korea?!!

Janny's Birthday! 26 in the US but 27 in Korea

2008-09-03T21:41:00.007+09:00

A Kiely family tradition is getting a Hostess Cupcake in your lunch box on your birthday. My mom sent Janny a couple in our last care package. Janny happens to share the same birthday with our co-worker Sara. We had a mini party after lunch today.
Janny's favorite student Mimi made her a birthday heart. She is one of the cutest girls in the world. Wish we could take her home or that you could meet her. She's even more cute in real life.
We went to Whoopee's for Janny's Birthday dinner. It proclaims to be an Irish Pub, but it only serves Italian food. It's perched on a hill and has a great view of the city. We first went there with our friend's Megan and Curtis who we miss tremendously.
From left to Right: Rany's husband, Rany, Eva, Arin, and the Birthday girl. These are some of our favorite people in Korea. Rany and Arin used to work at Wonderland, until they wised up and got out of there. They are currently studying for the rigorous public school exams so they can be teachers in the public school system. Eva still works at Wonderland- she's great.

Janny got some great presents: A raspberry rice wine set, cookies, and cards.
View from the restaurant- Woobang Tower
Rany and her husband

World Body Painting Festival

2008-09-01T21:45:00.008+09:00

Kinda Cool- Kinda Weird

Korean Beaches- not Thailand but really nice

2008-08-23T21:43:00.012+09:00

Today we went to Busan, a large coastal city in Korea. We plan on spending more time there- it's beautiful and full of life. These are some pictures from Haeundae Beach. I guess it gets pretty busy in the heat of the summer, but today wasn't too busy. Unlike us Westerners, most Koreans don't like being tan so they hide under the thousands of umbrellas. It was a different scene than Thailand with the absence of the leathered skin Swedes..

I don't know how we found such a large strip of open sand.

Been awhile..... vacationed in Thailand

2008-08-21T20:51:00.013+09:00

Cooking Class: Thai food is good and now we can cook it....hopefully. After every questions asked, our instructor would say, "Same, same but different." What does that mean?

Some would say we rode scooters. I prefer saying motorcycles. Semantics.
Visit to Monkey Beach: They seem docile.... facade. I wish I had a video of this woman that got attacked. The little devil came close to ripping of her swimsuit. It would have been an instant You Tube sensation- oh well.

Janny had one goal for this trip- ride an elephant.... done and done.
Here's some random pictures. Thailand is not an ugly place.

Gotta love Europeans!

It's the little things....

2008-04-19T16:35:00.010+09:00

Most apartments in Korea have roof top access. They serve as a place to grow plants, do laundry, and dry seed weed (I learned this the other day when I went up to dry our sheets and had to share the line with one of our neighbors.) We've started really enjoying going on the roof. It's quiet, calming and has a good view. I especially like going up on Saturday mornings because I usually see a handlful of older Korean ladies watering their plants or hanging clothes. One guy even has a dog run rooftop dog run.

Donna visits the Peninsula

2008-04-13T08:49:00.017+09:00

Janny's mom visited Korea last week. We had a great time. It was so fun to see her. We got to show her all our favorite restaurants and sites. Donna is a great explorer as well. Everyday she would come home with some great story about who she had meet and what she had done. Donna loved Korea and Korea loved Donna. Here's some highlights:She's here!
We prepared her a Korean care package equipped with a Dust Storm protection mask, travel books, and maps.
Donna prepares for her first bite of Kimchi- it's a big moment in anybody's life.
I'm not kidding Donna made friends everywhere she went- instantly. These ladies saw us in a parking lot, gave us candy and tissues, and then started hugging Donna. Our friend Curtis is in the background giggling.

Donna strategically placing a coin on this rock for good luck.

Hello Again

2008-04-13T08:36:00.004+09:00

We're alive! We have our computer back, and Janny has finally shaken her month long sicknesses. Here's the final tally from the Dust Storm- pink eye twice, two colds, 2 week long mouth ulcers. She's always boasted about her incredible white blood cells...Chinese dust appear to be her kryptonite. In any event, we will try to keep the blog updated.

Rough Week

2008-03-09T09:47:00.005+09:00

Sorry we haven't posted in awhile- it's been a challenging week. I'm going to update you and complain a little bit. First, our computer crashed. Trying to figure out how to get it repaired or totaled has been a little difficult.

Next- last Saturday Janny woke up with the left side of her lip swollen. The swelling went down by the afternoon, but she developed two large blisters on the inside of her mouth. On Sunday, some canker sores were added to the mix. She then developed huge bumps on the back of her tongue. Her tongue looked like a bullfrogs back. She has only been able to eat rice all week. We went to the emergency room one night and the doctor didn't even look inside her mouth and handed us some ointment. One of our coworkers mentioned she may have contracted it from the dust storms. ...Dust storm? Apparently, every spring Korea and Japan get smothered by "Yellow Dust" from China. Winds carry dust from the Gobi desert across China picking up pollution from Chinese cities and bringing to Korea and Japan. The dust is toxic and causes 1.8 million people in Korea to get sick- Janny apparently one of the casualties. We think the pollution and heavy metals in the air caused her multiple mouth ulcers.

On Friday night I woke up about 4 in the morning with the flu. I was up most of that night doing flu things. We went to the hospital the next day to get Janny's mouth looked at and some medicine for me. I got a shoot for my throat- not sure why. Janny got some more ointment.

Icing on the cake- The new school year started the first week of March. We graduated our older classes and got brand new ones. Our director added more classes to our schedule- about 40- 40 minute classes a week. In the morning, Janny has 5 and 6 year olds who don't know any English. I have 4 year olds. The kids are really cute but require a lot of energy- energy we were clearly lacking last week.

It's Sunday morning now. I feel a little better and Janny's mouth is slowly improving.

Backaches in Korea

2008-02-23T17:17:00.031+09:00

My chronic backache flared up last week so I went to a chiropractor who came highly recommended by a friend. He is a nice man who speaks little English. The first session took about an hour, he did a basic back adjustment and a painful deep tissue massages. The next session was heavy on the Chinese medicine and took about two hours. ...I am struggling to explain the experience, but at times it was really funny, really painful, and... it seemed to have helped my back. Janny gets headaches from time to time so... she gave it a try and I asked in broken Korean if I could take pictures.Janny after session one.
This is cupping. Not real sure what it does. Wikipedia probably has some answers. He explained in broken English that darker bruises are worse- like most bruises I suppose.

He told us we have bad blood: solution- get it out. He made tiny pricks with his pricker machine and stuck the cups on it. It's that simple- no more bad blood.

The evidence of stagnant blood- I guess. Does this picture quiet all you nay-sayers about cupping treatment?
Our doctor pours alcohol on Janny's back in preparation for the fire treatment, a most unusual and dangerous muscle relaxant.

Janny's legs couldn't take the heat and were a little sweaty by the end.
"I think I'm dead..." Janny after fire treatment.
Not quite done yet... Doc. prepares for medieval neck adjustment.

Absolutely haggard after session two, Janny posses with her new friend. I wish we new his name.
These giant hickeys last a couple of days.

Not Janny- that's Gwyneth Paltrow with cupping bruises. Gwyneth believes in it and so do we.

Our Day with Michael

2008-02-11T22:36:00.000+09:00

Our break was great... we slept in, walked around downtown, read, worked out and met the sweetest Korean man at the gym. He came up to us just as we started our workout and said, "I will take you to a temple." He didn't pose it as a question so we just looked at each other and said, "Sure, what time?"

Michael ended up taking us to two different temples. The first one had a giant statue of Buddha and different temples spread out around it.

There were colorful lanterns all over, I loved the them

The second place he told us would be about a 30 minute hike, but we'd have to hurry before it was dark. He pointed up to the top of the mountain and said "We climb that," as he walked ahead of us. It was seriously straight up. The only thing that kept me going was all the little, old, Korean grandmothers I saw on their way down.

Once we got to the top it was incredible! You could sense how sacred the area was.

When we got to the bottom Michael offered to take us out for Ox blood soup... fortunately, the plan changed and we had some other soup with strange seafood instead. After dinner we thought we were heading home, but instead Michael wanted to show us his office. We think he's a Korean IRS worker. We sat at his desk and had tea... a little awkward but still great. We were the only people in the whole building just drinking tea at 9pm on Saturday night. At one point Ryan asked, to break the silence, "So is this where you type?" ...great question Ryan. "Yes, I type right here. This is my desk."

We got back in the car and thought for sure we were headed home, but then Michael asked if we might be able to meet his wife and son first so that his son could practice speaking in English. As much as we wanted to take a hot shower and go to sleep, we couldn't say no. This day was too good. We sat on the floor of Michael's bedroom eating Korean rice cookies and talking with his son Justin. It was so cute, and a little awkard since Michael and his wife were sittlng there watching us ask questions to his son, who we had just met.

...definitely one of our favorite Korean days so far.

Lunar New Year: Welcome the Year of the Rat

2008-02-07T23:02:00.001+09:00

We have five days off from work due to Lunar New Year. Today was New Year's Day and most Koreans spent the day with family. We spent it at Starbucks. Janny started the Year of the Rat with a notable success. Early on in our relationship I submitted a mandatory reading list to her. My mandatory assignments never really seem to work. She had not crossed off any books on the list...... until today. She finished her first book and has already started on her second.
On Friday, our director gave us New Year's presents- dress socks. I guess its customary to wear something new on the first day of the year, so he got us some socks- very thoughtful. Check them out

Kumdo: The Way of the Sword

2008-02-07T19:42:00.001+09:00

Our first Kumdo lesson was epic. Kumdo is the modern martial art of fencing, the Korean equivalent of Japanese kendo (Wikipedia). Before returning to the West, I'm planning on becoming a master swordsman able to strike down any enemy with precision, strength, and honor . Fortunantly, we are being trained by a world champion Kumdo master. He had his son translate all his accomplishments- 7 world championship titles. We are pretty sure he noticed our mental toughness and discipline and is as excited to teach us as we are to train under his tutelage. Janny may actually not go to the next lesson because her feet were really cold- minor setback. While we're talking about setbacks in our training, it's a little hard to know exactly what to do in the lessons. He doesn't speak English and we don't speak Korean. There was a lot of head shaking on his part and a lot of confused looks on ours. Our instructor was a great sport.

More of a Jedi stance than Kumdo- but still effective.

...remember how we live in korea?

2008-01-31T21:16:00.000+09:00

I've been thinking a lot lately and I just need to throw out an idea... What if, in a little over 10 months, when we leave Korea, Ryan, me and all my friends and family move to Santa Barbara where it's beautiful and warm all year long? ....Who's in? ....Brandon?

This week has gotten better, but on Monday and Tuesday I was ready to pack our bags and come home! We never would, but the thought of pulling a "midnight run" (sneaking out of Korea in the middle of the night) sounded pretty appealing Tuesday. Our week got better when we got a Valentine's care package in the mail from home, loaded with chocolate and microwavable popcorn, tortillas (on special request), etc.

..Overall our experience here in Korea has been good and we know it's good for us, but sometimes I wonder why we chose to be so far away again... in a place we'd never visited... for a whole year.... Other times it's great and Ryan and I laugh really hard.

We know it will get better and we can't wait for spring... my mom is coming to visit, it will be light out when we get off work and hopefully warm so I can take off my coat and mittens. it isn't snowing here, but it is really cold and I'm getting tired of seeing my purple sweatshirt and Northface in every picture we take. (see below)

Meet Our Friends- we're at the zoo

2008-01-31T19:58:00.000+09:00

Far Left: Nick is from Davis, California. He's leaving us next month. He's dating a Korean who's currently attending UC Berkley.

Left : This is Janny's best Korean picture pose.

Far right: Curtis is from Kelowna, B.C. He recently graduated with a computer engineering degree. He's funny and laid back- great addition to the Wonderland crew.

Right: Megan is also from Kelowna, B.C. She's dating Curtis. She teaches at another school so, unfortunately, we only get to see her on Wednesdays for foreigner dinner night and on the weekends.

Costco- The World is Flat

2008-01-31T19:32:00.000+09:00

Costco is basically the same as in the States except for the Kimchi in bulk. It took incredible self-control not to load our cart with everything Kirkland. Our favorite find was a block of Tillamook cheese- we cherish every slice. Cheese is very hard to find.

Field Trip- Sledding

2008-01-17T19:52:00.000+09:00

Today we went on a sledding field trip. Since there is no snow in the surrounding mountains they make it. This small amusement park makes snow on several little hills. It was a pretty fun day. I kept getting into trouble for not sledding right. I'm still not sure what I was doing wrong. Employees of the park kept instructing me in Korean on proper sledding techniques and shaking their heads.Janny and Lindsay
Lindsay recently joined my class. Her parents wanted her to learn English so they had her live with relatives in Canada for a year.
Janny and two girls from her class making a snowman.
Ryan, Martin, and Lindsay at the top of the hill. Martin's the one with the mask on. Masks serve three purposes in Korea. 1) Keep out pollution 2) If you're sick, to stop spreading germs 3) Warmth. It's pretty common to see several if you're out and about.
Me and Martin about to sled. Martin's an awesome kid. Most of the Korean kids are serious about studying even at age 5. Martin seems to be your typical American 5 year old. He's excited when there is no piano or English tutoring. He gets really tired during math class and explodes out of his seat for P.E. He's also really generous and kind. About twice a week he gives me candy and says, "Oh, here's one for Janny teacher."
Me dancing to Korean gangster rap on the hill. The only line in English was "kill, kill, kill.... murder, murder, murder." It sounded like it came out of the Korean version of Compton.
Henry

Wonder Girls- Tell Me

2008-01-16T20:55:00.001+09:00

Keagan e-mailed us the other day and asked us if we like Korean music. Great question Keagan. The answer is... yes. This video should explain why we like it. As far as we can tell, this is the most popular song in Korea right now. We hear "Tell Me" probably twice a day. At the gym last week, there was a dance class replicating the Wonder Girls signiture moves. A fifty year old woman in red leather stretch pants was a notable participant. Moments like those help me learn to love or at least appreciate Korea a little more. Janny and I are planning on attending dance class next week to learn the dance. Keep posted for some Park Jin Yung videos- equally awesome.

Bet You Wish You Lived Here!

2008-01-14T20:56:00.000+09:00

Apartment view from the kitchen. View from the mud room.Kitchen. Bathroom: Notice- the shower head comes out of the faucet. There is a lever that switches it. If we forget to pull the lever after using the shower we get sprayed with cold water our backs, faces, or both.

We have so much respect for teachers!

2008-01-04T12:30:00.000+09:00

This is Sami. ...at first I wasn't so sure about him, but he is quickly becoming my favorite student.
This is Plum class, they have the most energy and personality of all my classes. They have some of the cutest, but most piercing voices you've ever heard.We have so much respect for all the teachers we know, especially the elementary teachers! ...we have at most 10 kids in all or our classes, usually between 3-8. I can't imagine having 30!!
This is Sami's class, Grape class. They are the smartest kindergarten classes I have. Ryan and I both have two kindergarten classes that we teach each morning. In the afternoon we have kindergarten through fourth grade. The afternoon kids go to Korean school in the morning and then to our school to learn English in the afternoon. Most of the kids go to school on Saturdays as well. Usually they wake up go to Korean school, then to karate, then to English school, then either home or to piano, etc. I can't imagine being 7 years old and being at school from 9am-6:30pm every day!

The other day I told one of my favorite afternoon classes about the U.S. school schedule; three months off for summer vacation, two weeks for Christmas break, one week in the Spring, etc. ...they were speechless, I think they thought I was joking. I felt bad for telling them so I quickly changed the subject.

Paparazzi

2008-01-04T12:11:00.000+09:00

We were walking downtown the other night and saw a huge crowd of teenage girls waiting by a tour bus. We tried to find out what was going on, but no one knew English. After several minutes a posse of Korean hotties walked out of a tunnel. I began running with the crowd of screaming girls and holding the camera above my head trying to snap photos. It was fairly challenging because I had now idea which guy was famous. I brought the pictures into school and asked the Korean teachers who these guys were. Apparently, the one closest in the picture is a big movie star in Korea, a genuine Korean heartthrob.

Christmas in the Land of Morning Calm

2007-12-31T11:22:00.000+09:00

This is our first pet. On Christmas we bought a turtle. His name is Emannuel the Christmas Turtle but his nickname is Manny. He's transitioning well to his new home.

Janny didn't have a Santa in her present delievery group. Her group looked a little suspect. There were four young women dressed as Mrs. Claus, carrying a boom box and going into apartment buildings. Janny explained that in America people would think that they were "professional dancers."

This is me at Henry's house. Don't tell the other kids that Henry is one of my favorites. Everytime he finishes his work we wiggles in his chair and sings "I'm binished, I'm binished."

Does Santa come to Korea? ... You bet. The Friday before Christmas I dressed up as Santa Claus and Janny dressed as Mrs. Claus. and delievered presents to the kindergarteners. We sang Christmas carols and choked down any wild food that the parents offered us. It was fun to see where the kids from our school live. They typically live in large buildings in small apartments. Their Christmas trees were an average two feet tall. We'd huddle around them so the kids could take pictures with Santa. Instead of saying "cheese" before the pic. we'd say "kimchi" and then smile.

rice, kimchi and... meat?

2007-12-29T13:47:00.000+09:00

We've found a few good Korean meals that we can count on and can both eat dinner for $7. (we eat a lot of rice and tangerines.) There's also a Pizza Hut right down the street from us if we need it, and thankfully we live in a very convenient area of Daegu and are right across the street from a grocery store where we can get cereal, fruit, milk, etc. We are on the subway line and can get downtown in 15 minutes if we need a Starbucks or other food from home. We are getting better at eating Korean food though, last night we had really good sushi and today we had bibinbop and kimbop for lunch. Bibinbop is a bowl of rice with different vegetables and spicy sauce all mixed together. Kimbop is a kind of roll with rice, some sort of meat, egg and vegetables wrapped in seaweed. The strangest food we seem to get for lunch at the school. The other day we were served quail eggs with rice and seaweed, once we had minows mixed with some sort of green vegtable. The whole minow... even the eyes! The weekend after that we went on a mission to find a Starbucks, I needed a little comfort from home. Ryan is trying to like kimchi. He's made it his goal to take one bite at every meal and to tell himself he loves it. I think it's working. ...I haven't gotten there yet.

We've been here 3 weeks already!

2007-12-29T11:12:00.000+09:00

WE FINALLY HAVE OUR COMPUTER CORD!!
We've been in Daegu, South Korea for 3 weeks now, almost one of twelve months!!
I don't know where to start, so much has happened... We left Seattle on Saturday, December 9th and arrived in Daegu on Monday, December 11th. Mr. Ban, our director picked us up from the airport and took us straight to our school to meet the other teachers. Afterwards he dropped us off at our hotel, where we stayed for our first week. By dinner we were really hungry, but obviously had no idea where to go or what to eat. We started walking down the street from our hotel and found a little Korean restaurant. The server didn’t’ know English, so we got out Franklin, our trusty electronic translator to help us order. We were pretty sure we ordered chicken and rice (tak & bop) and were so excited to have food in our stomachs! Once it arrived we realized that our days of boneless, skinless chicken breast were probably over for the next year… we’re pretty sure it was chicken gizzard in the spiciest sauce we'd ever tasted!