Asian Invasion

Hello! Is there anyone who still reads this??????? We are still in Korea for a few more weeks! I have been away at an English camp for 3 weeks, and tomorrow I will get to go home! It’s been great but of course I REALLY miss Keegan!! On tuesday Keegan’s friend Paul will come to Korea for a visit. And the following week I will fly back to Victoria, then shortly after Keegan will come. It’s hard to believe that this adventure is almost finished! It is bittersweet, I am so excited to get back to Canada, but we have made so many great friends here that it will be sad to say goodbye. We can’t wait to see you all! Love Keegan and Lauren

Our trip to Japan was a whirlwind of excitement!  We went on a tour with 32 Koreans and our friends Mike and Natalie for 2 nights and three days. The tour was in Korean, so we didn’t have any idea what was going on most of the time!  But that made it all the more fun!

We went to Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe.  Kyoto was so pretty, it was so calm and cute!  We went to a temple that was located in a mountain surrounded by Japanese Maple trees and ponds.  It seemed like as soon as we arrived in Japan I instantly felt calm, maybe it was the fresh sea air, I’m not sure.  But I had heard that Japan was a very peaceful country, and it is!  Even though our days were jam-packed with activities I still felt rested and relaxed.  Actually a lot of the scenery reminded me of B.C. and it seemed to have the same kind of climate.  Osaka was also very nice, it was so clean and efficient!  We went to the famous Osaka Castle, which was breath taking!  The tour was really fun, the Korean’s were so cute and a few of them could speak English so they would let us know what was going on.

We will post pictures soon!

So we got back last night from our very busy, and amazing trip to Beijing.  It was a wonderful time we would recommend it to anyone.  Beijing is a very beautiful city with many trees and beautiful buildings.  We did a package tour so we were treated really well.  We stayed in a Howard Johnson Hotel and were driven around to all our destinations. I have always been fascinated with China, so that is why this is probably going to be the longest blog entry yet!  So if you are not interested I will not be hurt!  Anyways there is so much to tell so here is a summery of what we did each day:

Day 1:  Great Wall: It has always been a dream of mine to see the Great Wall, so I was pretty excited this day.  We went to a section that was about an hour outside of Beijing.  I thought is was so amazing to think of how old the wall was and what it has seen in its lifetime.  We also found out that not only is it a wall, but it is also a giant tomb!  Apparently many people died while the wall was being built, so they would just be buried inside.  The wall was very steep to climb, and was a good workout.  We were both quite sweaty when we reached the top, but the view was spectacular! 

           Ming Tombs:  We went to see where the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were buried.  The emperors would prepare for their death for years and would build palaces and fill them with all the things they would need after they died. In the area there were 13 tombs, all with elaborate palaces, temples and  gardens.  It was really cool, but also sad to think that the emperors thought they could take all that stuff with them after they died!

We finished the first day with an amazing Chinese Acrobatic show and a Peking Duck dinner. 

 Day 2: Tianammen Square, Forbidden City: Tianammen Square was very interesting to us because of what happened there in 1989, but for the Chinese people it is not something they like to talk about.  Perhaps they aren’t really allowed.  So to them the significance of Tianammen Square is that it is the largest city square in the world, and can hold 500,000 people.  I thought it was pretty cool, because I have seen the pictures of it so often so it was kind of surreal to be there.  We also saw the Forbidden city, which is where the emperors used to live.  It was quite huge and very interesting.  It had some very beautiful garden areas.

          Summer Palace: This was where the emperor and emperess would spend their summers.  It was beautiful, with a lake and many gardens and beautiful buildings.  Other than the Great Wall, it was my favorite place in China.

          Temple of Heaven: This was a temple that was built so that the emperor would have a place to pray.  It was so elaborate and very superstitious.  It made me sad to think that people thought that they have to build something like that to reach God, when he is right there all the time.  Anyways, it wasn’t my favorite but it was cool to see.

Day 3: Shopping!! You can’t go to China and not buy stuff!  I could have spent thousands of dollars there, but we had to control ourselves! Shopping is fun and stressful at the same time.  The clerks are SO pushy, and professional con-artists.  But we came home with some nice things.

 So that was our trip!  By the end of it I was very happy to return to Seoul!  Next weekend we are going to Japan, so I will let you know how that was.  And we will post some pictures really soon!

 

So we’re coming up to our 8 month mark!  Which means we only have 4  more months left.  I think we are both still enjoying this experience, but we are looking forward to coming back to Canada.  There’s no place like home!!!  I think that we can both agree that we miss the peacefulness of Canada.  We miss being able to drive 20 minutes to a place  where there is no one else!  I personally miss being able to go shopping and find my size, it gets a little depressing when shop keepers tell you to leave there store because there are “NO BIG SIZES!”  Anyways, that’s enough of my venting, I know when we leave we will miss Korea, it has been an amazing 8 months!   God has been taking good care of us, and we have met so many great people!

 On to exciting news, this weekend we are going to Beijing to see the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tianammen Square.  We leave on Thursday night and return on Sunday night.  It is very close, the plane ride is about 60 minutes.  And the following weekend we are going to Osaka, Japan with our friends Mike and Natalie, to see the cherry blossums and hotsprings!!  We have lots to be excited about!  Anyways, soon we will have more exciting pictures! 

 Thanks for reading our blog! 

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already April! We have finally defrosted from the winter cold!  After living here we have decided that we never want to leave the westcoast!  I have grown to appreciate and miss the mild winters from home!  The weather has now turned pretty warm.  My school is beside a small mountain, so every few days I go for a hike with some of the other teachers.  The flowers are so beautiful right now, and the blossums are beginning to come out. 

 Lately, both Keegan and I have been a lot busier.  Keegan is finishing his contract and he is still teaching the teachers at my school one afternoon a week. We have also met a lot of new people, so we go out quite a bit.   We don’t mind being busy though, during the winter, we tended to stay at home more, because it was so cold, so it’s nice to get out and do things! 

We also have planned a trip to Beijing to see the Great Wall, Tianammen Square and the Forbidden City, so that is something we are really excited about!  We’re going in two weeks, so we’ll let you know how it was!

 Bye for now!

 

 

  For some reason this week has dragged on.  Maybe because both Keegan and I are back to work, after such a long vacation.  I really got used to leaving the school at 1:00pm!  Now we are both putting in full days at work. You can check out what Keegan has been working on at www.abbeymedows.com the houses that have garages, and full basements at the bottom of the list, are the ones that he has designed. 

 It is actually really good to be back at work.  The school is alive and loud!  Once again I find myself bowing and saying “hello”  about  a hundred times a day.  Today Keegan ventured to the school, and was greeted like a celebrity!  This was the first time he has met the new 7th grade students, which are SO cute I might add!  Most of them only come up to my waist!  I also have a few classes which are almost all boys, so you can imagine what those are like!!! 

This past week Keegan and I have been suffering from stuffy noses, coughing and itchy eyes, and today I found out the reason why.  In the springtime in Korea they have what is called “Dust Wind”.  It is dust that blows down from the Gobi Desert into the Korean peninsula.  Apparently sometimes it has been so bad that school has to be cancelled. Well it has started for the season!   So I think we will invest in a couple of face masks!  Living in Korea has sure made me miss the westcoast climate!!

Anyways since it’s Friday, Keegan and I will go out on the town tonight. We have discovered something called a DVD Room.  Basically it is like a movie theatre except you can choose your own movie and you get a private room that has a big movie screen and a comfy couch. My guess is that a lot of young couples don’t really go there to watch movies!!!  But we like it because we can watch Korean movies with English subtitles. 

 

 We hope you are all doing well!  Leave us a comment!

 

Wow we have so much to tell!  February was such a fun month for us! As you know my mom (Hedlin)came all the way from Victoria to visit.  She was here for 10 wonderful days.  We kept her busy the entire time and she was such great tourist.  I think she especially liked the shopping. (ask her how many purses she bought)   We are so happy that mom got the chance to experience what Keegan and I get to everyday!  The different kinds of food, the crowds, the curious stares on the subway!  Mom was up for anything and was a really great sport!  One highlight of her visit was the DMZ (de-militarized zone) tour.  As you know Korea has been a divided country since 1953.  Korean people cannot travel freely between the two countries.  Many Koreans have family that they can’t see.  It is a very sad situation, and the tour was very educating for us and of course made us realize how lucky we are to live in a free country like Canada.  The visit with mom was definately a memorable one!  I am so glad to have such a fun and adventurous mom! 

The day that mom left Korea, Keegan and I flew to Thailand.  We went to Phuket, which is an island south of Bangkok, located in the Andaman Sea.  It was a great trip, neither of us had ever been to a tropical paradise, so it was really exciting for us.  Our trip started on a good note, when the 3-star hotel that we reserved had over booked and we had to be upgraded to a 4-start hotel, they also gave us one of the nicest rooms to compensate for it!  The hotel was located right on the beach and had 3 pools, and a spa.  It was very very nice!  So we spent 5 nights there, snorkeling, swimming, sun tanning and getting massages!  We also rented a motorbike, so we could explore the island.  We went to a beach called “Patong” and few times, it’s known as the ‘party area’, so it was quite lively and there was lots to see!  For our sixth night we went to Phi Phi Island.  You may know it because the movie ‘The Beach” was filmed there.  It was absolutely breath-taking!  We stayed in a bungalow that overlooked the ocean. In the evening we layed out on the beach and watched a fire show.  The next day we did more snorkelling and then we flew to Bangkok, where we spent our final night. 

 The places that we stayed had been badly hit by the tsunami, so it was interesting and heart-wrenching  to hear the stories of the locals.  It is hard to imagine what a terrible thing they have had to endure.   For the most part the island has been rebuilt, but there are many areas where the damage is still very evident. 

 Anyways, the pictures will tell more that we can!  We will post some very soon!

 

Yes, I guess it has been awhile since our last update.  Thank you Julia for reminding us!!  It’s nice to know that people are reading our blog and want to know what’s new with us! 

Well, we have been here for 5 months now, so we are almost at half-way.  It’s a strange feeling, it feels like we’ve been here for a really long time, and yet the time is going fast.  The past few weeks have gone by really quickly, but we haven’t been busy at all, in fact I have had a lot of extra time off, which is really nice.  For the month of February I only work a total of 3 days!   We are getting very excited because in 3 days my mom will be here!  So the next few weeks will be spent sightseeing with her, and of course shopping!!  We are planning to go on a tour of the DMZ  (De-Militarized Zone)  which will be very interesting.  The DMZ is the border that separates North and South Korea, and is heavily armed with both North and South soldiers.  I am sure it will be like nothing we have ever experienced, Korea has such a long history of division.  So I will be sure to tell you all about it once we’re done!

Oh we also found out that some friends of mine, (Quentin and Lisa Fincaryk), from Bible College live here in Seoul as well.  So we have been getting together with them.  It is always nice to spend time with other couples! And they are lucky enough to have an oven so last Sunday we went over to their house for a delicious oven-cooked meal!  I really miss having an oven, so it was really appreciated.

Well, we will write more soon!  We love you!

Keegan and Lauren

 

 

Well it is mid January already!  We have been doing many fun things and we have a lot to look forward to!  We had so much fun with Ben and Julia while they were here.  It was fun to act as tour guides!  We are planning to visit them sometime in the spring.  

Not a whole lot is new with us.  My mom is coming to visit very soon (Feb 7-18) so I am of course VERY excited!  And then from Feb 18-26 we will be in Phuket, Thailand for some relaxing in the sun!  Last Friday I found out that I get an extra week of holidays, so we thought we would take the opportunity to go somewhere warm! 

The new school year begins March 1st, so until then I don’t have a lot to do.  I have 2 more weeks left to teach for the winter session and then after that it will be holidays and preparation for the new year.  Keegan is still working on his drawings and tutoring on the side. We are both still having a great time!