A Cartoon Baby
A designer
An animation character
Larry King
Matt Damon
Maculay Kulkin
Andriy Shevchenko (A forward on Chelsea)
Rachel Mcadams
Monday, March 26, 2007
What do these have in common?
Donald Duck
A Cartoon Baby
A designer
An animation character
Larry King
Matt Damon
Maculay Kulkin
Andriy Shevchenko (A forward on Chelsea)
Rachel Mcadams
A Cartoon Baby
A designer
An animation character
Larry King
Matt Damon
Maculay Kulkin
Andriy Shevchenko (A forward on Chelsea)
Rachel Mcadams
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Korean Efficiency
Just a quick note from me (Emily) to share with you a marvel that occurred in our apartment complex this morning. I was just heading out the door to go to the gym - (I know me at the gym, crazy!) When I heard our doorbell ring. I answered it and there was a man and lady standing there. The lady was holding some sort of meter reader machine and the man had a gas meter in his hand as well as a plastic milk crate.
Usually when official looking people are at the door, I just let them in and let them do whatever it is they are there to do because I know that I won't understand them if they try to explain it to me. So I followed my normal protocol.
I kept getting ready and the man and lady proceeded to in about 2 minutes, no word of a lie, completely remove our old gas meter, put up the new one, configure the numbers, clean the wall behind the meter, and test the gas by turning on our gas stove! The man stood on top of the milk crate to reach the gas meter and he was soooo fast! I then signed some thing saying they had completed the job and they were gone!
It was like a flash, I was very impressed, and now we have a shiny new gas meter! I left after that for the gym and when I got back about an hour later they were heading out of the elevator, finished all of the apartments. Now for those of you who don't know, we live in a MASSIVE apartment complex. I think that there are probably 200 units in my building alone. These people had replaced all the gas meters that fast!
Anyway, I thought that was pretty frickin' amazing!! When Korean people want to be, they are crazy efficient! Yep. That's my story. Thanks for reading!
Emily
Usually when official looking people are at the door, I just let them in and let them do whatever it is they are there to do because I know that I won't understand them if they try to explain it to me. So I followed my normal protocol.
I kept getting ready and the man and lady proceeded to in about 2 minutes, no word of a lie, completely remove our old gas meter, put up the new one, configure the numbers, clean the wall behind the meter, and test the gas by turning on our gas stove! The man stood on top of the milk crate to reach the gas meter and he was soooo fast! I then signed some thing saying they had completed the job and they were gone!
It was like a flash, I was very impressed, and now we have a shiny new gas meter! I left after that for the gym and when I got back about an hour later they were heading out of the elevator, finished all of the apartments. Now for those of you who don't know, we live in a MASSIVE apartment complex. I think that there are probably 200 units in my building alone. These people had replaced all the gas meters that fast!
Anyway, I thought that was pretty frickin' amazing!! When Korean people want to be, they are crazy efficient! Yep. That's my story. Thanks for reading!
Emily
Monday, March 12, 2007
Just General Stuff
School has begun for both Emily & I. Emily is knees-deep in IBOLT and has begun a rather heady semester, with nearly 20 credit hours (19.5 to be precise) and is going full steam ahead. She works hard during the day, which is good of her. I'm pretty sure that my experience would be more procrastinatory, should our places be switched.
In the evenings, we've just been relaxing as of late. After nearly two months of holidays, getting up again has taken a little bit of getting used to. We've been heading to bed early (between 9 and 10), but it's been nice to be in a regular schedule again.
The weather has been getting nicer. Tomorrow, it's supposed to be about 15 degrees here. The next couple of months should be absolutely gorgeous, before we head into the searing heat and insufferable humidity of summer.
I started at two new schools last week, and they both seem to be really good. The best part by far is the students. I teach 18 grade 7 classes a week, 3 grade 8 classes a week and occasional teacher's classes. I love interacting with the students and they've got really good attitudes. It is only the second week of class, so that may change. Hopefully it doesn't.
The random holidays have also presented themselves quite nicely. Last week, I had Tuesday off. This week, I've been finished by 12 or 1 on Monday & Tuesday. I've got no complaints at all about this - love the extra time off!
Next week, I go to an English camp for the week. An English camp is easy for me (another person leads the camp and I just assist) but it's a lot of work for the students. They've got class from about 8 AM until 10 or 11 PM. They're long days, but it's been fun in the past. I'm looking forward to it. It's out in the country, so the weather suits the environment well.
Church is going well. We're becoming more involved, but not too much so. We want to be careful that what we do, we do well.
Anyway, everything is going well. The weather is getting better, schools are going well and our home life is good. I've been really aware of how much God has blessed us - we have good lives! More than that, though, is the hope of the life beyond this. If life now can be this good, how much better is life going to be once you get rid of all the sucky things? Pretty dang good, I'm expecting. Pretty dang good.
In the evenings, we've just been relaxing as of late. After nearly two months of holidays, getting up again has taken a little bit of getting used to. We've been heading to bed early (between 9 and 10), but it's been nice to be in a regular schedule again.
The weather has been getting nicer. Tomorrow, it's supposed to be about 15 degrees here. The next couple of months should be absolutely gorgeous, before we head into the searing heat and insufferable humidity of summer.
I started at two new schools last week, and they both seem to be really good. The best part by far is the students. I teach 18 grade 7 classes a week, 3 grade 8 classes a week and occasional teacher's classes. I love interacting with the students and they've got really good attitudes. It is only the second week of class, so that may change. Hopefully it doesn't.
The random holidays have also presented themselves quite nicely. Last week, I had Tuesday off. This week, I've been finished by 12 or 1 on Monday & Tuesday. I've got no complaints at all about this - love the extra time off!
Next week, I go to an English camp for the week. An English camp is easy for me (another person leads the camp and I just assist) but it's a lot of work for the students. They've got class from about 8 AM until 10 or 11 PM. They're long days, but it's been fun in the past. I'm looking forward to it. It's out in the country, so the weather suits the environment well.
Church is going well. We're becoming more involved, but not too much so. We want to be careful that what we do, we do well.
Anyway, everything is going well. The weather is getting better, schools are going well and our home life is good. I've been really aware of how much God has blessed us - we have good lives! More than that, though, is the hope of the life beyond this. If life now can be this good, how much better is life going to be once you get rid of all the sucky things? Pretty dang good, I'm expecting. Pretty dang good.
Friday, March 02, 2007
More Like Guidelines...
Korea is what you might call a nouveau riche country (pardon my French). It's only been in the last 50 years or so that wealth has come here, and automobiles with it. Finally, the common man (and common woman) is able to afford a family size, family style motor vehicle.
Unfortunately, traffic laws are somewhat different here. A few of the ones to whet your appetite:
If you are caught at a red light, you must wait three rotations before you can go. Traffic does not flow North/South and East/West at the same time. Instead, northbound traffic gets a turning light and may go straight. It then goes clockwise around the intersection. Same thing for a pedestrian - only once every four lights can you cross.
And you want to wait for those lights before you do. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. Perhaps they do on paper (I'm not really sure) but they certainly don't in practice. In a way, it's refreshing. Jaywalking? People don't stop five blocks back for you. Instead, you stand on the yellow line in the middle of the road as traffic zips by you in both directions until there's a clear spot.
Emergency vehicles do not have the right of way, or if they do they have the same rules as pedestrians - wait for a clear spot and go fast.
Many other rules that Canadians would consider strict (such as stopping when the light is red, not blaring your horn as you zip through ten seconds later) are a little less strict here. Less like laws and more like...guidelines.
I figured out exactly how much like guidelines they were when driving in Jeju. Stop at a minor intersection's red light? Get honked at as people blow by you.
Going 50 km in a 30 km/h zone? Get blown by as people do upwards of 70 km/h.
Stopping for pedestrians? See above.
In order to (genuinely) drive more safely, I began to obey the guidelines. Minor red lights were suggestions. Pedestrians were just friends you hadn't met. Speed limits were possibilities.
Except for the posted speed cameras. Korea has photo-radar equivalent equipment posted on the highways and in cities. They've got signs warning you about it. Photo Police Enforcement - 350 meters. 250 meters. 100 meters. It'll only check your speed as you go under it, and you can see it a kilometer back and even if you couldn't, everyone else is laying on their brakes. So you go from 100 down to 50, under the camera and back again.
It was actually quite fun.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Happy March!
Well, it's officially March now for us over in Korea land. Everywhere else too, actually, so that's not that special. We'll move on.
Lots has been happening and, again, I've been negligent in maintaining sufficient informational flowage. I shall begin with our holiday.
Emily & I, after returning from our three week vacation in Canada, went for one week in Jeju (the Korean Hawaii). This was due to the wonderful gift of a timeshare from Emily's grandma. We flew down on Saturday morning and returned last Saturday. The weather was beautiful - only one half day of rain, and clear blue skies and warm weather for the remainder. We walked along the ocean, went on a tour, rented a car, took the bus and basically had a grand time.
The highlights:
This is a pork meal made from the famous black pig of Jeju. This particular pork (often called "crap pork" in Korean) is only found on Jeju. This pig has a particular story and reason why it has such a...familiar taste.
In past times (and present times too, I believe), a family would have a room in their house on Jeju island. Traditionally, this would be the bathroom but here is where the black pig would live. I'm unsure as to the actual arrangements, but you would basically go into the room, do your business and the pig would eat your...business. Once the pig was of age, you would eat it. The restaurants are everywhere and the meat is actually quite good.
I love it when food has a story.
We did a lot of walking along the ocean. It wasn't quite warm enough to swim in though, so we contented ourselves with sticking our feet in the water. Additionally, all Korean coast is still a protected border so they shut swimming down for the cooler months of the year.
We went on a tour one day and saw a ton of different things. Here's a freshwater waterfall going into saltwater, which is apparently rare. Who knew?
On the tour, actually, was one of the most hostile Korean people we've ever met. She was our tour guide who apparently resented the fact that we didn't speak enough Korean or pay enough attention to her. She was strange, and certainly not representative of the rest of the nation. We did meet a very nice couple from England, though, and that definitely made the tour worth it.
We rented a car on Friday and went to this big hedge maze. On our way out of the maze, these girls came up and asked to take a picture with us. We owe our public.
One of the things about going on holidays as a couple is that most of your pictures end up being either one of you or the two of you like this.
Our apartment room was great - it was a two bedroom with enough of a kitchen that we could do a bunch of our meals there. It looked out on the water and we were able to watch the sun set (one of my favorite things) and fall asleep seeing the stars (another of my favorite things).
Oh, yeah, we also made it to Italy. This is Emily at the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
And America. This is me with the Statue of Liberty.
Actually, we didn't make it to those countries. We just went to Mini Land, which has a whole bunch of world wonder type things on about a 1/18 scale. We could have gone to Mini Mini Land, which has the same things but only smaller. (I'm not kidding.)
Here's a picture of our accommodations. "Jeju Tovice Condominium" was our home base for all of our Jejuian exploration.
Finally, on our last day at the airport, I accomplished the last thing I wanted to do in Jeju - pick an orange off of a tree. I'd never seen oranges growing on trees before, so it was wonderful to see them growing in mid-February. The trees were everywhere, especially on the north side of the island. (Over the course of the week, we drove the circumference of the island once, and the diameter three times.) Here is my crowning achievement.
It was a wonderful trip and an excellent way to end our winter vacation. Thanks a ton, Papa & Tutu!
Lots has been happening and, again, I've been negligent in maintaining sufficient informational flowage. I shall begin with our holiday.
Emily & I, after returning from our three week vacation in Canada, went for one week in Jeju (the Korean Hawaii). This was due to the wonderful gift of a timeshare from Emily's grandma. We flew down on Saturday morning and returned last Saturday. The weather was beautiful - only one half day of rain, and clear blue skies and warm weather for the remainder. We walked along the ocean, went on a tour, rented a car, took the bus and basically had a grand time.
The highlights:
This is a pork meal made from the famous black pig of Jeju. This particular pork (often called "crap pork" in Korean) is only found on Jeju. This pig has a particular story and reason why it has such a...familiar taste.
In past times (and present times too, I believe), a family would have a room in their house on Jeju island. Traditionally, this would be the bathroom but here is where the black pig would live. I'm unsure as to the actual arrangements, but you would basically go into the room, do your business and the pig would eat your...business. Once the pig was of age, you would eat it. The restaurants are everywhere and the meat is actually quite good.
I love it when food has a story.
We did a lot of walking along the ocean. It wasn't quite warm enough to swim in though, so we contented ourselves with sticking our feet in the water. Additionally, all Korean coast is still a protected border so they shut swimming down for the cooler months of the year.
We went on a tour one day and saw a ton of different things. Here's a freshwater waterfall going into saltwater, which is apparently rare. Who knew?
On the tour, actually, was one of the most hostile Korean people we've ever met. She was our tour guide who apparently resented the fact that we didn't speak enough Korean or pay enough attention to her. She was strange, and certainly not representative of the rest of the nation. We did meet a very nice couple from England, though, and that definitely made the tour worth it.
We rented a car on Friday and went to this big hedge maze. On our way out of the maze, these girls came up and asked to take a picture with us. We owe our public.
One of the things about going on holidays as a couple is that most of your pictures end up being either one of you or the two of you like this.
Our apartment room was great - it was a two bedroom with enough of a kitchen that we could do a bunch of our meals there. It looked out on the water and we were able to watch the sun set (one of my favorite things) and fall asleep seeing the stars (another of my favorite things).
Oh, yeah, we also made it to Italy. This is Emily at the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
And America. This is me with the Statue of Liberty.
Actually, we didn't make it to those countries. We just went to Mini Land, which has a whole bunch of world wonder type things on about a 1/18 scale. We could have gone to Mini Mini Land, which has the same things but only smaller. (I'm not kidding.)
Here's a picture of our accommodations. "Jeju Tovice Condominium" was our home base for all of our Jejuian exploration.
Finally, on our last day at the airport, I accomplished the last thing I wanted to do in Jeju - pick an orange off of a tree. I'd never seen oranges growing on trees before, so it was wonderful to see them growing in mid-February. The trees were everywhere, especially on the north side of the island. (Over the course of the week, we drove the circumference of the island once, and the diameter three times.) Here is my crowning achievement.
It was a wonderful trip and an excellent way to end our winter vacation. Thanks a ton, Papa & Tutu!
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