Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday from Korea, Mom!!

AJ eating a bagel

Fall

A couple shots of one of my 2nd graders.  Ali the troublemaker lurking in the background in the red shirt, causes trouble at least once a day.  

 Mighty Joe.

 Old Man

 For our one year anniversary, AJ and I saw a show called Nanta.  Simply put, Nanta is a cooking musical.  4 performers act out a play about preparing dinner for a wedding banquet.  The show involves magic, acrobatics, comedy, and even audience members.  At one point I was chosen to go up on stage and help out a contest between two teams.  The cast use cooking tools as instruments and hardly any words are spoken.   One of the performers had almost everyone in tears laughing when he did a comedy routine that was completely physical.  He mimed and danced around for about 10 minutes and was the best part of the show.  It was easily the best musical I've ever seen, and one of the best experiences I've had in Korea.

 The Seoul International Fireworks show was held along the Han River in early October.  Teams from Korea, Japan, and Portugal showed off their stuff for about an hour, although I couldn't tell which team was which.  Having missed Fourth of July fireworks for 2 years, I was finally able to get my explosives fix that I desperately needed.

 My favorite student, Raymond, on the right, and Phillip performing a pretty.....um.... interesting dance they learned at an English camp a while back.  

 After 2 months of training and 1 half marathon, I put my legs to the test and ran my first full marathon in Songdo.  I kept a slow, even pace for the first half of the race, which I believe helped me in the long run (get it, long run?).  One man skipped with a jumprope the entire race.  I was pretty satisfied with my time, 3:45 and I attribute it to the 50 year old lady who was running neck and neck with me the whole race.  With a few km left, I decided there was no way I could lose to that old hag, and mustered up my remaining energy and left her in the dust.  Take that, Grandma!  Pictured below are my friends Tom (in the middle with the funny shoes) and Brendan, who ran the half and 10km, respectively.  Tom just finished his 4th marathon of the year in those silly shoes.   Maybe next year I'll get a pair.

My first half marathon near the DMZ.

Summer

A few months ago Aeyeon and I checked out an ancient fortress in Suwon, called Hwaseong, built in the 18th century.  

Jeju

For my Summer vacation, Aeyeon and I traveled with her Aunt, Cousin, and her cousin's husband in Jeju.  We went with her cousin's husband's company and a huge tour group of about 120 people, almost all of them with small children.  Needless to say I had my reservations about the trip, especially not being able to make our own plans and schedule. Here are some pictures.

The first stop we hit in Jeju was a circus comprised of Taiwanese performers.  At first I was skeptical about the quality of the show we were about to see, however my attitude changed after watching the first couple acts involving juggling and crazy body contortions.  The motorcycles in the cage were very frustrating to record.  As I tried to take a video after 3 guys rode around, another bike came in, so I had to delete the video and record a new one.  This happened a couple more times, until finally there were 7 bikes in the cage.  Look for the rest of the Jeju photos below.

We stayed in a  group of cabins in the middle of the countryside, and they were quite peaceful.  AJ's cousin's husband and I stayed in our own cabin, with probably enough space for a couple families. 

 The first night was spent getting to know each other.  Being the only foreigner, I became the sideshow attraction and picked to participate in a shouting game, where one person had to turn and shout to the next person, who then turned to another person and shouted or shouted at the same person, until someone messed up.

The next day we traveled around the island sightseeing.  We ended up at a great national park and finally at a clear blue water beach.  We were really lucky to visit at the right time, as a friend of mine was stuck at the airport a few days later when a typhoon hit.  

My friend Colin got married to his fiancee, Su Kyeong at a wedding hall in Incheon.  It was interesting to see the conservative Korean crowd and the rowdy foreigner crowd together at the same time.  The wedding turned a little awkward when Colin had to talk about his future plans in Korean, but definitely made for a good laugh.

 For Chuseok, Aeyeon and I went to Caribbean Bay, the largest indoor and outdoor waterpark in the world.  It is next to Everland amusement park, which is like the Korean equivalent to Disneyland.  Some of the rides were closed, but we got an excellent discount for Chuseok, and the weather was just right.  The slides were pretty fun.  The best was the Aqualoop, in which you stand in a capsule until the floor gives way and you drop straight down and then up and around in a loop.

Taiwan

The first stop after arriving in Taoyuan was a western themed restaurant called Bangles. I completely forgot I was in still in Asia after placing my order to the staff in perfect English, without waving my arms around and looking like an idiot. The burgers were great, too.

Jake dragged me to a club that night called Search. Apparently Search can be used as a verb and adjective as well as a noun. "Are you Searching tonight?" "Sorry I'm so Searched," were common phrases I learned from Jake and his crew.
Jake and his Zoolander phone.
After parting ways with Jake and Hum, I got my first taste of Taiwanese food. The pork hot pot hit the spot.
I hopped on the train and made my way down to Hualien, a city near Taroko Gorge, which you will see pictures of later. The menu at this restaurant was completely in Chinese, so I had to pull the waitress outside and point to a picture of this dish. I think it was sweet and sour chicken. The thing in the cup was sort of like a chicken pot pie, but the bread was really flaky. Delicious
Here is the entrance to Taroko, a national park on the east coast of Taiwan.
Taroko Gorge is the main attraction at the park. The narrow valley that cuts through the park is very scenic and there are many tunnels carved through the mountains.








It's kind of hard to see, but the lady in the picture has feet for hands, probably from smoking. Even the devil on the left doesn't approve.

Can you see the bridge in the middle?
Back in Hualien I feasted on a pork cutlet, similar to Dongkass. I don't know what the light brown, rogue piece at the top was, and I don't think I want to know.
The western food was so good I became depressed. I can't find a decent milkshake easily in Korea. Hum recommended the oreo shake and I may have to commute to Taiwan on the weekends for it.
My first stop in Taipei was the National Palace. You will find similar entrances all around the city.




The entrance to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial.


There he is! Unfortunately there was construction going on at the time, and this was the best shot I could get.


The Presidential Palace
Peace Park


There were cool little alleys all over the city. As far as I could judge, the restaurants served mostly fried meats, noodles, and dumplings.
This woman whipped me up a nice little sandwich. Kebab-style chicken in between some bread and special sauce. What a genius!
These men gathered around and played some type of board game for money.
Longshan Temple
I don't understand what these animatronic puppets were doing at the temple. I don't think they are found here year round, probably for a holiday of some sort.
Is the circus in town?
Taipei 101, the 2nd tallest building in the world.

This is called the "damper baby." It stabilizes the tower during strong winds.


The elevator shot up from the 5th floor to the 89th floor in 37 seconds.
Night shot.
Friendship at its best. Hum, me, and Jake.