Contract Two Year Two

Well it seems that we are off and running already into our second year here in Korea. We have been back for two weeks now. It has been relatively easy getting readjusted to our home away from home. Both Latanya and I have some new co-teachers and a new schedule for our classes. Last week it decided to snow and we were not too pleased to be back in the cold. It warmed up a little this week but the forecast predicts more snow soon perhaps. Latanya and I have made a new plan for grocery buying. We are trying to eat at home more. We stocked up on meats for the month at Costco as well as pasta, cereal, tortillas, Dodger Dogs etc. For all the veggies and fruits, we go to EMart on a weekly basis. It has worked out nicely thus far. Hopefully we will save on money and we can also try and eat a bit healthier. It was nice seeing our friends again when we came back. They were here to welcome us and eager to here how our trip home was. Latanya is currently taking event planning classes. I am almost done with my TEFL certificate (to get a pay raise). We are also eagerly trying to plan our summer vacation. I think we are leaning closer and closer to Bali, but India is not out of the question. That's it for now.

Christmas and New Year's Eve

To start our Christmas off right we had a white elephant gift exchange. There were about a dozen of us. We had a cap of 10,000 Won which is a little less than $10.00. I brought a bottle of Soju .80 cents wrapped with a 10,000 Won bill. I wrapped the present beautifully inside multiple boxes. It had to have been at least 7 or 8 boxes that needed to be opened. It was quited funny when our friend Stephan chose it. The present I ended up with was from our neighbor Jess. It was a bear cap, Kahlua and some other goodies. Latanya got some earmuffs, candy and other sorts. We all had some holiday cookies and a great little afternoon.

As far as a Latanya and Daniel Christmas tradition we baked cookies in the apartment and decorated. My mom sent us some decorations to help make the place look festive. We wore our Santa hats and had a jolly good time.

On Christmas Eve we went to the local ski resort, which is about a 5 minute drive away. We met some friends of ours, Curtis and Dong-He. I learned how to snowboard and Latanya refreshed her memory. It was so much fun. There were quite a few people on the slops but over all not way too crowded. I wasn't half bad. It took me awhile to get the whole standing up thing. But towards the end of the night I went down the medium slope only falling once.

The next day we opened our presents from home. We called our families and we were pleased to be able to talk to everyone. We were really sad at this point. It was really hard for both of us. We realized what Christmas really means to us. It's a time for family and by not being with our family it did not feel the same. Though it was nice to see everyone via Skype. If only next year my family can get the web cam going on their end. LOL. Towards dusk on Christmas day we experienced something never before in our lives. We had a white Christmas!!! It began to snow and we were so excited.

For New Year's Eve we got a hotel in Seoul. We stayed in the same hotel with a couple of couples. We did some pregame drinking in the room and then made our way to a festive area for the count down. The streets were pretty packed and everyone was out in full force. We hit up a couple of bars and had a few more drinks. Later we counted down inside another bar. It was way too cold to be out and about we decided.

After the mayhem of the count down a friend of ours decided to wander off. He had a little too much to drink. So the guys decided to make a search party for him. It was like find a miniature needle in a giant haystack. With all the people walking around it was near impossible. While we split up to look for him I decided to enjoy the moment a little more and bought a $1.00 firework. It was great. It was one you hold and lite it and it fires were you point it. It must have fired about a dozen times into the air, so worth the money.

After awhile the search stopped and we made our way back to the hotel and crashed out. Oh but before we left the bar the manager tried to make Latanya and I pay for drinks that some other person we did not know didn't pay for. We were adamant about not paying and after a good 20 minute debate the manager gave up and we left. (Side story) It turns out the person who did not pay for their drinks was a girl we were introduced to earlier. She just so happened to be from my hometown Yucaipa. Not only that but she graduated a year after me at YHS. What a small world, right?

We found out the next day our friend, who wandered off made it back safely. We don't know how he made it back but he came stumbling in really late. All in all it was a wonderful night out. It was definitely a memorable night to boot.

Our Vacation Home

Well, well, well, we are back for another year. We arrived safe and sound in the land of Morning Calm. We had an amazing vacation that lasted from Jan. 26th to Feb. 27th. For the first part of our trip we spent it relaxing at our parent's homes and eating as much food as we could. We stuffed our faces with home cooking and good old fast food. Besides family and friends we truly had missed the food from home the most. It was great to eat something not only familiar, but also delicious American food. Don't get me wrong Korea has many western chains and mostly good too, but they don't have many Mexican food restaurants, especially nothing to the equivalent to a Taco Fiesta or a Titos. We also got our fill of some sit down restaurants like Chili's, Outback, Black Angus, CPK, the Alcapolco etc. My most enjoyed meal had to have been the California Burrito from Taco Fiesta with three rolled Tacos with guacamole and cheese...mmmm!

So anyways, after a couple of days of relaxing with the parents, we had a birthday party for my grandma. It was a nice champagne brunch. It was great to see everyone especially our nieces. They have gotten so big.

The next week we saw some friends of ours and met their almost one year old. She is so adorable. On the weekend Latanya took a trip to San Fransisco with her sister to meet her friend Ayesha. They had a wonderful time catching up and visiting Ayesha's boyfriends family in San Jose. I pretty much watched HGTV all weekend. Oh how we missed House Hunter's International, our fav.

The next week we got in some shopping and ran some errands. It was great to go to Target. Just reading in Barnes and Noble was awesome too. At the end of the week we took a trip down to San Diego, first stop Taco Fiesta. We met my brother Michael and his girlfriend Michelle. She made us some good Indian food. We hung around our kegerator and had a great night catching up.

The next day we met up with my other brother Bill and our nieces, Madelyn and Cecelia. We all went to the San Diego Zoo. Latanya and I have never been to the San Diego Zoo before just the L.A. Zoo, and boy were we impressed. The girls showed us around. Madelyn is so smart, she was our little tour guide. After a long day at the Zoo my sister-in-law met us for dinner along with Michael and Michelle. After dinner the adults went back to Michael's place and we all played a little cards (The Double Dutch) for some good old laughs.

The next week we did some more going back and forth between parents. I went to Vegas with my two buddies. We did not win too big but fared well enough, gotta love the roulette.

The week after that we met my aunts in LA for dinner. I was really nice visiting with them. Later in the week we celebrated Latanya's sister Courtney's birthday. Latanya planned the whole thing with a Twilight the saga theme. It was fantastic. She really did a great job. After that it was time to go back to Korea. Our vacation was perfect. It was really long and we accomplished a lot. We miss everyone already. But we know that we are back in Korea for a reason and a specific goal. We want to save enough money to be able to buy a house and set up our future financially.

Thanksgiving

This post is long overdue. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and this year in Korea it was no different. Our friends Ashley and Marisa hosted a Thanksgiving party in Pyeongnae the next town over about a 4 min taxi ride from our apt. Most of the people in attendance were not American but in true American fashion we forced our holiday on them. The dinner was potluck style and I have to say that everyone's dishes were very delightful. All the fixings were there turkey, stuffing, creamed corn, mash potatoes, and pumpkin pie. We were introduced to banoffee pie, apple snicker salad, and the most amazing spinach and feta quesadillas. After dinner we went around the room and said what we were thankful for (everyone seemed to be thankful for Dan). I have to say I have been really thankful for being in Korea with Daniel , making such amazing friends, and being more adventurous with food (this is the first year I have ever had pumpkin pie)

Tan

It's a New Year!

Well as I am sure most of you can see we are yet again behind on some important blogs, such as: Thanksgiving, Christmas, My Birthday and New Years. Hopefully they will be up shortly. In the mean time here is a little update for the near future.
So first off, Latanya and I are officially resigned for another year. I know nobody is jumping for joy, but we are happy to be able to take advantage of this opportunity. The job market is still poor and we could really be setting ourselves up for the future.
Secondly, I will be going back to school to get a certificate in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and Latanya wants to take some classes online too, to help with her party planning. Educating ones self is never a bad thing, and we want to obtain more tools for our arsenal of skills. It makes us more employable.
Lastly we will be coming home in 2 weeks. We are set to arrive at LAX on the 26th of January. We are staying until the 27th of February. It should be a great trip. We can't wait to see all our friends and family. It will be an opportunity to recharge our batteries so to speak. I can't wait for that good old home cookin'. Especially some pine tarts, wink wink.
That's all for now. See you soon Southern California.

It's Cold

Just wanted to say that it is really cold. Today was freezing. Tomorrow's predicted forecast is the high of 16 degrees Fahrenheit and the low of 4. That's -9 and -16 respectively in Celsius. I sure do miss our Southern California winter. Please think warm thoughts for us.

27 And Out Of The Country!!!!

I was really bummed about celebrating my birthday in Korea. I didn't want to go to dinner or have a night on the town but wanted to celebrate it in my own fashion. So 27 and out the country cocktail party was created. At a Marilyn Monroe exhibit a few weeks back with the girls there was a picture that really caught my eye it was used for inspiration of the party. It was a black and white picture of Marilyn's face matted with a pink hue of light making the picture a striking hot pink color. My goal was to create a party where everyone could get dressed up and forget they were in Korea. Between Dondaedmun (a craft area), the won store (the dollar store), and my husband's help we were able to transform our apartment into a hot pink New York loft. The party was a success food was eaten, my cheeseball was a hit, cocktails were flowing, dancing was had, and I believe everyone in attendance spent the better part of Sunday laid up in recovery mode from the good times.

Wine Train

On Halloween morning, Dan and I met up with our neighbors Jess and Fran and headed to Seoul station via the M2104 bus. At Seoul station, we met up with Ben, Lydia, and 3 other friends to embark on our Korean wine train adventure. At first we had trouble finding the line for the train then we noticed a long line of Koreans standing in front a sign that said “Wine train”. We checked in and waited for 10 minutes until the train came. The train featured four themes under which the cabins were divided: red wine, white wine, ginseng, and herbs.
On the exterior of the train was photographs of wine while the interior was decorated like a wine bar. We sat in the ginseng cabin; instead of regular passenger seats tables of two or four filled the space. En route to the winery we made about 4 or 5 stops picking up passengers. We sat around talking anxiously waiting for the wine and snacks to be served. Finally a platter of snacks was served crackers, peanuts, muffins, and Kraft cheese slices along with 4 types of wine (red-merlot, white-sparkling chardonnay, grape juice wine, and plum wine). Overall, I didn’t like most of the wines but I’m not really a fan of red wines to begin with. The red wine was too dry, the plum wine tasted like cough syrup, the grape juice wine tasted like wine from communion (Dan enjoyed this one), and the sparkling chardonnay was my favorite it tasted like champagne mixed with wine. We were pacing ourselves to taste more wine at the winery.
The train stopped and we hopped onto a bus to the winery Wine Korea. We were served a Korean lunch with wine (red wine and plum wine). After lunch we walked around the grounds taking pictures and admiring the leaves changing for fall. We followed our wine tour group of about 30 people to a large meeting room and the tour leader told us about the winery in Korean. Being fluent in Korean I was able to understand. This winery has been producing wine since 1998. After about 10 minutes of having no idea of what was being said I assume it was an explanation of the wine-making process. The tour group started to remove their shoes and we followed. I was excited because I thought we going to stomp grapes like on I love Lucy. Instead our group just put our feet in a wine foot bath. After the foot bath, we went back into the meeting room and tried to make a bath ball out of wine. We were unsuccessful cause Ben poured too much wine into our ingredients causing the ball to be to wet. We took a tour around the winery seeing bottles of wine being processed, a museum, and wine-making booths. Anxiously waiting for the wine tasting to begin we were told that the wine tasting only takes place on the train. Slightly disappointed we were told to get back on the bus to head to our next destination.
We headed to Geumsan, a town which produces 80 percent of domestic ginseng. We walked around a ginseng museum and along a street where you can buy ginseng, other roots, and herbs. The locals were happy to see foreigners and invited us to have some dong dong ju and fried ginseng. Dong dong ju is a traditional drink made from rice and has a milky appearance. It is served out of a large bowl and poured into a separate cup with a ladle. The Korean men were especially happy to see Dan and Fran cause of their blond hair and blue eyes. I swear these two get the most compliments I have ever seen. We departed from our new friends and headed back to the bus to catch the train. We hopped on the train and headed back to Seoul. We were served a light dinner Kimbap and hard boiled eggs. Someone in our group found out that the wine was unlimited and let’s just say we drank our money’s worth.
We arrived at Seoul Station feeling good and ready for the rest of the evening. The group parted ways to enjoy Halloween activities Dan, Jess, Fran, and I headed to Everest an Indian restaurant for dinner. This restaurant had the most amazing chicken tikka massala, garlic naan, and chicken tikka. Dan and I enjoyed the food so much that we ended up having it 4 times that week for dinner. We headed back to our town to go to a Halloween party but it started raining and we were all tired from the day so we called it a night.

Beijing (Day 4)

So on day four we slept in a little but still woke up relatively early. We had a few more sights to see and we wanted the evening to relax. We first headed to the Tiananmen Square again to see if the mausoleum was open. At this point we did not know that it was closed for the festivities. After the disappointing discovery we headed to the Temple of Heaven. It was a good walk from our hotel, we did not mind. We were up for yet another adventure.
After about a 45 minute walk we arrived at the Temple of Heaven. We had to pay admission to enter the park that surrounded the temple. It was quite beautiful. There were many flower displays set up for the 60th anniversary. The grounds were well kept and the weather was perfect. We strolled through the massive park for some time. We made our way to the center of the park to see the temple. We knew we were going the right way because we were following the mass amount of people.
The temple was nice. It was quite impressive. It was yet another place for worship and sacrifice. We took many pictures as well as had many pictures taken of us. After the temple museum we made our way to the south gate (opposite of where we entered). We thought we knew where a subway station was according to our map and headed in that direction.
While walking we stumbled upon an interesting public display of anger. A man was standing in front of a bus refusing to move out of the way and was yelling obscenities at the driver. We found a place to sit and watched the drama play out. After twenty minutes of yelling and the passengers exiting the bus it was a stalemate. We continued our walk and could not find the station. Apparently the map we had was made before the station was built and we were a good twenty minute walk away for where the actual station is now.
After finally finding the station we made our way to the center of the city. We had some Outback for lunch. It was pretty good. We picked up yet another Outback pin to add to the collection. After that we went to the Silk Road building. This place was floor to floor of knockoffs. Latanya was in heaven. It made the Bangkok one look like a kiosk. They had so much more fakes than the other one had, as well as good one's. Unfortunately we were on a budget and could not go berserk, though we wanted to. We did buy a sweeter for Latanya, the lady started at $75 and I got her down to $20. I must say, I sure can haggle.
When we left the Silk Road we stumbled upon some interesting neighborhoods. We came to little Moscow, full of Russian writing and advertising as well as a fur coat mini mall. Then we walked through the area with all the embassies. It was fun playing the game, guess which embassy, by looking at the flag. I won. We found North Korea's embassy and threw a rock at the window of the main entrance...not really, just kidding. I did stick my foot under the fence and I can officially say that I stepped foot on North Korean soil. Latanya was angry with me. She thought I was going to be shot or something. Hehe.
Next we made our way to our hotel. Before we got back we got some coffee and relaxed for the evening. The next morning we needed to leave the hotel by 8am to head to the airport. We had such a fantastic trip. The weather was so clear and perfect. We think we did a lot in the time allotted. The Great Wall was by far the best moment of the whole trip, but going to North Korea was a close second.

Beijing (Day 3)

When we booked our Great Wall excursion, we had many choices to choose from. We had decided to first choose a part of the wall that was not going to be overcrowded. Seeing as it was their National holiday weekend, we did not want to be walking the wall alongside the entire population of China. So we decided on the Mutianyu section of the wall. Our next decision was whether we wanted to have shopping included or excluded. The shopping with, was cheaper than the shopping without. We did not quite grasp why it was cheaper for shopping than without, but we chose with, because it was cheaper. I know, cheapskates.
Our driver and tour guide arrived bright and early and we headed off for a great Chinese sightseeing day. We were driven in a small van and were accompanied by four other foreigners. Our first stop was at a jade factory. It was there where we realized what the shopping meant. The shopping included, simply meant that the tour guide would take us places and people would try and sell us stuff. With the exception of having to stay at the jade place for 45 minutes, it was not too bad. We did confirm that we still think Jade is tacky, but at least we understand the historical significance behind the jewelry in China.
After the jade place we headed to the Ming tombs. The Ming tombs were included in our Great Wall package and I for one was really excited to see them. Over the rule of the Ming Dynasty the Emperors were buried after death in an area just north of Beijing. They built tombs for themselves similar to the Egyptians. However unlike the Egyptians they were nothing like the pyramids. There are only three tombs open to the public of the 13. The tomb we went to was actually not too breath taking. It was merely another small palace, much like many we had already seen. It was fully equiped with several buildings and a water way, along with a sacrificial temple. The tomb itself was underneath the temple and we were unable to see it, mainly because it is still buried and untouched.
After the Ming Tombs we headed to the Great Wall. We had a delicious Chinese lunch at the base of the wall. The restaurant was nice and the food was amazing. It was starting to get a little warm so we made sure to buy some water before our hike. Hike? Yep, you read correctly, hike. I know most of you are thinking Latanya=Hike, no way, right. Well we both decided that we came all the way to the Great Wall of China, and there was no way that we want to take a cable car to the top. I mean what kind of story would that be.
This portion of the wall sat a top the mountain side. It curved its way across the Chinese terrain. We started our accent and made a good pace for ourselves. It was not an easy hike by any means and we were feeling the burn about ten minutes in. The trail had steps all the way up that were really steep. We made sure to take a little break here and there. Over all it was about a 30 minute hike. Our tour guide told us it was a 45 minute hike, so we felt accomplished to do it in 30.
Once we arrived at the base of the wall we were taken back. We just kept looking at the wall for a couple of minutes. We could not believe where we were. As a kid you learn about the Great Wall of China in books and even as a non history buff one understands the historical and cultural significance it has. We were actually here. Actually at the base. We then eagerly made our way on to the wall itself. Once atop we had a view unlike any we had ever seen before. The country side was absolutely beautiful. We could see the wall curve its way through the mountainous contour. The wall went as far as the eye could see. We were pleased to see not a huge crowd of people. This was exactly what we wanted. We wanted an experience special in the way that could not be interrupted by mobs of tourists.
We started to make our way to the different towers. We found a cannon facing towards Mongolia and I could not pass up such a perfect photo opportunity. As we hiked along the wall we kept reminding ourselves that we were on the The Great Wall of China. It was an accomplishment. I had always envisioned seeing the Great Wall but actually being there was nothing like I would have ever dreamed. We were thrilled with excitement and satisfaction.
We walked the wall for about an hour we said good bye and made our way down the steep path. It was still rather warm but the tree lined path kept it cool. Once down at the bottom we met up with the rest of our tour and headed back to Beijing.
We had one more stop before our hotel. We stopped at a silk factory, where we learned all about the silkworm and silk. We were again propositioned to buy, but we knew it was a huge tourist trap.
Our tour guide then took us to a tea house, where we had a lovely tea ceremony. We got to sample several different teas. They again tried to sell us tea. We gladly took our free samples and enjoyed the information.
After the tea we were able to get a foot massage and learn about herbal medicine. We sat down in a small room and one by one everyone got a wonderful foot massage. But wait, not exactly everyone. We all had our feet soaked in warm water and when it was my turn the staff was starting to pack up for the end of the day. I, awaiting eagerly, just thought they needed to get some more towels, or maybe some more warm water. The masseuse came back and asked me to take my feet out of the water. I thought, yes, finally. She then proceeded to ask me to kindly dry my feet, and she removed the bowl. I asked the herbal Dr. in charge, if I was going to get a foot massage. She laughed and walked away. It's not often that you can get mad at not getting a free foot massage, but I was. I was more disappointed than anything. I had been saying all weekend that my feet were hurting; Latanya can attest. Everyone else got one but me. I told our tour guide and he was shocked. I figured since the place was closing and everyone was done, I did not want to try and make everyone wait on me. So as sad as I was Latanya promised to give my feet a rub down back at the hotel. What a great wife.
We then were dropped off at our hotel. We made arrangements to eat with one of the ladies on our tour. She was really nice. She was from England and lived and worked in Shanghai. We took a stroll to see the street eats. We walked through a long row of street food stands. They had everything you could imagine. They had: fried starfish, dumplings, snake, eel, scorpion, seahorse, silkworms, sheep testicles and much much more. We decided on some delicious dumplings. After our appetizers we made our way to a local Chinese restaurant. It was quite busy so we new it must be good, and it certainly was. We had some nice conversation with our new friend and then said good night. We went back to the hotel to turn in and I cashed in on the free foot massage; oh how I needed it. The next day was our last full day of Beijing and we still had some more sights to see.