Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas greetings from Korea. We had snow yesterday, two days shy of Christmas but we are enjoying it. (view is from our window)
It's funny to see people deal with the snow because it is not that common here to have it stay around. Last night out for a walk we saw some one who had chains on their vehicle for 2 inches of snow, quite funny.
So our holidays started on the 24th and we have been enjoying ourselves ever since. Definitely a very different Christmas but a memorable one for sure.
We were invited to a couple of Christmas parties by friends we made through church. Definitely a fun time playing games and eating an amazing pre-Christmas meal on the 19th. It is wonderful that Korea has Costco and that you can get so many familiar foods. We didn't have turkey because most of us don't have ovens that we can bake in. All we have is a natural gas 2 burner stove top. But we made the best of it. We did eat well meat balls, chicken, and Korean bulgogi. With our Bible study group we had a carol sing night and shared what Christmas meant to us. It was very encouraging.
On the 25th Chris and I spent the morning together, talking with my family and opening a few gifts. Then we prepped for the dinner we hosted. It turned out to be a wonderful time. We had people from 5 different countries represented. A couple we met at church (Australia and US), my Korean friend Christine. Claire (New Zealand) a girl who lives in the same building and works for our company. We enjoyed playing games and a great pot luck dinner. Unfortunately we didn't take a good picture of the meal. But, we do have a great shot of the Christmas cake. I must say Koreans are good at decorating cakes.
Here we are feeling good after lots of yummy food. Definitely a Christmas to remember.
Just wanted to mention that Christmas is not really celebrated here in Korea. It's more of a day that friends and couples get together and do things. I think some families celebrate with presents and decorate their houses but extended families don't get together. Also the market and businesses by our house were just as busy as any other day.
This is Christmas morning and out lil gift table.
So it's actually winter now we are having weather around 0 to -15. I am not complaining because I know many of you are having much colder winters there in Canada. We have also been watching NBA over the Internet which has been great. So this has been a bit of a scattered blog of thoughts. I cant seem to get it flowing at the moment. I will be back after the new year and after we spend sometime at our winter break get away in Asan Korea. One other thing is that we can not believe we are already down to 5 months left here. Well until next time!~

Some Interesting Facts about Korea.

Happy Sunday to you all. Chris is out for the day playing in a bball tournament at the US air force base. So I have decided to write to you a bit about the interesting quirks of Korea. Some, or most of the comments will be biased by yours truly of course!
Firstly transportation and traffic. There are 46 million people in S.Korea (third most densely populated country in the world) and half of them live in the Gyeonggi Province and Seoul (605.39km2) where we frequent often. So you can imagine the traffic congestion. I am always surprised at how much Korean drivers use their horns. Really it's not going to get them anywhere faster, maybe that extra car length but I guess you have to get ahead somehow.
Pedestrians do not have the right of way at any time it seems. You have to always be on guard lest you get hit by a car, motorbike, taxi or bus. Even the so-called crosswalks you need to look both ways to check if a bus or taxi is running the red light.
I seriously don't know how there can be traffic rules here because they don't seem to ever be enforced or regarded. People stop and park their cars wherever and whenever they want. It's nuts, there really aren't any parking spots available except for major department stores or famous restaurants. So people just pull over even if it's a busy road and run into the store or wherever it is they need to go. Then there are the (Korean fast food) delivery guys. They ride around on motorbikes with no helmets and sandals. Weaving in and out of traffic going on sidewalks, or wherever there's space to squeeze through. I call it reckless abandonment, we are surprised we haven't seen an accident yet.
Also for a country with so many people it's amazing how many people don't watch where they are walking on the crowded streets. Everyone is in their own little world and it isn't rude to bump or push someone out of the way. This is something I still find really hard to get used to, I always get my back up thinking they are so rude for not saying excuse me. Really though excuse me is not in their vocabulary. But I guess they would constantly be saying it if it was so makes sense that there's a general understanding.
In our city foreigners are not always so common so sometimes you get children staring and pointing at you as if you are some kind of circus act. They point and say oh waegukin. Which means look at the foreigner. It's weird that the parents think this is okay. We find it annoying, sometimes I point back and say oh hangukin. Which means oh look at the Korean. Then they get more excited because I spoke some Korean. Could you imagine if kids in Canada did that to Chinese or African children. There would be consequences!!
So the H1N1 flu has been a really big deal here over the months. A lot of people wear masks to help prevent contracting it or spreading it. Okay so this confuses me so much. Not everyone but many people put their masks on when they go out side and then once they are in the store, bus or subway they take them off!! Aren't you chances of getting the flu much higher in a place that is not ventilated and where every one is pretty much breathing on each other. I am still wondering about that.
OK I am going to stop there I could go on for a long time. I am thinking about doing this more regularly so that you can get a glimpse into everyday life and the culture. Which I am finding this time around is a lot different than I thought.
Chris and I are doing well, looking forward to Christmas holidays starting on the 24th to Jan 4th. Of course not being with family this year is not pleasant but we will enjoy what we have here and this time in our lives. Oh and we only have 5 months left, sometimes it feels as though we just got here.
Well that's all for this Sunday afternoon.~ Thanks for reading my rants and thoughts.~

Life in November

Anneyong Haeseyo from Suwon Korea. That is the greeting here so thought I'd try it out on you all. Life is going really well these days. We are really enjoying our time and jobs. (for the most part :) Teaching English can be really rewarding especially when those few kids are improving and you can see it from week to week. I say few because that's the truth of it. So the student looking into the camera in the picture is my favorite kid. I know you shouldn't have favorites but he's awesome. He just learns so well and gets 90-100% on all his assignments and tests. Not to mention his amazing behavior and attitude.
Chris and I really feel as though we are in a good routine with teaching are really comfortable with our partner teachers. So that's the school update for now. Looking forward to Christmas break though. We wont be going anywhere out of Korea. We've decided to go to a hot springs and stay in a hotel a few nights. Just have to figure out where. It'll definitely be a different kind of Christmas for us. Miss all of you family!
I am starting to get adventurous with cooking Korean food. It's actually really easy and has turned out quite delicious. We live super close to a market so we can get a lot of fresh food everyday all the time for really cheap. It's awesome to get to know the local people and support their businesses. Well we cant really get to know them to much because of the communication gap but they appreciate our business. These people work so hard their little shops are open from like 9-9 every day. No day off in this country it seems. I don't agree with that but that's how Korea has become so successful in 30 years, serious hard work.
So it's finally getting a little chilly out side. We hit -8 a week or so ago. I am really appreciating the four seasons you get prepped for winter instead of getting hit with it in October. We did a bit of sightseeing around one of the universities here in Seoul. The campuses are huge and the buildings are old and look really similar to the styles of Canadian and American ones. It really matters what university you get into in this country, it's so competitive and companies prefer degrees from specific universities. I guess it is a bit like that in N.America isn't it.?
So Chris got in his first KBL league game which we quite enjoyed. I think we will be seeing a lot of games here. It's super cheap to go to and lots of fun and we can get great seats because we know some one who has a VIP pass to the games. The basketball is definitely decent nothing like NBA or good college but I am not complaining.
We've been able to make quite a few friends through lots of connections so it's been fun to meet for dinner and other such things.
This pic is from Suwon Station on a Friday night. Always so busy, it's amazing how many people fit in this small country and how they all get around. There is a constant flow of people, cars, buses trains. If you are walking on the side walk you cant just stop with out someone bumping into you, it's like driving, you have to pull over on the shoulder. There are sometimes when you just wish you had your personal space for a moment when using the public transport. But it's the culture and you just get used to it. Good times :)
So if any of you reading this have questions for us about our adventure here please feel free to leave them in the comment area below and I will address them in my next post.
That's all for today.
God bless you~

It's about time for a blog post!

Greetings from Korea, it's been a while since I updated please forgive me for that. We haven't been doing anything to exciting these days because we are trying to save money. That means weekends are low key and staying around home and going to church. We did however make it to a hockey game in Korea. Yes that's right hockey in Korea. I didn't believe it at first but it does exist. There is only one team they are called the Anyang Halla, they play in what is called the Asia Hockey League. There are teams from China and Japan as well. I guess Asia is trying to be Canadian or something!! Haha just kidding around. The hockey was fun and entertaining though and we were invited by some people we didn't know very well and now they are becoming our good friends.
Thought to put up a few pics from the market right near our place. The open meat shops are always so busy but they actually gross me out a bit. All these pig carcasses hanging out in the open and raw fish everywhere. I don't mind the fruit and veggies but nothing is covered it's all out in the open with cars driving by and yeah just different. It is usually really fun though to walk around and see everyone doing business. Making a living really it's just totally different than in Canada. There are grocery stores with wrapped meat :) just the markets are really popular.
Oh fishy smell how I do not love you. There is not just fish here for sale but octopus, squid, clams, shrimp, and some weird looking worm thing.. yuck Lets just say we do not frequent this shop.
This is a typical afternoon in the market, nice and busy. You have pedestrians, cars, motorbikes, and bicycles all mixing together trying to get where they have to go. It's a bit overwhelming to walk through every single day but it's their way of life and we are the foreigners so we have to adjust. It's tough at time because personal space in public is almost non-existent.
The change in seasons has been amazing here. Fall is really fall and the leaves change slowly and beautifully so many rich and vibrant reds, yellows and oranges. I really love it so much. Also, we've really only had to turn our heater on a few times so far this fall, it's been wonderful.
At church we've gotten involved in a few things lately. We are doing a homeless ministry for the men who live near Suwon Station once a month. We bring them shoes, food, toiletries, blankets, and Gospels. We went this past Friday and it was such a blessing. We stayed for a while too just to talk with and encourage them. It's tough with the language barrier but they are so needy and the smiles and hellos go a long way. We need to take care of the poor it is commanded in the Bible.
Also the past few weeks has offered a marriage course. It has been really good to go and learn much about each other and how to communicate in a Godly manner. I am so thankful for these opportunities we have here. Chris has also joined a new basketball league and hoping to continue witnessing to guys who he plays with. Teaching is going well for both of us we have settled into a nice routine so nothing to exciting has been happening there.
Well I hope this updates every one with a little of what is happening here in Korea. Oh for those that didn't know my sister just had a baby boy! First grandchild in the family, so that is very exciting and my heart is definitely in Canada with my family.
Blessings from us both~

Chuseok Holiday to Sokcho

We just got back from an amazing adventure in Sokcho S.Korea which is on the East coast. There is a very famous mountain there called Seoraksan. Mostly famous for it's high peaks and amazing fall leaf colors. We were there a couple weeks to early to really see the changes but it was awesome nonetheless. Oh I forgot to mention that Chuseok is the Korean holiday for thanksgiving so since we work in the public school we got a 5 day weekend. Such a blessing to be able to do this traveling around Korea.
Sokcho city also has the ocean view and a great beach. So really it was an ideal place for us to visit because we both love the beach and enjoy hiking.

It was definitely to cold to swim but so nice to walk along and sit and enjoy the sound of the waves. An interesting note is that we were told by many of our friends and co-workers that this is the worst weekend in Korea to travel so don't do it because everyone will be traveling so traffic will be ridiculous. We must have lucked out because it took us 3.5 hours to get there and about 2.5 to get back to Seoul. I guess not to many people go East. Mind you the mountain was really busy but that didn't matter too much.

These are my favorite peaks, the one to the right had about 10 rock climbers on it. Incredible to watch. Don't know if I would ever want to try rock climbing. We actually came to the mountain 2 days because one was not enough. We didn't do the big 10km hike, we weren't prepared enough and there were so many other hikes to do. Plus a cable car takes you to one of the highest peaks and you get an amazing view of the park and of Sokcho city.

Most of the way up the mountain we followed some sort of stream and huge rock formations. Absolutely awesome with the color of the changing leaves. God's creation is just breath taking. It was refreshing to be in creation away from noise, pollution, and just busyness.

Of course we had to take the national park picture. Overall it was such a great time together. We stayed in a really nice hotel in the city but close to restaurants and everything that we needed. I am so thankful I can read and speak a little Korean. It helps so much for using the city buses and asking questions about where things are. It also saves money.
After we got back yesterday I visited with a couple friends from college that are living in Korea but in the south and came to see Seoul. It was neat to be able to show them around and just connect with people of common ground and experiences. Chris is off playing basketball with some guys tonight. Other than that life keeps on ticking along. In a week we will have been here 6 months. That is almost half way since we may stay till May. We are praying about the future and have some thoughts as to where God may be leading next. That is exciting for sure.
I am still involved with the N.Korean rights group and attending meetings every couple weeks. There are some people here in S.Korea that are very concerned about what is going on and quiet protests continue to happen every week. I guess what I just mentioned are prayer requests.
Well Happy Thanksgiving to you all back home. We miss the big thanksgiving meal so eat extra turkey for us. We have much to be thankful for so I hope you can take some time to reflect on the past year and all that we have and it is much.

Just when you think you have nothing to blog about!

(This first pic is of the Hwaseong Palace in Suwon where we live. We took Chris' friend Brenden around to all the touristy places and he took a great picture of it from the top of the wall.)

Greetings from Korea, I seem to like to have big gaps between each entry. I think we have a few thoughts to share with you. Life has been quite busy these days. Mostly with just everyday life like, Bible study, dinner dates, work, and now 'working out.' But I think that can be interesting enough to blog about. ha ha We have been going to this church in the picture below a couple of times now. It is a large Korean Presbyterian church and the message is translated into English thru head phones. We enjoy the hymns and the message from the pastor. They have a large choir and orchestra with each service. Then we get to go down stairs for noodles and kimchi. We met a nice couple there (in the pic) and hope to attend here every second Sunday.
Chris and I had a date last Friday in Seoul. We went to the Cheonggyechong. (ha try saying that one) It is a large man made stream that goes through the middle of the city. At night it is all lit up and very 'romantic,' Korean couples everywhere. We couldn't get that many good photos with our camera thou. It was a really nice fall evening. The fall weather has been most pleasant we are really enjoying it.
Chris has been playing lots of basketball lately and really enjoying it. I haven't been able very much since being here because I don't want to play with the guys anymore. Chris is loving it and it is opening up lots of opportunities for him to share the Gospel with guys and make new friends. We finally got gym passes after months of talking about it.... We both noted that we once were in better shape. We miss having a reason to be in shape like college bball but I think being healthy might be a good reason after all.
Next weekend we have some time off because it is the Korean thanksgiving holiday. We are headed to Sokcho for adventuring and mountain climbing. Sokcho has one of the most famous mountains in Korea (Seoraksan) to climb especially in the fall with all the leaves changing colors. So hopefully we get to experience it all and more.
Teaching continues to have its' good and bad days. My kids are cute thou, these 3 in the pic below are wonderful in class. I really enjoy them.
I continue to be a bit homesick. For what exactly I am not sure... I guess it is a little trying here at times and you just want to escape. I just don't fit in with this culture and it can be exasperating to be surrounded by it 24-7. I need to pray and trust that God will give me the patience to get through this time and come out more positive and with a love for the Korean people no matter their idiosyncrasies. Ha wow check out that word I just used. Actually I want to blog about all the interesting things that happen in this culture that our western minds can hardly wrap our minds around. So Chris and I will start to write some things down and get back to you all on that one.
Well I guess this is it for today. thanks for reading~

September Already!

So we have been here 5 months already and really I can't believe it. I am sorry I never put any pics up from the last post. These are a few from our weekend in Daecheon. It was lovely and the swimming was even better! Had lots of fun chilling on the beach.
The last few weekends have been a busy at work and at play. Though I am having trouble remembering what we have actually done! The highlight of this past one was going to see a Korean all star bball team play a team made up of ex-NBA players and some NBDL players. Pretty much was a dream come true for Chris who loves NBA ball. There weren't very many fans which we were surprised by but that didn't matter because we got great seats. Definitely a memorable experience and loads of fun.
Over the past couple weeks we have been getting involved in finding out what is going on in N.Korea. On Friday night we went to a prayer vigil in Seoul for the liberation of the country. I am just going to give you a run down of what is going on there and what you can be praying for.
An estimated 7,000,000 people are starving to death right now in N.Korea. Also an unknown number are dying in political prison camps of the most horrifying brutality and torture for really having committed no crime. The North Korean human rights crisis and genocide there is one of the worst in the world today. Unfortunately the international community has been silent and not tried to intervene in any way. I think they are afraid of Kim Jung Il but politics is something I don't understand.
Anyways there are some human rights groups and churches in Seoul that are banning together to demonstrate and pray for the liberation of N.Korea every Friday until it happens, which could be years. I want to help raise awareness so that is why I am writing about it. If you are interested you can go to http://www.seoultrain.com/ . There is a video you can get and watch that talks about what is going on in the country and also about the refugees that flee to China. It is quite heart wrenching what can happen to these people. I know that a lot of terrible things are happening in this world and that people are starving every where and are persecuted. But this nations has absolutely no foreign aide and the people have no means of help.
I hope that was somewhat informative you can ask me questions if you would like to know more about it or check out the website.
~ school is going well I just started a new term and Chris is finishing up his. Teaching is going good not to much to report there. We are enjoying the change in weather as cooler temperatures are on their way. We definitely get 4 seasons here it is very nice.
Well that's about all the news from here.
until next time~ :)

1st Anniversary and Weekend Fun

I seriously can not believe it has been a year since we were married. So much has happened and it has been fun to reminisce about it together! It has been such a blessing and we are truly grateful for this gift of sharing life together. To celebrate we went to a beach town called Daecheon this past weekend which is about 2 hours south of where we live. We took the train there and stayed in a motel close to the beach.
The swimming was amazing, the ocean was really warm and the tide went out fairly far in the evening so it made for nice walks along the beach. Had a wonderful dinner at an French Restaurant in Seoul on Sunday night to top it all off. We find that it is really easy to make weekend trips and it is not that expensive, plus the trains are so comfortable and easy to figure out.
The weekend before we went to Jeonju to visit our friend Brenden. Chris had another opportunity to speak at the Korean army base there. I decided to go along and we stayed at a nice hotel in the middle of the city. I enjoyed the touristy places in the morning while Chris went to the base. We ate bbq duck for the first time. It was pretty good, we are getting a bit more adventurous with what we choose to eat. Mind you I refuse to eat anything that is still moving on my plate.
It is still very hot and humid here but slowly starting to cool down a bit at night. Soon our laundry will only take a day to dry instead of 3! We are thinking about signing up for Korean lessons as we feel a bit lazy these days concerning our interest in culture and the language. Also I am looking into coaching some basketball part time at the international school here in Suwon.
Last week we also went to a meeting about N.Korea and how to raise awareness of what is going on in that country. So we are starting to get more involved in things here as we have the time and as the Lord leads.
I am sure all of you know about the swine flu. Well there are 3000 cases (only 2 people have died) in Korea and the government and schools are quite concerned about it all. If a school has 3 or more cases then it is going to close for a couple weeks. Everyone is on high alert about it, so far no one in our schools have had it so that's good.
Well that about covers our last few weeks. This weekend Chris is going to the DMZ and I am off to the beach again with a few girlfriends. Thanks for continually reading our adventures.
blessings to you all!

Jeju Pictures/Vacation Update

Unfortunately, the pictures begin at the end of our vacation but that's okay I will tell the story a bit backwards I guess. Change things up a bit! We had a great time on Jeju Island this past week. Chris and I with two of our friends spent 4 nights and 5 days checking things out. We didn't get the best weather but we definitely made the best of it. This first pic is on the ferry boat home, just after sunset. See face book for more awesome pics of the sunset! :)This next picture is also from the ferry. I didn't know Korea had so many islands around it. Almost the whole ferry boat ride (4.5 hrs) we were surrounded by islands. You could visit some of them but the rest were definitely uninhabited. It was a really smooth ride and Chris and I stayed outside for all of it.

This is a view from our awesome hotel in Jeju. It is called the Neighbourhood Hotel. Overlooks the airport and a lot of Jeju city. We were really happy with the accommodations. Free buffet breakfast in the morning including Canadian style food. That's a rare treat here, eggs toast and cereal. Happy Becca and Chris!
The food we ate was fantastic in this pic is a dish called bu-deh-chi-gay. Ha ha try saying that one. Basically it's noodles kimchi, onion, ham, rice cake, dumplings and other stuff mixed together and cooked at your table, eaten with rice. We also ate at a place that served horse meat. I was a little grossed out by that so my appetite wasn't the biggest. We ended up eating pork from black pigs there apparently it is a delicacy or something? I dunno tasted like other pork we've had. If you get a chance ask Chris about his experience with eating black pig pork.
We visited 2 beaches, this on on the north side of the island. I am drawing a blank on the name but it had amazing swimming conditions. Great waves and sand with no rocks. The day was really overcast but still hot enough to swim. The overcast weather definitely helped the people to stay away from the beach so it wasnt very crowded. Chris hurt his back so he didnt swim. That was kind of a downer but he was a great sport and came along for everything we did. (his back is good now)
On the Monday it was raining so Chris and I went by ourselves and did a bit of touring. This pic is from a Lava Tube we hiked through. Jeju island was created by a volcano from under the ocean and all along the coast line we saw the black volcanic like rocks.
This is from a beach we went to on a little island called U-Do. Pronounced you-dough! Again not to many people as we were expecting lots. So we were really thankful. This was Sunday a really sunny and hot day, actually the only one. The ocean was a perfect temperature and my friend Nicole and I did some snorkeling. Didnt see to many different fish just a lot of the same fish. It was really awesome though. We fully enjoyed our adventure to this island.
This pic is taken from the ferry ride to U-Do Island. It was one of the most rocking boat rides I've ever had. So thankful it was short or a few of us may have got seasick.
We also went to a maze made of hedges and conquered it in about 20 mins. Chris was disapointed because we did it to fast. On the advertisement it said 40 percent of people dont even get through it. Seriously dont know how that would have been possible, so easy.
Oh yeah after the ferry boat we landed in the city Mokpo still a number of hours from our place. We decided to find a place to stay for the night since it already was 9:30. We stayed in this sketchy hotel for cheap and slept on the floor with (cough*) unwashed blankets. Very Korean style and not sure if it was Becca and Chris style but we sucked it up and left early the next morning. Neither of us had ever been on a passenger train so we took that the rest of the way home. Super relaxing and comfortable, great way to travel. I think our next trip around Korea we will look at riding the train again. Well now that you have read for about 20 mins I am out. Dont be afraid to post questions or leave comments at the bottom of this post. Then I will know people are actually reading this blog! haha
until next time

Life as a Tourist/Teacher

As summer rolls along we are finding ourselves to be tourists more than teachers. Our working hours have changed since it is the summer holidays for the students. We now teach in the morning and have most of the afternoon off, allowing for more time to explore this crazy concrete jungle.
Last Saturday we had a great day of touring and sightseeing. We went biking along the Han River in Seoul in the morning. Found a random place to have lunch. Then jumped on the Ferry boat from Jamsil to Youido Island also along the Han River. The ride was about an hour and we were able to gauge where we were as the boat sailed along. Another added bonus was the weather is was overcast and not smoggy. The air quality was decent which made for good pictures and less humidity. That is definitely something to be thankful for because we've been having lots of humidity and rain.
After the ferry boat we got off and ventured into the 63 Building. This is the tallest building in Seoul, they have a viewing tower on the 63rd floor so we braved the elevator and went to the top. We were greeted with a spectacular view of Seoul. With the great weather and lack of smog we took some great shots until the camera battery died. Last time I was in Korea I didn't go up this tower. I am glad I saved it for this past weekend because the view was better than the Seoul Tower. (my opinion)
Chris and I spend a lot of time traveling to get places. If you expect to go anywhere in the city from our place it takes at least an hour. Even to our church which is in the same city takes almost an hour. The subway system is very convenient but, it can take a long time. The buses as well, but the buses for getting around Suwon where we live, can be a pain. If church took an hour to get to in Canada how many of us would go to it? Not many, here though travel is just part of life and when it takes less than an hour to get somewhere that's a bonus. Such a different mindset.
Church has been going great. We are in a Bible study with 3 other married couples from church. It's nice to be part of it and get to know some more people. Plus we get to see what kind of housing the different schools give their teachers.
I went swimming with a friend a few days ago at a public pool. That was quite an experience. It was my first time, in Korea you have to cover you hair in the pool. Or so we thought. I put on a hat and shoved my hair in it. As soon as we got in the pool the lifeguards were waving at us and motioning for us to get out. Find out we have to have a 'swimming cap'. Unfair though because there were other girls in the pool with only hats on as well. I guess foreigners cant get away with every thing. Also you have never seen so many speedo bathing suits and high heels on the pool deck. Fascinating, and the deep end well that was up to my waist... if you call that deep. I am glad I went but definitely not again.
Wow this blog is getting long I am almost done hang on. This weekend we leave for holidays in Jeju. Very excited and looking forward to it. I will definitely update the blog and put on some pictures when we get back.
Well I hope you all have been enjoying the updates and silly adventures I am posting about. Also Check out the post below as there are a bunch of pictures there! Enjoy :)
blessing
Becca and Chris

Pictures/A day on the Hangang

View from the top of the 63 building. West Seoul I think!

Concrete, the city of 10 million.

Looking North West down the Hangang, check out all the bridges.

The 63 building on Youido Island.

View from the ferry boat, Seoul tower in the background.

Chris loving the random 7-11 along the bike path. No slurpees thou :(

Me just loving life down by the boat dock in Jamsil. Check out the clouds~awesome.

The Monsoons/Pictures

Chris and I hiked Namsan Mountain in Seoul. This is a view from the top. We didn't go up the tower because the weather wasn't the best and it's not worth it to pay 8 bucks and see what you see in this picture.
I was seriously wondering why all these locks were attached to the wires. I was disappointed to find that they don't mean anything. Just a fad that Korean are in to. Put a little love message on a lock and lock it to the thousands of others up at the tower.
View of a 'small' portion of Seoul from our hike. We are looking forward to the day when it's clear and we can really enjoy the view and take some great pics.
This picture is from a baseball game we saw at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. Awesome experience tons of action as the LG Twins won 11-2. Now for the update.

So the rainy humid season is upon us. It's definitely not the preferred weather but what control do we have over it? Anyways life is going fairly well these days. Teaching continues to be what it is. I am looking forward to next week as summer vacation is here which means my schedule is changed to morning classes. So I have every afternoon off until near the end of August. Plus we have our vacation first week in August. We are going to Jeju Island here in Korea with a couple of friends. Definitely looking forward to it. Although most of Korea will be joining us there it's sure to be um busy. We will have pictures to show for it. :)
Chris and I have been playing ball a few times a week. Enjoying it a lot as we like to dominate, I don't think the opposing team likes playing us but it's exercise and lots of fun. It's quite entertaining to see people stop and watch us play at the park. We are pretty much celebrities, jk.
Anyways that's really all I have to report. This coming weekend we will be going on some adventures so until next weeks update. blessings~

Birthday Adventures

Greetings from Korea. This year was the first time Chris and I had the chance to celebrate our birthdays together, and celebrate we did. It's been a fun past couple of weeks and I will do my best to fill you in on what has been happening. I usually don't care to much about birthdays because it just means I am getting older. Really though we are not that old but, I am finding that age is relative depending on who you with and what circumstance you are in.
So this past weekend we took a little adventure into Seoul. After playing a bit of screen golf on Friday night, we packed our backpacks and headed out praying for good weather. We hiked Namsan mountain which is where Seoul Tower is. The weather was really overcast so we decided to just look around and not go up. It is much more worth it when the skies are clear. The weather did hold out until we reached the bottom of the mountain. A rain shower ensued but we continued adventuring. Later we went to Jamsil Stadium to take in a baseball game. What a fun experience, I have never seen such devoted fans. Not matter what was happening in the game they were cheering. Every player seemed to have a different cheer, so each time a new batter came up a new cheer erupted. It was a lot of fun to be in the middle of something like that and we will be sure to go again. We decided to stay the night so we found a hotel called the Jelly Hotel. Interesting name but a really nice place, very clean and modern.
We've been learning a lot about what is going on in North Korea. Not just the fact they keep launching missiles but what is going on with it's people. How the general population of N.Korea is starving and suffering. Everyday people try to deflect to China, but the Chinese don't want N.Korean refugees and send them back. If you have a chance look up the DVD called Seoul Train. It is hard to watch but if you want to know and be aware of what goes on there please look into it. Also please pray for the situation here. Tensions continue to build and something is going to happen soon.
Teaching has been going well/ok. We have our ups and downs with the company we work for but overall we are content to be here. We describe our classes like this: There is about 15 kids per class, 5 know what's going on, 5 sorta know what's going and 5 don't have a clue. So who the heck do you teach.? Yeah, we are still wondering.
I am feeling better now so that's good. Now to survive the plus 30 temperatures and the humidity that would allow a fish to live out of water. (That's all Chris right there)
We hope to do some beach adventuring soon as summer vacation is coming and our teaching hours change only to the morning. Well I hope this was a good update for you all.
We hope to have more comments at the bottom of our blog.
Take care~ until next time.

First Day of Summer!

We were definitely welcomed by the humid summer heat today. About 29 degrees and just hot. The weather patterns are so crazy here as they are every where I can imagine. It's been a fairly quiet month despite the political situations.
Chris and I planned our summer vacation. We are going to the Island of Jeju-do. It's in Korea and is super popular summer destination. Our holidays happen to fall on the busiest week in Korea for travelling so us along with millions of others will be traveling around the country. Should be interesting. We are flying there and taking a ferry back. Definitely looking forward to it.
Yesterday we went to the Korean War Memorial with a friend. I cant say I was too excited to be back there but the guys loved it. Plus it rained like crazy so there's really nothing better to do than check out a museum. ha ha :) We've been wanting to go on some weekend excursions but the weather on the weekends has been really rainy. It's a bit of a joy kill. I've also been really sick these past 3 weeks. A had a strand of pneumonia in my lungs that kept me coughing and mild fevers. I have the proper meds now but it hasn't been fun. My body doesn't seem to like Korea this time around. Anyways praise God for a good doctor and I am feeling better.
Chris has been working a lot of extra hours these past couple weeks. He is switching over semesters at school so lots of marking and lesson planning. (fun fun)
Teaching is going okay for both of us. The company we work for is pretty shady so sometimes we really have to put our foot down and say no if we think something illegal may be happening.
We've been blessed with some great friends and fellowship from church and through people we've met here in Suwon. We are thankful and are continuing to seek God and what else he has in store for us here.
This coming week is my Birthday and we are going to Seoul to meet friends, have dinner and go to a singing room. Chris hasn't been and it's time for it. So I will post more pics after that adventure. Sometimes it feels like yesterday I turned 26, times seriously evaporates. Am I old? I really think I am getting old. Ha okay you don't have to answer that question. Well that's all the news from across the Pacific. Love you all very much
blessings till next time~

Having Faith in God

Just a few pictures before I give this long awaited update.


1.Is of us hanging out at the Han River. 2. Is the all star team for SIBL, Chris is on the blue team. 3. Is Joey and I she's a super cutie and one of my fav students. 4. My friend Christine and I posing in front of the river

There has been some interesting news from the Koreas in the past couple of weeks. The former ex president committed suicide last Saturday and North Korea once again is stirring the pot and uttering threats. It is very interesting to be so close to such a hostile country so it makes everything really real. Every day there is the constant noise of fighter jets over head and continuous news stories to watch. It's real whether S.Koreans wants to admit it or not. And as a side note Kim Jung Il is crazy.
After last weekends sad news of the ex-presidents death there was a mourning sort of attitude all over the nation. Suicide is a huge problem in this country as shame and guilt are not easily dealt with. Those who suffer from those kinds of issues often don’t want to be a burden to those around them so they usually take their lives. Sadly there are suicide internet groups and pages that encourage ways to take your life and also days that people plan together to do such things so their not alone. It's really sad so we must pray for these people and the Christians in this country to be an encouragement to those around them with no hope.
As for the North they have said that the peace treaty they signed with the South in 1953 is now void. They say they will declare war if South Korea and the US search N.Korean ships for nuclear materials. There is lots of speculation about an attack and then on the other side it's just a political bode for attention.
I sometimes start thinking about it all and get a bit freaked out. Then I have to remember that God is in control and he brought us to Korea and will take care of us even amidst all the political drama. So I am asking those of you who believe in our Lord Jesus to pray for these nations and the leaders as they make decisions and what not. Also for the Christians in N.Korea because there is about 10,000 of them.
Well now you have been updated politically if you didn’t already know much of this. We are doing well working and going to church. Catching up with old friends of mine from the last year. It's interesting that many of my Korean friends don’t have much concern over what's happening in the North. We foreigners are the ones freaking out. I guess they are used to the north and their threats I mean it's been 60 years.
We hope to start planning some adventures soon now that Chris bball league is over. His team ended up 4th. Chris made the all star team so that's sweet. Well I think that is all I got for now. Thanks for reading and have faith that God is in control even when the circumstances of life seem out of control.~