Pandemonium in the Park

This day was a blast, the weather was perfect for kindergarten children to terrorize elderly ladies in the park, which they did.

As you can see, we divided the kids into 2 teams, gave them either a blue or white headband, and had relay races and played soccer all morning long. The white team was captained by me, while the blue team was lead by "Ben Teacher". Ben is the new teacher who just arrived from the UK.

It's amazing what a little sunshine and fresh air does for the kids. Where normally there would be pouting, crying, and maybe a little fighting, all we saw the entire day were smiles and laughing faces! The day was a blast for everyone.

Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving)

Chuseok is a big holiday here in Korea, probably the biggest. The whole country shuts down and throngs of people hit the highway to gather with their families in their hometowns.

At our school, we celebrated Chuseok with the kindergarten kids (ages 4-6 years old). The day involved learning how to do traditional bows, then making rice cakes stuffed with red bean paste, ending with an arm wrestling tournament officiated by yours truly. I was beat out in the first round by Dewey, the kid with the dyed pink hair. So I opted to referee the event.

The traditional outfit worn during celebrations (by children and married people only... the bachelors and bachelorettes really miss out) is called a 'han-bok'. It is a really beautiful outfit, as you can see.

We are off on holidays for the next 2 weeks, so we wish everyone all the best while we are gone. Take care and we'll be in touch soon.

All our love.

FIFA Under 17 World Cup

In late August the U-17 World cup of soccer came to Korea. We were lucky enough to have some of the round robin matches played in our city. The teams in this pool were Spain (red shirs, blue shorts), Honduras (all white), Argentina (blue and white stripes), and Syria (all red).
It was amazing soccer, Spain was definately the best team in the pool (they made it to the final, only to be defeated by Nigeria in a shootout for the cup!). I cheered for Honduras... the obvious underdog... but to no avail. Honduras went 0-0-3, losing all matches despite my positive vibes helping them out.

Check out these two...It's really popular here for couples to dress in matching clothes, but these two are beyond me!

The Rapid.

Yes, our fantastic scooter is called the rapid, and it lives up to it's name! Oh, what a hog. Not that I know anything about this kind of thing, but it has a 125 cc engine, which my Dad informed me is only twice the size of his chainsaw. So I guess maybe were riding a glorified lawnmower, but the helmets are very snazzy, and they make us look very fast. Matt drives, and I hold on for dear life. He's getting to be a seasoned pro with his driving skills, running red lights, squeezing through traffic jams, and blowing past car lineup's alongside the best Mr.Pizza delivery boys around. Our brave steed even carries us up the mountain to our local climbing spot. It's a one way road that's lush and beautiful. Many people pay no attention to this one way road policy, and as such you have to be extra cautious on the corners!

We also took it to a really beautiful beach for the day. It was so much fun driving through the countryside!

Here is a typical drive by our apartment. Watch us accelerate from 0 to 60 (km/h) in 6.8 seconds:

The Powerful Dragon

This route at our local climbing area, aptly named "Powerful Dragon", is a doozey, for lack of a better word. Holly decided to take on this project, and has had the pleasure of working it time and time again on cooler days (i.e. the one weekend where the mercury dropped below 30 degrees C). She also has the privelage of toting her very own camera crew to document her efforts (i.e. a band-aid of a husband who is recovering from an injury, who coincidentaly poses as the cheering squad).

Please visually enjoy this journey, it has claimed a lot of effort, sweat, and skin. I have had the privelage of watching it firsthand!


BTW - The climber in the red shirt is our friend Hang Sun, who is a local hardcore climber, chef extraordinaire, and the nicest woman in Korea. She also happens to be our neighbour. We are lucky to have her as a great friend!

Don't get in the way of this shredder!!

In early August Holly and I made our triumphant return to Song Jeong Beach, where we were met with excellent baby-waves (perfect for beginners like us!) and throngs of people on tubes, boogy boards, windsurfing apparati, and the like. To say the beach was crowded would be the ultimate understatement.

But by some stroke miraculous fate, we hung around the beach long enough to see the clock strike 6:00 pm and the beach subsequently empty at an exponential rate. I guess the two lifeguard guys hugging on a sea doo, blowing whistles at people like their lives depended on it, were enough to scare away most people.

The beach devoid of life (except surfers), the water's concentration of urine dropping quickly, and the sun ducking at a pretty darn quick pace, Holly began to work her magic. This wave monster was caught on camera a couple times (with a waterproof camera, might I add), owning the beach like it was put there with the sole purpose for her to give surf lessons to onlookers. I had a great time watching her this fine evening. It all came together and we left that night with enormous smiles that can only come from an activity such as surfing.

The Maze of Confusion

On our last day on Jeju Island, Holly and I shooting pictures left and right with our nifty disposable cameras, we stumbled upon an a-"maze"-ing maze on the north coast.
The maze sat silent, yet somehow it managed to taunt and challenge me without a single spoken word. The maze reached deep into my soul and figuratively latched on with a 'tentacle-like', antagonizing fervor. After 2 long seconds of reflection, I was compelled to put up an honest effort at cracking its code, so to speak...

It was a deep and powerful journey, one that required me to summon all my nerve and navigating capability, called me to question my manhood, and took me to the lowest of low places men dare not speak of....

FINALLY, (after consulting the map and my wife) I reigned victorious, ringing the victory bell with the last of my strength. The triumph that ensued was the sweetest sensation, and one that few have ever achieved. This was one of humanities' crowning moments. The event parallelled others of its like: Hillary and Norgay's first ascent of Everest in '53, and Armstrong and Aldrin's moonwalk in '69.

Needless to say, I was riding a wave of exhilaration and self satisfaction when I planted that Canadian flag deep in the heart of the beast...in the center of that ominous, green challenge that some refer to as a maze, I claimed my victory, a victory for my fellow country-men back home.

For some strange reason I was then quickly escorted off the property and to the parking lot, with the staff claiming that my emotional outburst was scaring away potential 10 year old customers.

These days, I lay awake at night thinking of that ever so brief and beautiful task I was summoned to complete. I have opened a door to a whole new world for societey to explore as an activity of leisure...

I am now waiting for someone to write about my accomplishments in Wikipedia. Yup, still waiting, but it'll happen soon, I just know it.