Blogs from Ulsan, South Korea, Asia

Hello! Well, as I think all of you probably know, I left Korea. I won't get into too many of the details about why I made that decision here, as I have probably spoken with all of you about it personally. Suffice it to say at this moment, that I am very happy with my decision. I am thrilled I made the decision to go to Korea in the first place and that I had all the amazing experiences I did. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am extremely thankful for the opportunities I was given to learn and grow. I feel stretched and changed in many ways. I'm sure the weight of the bulk of the lessons learned haven't even sunk in yet. So, I would like to tell you a little bit ... read more

Last week my beautiful and wonderful mother came to visit me. She arrived late Friday night Oct. 5th and by only what can be described as a miracle made it all the way to my apartment door in Ulsan from the Busan airport. I had given her detailed instructions, but I knew it was going to be God's gift if she got to me all in one piece. She had to take a bus from the Busan airport to Ulsan, get off at the right stop, find a cab and instruct him to drive to my apartment (without speaking Korean and after a very long flight). I was waiting in my apartment after work, writing some emails, thinking she would arrive somewhere between 10 and 11pm. At the very moment I decided to walk down to ... read more

So! I have arrived! I have internet! I am in Korea! I live here! wow! Where to begin? Things are going well. I am settling in and absorbing my new surroundings. My apartment is very nice, new and clean- much bigger than I expected. I have a Queen-size bed, laundry, an air conditoner and a TV. Also, there are no keys for the building or my apartment. There is a code I use to get in the building and a code on my apartment door- it is very high-tech. :) I experienced my first typhoon on Tuesday and another one is coming today or tomorrow. Pretty wild stuff! But rain reminds me of home and I am glad for it. Otherwise it is very hot and humid here. I am a sweaty Betty (as per usual) ... read more

This weekend was one for the memory books! But first, Saturday. Saturday we went to Haeundae beach for the Sand Festival where they had all kinds of activities involving sand, the highlight of which was sand sculptures. It's amazing what people can carve in the sand! They had 3 professionals from Korea and USA and they carved a real sand castle, the Eiffel Tower, Christ the Redeemer, Statue of Liberty and many other things that were simply amazing! We saw one artist hard at work on his piece when we arrived and when we left later on he was still working and STILL not finished! Now that's dedication, considering we were told that the sculptures get taken down every day and re-done the next day! Let me just tell you about the beach phenomenon in Korea ... read more

Wow! So this is the most pictures I've ever taken for Christmas, but, in my defense, there were a lot of festivities :) Needless to say, the whole apple pie thing didn't quite work out...but Garret made some rockin' egg nog from scratch and along with some delicious chocolate covered strawberries! Very delic! Our Christmas dinner at Dee and Nicci's was great! So much fun...what started out as a sad, un-Christmas-like Christmas turned into a blast with great people and new friends :) What did we eat for dinner in Korea you might ask??? Well, let me just tell you...Dee and Nicci cooked an AMAZING turkey, Andrea and Nicole made mashed potatoes and pumpkin galore...sauteed veggies, homemade stuffing, christmas pudding (which Mitch lit on fire by the way...very cool...it was my first experience with Christmas pudding, ... read more