gave us a laugh and it's really too bad we don't have pictures of them. Most of the time we don't even laugh any more though, just chuckle and think, "Oh, those Koreans..."

Cherry Blossoms

2007-04-02T02:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend we decided to join the hoards of Koreans and go see the cherry blossoms in Jinhae. While it maybe wasn't what we expected it was pretty amazing to see.

We tried to go out Saturday to see them but ended up missing the only bus of the day by 15 min. and then getting caught in a massive thunder/rain storm. Biggest drops you've seen soaked us in seconds. We've actually had a couple thunder/lightning storms this past week and I really like them when you're inside and can jsut watch. Probably one of the few things I missed living in Victoria compared to the prairies. Anyways, Sunday morning we made it out to see the flowers.

Jinhae was a madhouse when we arrived. So many people all there to see the blossoms. The whole town was swathed in blossoms which was really neat. You can see the blossoms as well as the lines of people and traffic in these pictures.

We chose to wait in line for some time to go out to the naval academy. Seemed everyone was trying to get there so we figured there must be something really neat to see. Turned out we waited in line for pretty much nothing. Some parading motorbikes and this ship was pretty much all that was out there.It's one of Korea's famous turtle ships but nothing to warrant the mass crowds and waits. It's funny what Koreans flock to sometimes.

Then we headed back and wandered around town, walking streets lined with blossoms.

We just wandered for a while and took pictures and enjoyed all the people around. We had hoped maybe to get out of town into the forest or something like that to see the blossoms but we had wasted so much time at the naval academy that we had to stay in town. But we had alot of fun.We stopped back in Masan on the way back and since we were there we figured we might as well eat at this great Mexican restaurant we know there. We got back late and were so tired. It was really nice to get out and do some travelling again. Although, right now is yellow dust season (some crazy dust that floats over from China) and it's quite smoggy/dusty and because of that Nolana came down with some crazy hacking cough which is not much fun.

We're looking foward to using the nice weather to get out a bit more again and see some places before we take off home.

Spring

2007-03-26T03:04:00.000-07:00

So I guess God heard my prayers and gave us some nice weather to enjoy this past weekend! Saturday we snuck in a couple games of basketball even though the court was damp in spots. Then we got to go out for dinner and found a pretty nice brewhouse that brews great dark beer, which is super difficult to find here.

Sunday dawned sunny and stayed that way all day. 20+ degrees and gorgeous. We went out for sushi with some friends and then Devin and I went to play some basketball.

And Nolana went for a walk in the park which was crazy packed with pretty much the whole city of Ulsan enjoying the first nice Sunday.We were still playing when she came back so she sat and watched and was a real asset to us because all the Korean guys were staring at her! It was such a great day we just sat around after, soaking up the warmth.

With all the nice weather the flowers are starting to come out and add some color to the brownness.

We are going to head out this next weekend to see the cherry blossoms which are a huge deal here and are reportedly quite beautiful. We're going to Jinhae which is supposed to be the best place in Korea so hopefully we'll get some great pictures to show you.

All in all it turned out to be a great, relaxing weekend.

Of All the Rotten Luck

2007-03-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

This week has been gorgeous, yesterday peaking with 21 degrees Celcius. My friend Devin and I have been trying to get out there and play some basketball but with our schedules varying, weekends are pretty much our only time to play right now. We've been stoked to get out in the nice weather and play...

....And then this morning we woke up to rain! Sunny all week and Saturday it rains. Why does it always seem to happen this way? Guess no basketball today.

So to make my day a little more bearable I brewed a pot of Vietnamese coffee, went and picked up some sausage and egg McMuffins from Mickey D's and watched a bit of the Raptors game online.

On other fronts, still listening to the blues. Man, those guys can JAM! Serious guitar work.

I've also been listening to alot of podcasts when I go exercise. Some classic philosophy, some apologetics, some lectures... It's amazing what can be found on there, and all for FREE! I love that I can keep my mind learning and at the same time as I am keeping my body up to shape.

As for school... well.... things just never change. Really. But we are learning on a daily basis how to survive and I am still thankful for a job that allows me to travel and make some good money. As much as it can suck, there are always positives. It's just hard sometimes when you know people with great jobs here and think life could be so much easier... like when everybody has Wednesday off and we had to work!!

We're down to 3 1/2 months and are starting to send some things home, as well as planning our end-of-contract trip to Malaysia. I think by Nolana's count we have 15 weeks left in our contract. Not that she's counting. All in good time.....

iRack

2007-03-20T04:45:00.001-07:00

I have a lack of interesting Korea info to post so instead I offer this unbeleivable witty video for you to view. There is no exit strategy....

The Blues are Still Blue

2007-03-14T06:06:00.000-07:00

I've been in a serious blues kick these past few weeks, jamming to the wicked guitar of BB King and the like. Let me tell you, the blues are still blue!

I've also taken to wandering in the hills. In the massive park beside our house there is quite the expanse of hills and trails. I have been going at night and hiking up to an exercise area which is in a clearing at the very top.

I go at night for two reasons. First, it is empty at night. During the daylight hours it is populated by many an old lady doing their stretches. Not really my thing. Second, there is quite the view of the city lights at night.So as you do your crunches or stretches you can look out over the lights. I have been bringing the iPod and listening to Ravi Zacharias' lectures/podcasts. So I excercise/look/listen/think... and it is all quite fulfilling and relaxing. 8 months here and still new joys to discover.

Church of Neon

2007-03-08T22:53:00.000-08:00

Something unique to Korea ( I think) is the neon crosses that dot the skyline. Every church has a neon cross, some small and some large. I guess as a beacon to salvation or something. When you're lost all you have to do is look up and make your way to the nearest church! Or maybe because the society really just loves neon. Or maybe so you can see how many churches there actually are (which is alot!) Who knows why but at night you can look across the skyline and count a half dozen crosses glowing, whichever way you look.

On a completely different note we celebrate our 8 month mark today. 2/3rds done and the end is in sight which is truly a weird feeling. This alien environment seems more normal day by day. I am convinced Canada is going to be a shock to the system when we return.

Road Trip!

2007-03-01T23:54:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely, sunny Thursday off due to the Koreans resisting Japanese rule (in the 1940's)... so we decided to get the scooter gang together and take a road trip! Off we went to Eonyang which is still technically a part of Ulsan but about 30-40 min. away by scooter. Here's the gang (minus Nolana who is taking the picture... as usual!)

First we stopped by the Amethyst Cave which was quite the production. It's a big cave where they mined amethysts at one point and have turned into an amusement park/museum mish-mash of everything. We wandered through rooms such as the Egypt Room and the African room (what does this have to do with Korea?) Statues randomly placed in every nook and cranny...We watched such performances as this one and a guy juggling a pot...

Only in Korea do you watch a roller skate performance, underground surrounded by replicas of Egyptian guards and mummies. You had to laugh a little bit so we had a bit of fun taking pictures with some of the statues.

Then we went to find a waterfall that is considered a scenic sight of Ulsan. When we arrived at the mountain we found out it was a 5 km hike way up the mountain. So we decided against it and hiked the 1 km to this roaring falls.

While it was hardly noteworthy, when I climbed around to see if I could get under the falls I spotted a little cave with candles burning in it. So some of us climbed up and found this little cave/shrine.The opening was just big enough to get into and inside were burning candles. Nothing more. You'd see some in little nooks where people had left them, most likely as a prayer for someone. It was really cool to find this, you pretty much had to know it was there or be under the falls to find it...

Finally we stopped by another scenic sight of Ulsan, which is this river bed that has been worn smooth by the water. Nolana got a great picture of it.

Nothing too spectacular but Devin and I found an abandoned shopping cart and had some fun tooling around on the smooth rock. It was a great adventure for a random day off!

The Perception of Beauty

2007-02-28T00:27:00.000-08:00

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder but is it really? In Korea the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the surgeon... or something like that. A recent report claimed that 77% of Korean women wanted some type of plastic surgery. I do not doubt this stat. Women here get nips and tucks for anything: weddings, graduation, new job, etc... Teacher at school just got some work done on her face.

There is an intense pressure to be slim, beautiful and all that. This is similar to pressure in America but I like to think that in recent years we have inserted a healthy dose of reality with campaigns to promote inner beauty. Here, well it's like an experiment in Western culture gone wrong. Overweight or obese people are so extremely rare and mostly because if they were to be overweight they would be shamed into losing weight quicker than you could say "Overweight Korean". As my boy Stanley said, "if it ain't olive oil, it's fat". Think on that one.

This extends to the kids. We had a slightly larger girl in my one class. No one would even notice in a Canadian class. But the teacher were always talking about her and for her speech (for our English festival) gave her a line, "I like yoga because I want to try and work for a nicer body". Come on, she's 5/6 years old!

All this focus on beauty extends to clothing. Women don't go anywhere without their high heels. Beach = high heels. Walk in the mountains = high heels. No jokes. Men go to the beach in suits. You see them riding their bikes in suits.

So is beauty anything you want it to be? Can a culture put such ridiculous limits to beauty and it be alright? Makes one think....

The Boyz

2007-02-22T03:04:00.000-08:00

A couple pictures of me with two of my kindergarten boys who graduated. These two were alot of fun.

Weekend Funnies

2007-02-22T02:43:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely long weekend where we got to relax and rue the fact that we have so little time to do that. The couple hours each night just doesn't leave much room for getting out and exploring.

Saturday we went with a bunch of friends down to Busan for an afternoon/evening of fun. We took in some downtown underground shopping.

Which was more or less just wandering. Got stopped by the JW's... yeah, they have them in Korea too. Been to our door before too and they usually speak good English so you can't pretend you don't understand them. Too bad.

In Busan you take the subway around so we spent our fair share of time riding that.

My boy Va'shajn had a little fun with a sleeping Korean. We went to the big bath house there... it was packed because of the holiday, us guys actually had a 15 min. wait to get in. More guys go during the holidays while the wife stays home and cooks/prepares.... at least that's what we figure.

In the same building as the bath house is a brew house that we hit up after for dinner. Some crazy band from Bulgaria was playing there and some adjoshi's really got into the music. You can always count on drunk adjoshi's for a little fun. They took a bit of a liking to the girls in our group, as you can see.

Sunday we went to church and then for dinner at our pastor's place with everybody. Monday was spent relaxing, went out for dinner. Really nice.

Now we are back at school. We had our kindergarten graduation was a big production as all things seem to be here. Caps and gown... for kindy graduation!

We started all our new elementary classes today and kindergarten starts in March. Everything is all over the place because, in the typical Korean way, everything got left to the last minute. Nolana's organizational skills have been put to good use the past couple days. So a couple weeks to get adjusted to everything new. I have a new schedule and I'm liking the looks of it. If it all pans out then the next 4 and a bit months might be relatively enjoyable. Here's hoping.

Musings of the Mind to Pass the Time

2007-02-14T23:23:00.000-08:00

So I've been pretty apathetic towards blogging recently, mostly due to some tough weeks at school and just being pretty busy without much exciting happening. The normal life, ya know? So here's a few updates and random tidbits on Korea until I get something more exciting to post.

Long weekend coming up so maybe something exciting then... a trip to Busan, maybe a scooter trip...

School has been seriously sucky. Just a whole lot of not listening to us. A little event last week summed it up. My "partner teacher" asked for the weekly word list for our 2 joint classes. This was Thursday. I had finished the book so I was making up my own material and selected words from that. Come Monday I go into class to teach and find the kids had some other wordlist, not related at all to what I was doing. So I go ask why and excuses ensue to save face (the Korean way). I mean, you freakin' asked me for it and then didn't give it to them! Anyhoo, just alot of silliness.

Here's a pic of the outdoor market by our place, good for buying veggies and alot of things. Seems highly usual for us now but it's so not-Western.

Valentine's Day is a holiday in Korea but it is the GIRLS that give chocolate to the boys. There is another day called White Day where the boys give to the girls.

Korean New Years is this weekend (hence the long weekend) and then we start the new school year. New schedule... so fingers crossed on it getting better. We are also getting a 3rd foreign teacher.... and he's 54 years old. Should be interesting.

Last weekend we went to a board games room to play Settlers. Yours truly kicked butt.

New girl in town from Australia and we took her with us. A unique Korean experience.

It was pouring rain on Tuesday and I drove my scooter... and got seriously soaked. I think I'll take a taxi next time.

Been reading Deitrich Bonhoeffer's Ethics and it is quite impressive on a number of fronts. An intellectual look at why we need to mix simplicity of faith (simple in that it is a singular goal) with a knowledge of reality.

Korea is seeming so normal and yet still so frustrating on so many fronts. It is a test of endurance. Just under 5 months to go.

Well... that's it for now I guess. Take care out there my peeps.

A Korean Wedding Day

2007-02-02T23:30:00.000-08:00

Our good friend Bora got married today and we were invited to the wedding... so we thought we would share how Korean weddings are a little different than their North American counterparts.

First, we got to eat. No bride or groom around just a buffet dinner for anyone who came early and wanted some free food. Then we went up and before the wedding Bora had a little room where people could come and get pictures with her.

Note the stunning specimen stage right (the rest are the English teachers at our school... oh yeah, and my gorgeous wife).

Korean weddings are all big we were told and this one was no exception. They invite pretty much any and all family friends, co-workers, etc... and there was a couple hundred people there. Bora walked down the aisle and no one stood. Guess that's a North American thing.

It was a nice ceremony although we understoof very little. All I know is that those Korean ministers can PRAY. None of this 2 minute quick bake prayer, when their lids drop you know you're gonna need to get comfortable! The parents on sit up on the stage on either side and gave a quick little speech. Then at the end of the ceremony the couple bows to both sets of parents and then to the congregation.Once all is said and done the couple sticks around and does a bunch of group pictures with family and friends. This one is with the parents; the mothers in their traditional hanbok.It was neat to be invited to something like this, not a lot of foreigners come to Korea and get to see something like this. Neat to see the differences and yet see how they were pretty similar.

Eric's Excellent Eating Adventure

2007-01-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

Yet another installment of the crazy eats in Korea.

Last night we went out for dinner with some friends for samgyepsal. Nothing crazy there, a Korean pork BBQ.
Pretty tasty, pork wrapped in lettuce or sesame leaves with roasted garlic, bean sauce and other veggies. But the kicker was that one of the side dishes was boendegi.Bendegi is silkworm larvae and although I have seen it all over the place (the kids of Korea love the stuff!) I haven't tried it. So I HAD to do it this time. Pretty gross stuff. Tastes like it smells and it has a paticularly odd smell. So not trying that again. But the picture looks gross eh?

Dog Days of Winter

2007-01-22T05:07:00.000-08:00

This is Nolana and I cruising on our new ride. How better to enjoy your time in Korea than booting around on the streets and sidewalks in a crazed fashion... what is that sound I hear? Oh, merely my wife screaming for me to be careful! Seriously, driving could hardly be more fun... except when my wife is screaming.

A little while back I took the plunge. I had heard about it and at first couldn't believe it. But it was true and I knew that at some time I would have to try it. So, with the companionship of two other brave souls I had my first helping of.... dog soup.

No jokes. They eat dog here. Not your average Fido, Spot or Teebo but a specially bred variety for eating. Tasted not too bad actually. A little gamey but the spicey broth made it a nice winter dish.
So next on our brave adventurer's to-eat list is whale. Yeah, they eat that in Korea too. Oh yeah, and live baby octopus. What's the point of being here and not eating like they do, says I. Though Nolana seems to think a little differently.

On a completely unrelated note, the two other guys in the picture just bought the most adorable little Shitzu puppies this last weekend. Seriously, so cute.... though probably not very edible.

2 Wheeled Terror

2007-01-17T03:40:00.000-08:00

This, my friends, is my new wheels! 125 cc's of pure power. After 6 months of cabbing, bussing, and hoofing it we decided it was time for a scooter. Plus a couple of our friends have one and we can do mini road trips and boot around together. I also aquired my Korean lisence and am thus feeling particular Korean.

And yet particularly Canadian. Finally, after 6 months of abstinence I was able to participate in a act so Canadian it is undeniable. Hockey Night in Canada. I found a way to stream some live sports games and had a friend (and Oilers fan) over to watch Flames vs. Oilers. Six months and it was my first game. Sweet bliss and the Flames managed to pull out a win. Nothing is better.

In other developments, our friend Nils was here from Victoria for a quick visit. He is teaching at a winter camp in Korea and managed to make his way to Ulsan for a visit. So nice to see a familiar face and catch up with how he is doing.

And a couple of us guys have started a bible study/discussion group where we are taking turns bringing issues and questions to the table and discussing. It has been a great mix of guys so far with everyone willing to discuss AND listen. So key. A wide range of perspectives and I can see how it is going to stretch everyone.

That's all for now, another update in the near future.

Vietnam: Ha Long Finale

2007-01-11T03:58:00.000-08:00

This is a two part post: see the second part for some of the pics.

Our last stretch of time in Vietnam was spent in the grandeur of Ha Long Bay. It was phenomenal. It is a bay with over 3,000 small island of limestone mountain and forest, speckeled with white beaches and great views.

The wind and waves have carved out lots of caves and lagoons and we were off an a boating and kayaking trip to see it all!

The first day we met our guide (#1) and took our drive to the boat. We got there and had the first of our feasts on the boat. Fresh crab, chicken, fish, pork and veggies, bok, choy, etc... Wow. We had payed a bit more and got the whole boat to ourselves for the trip. We had it so good, so much food, our guide, the crew and the run of the boat (see #2). We took off among the misty mountains (the season was cool so it was kinda foggy the whole time) and headed for a large underground cave (see #3 and 4). It was incredible. All these crazy formations and absolutely huge! It took us close to 45 minutes to walk through it all. We went for a quick hike to the top of one mountain (where we took the pics above) and then for a quick night kayak into a lagoon (see #5). All among the mountains are caves and some of them lead into enclosed lagoons. A lake of sorts with mountains all around with the cave as the only way in. It was silent and peaceful. Spent the night on the boat.

The next day we spent kayaking. The highlight was one set of caves. We came on the opening and we could see monkeys rustling the trees and could hear them.It was a large cave...and led into an enclosed lagoon. Silent and peaceful except for the chattering of monkeys.

We paddled into a couple of these but this one was especially amazing because within the one cave/lagoon was another cave/lagoon.It was a smaller opening in the one corner (you can see the guide going through in the first picture) and you went through into another completely enclosed, misty lagoon.Ha Long Bay claims to be the only place in the world like this and I have no doubt it is. It was so awe inspiring to be in this phenomenal natural creation, paddling through the mist into caves that led to secluded lagoons. It was like discovering just how amazing God had created this world for the first time. There for us to discover.

We paddled around alot that day

and saw some pretty amazing things. More caves and openings with bottoms of coral (#7), floating villiages where people live pretty much on a raft and go fishing, etc... (#8) but amazingly they have TV! We also saw a pearl farm and in general just so much natural beauty.

We head back to the boat and spent a fairly quiet New Year's Eve on the boat. A nice dinner and then a drink with the crew of the boat, sampling some Vietnamese Rice Wine which has a serious kick to it. Crashed early, the first New Years I haven't rung in. The next day we sailed around a bit more, stopped at one beach to relax, docked and then headed back to Hanoi.

We spent the majority of a day in Hanoi shopping and relaxing, then in the evening flew to Ho Chi Minh before flying back to Seoul during the night. After a super tight connection in Seoul which we made thanks to our taxi driver hitting speeds of 150 km/h we arrived back home about 10am, changed and went straight to work. Another amazing holiday concluded.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Ha Long Pictures

2007-01-10T23:53:00.000-08:00

#1. Our guide Bihn, cutting up one of our many feasts.#2. Us having run of the ship. Or me just surveying the lay of the land.#3 & #4. Massive underground cave.#5. View of enclosed lake/lagoon from above.#6. Bay filled with ships.#7. Many caves and holes cut into the limestone.#8. Floating villiages and homes.#9. Cool picture of pearl farm.

Vietnam: Hanoi

2007-01-06T22:51:00.000-08:00

We had a day in the big city of Hanoi and we spent it wandering around seeing the sights, doing some shopping in the market and chilling in some cafes. The old quarter of Hanoi is centered around Hoan Kiem which is a large lake (there are many lakes in Hanoi). The lake had a temple on an island in one end...

and an old pagoda statue on the other end which is a symbol of Hanoi.We saw sights such as an old French cathedral...and we took in a cultural experience and watched the famed Vietnamese water puppets, an acient art using traditional music, puppets and... water.The puppets were actually really neat and as you can see in the last picture when the curtain is raised, they operate them with poles from behind. Pretty impressive.

More than all the sights we were always taking pictures of the city and how the people lived. Everything is just so different from what we're used to in Canada or Korea. People all ride scooters/motorbikes. They are family vehicles, cargo vehicles, farm vehicles, taxis... everything.

We saw anything and everything on scooters: statues, paintings, two dozen chickens, an already gutted pig...

The Vietnamese building style is tall and narrow which gives the city a unique style and shape. Much more scattered and varied... and colorful.

It was not uncommon to see a solitary builidng, 4 floors high and only one room wide. Building up gives more room for more people to build.

Everyone shops in markets or even better from the vendors who roam the streets.

Here are strawberries, oranges and the basket at the back is roses. You can buy anything from underwear to vegetables from a vendor.

We enjoyed the city but were more fond of the open spaces. But this is how a majority of Vietnamese live, bustling from dawn to late at night in the hectic pace of the city. Scootering to work and navigating the busy alleys of old Hanoi. One last pic of us taking a cyclo ride in the city... I felt like a lame tourist! I guess it's okay to be a tourist sometimes....

Vietnam: Hoi An and the train

2007-01-04T01:46:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we departed Phu Quoc for other Vietnamese adventures. We went back to Ho Chi Minh and spent the afternoon seeing some of the sights. The Reunification palace where the American gov't operated from during the War. The War Museum where we saw pictures and displays of the many horrific things that happened during the war. I regaled Nolana with details it didn't have (even of Canada's contribution to the atrocities...). The museum was brutal but really important I thought. It's one of things that shouldn't be forgotten.

That evening we caught the train for Hoi An. I had read about the train and that was one of the things that had first piqued my interest in Vietnam. The train goes from bottom to top and you get to see quite a bit of the country. It wasn't glamorous digs but we lucked out and had a room to ourselves for both legs of our journey.

In fact at times, it was downright unglamorous... like when you had to use the toilet....Oh well, we're getting a little more used to the squat that is so common here in Asia.

But the scenery really was impressive. The first leg from Ho Chi Minh to Hoi An was through endlessly green rice fields, small towns and meandering water buffalo.

We saw the average farmer Joe going about his day and it really was beautiful. Saw the girls in their traditional dress riding along dirt roads to school.

We arrived in Hoi An about noon the next day and had a full 24 hours to explore the town. It really was a quiant little place. The old quarter has all been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site as it is all small little streets and buildings left over from the French colonial era in Vietnam. Survived the war intact and now is home to tourists and as much tailor made silk as one could ever want.

We wandered the streets and sat in cafes overlooking the river, sipping Vietnamese iced coffees (they have great coffee there!).Nolana loved the shopping there. You could get clothes tailor made for cheap and there were silk shops everywhere. She even suckered me into getting us silk house coats made. I've never even ever worn a house coat! I call this the effect of domestication! We enjoyed our short time there and the next day headed off again on the train.

The section of the train ride after Hoi An was gorgeous! The train picked its way through the mountains, all the while trailing along the Vietnamese coastline.

Rugged coastline edged by forest/jungle with the occasional break of deserted white beaches.We had the afternoon just watching out the window and then crashed, waking up in Hanoi. All in all the train ride was about 32 hours long but we timed it well. Twice through the night but also with some daylight to enjoy the scenery. Totally cool and we would love to do that again!

Christmas Sunset

2007-01-03T04:37:00.000-08:00

Pictures of our Christmas sunset... absolutely fabulous. Read on to see more!

Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh and Phu Quoc

2007-01-03T02:28:00.000-08:00

We're back!! We had a great trip to Vietnam, 12 days of escaping the realities of work to the exotic locale of Vietnam. From beach to rice paddy, pastry shop to kayaking among monkeys... we did it! And through some pics we would love to share a little bit with you. And cause we like pictures. And travel.

We arrived in Saigon for a quick stay, just an evening and we went out and had our first encounter with Vietnamese traffic.

It's 95% motorbikes/scooters and 100% mayhem. They don't stop and if you want to cross the road you just have to step out knowing that they will go around you. Nolana was especially sketched by this at first, clutching my arm everytime we crossed the street. By the end we were pros and just jumped out, ignoring the beeps and people all around. We browsed the market and ate at the street vendors. Coconuts, spring rolls, shrimp... big shrimp!We had so many prawns and spring rolls and seafood... the food was just so amazing in Vietnam!

Early the next morning we headed off for the small island of Phu Quoc for some R&R. It was advertised as beach and well... beach. Much more undeveloped than alot of the other main beach areas in this part of the world (read: Thailand, Boacay, etc...) It was phenomenal. Pretty much my top spot. We relaxed on the beach which was pretty quiet. Bought 65 cent pineapple which was carved up in front of you by the ladies who walked the beach. Swam, did some snorkelling, ate some good food. Enjoyed some great sunsets just sitting on a beach chair. Wow.

We also spent our Christmas here. Didn't much feel like Christmas but it turned out to be a fantastic day. We rented a motorbike and headed off down the dirt road, seeking out deserted beaches and to see life away from the tourist spread (as meagre as it was). Nolana especially wanted pics of the people. We thought they were super friendly, laid back people and loved our time with them. I could picture myself living in a hut on the beach, catching fish, growing veggies, reading and caring less what happened in the world at large... kinda like I am sure they do.Nolana especially liked the kids who were riding their bikes around, playing soccer barefoot and always had time to wave to us as we went by.

We found our secluded beaches...

... with nothing but palm trees and sand. Not a person around except maybe boys swimming off a fishing boat a little ways off. We rode back and watched the sunset from the beach. And it was no simple sunset. It was phenomenal. A sunset like none other that seemed to go on forever. They are so good I am leaving those 3 pics for a seperate post (which I am now realizing will show up first... darn). It was amazing. We sat and watched it and then went back for a dip in the dying pink light. What a Christmas!

Off on an Adventure!

2006-12-21T05:24:00.000-08:00

We are off on another adventure... so we won't be blogging for a bit. We leave tonight for Seoul and then tomorrow (Friday) we depart from Seoul to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam!

What do we have planned? Some beach sitting, some train travel, a boat tour, some kayaking, some perusing of cities and the sights and most importantly... some adventure! Or maybe more importantly, some rest (hopefully!)

We will be seeing the country from top to bottom (pretty much) and then 12 days later we will return to our life in Korea... the one we are hoping to escape for 12 days!

Not the normal Christmas/New Years activities of friends and family. We'll certainly miss that but hopefully we'll be too busy enjoying ourselves to miss it too much.

Merry Christmas to all you out there and a very Happy New Year! See you in 2007.

Guest post from the Mrs: Cabbage, Kimchi, + Sugar Cookies

2006-12-20T04:13:00.000-08:00

Well, this is the first time I have had the privilege of posting on Eric's blog (so hopefully I do well enough so that I get invited to do it again).

The last two evenings have been great. When we came home from work yesterday evening, our neighbor, next door was out in the wall with her friend starting the process of making kimchi. There had been approx 40 heads of cabbage stacked out in the hall in bags for the last couple days. So last night, the ladies were out there with massive buckets of hot salt water, chopping the cabbage in halves and rinsing it in the salt water. I kept poking my head out the door to watch them and they rambled away things to me in Korean and I in English, with no understanding of each other, except the word "kimchi". I got a picture of them at work (bottom left). Then a while later, as Eric was going out the door for groceries, she handed him a head of cabbage, chopped in half. He tried to say no but she insisted. So he brought in the cabbage to me. Then as he went to leave again, she made her way into our apartment with a bucket of red stuff. She went rummaging throught my kitchen, trying to find things and I blindly pulled possible things she might want out of the cupboards. She managed to find a bowl and large knife. She scooped me a bowl of the red paste and then proceeded to chopped the cabbage and wash it. Then when she was finished, she took a piece of the cabbage curled up, dipped it in the red paste, and stuck it in my mouth. So that is what I was supposed to do with it. So the picture on the bottom right is of our cabbage, red paste (which is a spicy, salty dip), and some rice. It is common here in Korea to take a piece of lettuce or cabbage stick a little bit of rice and the red paste and roll it up and eat it in one big bite. So we ate that last night and tonight.

When I had my unexpected visitor last night, I was in the middle of trying to make Christmas Sugar Coookies. Now this is no ordinary baking experience. I have not baked in 6 months. Why? Becuase, it is very, very rare to have an oven in Korea. So last night I made sugar cookies. I had to improvise a bit. I used my little blender and alot of arm muscle to beat the marg, egg, and sugar cause I have no beaters. I have no rolling pin so my trusty Nalgene did the trick. I also have no coookie cutter, so I used my tin from my Silk Road loose tea (perfect size). They also don't have liquid vanilla so I used vanilla powder ( I didn't know there was such a thing). Then the iffy part, would the cookies bake and not burn in the toaster oven? Lucky for me the toaster oven came with a baking stone which helped and my cookies baked perfectly, evey single one. They were delicious! So I brought a plate of warm cookies over to by friendly neighbor and her friend.

This morning, my door bell rang and there was my neighbor with her curlers in her hair, giving me my plate back with oyster kimchi (regular cabbage kimchi with oyster in it). There is a picture below, of our kimchi gift, it is half a head of cabbage. It is good and very spicy.

Last night was so enjoyable, baking cookies, that I baked another batch tonight to take to school with me tomorrow to share some of my Christmas cheer!

Tomorrow night we head off on our trip to Vietnam so we will be off the blog til the new year so,

Merry Christmas + Happy New Year's to everyone!

Christmas Cheer Pt. 2

2006-12-18T06:58:00.000-08:00

On our way to somewhere the other night we happened by the park and saw they someone had put some effort into making the park seem a little festive. So tonight, with a distinct winter chill in the air, with bellies full of kimchi mandu guk, we headed off to see the Christmas lights.

Not like back home, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. It felt like Christmas to me, walking down the path with trees all lit up on either side, coat pulled up snug to cut down the chill and people happily walking around taking pictures. Here are some of the pictures we took...

Christmas Cheer in Korea

2006-12-14T05:14:00.000-08:00

Here in Korea it doesn't really feel like Christmas. Back home people are running around shopping, singing carols, decorating trees, sitting by fires, drinking egg nog and bundling up to go see Christmas light displays. Here, not so much. You see the odd display and some buildings put lights up but no where near the feel of Christmas back home. I guess no family here makes a difference too.

So we decided to have a little Christmas cheer to remind us of back home. I decided to try and make some egg nog because there is nothing that reminds me of Christmas more than a glass of nog. Seriously, that stuff is amazing! And I suprised myself, I make some decent egg nog.
Some nutmeg (which shockingly I found in one of the stores here), some cinnamon, some eggs, some milk (no cream, Koreans don't use that stuff) and voila, you have egg nog. It was pretty darn tasty and reminded of the goodness of egg nog back home. Definately doing that again. And then we settled in to watch the 1947 version of A Miracle on 34th Street. My family was never really into watching TV at Christmas so I had never seen it. Kinda fun to drink egg nog and watch old black and white Christmas movies. It's starting to feel a bit like Christmas....

Welcome to the Gong Show

2006-12-08T23:57:00.000-08:00

The past two months of our lives at school (at least) have been consumed with one thing: the English festival. To the school it is the one chance to show parents that all their money is not being wasted. So they dress up the kids, take months to teach them a few songs and a speech and that's it. And the great thing, is the parents buy it all. Their kids look cute singing English songs and that makes them happier than if their kid is actually learning English.

All the prep led up to the one night of... well, gong show-ness. So, let me show you how a proper Korean English festival goes down, and how to make one a guaranteed hit.

The kids get all dressed up in garish costumes. This is the key to any successful festival.

Some of these costumes must be so indecent that no North American, English speaking parent would ever consent for their child to wear them. So indecent that any North American male watching must feel slightly uncomfortable and think to themselves, "There are sick men out there who pay to watch videos in which children start in such costumes as these...."These costumes, coupled with gyrating, hip shaking dance moves to North American love/dance songs are enough to make any Korean parent proud of their child and wonder to themselves, "What high position could my child get with these kinds of English skills?"

Oh yes, and bare midriffs. These are key too.

Then you must find a white foreigner who is silly enough to appear on stage for all the parents to take pictures of their children with the foreigner.The finale of the evening must be a musical/play in English. The mass forgotten lines and bad music further illustrates to the parents that you are a serious English school.After all of this has happened, the parents will be so impressed with their children that they will buy many many flowers to bestow upon their children, their children's teachers and anyone within proximity.As you can see by the boys in the right foreground, some of this lavishness is wasted on some of the kids.

In all seriousness, the actual performance wasn't that bad minus some questionable costume choices. The only major "bit of work" was when our manager went all karaoke on the mic during a "sing along" song, drowning out all the kids with her screeching. A bunch of teachers had to repress the snickering and many a parent glanced over as if to say, "I came here to hear my child not you!" Oh my, we are still in constant realization of just how crazy she is. And the pictures... not of the kids, but of US! Caught a mom taking a picture of me when I was just sitting there. She just smiled.

But the kids had fun, so really, I guess that's all that matters. Oh, and the cake that one of my student's mothers dropped off for me... that's pretty cool too.

Snorkelling

2006-12-05T01:56:00.000-08:00

So this may seem like old news but in October we went to Boracay, Phillipines. While we were there we went snorkelling a couple times. We bought an underwater camera and just got it developed so we thought we would share some pics with you... they're kinda cool.

Parenting

2006-12-01T02:22:00.000-08:00

Nolana and I have come to many a self-realization over our 5 months of teaching children. Being around children reveals your type of personality and sheds an amazing amount of light upon what we will be like as parents. Some of this is good, some of it scary.

Nolana said she realized this week what it truly meant when parents said they don't want to punish their children. She had to punish this little monkey and he was quite repentant and begging her not to put him out in the hall. It really is hard to punish good kids... bad kids a little easier :)

I have realized that if I have a little girl I will be the biggest pushover in the world. There is one little girl in my one class who is 6 Korean age (4-5 real age) and she is quite attached to me and I to her. She loves to come sit on my lap. Today something happened and she was balling. I picked her up and she instantly clung to my neck and would not let me go. I tried to put her down after a bit and she would have none of that. When I did succeed, I kneeled beside her and she promptly wrapped her arm around my neck. Seriously, I would take her home. I hope my kids are as attached to their daddy.

We have also realized where we are going to be stern parents. We each have our areas where we have expectations and demands, some that we never even really realized until now. I think it is good we see this now as sometimes we don't want to be that strict. It's tough with these kids sometimes. They are so young (4-6) but they are students in a society that demands they study by that age. Not block playing, ABC studying but often serious studying by 7, etc... 2-4 schools with their own demands. Easy to expect too much of them and demand too much.

And I have decided parenting isn't all that easy. Kudos to all you parents and secretly, on the real low down, don't tell my wife... I am pretty jealous of all you parents too. All in its due time.

Pumpkin Pie!

2006-11-26T05:11:00.000-08:00

Mmmm, nothing is more yummy and more representative of Thanksgiving to me than pumpkin pie. So on Saturday afternoon we went to Daegu to Costco to see if they had pumpkin pie. They did. And it was delicious! Oh sweet pumpkin delight! And we decided to have some friends over to share in our delights.It was good, we haven't had people over to our place yet. It's not common in Korea to do social events at ones house, probably because most people live in apartments. Eating out is common, going somewhere, etc... And especially with foreign teachers, most have small small places (with many a horror story of closet sized digs). But we were blessed with a large apartment so we had people over for games and pie. It was nice, we like having people over. And the pie was so big we have leftovers!Oh man, I am going to ENJOY having that again. Amazing what being away from home can make you appreciate.

Also at Costco I became the brand new owner of a 30g iPod. I am mobile again! I have been wanting one for so long and now I can take my beloved tunes with me wherever I go. Long train ride in Vietnam, studying, etc... Thanks wifey for letting me get it!

We also found out that Korea is one of the cheapest places in the world to get glasses. So at Costco Nolana got a new prescription and new lenses for $20. With frame it's like 50-80$ for top of the line ones, less for not name brand ones. So I am contemplating vanity glasses.... might make me look smart. What do you think?

School this week was... long. Just crappy stuff between the Korean teachers and us with them not really communicating and changing stuff on us and overriding us in front of the kids. And we're still preparing for this festival which is a total gong show. This is me playing guitar for a song... except I'm not playing. The guitar can't keep a tune but they want me to pretend to play it so they can have their white teacher up there for all the parents to see. I'm contemplating making a shirt that says "Please don't feed or touch the foreigner" or "I bite". Sometimes feel like a trained monkey at school.But we are just hanging with the kids as we practice which is kinda fun.

And my kids love me so that's what makes it all okay and makes me willing to go back to school for another week.

Meanderings, Ramblings and Miscellaneous What-not

2006-11-20T03:04:00.000-08:00

I have been sick... (that is my excuse for not posting sooner).

My wife-extroadinaire has attempted more Korean fare and it turned out wonderful! A pumpkin pancake type dish.... this is her making it with our Korean friend Bora.I just sat there and they made me dinner. THAT is great! Although it made me feel kinda lazy. Which is not great. Ah well, I am sure that will pass.

My Calgary Flames are on a 6 game win streak which including knocking out the 2 top teams in the West. They are BACK.

Welcome to MY NHL!!!!

At school we are busy preparing for a "festival" which includes singing and dancing in ridiculous costumes that parents wouldn't let their kid get caught dead in. Serious gong show but it's like the most important thing to our head teacher.

We finally figured out how to get money home. Wooo Hooooo! (Or I think we did....)

We've been watching past episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Prison Break. A show for me, a show for her. (But on the low down, she likes Prison Break)... (And I guess I don't mind Grey's Anatomy)

This is me opening a care package from my mom... It's like Christmas!

On the topic of Christmas, this will be my first Christmas with no family and we'll be somewhere in Vietnam doing, probably, nothing holiday-ish. Weird.

I cut Nolana's hair today. Whoah, that was.... not as easy as it looks.

But she was smiling throughout it and was even happy afterwards.

(And yes I purposefully picked a picture that didn't show her hair!)

A Korean co-teacher has been bugging me to try ordering my own food over the phone. That's scary! But I want to try before I leave. It would be a useful tool to have (knowing how to order food) so maybe I will get on that sooner than later. And I feel slightly proud that she thinks I can do it. My Korean is slowly coming along...

I am in the midst of doing some reading so I feel ready to apply for my Masters. And I have decided where I am going to apply. And I am prepping stuff I need. I'm actually gonna do this. Who would have thought this likely a couple years ago. Not me.

Songs that I am currently loving: Bob Dylan "Gotta Serve Somebody", Guster "Two Points For Honesty", Sufjan Stevens "John Wayne Gacy, Jr."

Lots going on here. Just not much that seems blog worthy, I'll try and be better about posting.

Camping Korean Style

2006-11-14T03:08:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we spent some time on a camping retreat put on by the church we are going to. We went up to the mountains, about 35 min. from town to a hotel type place where we chilled.

We got there and a bunch of us collected wood for a later campfire. No firewood here so we went and ripped dead trees down and dragged them into a pile for a later fire. Nolana went off hiking with some people and I stayed back and played some basketball. She got to see some great fall colors courtesy of the Korean mountains..

But after seeing how sore she has been the past couple days I am pretty sure my option was the better of the two! We had BBQ for dinner and as the temperatures dropped we all congregated inside to chill and do some get to know each other type of things. Here's some of our group (there were about 30-35 of us or so.)This me and my homes/ghetto superstar who is about as ghetto as, well, about as ghetto as I am. Which is pretty 'burbs. Great guy. Later in the evening we got the fire roaring and pretty much sat there and laughed at the Koreans who were with us. They don't do campfires here so it was quite a novelty. We also did a marshmallow roast which was also quite the novelty. They tried roasting them on a huge blaze, only to have them burst into flame... to which their solution was to drag the marshmallow in the dirt to stop the burning. Needless to say, not many marshmallows were eaten. One bright lad even dreamed up this contraption:Which consists of a plastic coated paper cup on a stick, with a marshmallow inside. His little contraption ended up looking like this:It was good laughs. Us marshmallow pros waited until the embers could roast our 'mallows to perfection and we made s'mores! Oh man, they were good. It was good to just chill around a fire even though it was not like back home.

We even had some Korean-style action when this unlucky ride crashed into this unlucky pole just down the road. Some liquer was involved, as was alot of screaming and taking off before the police arrived. Oh, Korea....

We played some Uno, munched on some late night chicken and then crashed on the floor (not so comfortable). We awoke bright and early (and exhausted), ate some breaky, chilled in the sun and then headed back to the city.

Not much like Canadian camping but it was a great escape and a decent attempt at recreating a Canadian institution. We're really enjoying hanging with some of the people here and now with winter fast approaching are glad for the company during the frigid months. Good times in Ulsan!

One Year

2006-11-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

One year today this crazy couple tied the knot. What a year. 12 months, 5000+ miles of open road (or sky) behind us, 6 countries, thousands of memories, the odd tear, 0 kids, dozens of new friends, and a whole lot of smiles.... and we're still going strong. I love you baby!

November 11

2006-11-10T01:52:00.000-08:00

In Canada and the U.S. Novemeber 11th is a sombre holiday where we remember the men and women who gave their lives in global conflicts. We remember the price that was paid for our peace.

In Korea, Novemeber 11th has a slightly different celebration. Novemeber 11th is Pepero Day! Some say that is is the equivalent of Valentine's Day back home but I must say that it is far more ingenious. Valentine's Day back home is a consumer holiday shrouded by the pretense of love. Buy your sweetheart candy because this will show her you love her. Candy makers wanted to sell more candy so they gave us a reason to buy mass quantities once a year. Same thing for Halloween.

Koreans are further along in their understanding of consumerism. Why bother making some pretense about love to sell your product? In Korea they have realized that people will buy your product for no other reason than because you tell them to. So on November 11th people buy these Pepero sticks and give them to each other. Why Novemeber 11th? Because the date, 11/11 resembles four Pepero sticks. For no other reason. Ingenious I say. The power of consumerism is truly astounding.

So at school today, because it is Pepero Day tomorrow we were bombarded with chocolate covered sticks... and I am pretty sure it was quite muted because today wasn't actually Pepero Day. Not that I'm complaining, kids giving adults candy is quite the novelty to me! So we now have snacks for a couple months... including a monster Pepero stick that I got from one of my students. Here are Nolana and I with our stash.

So on this fine holiday I wish you all a happy.... Pepero Day! May all your dreams come true as you buy candy and support mega corporations! Oh yeah, and remember those who died.

Times are a changing

2006-11-08T04:54:00.000-08:00

This week the lunar calender officially declared it "winter" and I am pretty sure whoever designed that thing knew what he was doing. Instantly the temperature plummetted. 2 weeks ago we were hitting highs of 25 with lows of 15 or so and even last week was reasonable with day time temps of 20 or so.... and then winter hit. Instantly we dropped to highs of 10-12 and lows around 0. It's cold! This might be no big deal to you Saskatchewanites that have had snow for weeks now but we have been existing in high temps that all of a sudden changed. The bottom just dropped out. And those Siberian winds... they sound scary!

But to warm our insides while the outsides freeze, our school decided on winter holidays and we get 11 days at the end of December! Woo hoo! So we are going to spend both Christmas and New Years in.... Vietnam. We've been wanting to go there for some time so now that we have an extended break we're off. Finalizing flights now. Dreaming of that should keep me warm and get me through the next month and a half.

Weekend Redemption

2006-11-06T02:14:00.000-08:00

First off, sorry for the delay. You know it's getting bad when your wife starts slagging you in the comment section. That's bad.

Our week... well, it sucked. Seriously. A couple of seriously crappy days where you could cut the tension at school with a knife. A serious lack of communication coupled with a culture barrier and their desire to rip us off of holidays didn't put us in a great mood. Guess work can't always be roses. Friday we took off with our oldest kindegarten kids (7 korean age, 5-6 real age) for an overnight trip in Gyeongju (yeah, they take 150 6 year olds overnight - who does that???). We had declined the option of staying overnight with them because we had plans to do Costco this weekend... and they we weren't going to do it for kicks and giggles. So we went for the afternoon with them and had a bunch of fun with them. A bit of education....

And a bit of play!Fall was there in all her glory and we enjoyed getting outdoors... and we always love the history that is just lying around Gyeongju, waiting for you to stumble across it.The 2nd picture is of Nolana with one of the kindegarten teachers, Bora. She is doing English lessons with us (mostly Nolana) once a week which is kinda cool. Getting to know her alot better, not just our school selves.

Saturday was our much anticipated trip to Costco. About 15 of us took the church bus up to Daegu and indulged ourselves in the visual sight of a store chalk full of Western goodies. By the way Nolana took pictures you would think Costco was a tourist attraction. We ate much cheap pizza and then spread out, each one looking for the precious items on their list. We met back a couple hours later, pleased as punch.

Carts full we got it all into the bus somehow...And then we got all of us back in for the ride back.We found many of our goodies that we wanted plus some. Here's our haul.The highlights include cheap cheese, granola, granola bars, soft tortilla shells and cinnamon buns which were so good that they are now half gone!

That evening a bunch of us went out to a coffee house (a real one like back home!) where we chilled and I learned how to play Korean chess.

It's simliar to the chess we all know but more complex, different pieces with different moves and harder to recognize pieces (they are all just Chinese characters) but it was great fun to just chill and pllay games.

So the weekend redeemed the rest of the week. Sunday we went to church and then just chilled around the house, catching up on stuff that needed to be done and watching TV. It left us ready to meet another week. Can't complain about that.

On the Home Front

2006-10-29T01:30:00.000-08:00

We had big plans this weekend to head off to Andong and the traditional Korean folk villiages there but when our alarm rang at 6:30 in the morning getting up didn't seem like such a good idea. So we slept in and stayed in Ulsan for the weekend... and it was really good.

Saturday we went for a nice hike in Ulsan Grand Park. It's a gorgeous park right next to us, we love going there but we haven't done any of the hiking there so we decided to. It was kinda like home, up in the hills with trees all around. Except when you came to a clearing you saw this slightly odd sight:

Even though you were in the middle of the hills surrounded by the wonderful nature, city life was just a skip and a hop away. Kinda an odd sight and feeling. Also, we were reminded that this was indeed Korea and not Canada by the graves sprinkled throughout the hills.Just small graves with a small stone marker in a clearing or on the hillside. Not something you normally see in Canada. Near the top we also happened onto another sight you don't normally see in the Canadian forests or hilltops. A gym. Of sorts.Spots for stretching, decline sit up benches, weight benches, skip ropes, massive hula hoops and a bunch of ajummas (means married woman but is mostly used for older women) doing their exercises. So Nolana decided to join them.Kinda crazy but we hear they're pretty common. Dar's.... gyms.... in 'dem hills.

On Sunday we went to church and then went out to lunch with the couple we had met the last time and some other people. It was so good to just hang out with friends, laugh and joke and enjoy other people's company. A Kiwi girl who's almost done her term of duty here, a super cool black dude (it's NOT offensive to call them black!) from South Carolina with the slow drawl and dreams of catfish and deep fried food, and another Canadian fresh off the boat. Good times.

After lunch we hit a board games room. I had heard of them but had never visited. You pay for your time there and can pick from a wide variety of games to play. So we played Settlers of Catan. Who knew we could feed our fix even in Korea!! It was just like old times and Nolana even won. Some things don't change. A neat idea minus the noisy hammers that most tables were using to "bonk" the loser of the game, especially when it is the funny thing to get the foreigners to bonk the loser. We bonked at least a half dozen kids.

Another good weekend... and the next one is our first Costco trip. Oh yeah, Costco is in Korea and it has all sorts of amazing things like cheese and hamburger and tortilla shells.... oh man, so good!

Something's Fishy

2006-10-27T04:16:00.000-07:00

I have been converted... at least partially.

In Korea, a favorite snack/dessert is.... red beans. In summer red bean paste goes on ice shavings, it it the filling for most pastries and donuts, you can get stewed red beans from the roadside vendors as a snack and now (because it is fall) you can bean filled fish cakes. Not real fish cakes, but a deep-fried snack shaped like a fish.
I used to disdain biting into a pastry only to find it was filled with bean paste. "Bean is NOT a dessert," said I while chucking my pastry in the trash. After many a mistaken bite, the bean has got ahold of me. I quite enjoy the fish. Some are filled with bean, some with a lemony cream filling which I still admit is better but I now enjoy munching on a bean filled fish. And I don't mind it in a sugary donut. I buy the little fish for a snack every now and again when I walk by. I'm hooked.

Happy Birthday Baby!

2006-10-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

It's my baby's birthday. This cute little gaffer made it all the way to 24! And as you can see she never lost her sweet tooth.

Even here in Korea, the land where rice cakes are considered sweet she manages to keep her stock of "treats". I love you baby.

I am glad to have married the most organized, hottest woman in the world. Oh yeah, and I guess she's pretty funny too. And generous. And thoughtlful. And did I mention beautiful ( she likes that word better than hot). Who else could put up with me every day and still smile. She makes my life a heck of alot better and continues to motivate me to better myself ( I call it nagging but she calls it bettering :) Happy birthday and I love you baby, let's do this again.

Extra pictures

2006-10-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

Picture #1 blogger wouldn't let me upload. The view up to Seokgulam grotto.
Picture #2 Blogger wouldn't let me upload. Anapji Pond.A third picture. Nolana took a good photo of the flowers and there is even a bee in the center of the one flower.

Gyeongju, Again

2006-10-22T02:42:00.000-07:00

We headed off for a weekend away to nearby Gyeongju, a weekend to get away and tear up the town... so when we arrived at 9pm Friday night we called it a night. We're pretty much ready for dentures and All Bran too.

Saturday morning, after a stop at Paris Baguette for a pastry breakfast, we headed off to Bulguska, the crown jewel of Gyeongju. It's a temple set into the mountains and at first glimpse is unique from many other temples, with a impressive fortress style wall and mountains all around.
We toured around, saw what there was to see and concluded it was pretty neat. Most of it was rebuilt in the past 4o years or so because, as the majority of all things Korean were, it was destroyed my the marauding Japanese. Those blasted Japanese!

Still alot of the stone work is the original from the Shilla empire circa. 700 AD. Then we took the bus to Seokgulam grotto which is famed for its large buddha which stands in a hall cut into the cliff and looking out on the East Sea. Didn't see the sea, can't take pictures of the Buddha, but still a nice setting and worth a peek.

The shrine/grotto is cut into the mountain, up a little bit. (Insert 1st picture blogger wouldn't let me upload). And it really does have a pretty impressive view.

Out over the valley and maybe on a clear day you could indeed see the East Sea.Just clouds on this day. We headed 'er back and on the way stopped at a folkcraft villiage where the houses were old school and lots of shops selling pottery, etc... We really like alot of the Korean pottery but unfortunately it would be a headache to get back. Still, so styling. We caught the sunset there...... and then went back to the hotel. Vegged, treated ourselves to KFC (the first American fast food we've had since we've been here), and watched Lost. What IS up with Locke... and now Desmond?

The next morning we decided to hoof it around to see some things in town. Walked through a nice forest/park where some odd fall flower was just starting to bloom.

Then we hit up Anapji Pond where the ancient palace/banquet hall sat on the man-made lake. (Insert Picture #2 Blogger wouldn't let me upload). It was relaly quite nice and we strolled around the pond. Then headed back to Ulsan. Got on the right bus this time. Rain again, like last time. And now we're tuckered and sequestered at home listening to the pouring rain. I'll try and repost the missing pics in a new post and you'll have to piece it together. I know you're bright like that.

Get me Away from Here!!

2006-10-20T02:07:00.000-07:00

We're off! Just for the weekend but we'll take what we can get. After a "slightly" difficult week where we chose to "decline" to attend some unpaid wekend events, got insulted by our boss 'cause we are so young and just felt like nothing was going right, we have decided to head to Gyeongju to get away, enjoy the fall and celebrate Nolana's impending birthday. Ah, to head to a place where school doesn't matter. Catcha on the flip side.

A Chilly 20 Degrees

2006-10-18T04:11:00.000-07:00

I went for a nice walk/jog in Grand Park this evening. Normally the park is packed with people but now that it is autumn there are less people. And the people that are there were in their sweaters and track suits. All because it is a chilly 20 degrees. At 6pm it was 22 degrees outside and when I went at 7 the park was bare. Koreans take their seasons very seriously (not a t-shirt to be found in the stores now) and this fall weather calls for sweaters. And indoor activities. For me it's finally cool enough to do anything strenuous outdoors. Crazy Koreans.

A Couple Couples, the Iron Chef, Seafood and the Green Grass that Grows All Around

2006-10-15T05:14:00.000-07:00

After a week of recovery from our trip we decided to take 'er easy here in Ulsan and it turned out to be quite the weekend.

We were set and determined to cook ourselves some Korean food. We have previously attempted to cook bibimbap and a cold cucumber-seaweed soup and both failed quite miserably. Korean food is not that easy to cook, especially with vague verbal instructions as your only guide. So this weekend we decided to attempt two dishes that we both like: a gal kuk su (of sorts) and pa'jon.

Friday night was gal kuk su night, which is simply noodles in a seafood broth with some veggies, etc... We had bought a package of seafood complete with octopus, prawns, mussels, etc... and then a sepereate batch of shellfish to add. Cooked it all up... and whadaya know it was great!Lots of seafood (which is cheap here) and great taste. We'll definately do this one again.

Saturday evening we had a dinner date with a teacher from the school and her boyfriend. She is not one of the English teachers that we work closely with but she assists in our kindy classes. We haven't hung out with any couples yet, infact I have yet to hang out with any other guys as I am the only male teacher on staff (oh for boy's night!) It was a neat evening. They are both quite nice and his English is quite good as he lived in Winnipeg for a year (of all places!). They took us out to a couple beaches including one of Ulsan's 12 scenic sights and then out for seafood soup. Which is a PILE of huge shells, a crab, small shells, etc... all stewing with veggies and spicy broth which is brought to your table all heaping huge. Yummy. Here are Bora and Min with whom we had a grand time.

Sunday we got our butts in gear and went to church, a first for us here in Ulsan. There is a church that had been reccomended to us because they had an English service. Pretty small service (about 35 or so this Sunday) and a little underwhelming (I am picky!). But some really friendly people. And church is all about people so we enjoyed ourselves. Nice to hear some worship songs (even butchered) and to hear the familiar lines of scripture being read, sent chills down my spine. We will probably be back sometime... and they do a Costco run to Daegu so we will definately be there for that to get us some good back home goodies!!

The best part of it all was meeting another great couple there. In their second year in Ulsan, both grads of the oh so familiar (at least to me) CBC in Regina and even had lived in the sketchy apartments behind the Jolly Roger as I had done with my family. Super nice and recently praying they would also meet a couple to hang out with. We had lunch with them and exchanged numbers and now we have friends!! And because he has a scooter and talked up how great they are Nolana is somehow contemplating letting me get one (miracles DO happen!).

This evening (Sunday) we tried our hand at pa'jon which is a Korean pancake of sorts that involved me gutting whole squid.

They are an ingredient in the pancake and are so cheap here, 2$ for 2 squid. So I got the job of cleaning (didn't hit the ink sac) and preparing the suckers into clean little bits.This we added to the pancake mix along with onion, carrot and what Nolana describes as "grass" which is apparently some kind of Chinese chive. Fried up, this makes pa'jon, which you dip in a little soy sauce mixed with vinegar, or in Nolana's case ALOT of soy sauce...It turned out great!! So now we know how to make 2 korean dishes and had the immense satisfaction of making our own korean food. Our confidence is restored.

So a really great weekend. Made some friends, cooked some good food, went to church and generally had a good time with each other. Who knew Ulsan could be so cool.

Philippino Conclusions

2006-10-10T04:30:00.000-07:00

So we made it safely back! Though I am not sure that it is all that exciting... right back into the routine of things. Our trip was a long haul, we really didn't have a nice itenerary because we were desperate for flights and grasped at whatever. It was tiring, we left Boracay at 12 noon and didn't arrive back in Ulsan until 9am to start work at 9:30. All in all our trip (there and back) involved 4 taxi/tricycle rides, 3 bus/van rides, 5 plane rides and 2 ferry rides. Encompassing layovers we had about 20 hours of travel each way. But all said and done... it was totally worth it to get away and experience something new. We're already looking forward to the next trip, likely in January.

As for the rest of our time in Boracay. We loved sailing and snorkelling so much we deicided to do it again the next day, new beach, some snorkelling, some sailing. Amazing. We took an underwater camera with us so maybe we got some cool pics of all the amzing underwater things we saw. The next day we just relaxed, swam, did some shopping, ate, etc... It was lovely to have some time to just relax and enjoy the beauty around us.

The last evening there we caught an amazing sunset which Boracay is famed for. It wasn't quite the quality of the pictures we had seen but we got some pretty good shots of our own we would love to share with you (in all their unaltered beauty).

The next morning we woke up to the first non-windy day where the water was still and beautiful. We stole the time for a quick dip before we headed off.We had to take a tricycle back to the departure beach and this pic gives a little glimpse to the craziness of driving in the Philippines, even on a small island like Boracay. Tricycles and motorbikes all over the place: weaving, honking, braking and driving like mad.Then our mammoth trip back which was no aided by a seriously sketchy hamburger in Manila airport. Ranked as quite potentially the worst tasting hamburger I have ever eaten and it gave Nolana some sickness. Which was just great for flying. So she felt crappy, we were seriously tired... and then we arrived back in Ulsan just in time to teach for the day! Those kids had no forewarning on what hit them! No, it was ok.

So great times, great memories. We would go back to the Philippines again as it looks like there are so many great places to explore there, I mean 7000 islands. Who knows, maybe some time in the future. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and thanks to those who keep checking this blog so faithfully and even more kudos to those of you that comment... we love hearing from everyone as it feels like a connection to back home. Kinda like we're at our kitchen table, playing Settlers, drinking the latest, greatest microbrew and chatting about what a great trip we had. Or sitting across the dinner table chowing on enchiladas. Or sitting on the deck enjoying BBQ. Or playing poker. Well, not really but the best we have. So thanks.

Sun and surf

2006-10-07T04:53:00.000-07:00

So I finally got this finicky internet to work for me again....

Nolana is off getting a massage and I am here sipping a beer on the balcony and updating you.

Our 2nd day in Boracay we decided to rent a sailboat and do some sailing and snorkelling. 20$ for 3 hours of a personal guide and boat... this cheap thing is real nice.

The boats are so darn cool and we had such a great time sitting over the waves as we sailed along. First stop was a small island with some really cool caves carved out by the water. Steep stairs down...

But the view was well worth it.The second cave you got to by crawling through a tunnel (carved out by water) which had us bent over double at times... Once there I played the part of the macho male and clambered my way over some dubious territory to the very end which was a small hole which looked out on the crystal blue ocean... really wish I had thought to bring the camera. Nolana and the guide just sat in safety and watched... secretly hoping I would fall in the water no doubt!All the islands around here are gorgeous, with jungled interior and palm fringed beaches of glistening white sand. And being on the boat you get to see them all.

Then we stopped for a bit to snorkel in the amazing coral. Tons of tropical fish, crazy coral formations. Really made me wish I had my dive certification so I could take it a step forward... I am talking maybe after our contract when we travel somewhere I will take the time and do it... it would be so cool.

While sailing the water here is so blue and really quite shallow in most places, even though you are way out from shore....

This picture either proves the blue of the ocean.... or the whiteness of Nolana's legs!!

Our last stop was a much more secluded beach (the one we are staying on is pretty touristy and tons of people). A handful of people, towering palms and miles of white sand. We walked the beach looking for shells and taking pictures and then went for a swim.

It was absolutely incredible. Open sea, blue water, white sand. The perfect tropical day.

Also we have thuroughly enjoyed the feast here. In Korea we have good food but it is all the same... Korean. Here we got to enjoy our first hamburger in months, Italian food, Mexican, etc... what a treat! The things we take for granted at home. I've been enjoying steak and eggs for breakfast, mango smoothies... so great. We will be spolied when we go back.

Well, that's an update on us. I will probably post one more on the Philippines as we got some good pics... and who knows how this will end!

Philippino Beginnings

2006-10-05T02:53:00.000-07:00

Hey all, they DO have internet here! So an update on how we're faring on the island.

We took the red-eye bus and arrived in Seoul about 6:00 in the morning (5 hrs or so). Our flight departed Seoul at 8:10 to arrive in Manila 3 1/2 hours later... no flight sickness this time! Manila (or the really little part we saw of it lived up to its billing of dirty and worth skipping. We had about a 3 hr wait in the airport for our flight and it ended up being a 4 hour wait. Thank goodness for the laptop. We arrived an hour later in Kalibo to a very tiny airport.Hooked on to a "vacation planner" type and got us our van ride to Caticlan which is a solid 1 and half hour ride up windy jungle roads... and by this time it is dark. Which actually didn't bother us much because by this time we had been travelling for about 16 hours. We arrived and had to take a boat out to the boat to take us to the island. Now it is dark, quite windy and we are shuffled into a sketchy little wooden skiff with all our bags. It kinda felt like a boat person being smuggled into a country... except a little less serious.

Nolana described it as terrifying but I might add might opinion that she is rather wantonly bandying that word... I found it rather exciting! So under the cover of dark we made it to Boracay, found a dingy little room for the night, ate dinner and crashed.

The next morning we had a rough start. A horrible breakfast served by little people and us not really being happy with the rooms we were seeing... just not quite what we expected. But then it all turned for us. We found this sweet little cottage for $40 a night.

A great big balcony for sitting (which I am doing now). A few short steps from the beach, just what I was imagining when I saw myself here.

Now this whole time it has been quite stormy and windy (it IS the tail end of their rainy season) so the beach has been less beautiful than normal.. but, it's still not shabby!

We spent the day swimming a bit, listening to Bob Marley and Jack Johnson on our porch, sipping fruit drinks and thoroughly enjoying ourselves by relaxing. Took a long evening walk on the beach, stopped on the way back for crepes and listened to Jack Johnson covers with a distinct reggae flavor. Loving the island, laid back vibe.

So we drifted off to sleep.... and early morning were awoken by rolling thunder. It was raining. By the time we awoke it was all done and we were ready for a day of sun and water... but, that's for another time!!