Ducks and pigs :)

Phew, it has been hard being a tour guide these past few weeks, and I am happy to be back to just telling the story of us, in a strange place... and nothing is stranger that trying to chronicle your normal life.  Luckily I have a weird and twisted sense of humor, kind of like the person who thought it would be a great idea to line an elementary playground with rose bushes... the roses are in full bloom right now, and so are the thorns, which makes recess SO FUN!

Yesterday we finally made it to the duck boats on the lake (really this was parental guilt, I had taken my kindergarten students there on Friday, but never my own kids).  We figured it was time, before we head home, to finish up some things that we wanted to do, this was one, so off we went.

Safety before fashion.  Since I had been here the day before, I got to pretend that I understood what the guy was saying and repeat the directions in English to Gary and the kids.  He would say something and gesture, and I would say, "You have to stay inside the buoys."  Then he points to the gear stick and says something else, and I say, "Forward for forward, middle for neutral, and back to reverse."  I was SO cool!  Like I know the Korean word for NEUTRAL!  HA!

Once on the boat we were like movie stars.  Each person that went by waved and said, in their best English, "HELLO!"  It was so cute.

Pooks favorite gear was neutral, she would gun the boat as fast as it would go and then slam it into neutral, where we would glide about 6 feet and then stop.  

More HELLOs!

This kid has obviously forgotten that water has alligators in it!

Each kid wanted a turn to drive, so at the halfway mark we had to switch seats.

Tossing rocks after a long and hot ride.

The next day some of the ladies and I wanted to cross another thing off the list, so we went to the Bullo flower area of Daegu, which is about a 6 minute drive.  I was looking for basil,  another lady was looking for kim-chi pots to take home, and the last one was just looking for fun.  Luckily we found all three things. The first place we stopped was the kim-chi pot place, where you can buy pots of all sizes, from these 10 gallon beasts...

to these, that probably hold two teaspoons,

and every size in between.  These people are serious about their pots!

Then, for some reason which is unclear to me, they also have lots of ceramic pigs. 

The pigs come in all sizes, and sure did make us smile!  Like the thought of being home in 35 days makes us smile... like pigs!

More pictures of the area.

After the last post we received several requests for more pictures of the area around the school.  So these first few shots are taken from the roof of the dorm, where we have been known to hang out on Fridays and Saturdays for happy hour...

This is the roof of the gym and the sunset.

Looking towards some new apartments that are being built, across the campus.  Left is the roof of the gym again, then the fields and the kindergarten building and new futsol court.

A new Korean elementary school, our tennis court, and another basketball court.

Behind our school is YoungShin School, also a Korean school, up to grade 12.

A closer shot of the basketball court and a walking trail you can take into Bullo-dong, the neighborhood area for our school.

Now we are driving on the main road through Bullo-dong in a loop to get some pictures.  We'll just go up one side, and back down the other.  

(this is a great place to get nail polish)

When you get to this point you know you are almost to the school...
I hope this helps you get a better idea of what the area looks like :)
Next weekend I will head over to the mall...

This one is for YOU!

Normally this blog is for our families... it is a great way to keep in touch with everyone at home, and to show them a glimpse of our daily, and not so daily lives.  But this week, we are writing this blog for someone else... no, not the people that search No Nude Photos  (you would not believe how many hits this gets!)... but for other people's families.  Yes, YOU, teachers that are new to DIS.  I can only imagine what my dad was thinking when we told him we were heading to Korea...

cue the music... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASMgYO4iR7I&feature=related

and so you may be hearing the M*A*S*H jokes, and being warned to stay out of North Korea, heck, someone might even be calling you Hotlips! 

AND, some of you may have nervous family members, or you might be nervous yourself!  And so today we took the camera around to give you a brief glimpse of Daegu,  Korea, 40+ years after MASH...

Our school, as seen from the front entrance.  Notice, nowhere is there an IV tube or a person in camo.  Our school is state of the art, with many parents and students who have lived, studied, and worked in the US. 

Our school has security around the clock, but we have never needed it.  I don't think that ANYONE in Korea has ever needed security, except to call cabs.  Our guys are great, and they keep us safe.  They also keep the kids (from ages 2-15) from running out into the street around our school.  We know that our kids will be safe, because these guys watch out for them.

The outside view of our school.  Again, the gate is mostly there for cosmetic purposes. 

Within walking distance (even with 2 kids) is the Lotte Mall, which has a Gap, TGIFridays, Body Shop, and lots of other shops.  If you go there you might see Pororo and Mickey Mouse walking around, but you surely will not see Hawkeye performing an emergency apendectomy.

This path borders our school (you can see the kindergarten classrooms to your right) and takes you up to several VERY important places. 

The first is the Muffin Tree, a wonderful little cafe owned by a crazy Canadian (sorry Nick), which sells coffee, sandwiches, spaghetti, bagels, and of course, muffins.

The second is the ATM, where you can easily wire LOTS of the money you are saving home.  You can still see our school behind- the building closest houses the presentation hall, and the one behind has the dance studio.

At the top of the hill is a walking area.  This place is very popular on the weekends.  There is the lake with water skiing and duck boats, a playground, a free butterfly museum and butterfly house, tennis, and lots and lots of hiking.

The main path around the lake has lights and music, and the lights are on all night until sunrise.  You can tell your dads that I have been running alone here each morning and it is completely safe.... um... just don't tell MY dad...

Some times we just stop and say, "Oh my gosh, we are in KOREA!"  Because really it is easy to get caught up in your daily routine, and not realize.  We get up and have bagels and eggs for breakfast, lasagna for lunch, and chicken and rice for dinner.  We speak English all day to parents, students, and staff.  If you need some new socks, you can just run over to the GAP and get them.  And if you are feeling a little crazy you can have some kim-chi with your meals, or try the Korean side for lunch, but you don't HAVE to.  You can live in this little bubble where you just forget.

OK, back to the walking trail.  About halfway around there is an exercise area with equipment just OUT THERE.  Even hula-hoops.  And no one does anything with them but excecise, and no one steals anything.  Well, really, this is a little weird... It's like you almost expect Rod Sterling to step out from behind a tree and say, "The Odom's don't know it, but they've walked into a place that doesn't exist in time or space.  They've just embarked on a one-way trip into The Twilight Zone..." Because everyone is so kind, and so quiet, and so considerate, and the city isn't worried about a lawsuit from some granny who threw her back out on the elliptical machine. 

And on your walk home you can buy a watermelon out of the back of someones pickup, and if you say, "Ga-ka ju-say-yo?" you might get a discount.  But I never have.

After the walk we took a taxi downtown (courtesy of our security guards) and on the way we passed our hospital and our dentist.  And both places are great.  I know that is a worry that we had... what do we do if we get sick?  Because you know it will happen.  Especially if you have kids.   And so, since we have been here, we've had the flu, a broken arm, all our teeth cleaned, two old fillings replaced, an eye exam, mammogram, and thyroid ultrasound.  And it has been fine.  We have Korean insurance, which makes the price very reasonable, and there has always been at least one person, usually the doctor, who speaks English and has studied in the US.  So there. 

There is also an Outback,

and another TGIFridays and a Dunkin Donuts,

and a Smoothie King, and 7-11, and how bad can a place be, that has all of these things? 

And once you realize that you can get all of the things you might be missing, you can look around, and you can SEE.  You can see that everyone here is Korean.  EVERYONE!  And they all speak Korean.  And they will try to speak English, and go out of their way to say hello to you.  And sometimes they will stare.  But not in a mean or threatening way, but like YOU would, if you saw an albino walking around the mall.... like WOAH, check that out!  And when that happens you can say, "an-yo-ha-say-yo!" and get smiles of wonder, and get lots of 'Hello!s" in reply.  And you will realize that what you are doing in an amazing experience, and an amazing experiment. 

And there are days when it will not be easy (although the Dunkins does help).  Days when someone you love is having heart surgery, or graduating, or having a birthday, or celebrating Christmas all together, and you are 6,518 miles away.  And you will miss things.  But you will also be doing incredible things.  Things that you NEVER thought you would be able to do (especially on a teacher's salary).  And you will be safe, and you will be fine.  And your families will be proud, even though they are missing you. 

And when it gets too hard, just give me a call... because I know a place...

and while it's not home... it'll do for now...