http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , South Korea , Gyeongsangnam-do en-us Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:22:57 +0000 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:22:57 +0000 This weekend we got together with a bunch of foreigners to go see the amazingly talented performers in the production JUMP It's along the same lines as Cirque du Soleil in that they tell a story with no words just actions and sounds but rather than acrobatics this show is based on martial arts. And it was amazingFirst of all there were about 20 foreigners at this show so most of us ran into http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-461901.html Yesterday I went to Masan city to meet my second elder brother and to shoot a handgun. My second elder brother works for an elementary school in Masan city. we went to Changwon citynear Masan city to shoot a handgun at Changwon city shooting range by brother's car. before we shooting handgun we shot shotgun in a rifle ground as a warming up for handgun shooting. My elder brother shot 25shots f http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Changwon/blog-456857.html Hello family and friends December is upon us We have reached our 3 month mark and cannot believe how quickly time is flying How many of you have put up your Christmas decorations already It doesn't really feel like the Christmas season here yet but hopefully that will comeIt's been a couple weeks since our last post so here is what we have been up to since thenWe went to see an amazingly http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-456390.html So every year Tim Horton's hypnotizes the nation with their Roll up the Rim to Win contest and people will go out of their way to get their cup of coffee that just might get them a free donut or coffee...if they are lucky. I for one have never had any luck with this contest and have become immune to it's power besides the fact that I don't like being told that i'm a loser repeatedly lol. I th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-452090.html Cheryl and I are back from our trip to S Korea to visit Danielle Mike on their Great Korean Adventure. It was an awesome experience. We are so glad that we decided to go.It was great to see Danielle Mike. Although they have only been gone for a couple months we missed them very much. I looked to us that they are having a great time and are adjusting well. It is such a different culture there http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-450565.html October has been an exciting month for us here and it only got better when we found out my parents were coming for a visit They arrived in Yangsan on Wed. Oct. 21 and left the following Monday and in that short time we let them experience as much of the Korean culture as possible. They had a great trip and loved Korea Love MotelsYangsan is a small city by Korean standards about 400000 may http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-449053.html Hello family and friends How are things back home Things here have settled down a bit in the last couple weeks after a busy first month and a half here We're a little behind on the blog but here's an update of the past few weeks Pusan International Film Festival PIFFOctober 816th Pusan became the host of the 14th annual PIFF the largest film festival in Asia We took advantage of this an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-448216.html But being the wise people that we are we aren't about to post it on the web for just anyone to see SO if you are interested in our address please send us a message not a comment messages are private and we will send you our addressAlso if you haven't already add us to Skype daniellebeaugrand and thesmittyguy are our nicknames.One other note some people have mentionned confusion abo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-440336.html This weekend we spent the weekend exploring more of our neighbouring city Busan and the markets.Saturday we boarded the big red double decker city bus to take a tour of Busan and see some new sights. We saw some beautiful parks and beaches and met a few other foreigners allow the way Though the first part of the tour was really rushed it gave us ideas of places to go back and visit. Since B http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-438640.html I thought I would write a blog with some more info about my school now that I have been there for a few weeks. Those of you who are teachers will get a kick out of some of the things they do here and I donrsquot necessarily mean that in a good way. There are just over 1000 students in my school and I teach every single one of them I teach the first years every week and the second and third http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-438635.html Thatrsquos right folks There has been a flurry of autograph signings fans following the celebrities around and hanging out of windows to catch a glimpse of them leaving a place throughout this city in the last week Note writing secret whispers and all the above.And who are these celebrities Well they are the foreign English teachers Danielle and Mike of courseLeaving school today I re http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-435304.html Active Yangsan is something like the motto for this city as well as an initiative to get people outside being active and it is quite incredible. They have put in all these walking paths made of track rubber much nicer to walk on than a regular sidewalk around the city and there are speakers on every lamp post playing music that is quite enjoyable The pathways are marked with 200m markings http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-433712.html Well I survived but barely It was an interesting day to say the least. Going into today I knew pretty much nothing. I didnrsquot know what grades I was teaching what my schedule was like where my classes were what I should expect or anything The only thing I was told was that the students were a lower level English than averagehelliphowever I donrsquot know what the level of the ave http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-433710.html HEY HEY HEY... So we know its been a little while since the last posting and we apologize for that and hopefully you've hung with us We have been a bit busy tying up some loose ends and exploring around our area and the neighboring city Busan. But here we go... So Danielle managed to get her bags back in one piece they arrived 2 days ago at my school unharmed but have probably seen more o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Yangsan/blog-433630.html I know I know. Updates have been few and far between as of late. Itrsquos not because Irsquom busymdashIrsquom not. Well I wonrsquot be after I get moved here tomorrow to my new apartment where I will be staying for the rest of this year and the next perhaps longer. Yes this means I resigned my contract for another year. Truth is Irsquom lazy. Life has become pretty monoto http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Sacheon/blog-423108.html My mom left a comment on the last blog asking about the size of Busan in relation to Geochang. Busan is massively bigger than Geochang. The populations are 3.65 million to 50000 respectively. As for crime I am not sure of official statistics but I have not felt unsafe or in danger at any point so far nor have I been the victim of any crime or theft. Geochang is so small it never crossed m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Geochang/blog-412984.html This week has been eventful and interesting as I regained my strength from the stomach bug. Students had questions on questions when I got back on Monday but seemed glad I was back. Two fairly smooth days of teaching led us to Wednesday when me and Shin Teacher left early around 8 o'clock and drove an hour and a half to Masan on the coast to finalize my alien registration card. It was a cool http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Jinju/blog-408277.html Well I am still alive but only just barely. For breakfast on Wednesday morning I cracked a couple of eggs and ignored the slightly pungent odor they emitted. Big mistake. I made it through Wednesday ok but Thursday morning awoke with a churning stomach feeling pretty sick. I made it to the school only to vomit and nearly pass out. Shin Teacher took me to the hospital where I got some medici http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Geochang/blog-406082.html I was typing an email to Mom and just kept typing and typing. I figured it was a good breakdown of my classes and some insight to the kids so here's most of it.Just sitting down to a nice dinner of instant noodles and pot stickers. Ironically enough here in Korea they call instant noodles... ra men. how funny is that. There pretty similar to the ramen at home but way less salt and way tast http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/blog-401945.html What a day The day started with a fanfare from an army division in full regalia. This included one troupe that were in a traditional uniform and did this weird dancing that resembled the whirling dirvishes of Turkey. A full scale marching band paraded across the sports field throwing their rifles in the air and catching them in sort of little dance routine. I was awakened to the grandiose affair http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Gyeongsangnam-do/Changwon/blog-400423.html