Cooking at Daegu-Gyeongbuk English Village

We were lucky enough to have an in with one of Brandon's coworkers who asked if we wanted to take a cooking class tour. Some of the tours that we have taken are sponsored and are free and so we decided to go on this one because it didn't cost us a thing and we may actually learn something. It was fairly close to our area and got home pretty early. So off we went yesterday morning. We were at an English village which is pretty much a week camp for Korean children to go and experience English was of life the best they can here in Korea. Quite a lot of the staff is from Colorado and some in Canada. They have little simulations for the kids where they board a stationary plane and when they get off. They are in some new place. It is a beautiful campus and they treating us well. We were taken on a short tour of the campus before our class started. Wow! Looks expensive and probably is for families. Then they took us up to a class where we had an instructor with assistants. Our assistant was the instructor's husband who had never cooked before. They let the boys become involved and it was fun for everyone. We made Bulgogi and Pah-Jeon (sea food pancake w/onions). We were told that Bulgogi is the favorite dish of the Koreans. Kind of like what Pizza is to Americans. We came home with a few new recipes and one dish that the entire family loves including Isaiah which is a bonus. I took a picture of the Bulgogi. The large white things in there are big mushrooms. They also have a great noodle in there I think is called cellophane noodles. Well,this is one recipe that I am going to have to try to make. Now all I need is a nice wok. The man in the picture is the President of the campus and wanted to get his picture taken. He kept staring at Brandon and telling him that he was very handsome and his hair was cool. That is how the people are here. This behavior is not unusual. What a fun day.

Halloween

Our Halloween is over here. The base decided that they were going to be celebrating Halloween on Saturday, so we have been out Trick-R-Treating and are now left with massive amounts of junk. The boys school started off with a character parade on Friday where I also got a picture of a little girl who lives in our apartment complex dresses as a Korean princess. Had to show everyone, she looked like a doll. She wouldn't look or smile at me. My boys decided they wanted to rid our world of evil. Isaiah Ben 10, our planet is rid of aliens and Braxton Superman clearing out all of the evil and helping those in need. I was in charge of our ward's Trunk-R-Treat and so I put in a very bad night picture of all of the kids in the branch. Large kids in back are YM and YW. A few families didn't come, but that is about the size. Had a great time. Glad it's over.

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer

Both of the boys have started soccer this fall, both were equally excited. Well, little guy was more excited! Soccer has not been equally exciting for the boys. Braxton started practice about the time we moved in our apartment. The day of Braxton's first game was the day that Isaiah started practice. In advance we were told that Isaiah was too little to be playing soccer and had to be 6. His practices were going to be a parent and tot class meaning no coach and the parents are going to be kicking the ball around with their kids. Hummm? 5 1/2 doesn't cut it here. Most of the kids on the team are 3. Big difference in what they can do. Isaiah was allowed to play last year and we tried to tell him about this in advance so it wouldn't be a shock to him, but he still had high expectations. Some of the parents wanted to start small games with the kids, but found that the three year olds don't know what they are doing, so they decided against the games. The first picture is Isaiah finding out there wouldn't be a game. Poor kid, he really was good last year.





Braxton is turning our to be a very good goalie. He has been liking that position this year and will play that at least half of the game if not half. These picture were taken at a game that Braxton had a few weeks ago with a team that had to be bused about an hour to an hour and a half. If you look closely at the other team, out little 7-8 year old team are playing 11-12 year olds. They held them off for the first half of the game. No points scored, but our team was wiped out after the half and struggled with helping Braxton out. The score 0-4. I am proud of my little goalie.

River Run

This river is directly across from our church. This is the river that I have been running on. It used to take me 20 minutes to walk to the river, but Brandon found a new way home from church and it now takes 7 minutes. I am taking the pictures from the loud ugly side, but I love the view and so the ipod just gets turned up a lot louder.

This is how it's done

This is how they move people in and out here. Everything goes in and out the windows. I just thought I'd show how this works here. Quite amazing! I also thought That I'd show you the view from our window. Sorry the best picture was through the screen. The square thing on the the ground is a water fountain that the kids can use in the summer. The boys can't wait to use it. In the distance behind the trees is the larger of the two playgrounds and where the boys ride bikes.

Apartment time

Here are some pictures of our apartment. We are 97% unpacked and everything put in its place. I have a few odds and end items that need to find a home, but other than that we are loving our new place. Our apartment starts with an entryway followed by another entryway where most Korean families will leave there shoes in this area. Then we have a hallway which leads to the boys bedrooms and Brandon's office in one direction and the living room our bedroom and the kitchen in the other. The kitchen is unique in its own way. Our oven has duel functions. It is a microwave 800watts and an oven. I placed one of my cookie sheets underneath a cookie sheet that comes with the oven and my cookie sheet will not fit in the oven. That my give you an idea of how big it is. The dishwasher is just about the same. There isn't a rack for silverware, it is a tray like area for chopsticks. I have a larger laundry room than I had in NC. Our bedroom is good sized space. All of my furniture fits and we are slightly too small in the closet area. Our bathrooms here are a little different. Each bathroom has a big drain on the floor which allows for runoff due to the fact that there isn't a shower curtain in the master bath. The boys bathroom is a glass shower stall with the drain in the shower where all water is pushed inside the shower. The boys also helped me find things to take pictures of outside to show what our place look like. they have two separate playgrounds a small basketball hoop area with quite a bit of biking room. There is a small pond that they fill in the summer and a water fountain that they also will let kids play in. There are also a number of children who attend the same school as the boys here and they have a great time playing with them.

Our Church

I have had these pictures for a while and just got lazy or busy and so I thought that I'd post them while I was in the posting mood today. This is a picture of our church building. It looks more like just a building than a church. But we have such a small branch and we are feeling more comfortable there now. The sign isn't on the building itself. It is a long the road and you almost miss it if you're not looking for it.

An-Dong Mask Dance Festival

I was able to take the boys this weekend on a tour given here to a mask festival. First we went to a muesum and looked at masks from around the world and then ate as much of the Korean meal as we could. Then we were taken to a mask dance and was a little shocked at what some of the performers were doing. Here in Korea it is alright. Was sitting seperate from the boys and so I am hoping that they were missing a few things thast happened in a few of the dances. It was in Korean so I am sure we all missed quite a lot of what was happening. Very glad went went for a new curtural experience.


Traditional Korean meal. We brought sandwiches because w eknew what we were getting.

The music was loud but very fun.


I'll let you guess what is happening here with the cow.



Isaiah and some carvings.

The boys and I outside a traditional Korean hotel.

One of the performers who looks like a movie star from the Korean TV shows here.