Blogs from Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, South Korea, Asia - page 2

The past week has been filled with the comings and goings of our daily lives. We wake up, shower, eat, water the plants and wash the dishes before heading off to school. We great our students with a thousand hello's, teach our classes, go home, go to the gym, have dinner and settle in for the night if it's a weekday, or if we're feeling saucy we might go out for a coffee. The weathers starting to warm up and with it we head out on the weekend to do more activities. Hiking, bike rides and trips to the beach are all favorites. We try to get a good deal of outdoors activities under our belts by the time the rainy season shows up in June. This past weekend we spent Friday night in, watching live ... read more

Jen and I have been dealing with the pleasure of figuring out a wedding, reception, U.S. immigration law and the Koream marriage process at the same time. As you can imagine it's as fun as it sounds. Add to that the fact that we live in little ol' Yeosu on the southern tip of the Korea penninsula and all of the forms have to be picked up at the U.S. embassy which just happens to be open Monday through Fridaand reside in Seoul. We've spent the last few months going over government websites and waking up at unholy hours for a Saturday in order to skype with our immigration lawyer. The most frustrating part is just when you think you've figured something out you see something else that contradicts the first thing you read. But eventually ... read more

I decided to visit Yeosu—host city of the 2012 World Expo—for the long weekend. The bus arrived into Yeosu at 9:40 am on Saturday. The less-than-two-hour ride from Gwangju costs 9,900 Won. After finding out which city bus (1,100 Won) could take me to Hyangiram Hermitage, I was at the temple in 50 minutes—a taxi will be faster and costs between 22,000 and 25,000 Won. Buses 111, 113, and 116 will take you there. Restaurants and shops surround the street and long-steep-inclined pathway toward the temple entrance on both sides. Two-thousand won will get you into the temple, and a long and steep walk along stoned stairs will get you up to Hyangiram. The grounds are nice—crews were doing construction/renovation during my visit—and the views are amazing. After strolling everywhere, I hiked up to the top ... read more

Stamina, stamina, stamina, who's got the stamina? One thing you hear continually when you're living in Korea is talk about stamina. There's this real bravado when it comes to men being men. It doesn't seem to matter what you eat it's all good for the same thing, precious stamina. I guess you can never really have too much to use at your hearts content but I often find myself wondering if these claims of stamina are just some old superstition to get people to eat some of the foods. Personally I really enjoy a lot of the food here. In fact in about 2 hours I'm going to be sitting down and eating one of my favorite meals with Jen. A rich soup of boiled pork spine that falls off the bone like pulled pork in ... read more

Buddha's Birthday! Friday was a holiday-no work!! Lindsey and I decided to head out of town with a group of English-speaking activities group. Although we already prefer to hang with Koreans, I have no idea how to get around on my own (yet!). Friday morning, we headed to the train station and bought a ticket to Yeosu. On the platform we met up with the other three peeps going on the trip. As soon as I stepped off the train, I could smell and feel the ocean. I love that feeling! Yeosu is a small city with over 300 islands surrounding it. We visited two of the islands while there. It took us awhile to find the right bus. I am getting used to Korean driving-crazy! The bus driver was acting like Mario Andretti around the ... read more