Exploring a traditional neighbourhood...

The city of Jeonju, located 1 1/2 hours southwest of Taejon, is one of the few cities left in Korea that has a traditional neighbourhood still intact. So many buildings were destroyed in the Korean War, and since then many cities have torn down traditional houses in favour of apartment buildings and high rises. So it was a treat on Sunday, November 12th, to take a bus to Jeonju with our friends Sue and Steve. Full of courtyards and traditional homes with fluted roofs and rice paper windows, there were many buildings you could explore in the Hanok neighbourhood. Traditional Korean arts and crafts (such as paper-making, wine-making, pottery) and tea houses and restaurants dotted the neighbourhood. It was a beautiful day! (The photos feature leaves from a 500-year-old ginko tree and a visit to a traditional tea house.)

Pedalling at Ppuri Park...

On Sunday, November 5th, 3 members of our family roamed around a park on the edge of Taejon. Named Ppuri Park, this wooded area is full of monuments celebrating Korean surnames. It also boasts trails, a large area for soccer and kite-flying, and a small bay that was home to a fleet of swan-shaped pedal boats. Brian, LeeAnne and Cora enjoyed all the park had to offer, and it was a fantastic break from city life for the afternoon. Alas, Rebecca was shopping with friends and Hannah was working on a group homework assignment, so they missed out on the fun. (Excuse the quality of these photos - they were taken on our Korean cell phone!)

Off to Seoul...

On Saturday, October 28th, we were a busy family. Rebecca headed off to Seoul with her volleyball team for an end-of-season tournament (they finished fourth overall!), Hannah played in a middle school soccer tournament at TCIS and Brian, Cora and I jumped on a bus to also head into Seoul. We explored a bit of the massive National Museum in the morning and shopped in a unique area called Itaewon in the afternoon. What an enormous city! We only saw a small part of Seoul and are keen to get back to explore some more.

Hallowe'en...

On Friday, October 27th a group of Canadian and American staff children (and staff!) participated in neighbourhood trick-or-treating fun. Hallowe'en is not celebrated in Korea, so the masked and costumed participants drew considerable interest from O-Jung-Dong dwellers! Rebecca and I stayed home to shell out while Brian (a.k.a. Captain Fear) and his little mate, plus Hannah-the-fairy, went on a candy hunt.

Night-time visitor

The other night we were watching an episode of West Wing (we've become addicted and are now watching season 2 on DVD), and heard a funny rustling sound by the fireplace in our living room. Upon inspection, it turned out that this beautiful butterfly had somehow made it down the chimney and through layers of paper and plastic (sealing off the fireplace) to gain freedom in our living room. It was about the size of a swallowtail and, while I haven't yet been able to identify it, it was incredibly beautiful. The blue bands on the wings were irridescent, like mother-of-pearl. Needless to say, the Lavender lepidopterists were exceptionally excited and, after observing the beauty, took it to freedom outside.

Chat with the Astronaut

Since Brian's childhood dream of flying in space has yet to materialize, the next best thing was to shake hands and chat with an astronaut. For the past few days, TCIS has played host to Col. Jerry Ross.

Col. Ross holds the distinction of being the first human to make seven trips into space and holds the record for the most spacewalks - nine in total. In an engaging presentation, Col. Ross described his final mission into space as part of the team that delivered and assembled a central component to the International Space Station. Prior to his posting with NASA, Col. Ross was a test pilot for the US Air Force, regarding his time as chief testing engineer for the B-1 aircraft as a milestone achievement.

Col. Ross spoke candidly with students, encouraging them to discover the purpose for which God put them on this Earth. He is a warm and friendly gentleman (who took a shine to Cora) and was really happy to oblige our desire to take advantage of a photo opportunity.

Blessings from the orphanage...

On Saturday afternoon (Oct. 21st), we went back to the Village of Peace Orphanage, this time to play with the younger children (7 and under) as the older kids were off doing something else. This changed the dynamic entirely and the little ones were so eager to climb into our laps and snuggle up. One little girl named Hae-Yun is so spirited and beautiful and she took a real interest in the picture books we brought along. She climbed right up onto my lap and then wanted to spend a lot of time just leaning into me while I held her and rocked her. So many of the other little ones created special bonds for the afternoon with various individuals (in our family and amongst the students who came, as well as with another family - the Roberts from Idaho, who are amazing and becoming good friends). I am reminded of Christ's call at the beginning of His ministry when He uses the book of Isaiah to say "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." (Luke 4:18-19) I am also pondering the many verses in scripture that talk about caring for widows, orphans and foreigners in our midst - the vulnerable in society, those without power and voice. Looking into the eyes of these precious children today I was moved and humbled and I pray God will claim every one as His own. I also pray He will continue to teach us what it really means to be His church and to care for everyone in need in this wide and broken world.

Slices of life...

Over the past few weeks Rebecca has celebrated her birthday with a sleepover and visits to the local shake shop, Hannah has performed in her first orchestra recital in our school auditorium, and Rebecca's volleyball team has been playing hard, gearing up for their final regional tournament on Saturday, Oct. 28th. Cora has been busy practicing her flute (she sounds great!) and getting pumped up for taekwondo lessons which start next week. Family life is, as always, busy and wonderful and rich.

LeeAnne's Big Adventure

Well it seems that climbing a mountain wasn't enough for our LeeAnne. We got up yesterday morning at 5 to hike up to a Buddhist temple and all was well. After we came back to our room (I won't call it an Inn because that would give you the wrong impression) we had a nap. When LeeAnne woke up, she felt a pain starting to radiate below her bellybutton.

To make a long story short, we made it back to our home in Daejeon (a five hour journey by bus, then train, then taxi) and called the school nurse. After checking LeeAnne over, the nurse drove us to one of the hospitals that our school has a relationship with. Within a half hour, LeeAnne had met the doctor and had a CAT scan. The verdict: appendicitis.

This morning, LeeAnne went in for surgery and had her appendix removed. As a real bonus, the surgeon actually brought LeeAnne's appendix out on a silver platter to show her anxious spouse. Wow. Now that is something that is not usually done in Ontario! (except at your auto mechanic's...)

This evening, she is resting comfortably in a fine setting. Many people have visited and called with good wishes, offers of assistance, and prayer support. It's already so clear that God has been in charge throughout this whole experience. LeeAnne is expected to stay in the hospital for four more days as she regains her appetite for kimchi.

A Visit to the South Coast

As a way of kicking off our Chusok break week, our family took a journey that involved taxis, trains and busses in order to see a wonderful area of South Korea: Yeosu.

These are just a few images of the rugged coastline that we enjoyed during our four day adventure. One highlight that will stick with us was our climb up a mountain in the pitch dark to wait for the sunrise. Awesome!

Green Tea Plantation

One very interesting side trip that took from Yeosu included a close-up look at how green tea is grown and used. Our travels took us to an organic green tea plantation in Boseong. We were free to climb the very steep paths and walk among the rows of plants as we pondered the wonders of this very popular drink.

Lunch in the hills...

On Sunday afternoon we were treated to a homecooked traditional Korean lunch at the home of one of Brian's students. What a treat! They have a summer house on one of the small mountains just outside of Taejon and, when we arrived, we found an incredible lunch waiting for us on a low wooden platform outside, surrounded by pear trees and gardens. It was so beautiful. All of the food was homemade and delicious, and Brian and I asked many questions about how things were made. Mrs. Shon, the mom of Brian's student, has offered to teach me to make kimchi later in the fall, which I am very excited about! Here are some photos of the lunch and the surrounding landscape. We spent the afternoon chatting and strolling through the orchards and hills. It was fabulous.

Village of Peace Orphanage

On Saturday (Sept. 16) we travelled to a nearby orphanage called Village of Peace with about 13 members of our student service group at TCIS, the Key Club. We spent the entire afternoon playing with children outside the orphanage and at a nearby school playground: kicking soccer balls around; playing Duck, Duck, Goose; and sharing time. We learned there are about 90 children who live at the orphanage and that, generally, conditions at Korean orphanages aren't very good. So it was a blessing to be able to hang out for the afternoon, hopefully giving the kids a pleasant change of pace and a diversion from their regular routine. I pray they will somehow see the love of Christ in the time we spent with them, and we look forward to returning in one month's time. Brian and I spent extra time tucking in our girls on Saturday night, reminded of the amazing gift our family is to us.

Remnants of war...

While at Daecheon beach this past weekend (Sept. 8 - 10) we explored an abandoned bunker from the Korean War. The bunker was on a cliff overlooking the sea and wasn't blocked off at all - we were able to wander around it and explore inside, too. This bunker was used during the war and apparently there were battles fought here, too. It was all quite surreal and we had trouble wrapping our heads around the fact that in this serene and beautiful place war was a reality just 50 years ago.

Mudding it!

At Daecheon beach there is this amazing spa that features a typical Korean sauna/public bath (warm pool, hot pool, cold pool, sauna) with the added features of a salt water pool, a mud pool and a mud-painting station where you paint yourself with sea mud and let it dry, allowing the therapeutic minerals to absorb into your skin before you rinse off and start soaking in the hot and cold pools all over again. It's pretty heavenly!! The men and women are separated in Korean saunas because you do all of this completely in the buff! (strangely it feels pretty normal after the first 10 minutes or so...)