CHUSEOK ADVENTURES

So this past weekend was Chuseok, a kind of Korean Thanksgiving celebration in which extended families get together and eat a lot of great food and give homage to ancestors. For us foreign teachers this year, it means - vacation! Chuseok is a lunar (full moon actually) holiday, so it falls on a different day every year. This year it fell on a Tuesday, and since the days before and after are travel days, we had a 5 day weekend! Roadtrip?? Yes sir.

Dolharubangs (literally: stone grandfathers) are ubiquitous in Jeju Island, originally they were symbolic guardians and stood at the village gates. Now you see them in front of hotels, restaurants etc. -- or in parks, playing the ocarina:



After finishing the puzzle at Kimnyeong Maze Park (it was hard!!):


With a Buddha-friend, at a very Muslim-looking temple.


My intrepid wheeled traveling companion, and Seungsan mountain at the edge of the east coast.



Moments before sunset on the way home.

So we had a typhoon here on Jeju Island last weekend. I'm okay, but unfortunately one of the professors here at Cheju Uni died while driving ~ the roads were like rivers. The island is still cleaning itself up. Here's the view from my dormitory balcony.

In my kids' class ~~

I'm teaching first graders English. Sorry, that's not exactly true. I'm babysitting a wild bunch of first graders, and I happen to sometimes speak English near them. We were learning "I want" today.

Me: "I want candy!"
Kids: "I want candy!"
Me: "I want a banana!"
Kids: "I want a banana!"
Me: "I want an apple!"
Kids: "I want an apple!"
Me: "I want world peace!"
Kids: ((confused looks))
Me: "..."
One student, his face brightening: "I want pizza!!"

Yep, it's close. ;)

Fukuoka, Japan was brilliant - even though I was only there about 24 hours, it felt just like a regular holiday.



I gave my approval to a number of things in Japan. Me and my friend Ben whom I met on the boat hung out for a bit with some Japanese tourists and we all did crazy pictures. It wasn't my idea, I swear.



Look closely and you'll see a motorbike balanced on a pipe near the roof.



I stayed in a capsule hotel - it might look like a row of laundry drying machines, but they're actually coffin-sized rooms with tiny tvs and very very low ceilings. Super comfy though.



Beer's-eye view of a bar in Japan.



Right now I'm exploring the campus, getting ready for classes (tomorrow -- eeekk!) and enjoying the fact that I have a (semi-)permanent home for the first time since early July.

My new address (send me Reese's Peanut Butter Cups pleeaassee??):
Henry Gerlits
Foreign Language Institute, Cheju National University
66 Jejudaehakno
Jeju City, Jeju-do
South Korea 690-756

And my new phone is:
(from Korea) 010-2062-8664
(from abroad) 82-10-2062-8664

I should be updating this a lot more often now that I'm settled in. I promise. Miss you all!