Winter is upon us

Where did November go? As the year is coming to a close it's so hard to believe we've been here almost 4 months. Not much has happened but the weather is changing as Michael and I are preparing for our first real winter. We now own more sweaters than we can count and are learning the art of layering. Tights under pants (or two pairs of tights with a skirt) is a new norm for me and I live in my boots. We had our first snow about a month ago and it was beautiful! I was amazed at how much snow fell (and stayed) in one night but this nothing of what's to come.

But enough about snow.

Here are some pictures of our trip to Gyeryong, a mountain right outside of Daejeon. It has many peaks and a beautiful temple, Donhaksa. Michael's coworker was our wonderful guide and we hiked for 6 hours! Afterwards we had a wonderful lunch of Korean bbq and passed out as soon as we arrived home. It was a great Saturday.

With our new friend, David, at the Brother Sister Pagoda

This is a temple located halfway up the mountain. Ceremonies are performed for hikers stopping for a rest. The monks live up here!

Water from the mountain. It was very cold and pure!

Highest peak!

Parts of the trail were iced over. This isn't even the worst of it.

Above the entrance to the temple

Seoul: a month ago

We should all probably just accept that my posts will be a month behind. I want to put that out there so there's no preconceived notion that I'm a efficient and consistent blogger. :) With that being said...

Last month we celebrated our 2 year anniversary in Seoul. What? I'm still pinching myself. I cannot believe in 2 years we went from this:

to this:

It only takes 1 hour on the train to travel to Seoul. We made the most of our Saturday and hit some major touristy spots. First there was the Insadong traditional Korean market.

Crazy bubbles guy-he was a hit

So crowded!

This is an ice cream cone...

Then there was the Gyeongbokgong Palace.

And finally the N Seoul Tower.

It was truly a wonderful weekend and we can't wait to go back to Seoul!

Chuseok

A few weeks ago we celebrated Chuseok, which is the Korean Thanksgiving. The Koreans celebrate Chuseok just like we Americans do with food and family. Michael and I spent our Chuseok in Busan with our Korean family, other native English teachers. Busan is located on the southern coast of South Korea.

It took about 3 hours to travel by train and we spent 4 days there. Michael and I stayed in a hostel in the Haeundae Beach area. One day we went to the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple,  or the temple by the sea. 

It was absolutely beautiful! The architecture was amazing the details were as beautiful as the whole scene. One thing I found very fascinating were all of the tiny Buddha statues that were hidden in various places.

I'm not sure of the significance but I loved it! I'm hoping this is a tradition done at all temples.

The rest of our Chuseok was spent hanging out with friends and spending time on the beach. One night we rented boats and floated around the bay for awhile.

 This is Elizabeth. She teaches in a different city.

 Jessica, Laura, and Elizabeth all teach in Gwangju

 This was the self-appointed boat chaperone. If you went out too far, he attached his boat to yours and pulled you back in.

 Our friends went out too far.

The weather was so warm and the water was perfect! It was a very relaxing time for us.

Apartment tour

Here's our apartment! 

So life in Daejeon is starting to feel relatively normal. We have a daily routine and know our way around our neighborhood, Yuseong. We live a minute's walk from the west river and nightly take long walks on the track running parallel to it. Michael is teaching at Nueon High School and I am teaching at Yuseong Girls' High School. We each have multiple co-teachers but Michael's main co-teacher is JP and mine is Lynn. They are so great to us and have helped us more than they know! Whether it was opening a bank account, navigating the bus system or finding an amazing Korean BBQ restaurant, they've been there for us whenever we need them. 

Each day brings different joys and challenges, as some of you may have seen from my Facebook statuses. We still know very little Korean but are trying our best. I'm hoping to learn more Korean on my own but it is a very difficult language.  Despite some language barriers and cultural differences, Michael and I are really loving it here! 

More adventure updates soon!

This is soooo late!

Hi all! I know it's been awhile but here are some pictures from our orientation field trip last week! 

Playing awesome drums!

We weren't very good but it was fun.

                                      

Team 1 making pencil cases.

kimchi pots

Entrance to someone's home 

We visited an elementary school in Jeonju.

Next post will be a tour of our minimalistic apartment. Get excited!