Weekend Jaunts

So we haven't written in a while so I thought I would give an update on things. Our job is going well, we are finally settling into teaching and getting the hang of things pretty well. We just had Thanksgiving this past Friday. We had a potluck at the local foreigner bar. Since there are no turkeys to be found in Korea unless you want to pay about 50,000 won and also no ovens, we signed up to bring duck. The duck turned out to be pretty tasty, it tasted a lot like bacon. The turn out was really great, there was a lot of delicious food and good company! However, I missed my family back home! I am interested to see what Christmas has in store here in Yeosu. We also woke up this morning at 2:00 am to watch the buckeyes beat Michigan! We were so happy we were able to stream the game! We are hoping to be able to stream basketball games as well!

View from Odongdo Island of the city of Yeosu

Another view of Yeosu from Odongdo Island

The past two weekends we have done some more exploring of Yeosu. Last weekend we took a historical tour of the city. It was really interesting to see all of the historical sights. We saw some of the expo grounds. They are in the middle of deconstructing everything so there is really nothing to see there anymore except the aquarium. We did not go to the aquarium, however, I would like to one day. We also went to Odongdo Island. This Island is very famous in Yeosu. There is a special flower that grows there in the spring and summer and it is supposed to be a very beautiful sight. It is also a good place to see the sunrise.

There was a lighthouse on the Island that we went up in and got these pictures. It was a very beautiful view from the top. I think Odongdo would be better to visit in the spring or summer. It was a little chilly and there were no flowers in bloom. We are glad we were able to visit though it is something we have been wanting to see. The next thing we did on the tour was see Jinnamgwan Hall. It was used as the navel base of the Jeolla-do Province during the Jeseon Dynasty.

Yeosu was the famous city where Admiral Yi-Sun Shin defeated the Japaneses with his turtle ships! Below are some pictures:

Admiral Yi-Sun Shin

Jinnamgwan Hall

Very Big! It was once used as a school house. 

A dragon at Jinnamgwan Hall

Next we went to Heungguksa Temple, it is a Buddhist temple built in 1195! It was amazing to see all of the architecture and history here.

Guards, found in all Buddhist Temples 

Overall the tour was very interesting and we are very glad we were able to go on it. We are now looking forward to exploring other cities in Korea! 

This weekend we went on another hike in our city. It is very fun to just walk out your door and be able to hike a mountain! We hiked Mt. Mangmasan. We were surprised because we did not think this mountain was very high, but it was deceiving it just kept going and going and going! We hiked for about 3 hours but could have went much further, but it was getting dark and cold! 

Wes at the bottom of the mountain with some rocks 

Mr. monkey guy and Mt. Mangmasan

There were a lot of steep hills 

This pictures does not do it justice but there were a lot of these big hills to climb! 

Lots of beautiful views! 

There were also a lot of cemeteries like this on the side of the mountain. 

We would like to hike this mountain again and make it to that small building up there!! 

Wes was enjoying taking pictures that day so there are way too many pictures to add on the blog so if you would like to see them all go to my facebook and check them out there! =] Again we are enjoying hiking the mountains in Yeosu and can't wait to visit other cities and hike their mountains. We are thinking we are going to go to Gwangju next to hike Mt. Mudeungsan. 

I hope everyone is enjoying the blog!

Until next time! xoxo

Oh yeah, GO BUCKS!! 12-0 =] 

PS Shout out to Kristen Jensen =]  We saw that Michigan hat you wore to the Shoe....not cool 

Discovering the Neighborhood

This past week has been great and I think we finally feel settled. Some of the things that we have done besides working include going to the foreigner bar, Lost Sheppard Girl or LSG as the locals call it. The local foreigners are inviting and very nice. We have also explored the area of Yeosu that we live in. We went to a pizza place on the beach and did some light hiking at some foot hills. Molly and I are excited to go hiking and island hopping in the coming weeks, but for now we feel well oriented and know our way around! Here are some pictures from one of our short hikes yesterday...

Also, we have CNN International and we have followed the coverage of the destruction of hurricane Sandy. We are thinking about everyone back in the states that has been affected by Sandy. It is interesting to think that mega storms seem to be occurring with more regularity. We plan to visit what is left from the 2012 Expo here in Yeosu and I think that environmental awareness is a growing topic nationally, and especially here in Asia. People in South Korea seem to live more simply and moderately and it hasn't been hard to adjust to. It is actually refreshing as a westerner to experience the 'less is more' mentality. I thought by traveling to South Korea a month before the U.S. presidential election that we would avoid the barrage of political garjon, but Koreans constantly ask us questions about the electoral college, the parties, etc. There is no escaping the political game! It has been interesting watching CNN International though as much of the coverage has been anchored out of various Ohio cities.

The last thing I want to update the blog with is a video of a hike. It will put the pictures from above into motion:

Cheers!