Some more pictures of recent times

                              Need to know how far you've gone at the grocery?

                              My one-on-one student brought Grandpa's Swiss Army knife to class the other day. It came in really handy for popping the ugly thing on my thumb.

                          Cutest letter ever from a kid. 

some photos from Super Bowl Monday - Opening of February

                                          My little Jeong Yoon had a rough two days, since her mom was at the hospital giving birth to a little boy. She wanted to sleep in class, but was not successful, so instead she stayed by my side the whole time this past Wednesday.

                                They were pretty excited that the Ravens won as well.

                                        My little dates for the first half of the Super Bowl

                                               Little wild one here just wanted her picture taken too.

                                            I didn't realize BABY GAP was this cool

                                         Little one wanted her picture taken after the one above

                          So the little fella' on the right has a Felix the Cat sweatshirt, and once a week now, we watch re-runs of old Felix the Cat episodes on YouTube. The kids even wanted some Felix coloring pages as well.

Church Retreat

Last weekend  I joined some fellow church members for a little retreat in a coastal area known as Guryeongpo. It's near the big city of Pohang (not that big), which is known to some around the world, because of its steel industry. Friday night we drove all over the Daegu area first, to pick up a few folks that were working late. We arrived at the retreat complex around 10:40, and divided up the rooms between guys and girls. Then we joined together for a little discussion about the future of our church. The first part of the night was meant for planning some future events, and ways to reach out to incoming students at the university.

After discussions we ate some spicy chicken, which I rarely touch due to the oils which are used. I decided to feast, and my stomach made me aware of what I ate eventually on Saturday morning. After eating the chicken we played a Korean game known as "007 Bang!". It was pretty fun to be honest.
I'll add more later. . . . time for block center.


So in a small coastal town in Korea, on last Saturday morning what exactly was the breakfast menu??? Scrambled eggs with onions and tomatoes, along with some cajun home fries. Yeah, I prepared breakfast on Saturday morning, which I was pretty proud of. Sucked waking up early to do so, but I got my rest later in the day.

After that we went to the famous sun rise plaza. There's a picture of a big hand in the water. Well, that would be at the sunrise plaza. When we finished there, we went to Pohang, to visit the history museum of steel giant Posco. Posco is actually a company that Mr. Warren Buffet has some money in too.

After lunch we visited the Pohang Corvette Battle Ship. . . That was interesting, due in part to the display inside from the Cheonan Battle Ship, which was sunk via North Korean Torpedo a few years ago.

Then we moved on to one of my Korean favorites, known as Jukdo Market. If there are strange pictures of fish in the posts before, then you've seen Jukdo Market, for the most part. I think our Pastor was the only person awake on the way back to Daegu last Saturday, because I was even knocked out in the front seat. Usually I'm the only one awake with him, when we go on trips. It was a nice time that we had together on the trip though.
I even came home that late afternoon, went to a gym nearby, but really enjoyed the hot tub more than anything. My gym is pretty cheap, and you'd be shocked to think a person pays 40 bucks a month to work out at a place like that. It's not exactly the cleanest place around, so sometimes I visit other places instead.

Some recent pictures

from my church to a place called Guryeongpo nearby the city of Pohang. Report to come soon.

First Korean funeral

I received a message around 1 pm Saturday that one of our teacher's moms had died Saturday morning. The funeral procedures were to begin Saturday evening (fast, I know). I actually bought some fruit and veggies from her mom on a few occasions since they live in the area. 

I was amazed at how fast they do this funeral process. The big difference is that the event itself lasts for about three-six days. For folks in the country it takes much longer. As part of the process the group that is coming at a certain time goes in together while the family of the deceased says a little chant. I went in with the women from work, and we all bowed once to the alter area for the mom, and then bowed to the family. In a room nearby we ate a light meal and chatted with our teacher for a little bit. She's been there at the hospital from Saturday to at least yesterday. People come in and out at different periods of time throughout the few days. The body is not in the room, at least. 

Also, just like with weddings, and first birthdays, you give money to the family. I gave them thirty bucks, which I usually do at weddings as my own little custom. The hard part was seeing how emotional my co-workers were. One of them ran out to me and gave me a hug as she was waiting for me, so we could walk to the building together. 

Anyway, it was a sad event, but I'm thankful to have witnessed it for the experience though.

New picture or two

My little angel Yoon above getting her rest during my class. Pillow courtesy of LL Bean barn coat.

                                These two books have kept me VERY occupied over the last four weeks. Finished the Grisham book on Saturday night, so it's time for something new to read.

 I don't normally post picture of myself exercising, but the body is very healthy these days and staying in shape somehow.

What would you think

If you saw four people. . . . two couples. . . . with four different straws. . . . in the same medium-sized Coca-Cola. 

Thanks goodness they weren't all drinking out of the same straw. This is what I witnessed last night at Costco.

I did manage to buy 6 lbs of peanut butter (2 separate jars), along with tortillas (that had been MIA lately), and a six pack of penne pasta.