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Erin and Dan - Erin Boyer Northington

I am from Syracuse, NY and my U.S. soldier husband is from the Southwest. We live by Camp Casey, South Korea, in Dongducheon, a city in the Gyeonggi province. We arrived in February, 2008, and will stay for two years. Daniel is stationed with the military and I used to teach English at an elementary school in Uijeongbu. I now assist separating and retiring soldiers prepare for a civilian career.

People think I'm crazy for going to Korea. But this life is short. And regret is a word I never want to utter on my deathbed. I won't bore you with anecdotes about how "life is about the journey, not the destination". But I am looking for my adventure. And I'm looking to alter my perspective; on myself, my values, my goals. This is a big, big world. And there are fascinating people for me to meet, and to decorate the trail Dan and I are trekking together.

Weekend in Tokyo
May 5th 2008 -» May 6th 2008 Holidays in Shangahi and Hong Kong
December 25th 2008 -» January 3rd 2009 My First Solo International Trip!
March 15th 2009 -» March 16th 2009

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Joined on: November 5th 2007
Last Login: May 17th 2010

Blog Entries: 39
Photos: 761
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Erin and Dan, order by Date newest first.

By Erin and Dan
November 20th 2009

Hanoi and Ha Long Bay Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi

Ha Long Bay

Nov 17 Last time I left you I was having a terrible experience in Saigon. That evening my husband, Daniel, booked a room at lavish Equatorial Hotel and arranged limo airport pickup for Cheri. She arrived at 11:30 pm and we enjoyed catching up since it had been several years since seeing each other at my wedding. Nov 18 Woke up early, had a fantastic breakfast at the hotel and set out to do some sightseeing in HCMC. Taxi dropped us off at a park and made our way to a market. Bike drivers hounded us and we finally agreed for [View Full Entry]

By Erin and Dan
November 17th 2009

"Hello, Hell" (aka, "Good Morning, Vietnam") Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City

I am in hell. After coming from the paradise of Cambodia and I must have used all my good traveling luck. I hope I get some back. Let me start over. Yesterday morning Dy took me to the National Cambodia Museum, which was incredibly interesting and I learned a lot about the Buddhist and Hindu religions in Cambodia. We then went to a restaurant made of of several rows of bamboo and straw huts with hammocks. You lay around and order food ($4 for two meals and a soda) and we did just that for about an hour an a half. [View Full Entry]

By Erin and Dan
November 15th 2009

Floating Village and Forest: My National Geographic Moment Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap

Fisherman

Up at 7:15, showered, ate breakfast and jumped back on Dy’s motorbike. We drove about 35 minutes out of Siem Reap and into the countryside. Saw some interesting things: a woman breastfeeding while riding on the back of a motorbike, a man relaxing in a hammock hanging from a truck while his two friends attempted to repair it, and a child (two years old?) using a small machete to chop at a tree. As butt-painful as it is to sit on the back of a motorbike for an extended period of time, I wouldn’t trade it for any other transportation here. [View Full Entry]

By Erin and Dan
November 14th 2009

Friday the 13th; Who Says It's Unlucky? (Hello, Cambodia) Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap

Sitting in front of Angkor Wat

I love traveling. No. I LOVE traveling. From the moment a trip idea materializes in my brain until the moment I step off the return flight home. I love the planning, debating, talking, and reading about it. I even love paying for airline tickets, hotel rooms and new backpacks. There’s nothing like throwing the bare essentials into a bag, getting on an airplane and knowing you are about to have the experience of a lifetime; good OR bad. Nov. 13 Well, I’m in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and so far it’s all good. The moment I stepped off the plane and onto [View Full Entry]

By Erin and Dan
July 14th 2009

Dallas and Sable- The Newest Members of the Northington Clan Asia » South Korea » Gyeonggi-do

First moment out of the crate

We welcomed Dallas and Sable Northington into the family on June 18th. They were less than four pounds together when they came home and are, as of publishing date, tipping the scales at a little more than 5.5 pounds together. They grow up so fast! I've published two videos of them sleeping, eating and playing on YouTube. The links are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PGmHSNgHb8 (A few days home) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sAzBukYyyM (the newest video) Enjoy!! [View Full Entry]

By Erin and Dan
July 5th 2009

Retirement: The Chinese Get it Right! Asia » China » Beijing » Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven

There are so many people in China that retirement for men is mandatory at 55 and at 50 for women. So what do the Chinese do? Go to an old folks home, become reclusive and moan that no one visits? Nope. Instead, they become fully sociable, joining clubs, taking up hobbies, singing and playing games. And the place to do it all is the Temple of Heaven. Here they dance, play hackey-sack, sing in large choruses or solo, twirl ribbons, create music on Chinese stringed instruments alone or wind instruments in bands, play badminton and cards. Throughout the sprawling and well [View Full Entry]

By Erin and Dan
July 4th 2009

Great Wall, Summer Palace, Marble Boat and Wangfujing Street Asia » China » Beijing » Great Wall of China

Great Wall!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!! We got up at 6:30, ate a tasty buffet breakfast in the hotel and boarded the tour bus at 8:00. Off to the Great Wall! From this point in the wall you can go right or left. Right is an easier incline, but left has a better view and there are fewer people. So we chose left. Oye. It was extremely hot and humid. I'd like to say that's the only reason I had such a hard time. But alas, I must admit, I am WAY out of shape. (I don't even know where the gym is [View Full Entry]

By Erin and Dan
July 3rd 2009

Celebrating American Democracy... in China? (Day One) Asia » China » Beijing

Playing cards

Well, we decided to give it one more shot and visit China. For those of you who are avid "Erin and Daniel" blog readers you are probably thinking, "But Erin! You were deported last time you were in that god-foresaken country! Why on Earth would you want to return?" I might say, "I wanted to bring a little bit of American democracy to those freedom deprived peoples during our Independence weekend." But really, one of my goals is to visit all the World Wonders and the Great Wall happens to be one of them. So we booked a (cheap!!) four-day tour [View Full Entry]

By Erin and Dan
March 16th 2009

Kyoto: Take Two! Asia » Japan » Kyoto » Kyoto » Gion

Japanese Woman in the Street

March 16 I woke early in the morning ready to hit the ground running. I still hadn't decided what to do about staying in Kyoto for another day or heading back to Osaka. The hostel serves a 500 yen breakfast (about $5: tart yogurt with pistachios and dried cranberry, two homemade organic rolls, one wheat and one green tea, with butter and honey, and one egg scrambled with chopped ham and parsley) so while I ate I read a Frommer's Guide to Japan. After just a few minutes of reading I knew I had to stay in Kyoto for another day. [View Full Entry]

By Erin and Dan
March 15th 2009

Flyin' Solo in Kyoto Asia » Japan » Kyoto » Kyoto » Gion

Seoul's Incheon Airport

For those of you who don't know, I made the very difficult decision to quit the teaching job I love and accept a position as a career counselor, a contracting job with the Army. The U.S. economy is having a worldwide affect, and Korea's economy took a sharp downturn about 5 months ago. The Korean dollar is worth about 30% less than when I arrived. Therefore, I needed to earn U.S. dollars. Sounds easy enough but visa laws are pretty strict. I've been jumping through hoops for a week, and one of the thing I needed to do was leave the [View Full Entry]

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