More new experiences

So, this week we are all experiencing something new in the sleeping arena.

Mike is staying with a family who sleep on the floor.
Dina has her own private apartment.
Amy is adjusting to her new hay stack pillow.
Heather is literally sleeping on Coldstone Creamery. The bed is a solid slab of granite stone which can be heated from underneath. There is a matress pad on top!

Good times!

WeekThree

Time is limited folks- so here is a brief list of highlights (and there are SO many more!)

Temples
Making lanterns for Budda's birthday
Sauna (like being in a stonefire pizza oven)
Noodle Company
Pressed flower artwork
Ceramics factory
Kimchi factory
Daegu University
Dance class


etc.........

Highlights

Hi everyone,

Highlights from this week include:

-Rotary meeting and visits
-Visit to an all boys high school and math class (Thankfully, Mike understood the equations. The rest of us don't get it even when it is in English!)
-Acupuncture
-Herbal medicine market
-Visit to the traditional market
-A visit to LG (If anyone has a spare $60,000 there is a gold plated 71 inch entertainment center available. Apparently the top market is the super-rich of the Middle East. They also have Swarovski crystal decorated kitchen appliances. Fridge bling, I love it. There is a new 15 inch featherweight TV that you can pick up and carry around with you. We also saw the brand new 3D television. UNBELIEVABLE.)
-A visit to Youngdo Velvet Factory. One of the top producers and the #1 in quality color.
-Several Buddhist temples
-Visit to an enormous high-tech dental complex
-Nokdong Confucian Academy
-Korea Investment Center
-Traditional Korean homes including the childhood home of the Rotary International president
-Lark Son Restaurant and Wine Bar where the classically trained (In Italy) owner performed for us with a beautiful tenor voice following our meal.
-Pottery factory
-Goryeong Daegaya Experience Festival
-Arboretum
-Cheodong Bullfighting Opening Ceremony (Not as bad as it sounds, but I am pretty sure that PETA would not approve- bullfighting is apparently illegal here except for once a year. Appearance on the Jumbotron)
-A VIP visit to see the Samsung Lions baseball team (Appearance on the Jumbotron)
-We saw "The Air I Breathe" which is a movie directed by a Korean which features several U.S. Hollywood actors/actresses. We all enjoyed it and would recommend that you check it out.

With the exception of a few "bad Stix days" we are all improving in our Chopsticks abilities. You know that you are getting good when you can handle noodles, beans, and tofu in soup. We have had PLENTY to eat (picture more than 20 dishes per table of 3) and we have had: octopus, squid, assorted intestines, oysters, ginseng juice, sea cucumber, duck, tons of hot peppers-garlic-bean paste-and onions, pear soju (kind of like whisky), rose-flavored gum, and more others then I can mention here. Everyone has been really troopers about trying new things.

We are all adjusting to having soju shots with our lunch and dinner. The rule is that the first shot everyone drinks the full shot, and the following shots can be sipped. If you empty your glass, it will be refilled! So far there has been no soju for breakfast, but it is only week two. :)

Our host families and the local Rotary members continue to be warm and welcoming and we are all feeling at home here. We are enjoying our new little/big brothers/sisters and are quickly welcomed into the family. Mike's "little brother" even fell asleep on Mike's bed while waiting for him to come home! Every day is a new cultural experience and we are learning so much. There is no question that we were all blessed to be given this opportunity.

Week Two

All is great in Korea. Planning to do some highlights about week two this week, but I have to tell you about today.

We spent the morning at a festival held in the countryside surrounding Daegu. It was amazing! One thing that we have learned during our first two weeks is that many of the young people have never met an American (or any "foreigner" at all). Schools have started to require students to learn English, but many of the kids and young adults we have encountered have never had the opportunity to speak English to a native speaker.

Today at the festival, it was as though we were celebrities. Dina and Harold were interviewed for the news regarding their impressions of the event. Amy was told that she looked like Angelina Jolie and Mike was told repeatedly that he was a "handsome man." Heather was crowded by kids and asked for her autograph. It is a very new experience!

The past several days have been exceptional (just like last week was) and I look forward to sharing the stories.

Week One

Hello blog fan club!

Week one was absolutely wonderful. We arrived safely and had a huge welcome party waiting for us at the airport. Each team member is staying with a different host family each week. Our families have been warm, welcoming, and extremely generous.

Highlights from this week include:
-Rotary welcome dinner
-Soccer match at the World Cup Stadium
-Visit to POSCO (the world's #1 steel producer)
-Visit to Daegu Health College (the technology and design is amazing)
-Distribution Center (the electronics technology is leaps ahead of ours)
-Visit to a 400 year old family village
-Visit to the Korean War Memorial
-A trip to the East coast were the sun "REALLY" rises first in the morning
-Singing room (karaoke). Harold is by far the BEST singer in the group. Frank Sinatra got a run for his money!
-FOOD, FOOD, and more FOOD! We got a chance to try blowfish (deadly if not prepared exactly right- we all survived!) in many forms- fried, boiled, in soup.
-On Saturday we all had a free day with our families, so we had a chance to do and try a variety of things.

The emphasis on education is evident. Those of us living with families with school children are amazed that the kids go to school so early, study all afternoon and evening, and are still awake studying when we go to bed, and are awake before we get up in the morning.

We are all feeling very at home here in Korea and are having too much fun. There is a feeling of sadness that one week is already over, but there is so much more to come!

Today we are heading to a high school so that Mike can visit a math class. We are also heading to the herbal medicine market today so that Amy and Heather can try acupuncture. It should be an adventure.

Kitchen Tables of South Korea Here We Come!

Hey there avid and devoted readers,

Last night team S.K. headed over to Mrs. Min's house for dinner. Mrs. Min is our very patient and very fun Korean language teacher. She filled the table (literally!) with all kinds of wonderful foods including:

Galbi-gui (Broiled Short Ribs)

Bulgogi (Barbecued Beef)

Kimchi (Pickled/Fermented Cabbage)

Kong Namul (Boiled and Seasoned Bean Sprouts)

A variety of vegetables, sesame leaves, seaweed soup, crab, mushrooms, and other goodies also filled the table. For dessert we had "Shin-go" Korean pears (AWESOME!) and sweet crackers.

Everything was amazing and the table was filled with lots of laughter, stories, and planning. A picture of the group with Mrs. Min will be coming soon!

One More Week

In exactly one week, we will be on board the plane to South Korea. Our itinerary still remains a mystery, but we know that someone will be at the airport waiting for us. Checking out the weather in Taegu/Daegu, it still looks better than here! At this point, anywhere that doesn't have a foot of snow is looking better and better. :)

Current conditions as of 3:00 am KST
Clear
Feels Like:
48°

We Are Getting Close!

With only 12 days left to go, the group is getting excited! Some of us are even beginning to suffer Packer's Anxiety (and no, it has nothing to do with Brett Favre's retirement).