A Relaxing Week

This week has generally been a relaxing one. We had three days of work, only two with students. We had to report to school on Wed for staff development. The purpose of the day was to get a jump on the upcoming WASC accreditation process. The staff was put into teams and given a schedule. The "work" was split up with fun activities. Some of these included navigating huge inflatable obstacle courses as well as scooter racing. Each team rotated and competed against other teams throughout the day. It broke up the monotony of revisiting the WASC process. To give you an idea of how involved the process is we don't have to be done until the spring of 2010.

On Thursday we hopped in the car and ventured to an area called Iteawon where we stumbled on a great Mexican food restaurant. While we ate Q ran around the restaurant entertaining the wait staff. They were letting Q take ornaments off the Christmas tree which he was setting down on the floor and booting across the room. They thought it was hilarious. After a tasty meal we decided to get in a little shopping. Iteawon is a very touristy area so we thought we may get some stuff for the house or possibly find some western sized clothes. As we exited "Amigos" we were bummed to find that the weather had turned sour and it was now snowing enough to need an umbrella or waterproof gear; neither of which we had. We deliberated a bit and decided to pack it in and call it a day.

We backtracked to the car, which by the way was parked in the worlds smallest underground parking garage. It had precisely 7 parking spaces. We aimed for home and were on our way. Of course within three minutes it cleared up and stopped snowing.

Friday we took Q in for his 18 month check up complete with a couple immunizations. After driving up and down the street and then walking around the building that contained the doctors office a couple times we found it. We were basically holding the doctor's business card up and trying to find a sign that matched. Although I am slowly learning the Korean alphabet I am still basically illiterate. It makes it difficult to find things when you can't read.

The doctor said Q is doing well and according to the Asian growth charts he is quite average. According to the US charts he's in the 20% region.

After the Q's check up we went off in search of the "Aquarium". We eventually found it and went in to check it out. Here are some pics from our visit.





If you look at the people on the right you can see that Q was almost as much of an attraction as the marine life. People are fascinated by light haired fair skinned wee ones.




It is actually a really nice aquarium. We will definitely be returning.

Quinn is used to people getting in his face and wanting to touch him and hold him. If he doesn't want someone to touch or hold him he just tells them no at which time most people are courteous and don't push it. At times I have been pushing him down the street in his stroller and he's waiving and saying hello to complete strangers as we pass. He thinks it's hilarious as do they.

After the aquarium we b-lined it to a B-day party for the daughter of some fellow teachers. Q had a great time and enjoyed playing with their cat.

Yesterday I got out for a ride with a buddy on a trail he dubbed "Happy Hour". Here is a Google image it the ride:


This week it's back to work. We have three weeks until winter break and our visit back to AZ. We are very excited and looking forward to the seeing everyone.

Adios,

Beer School

J had a successful week at her volleyball tournament. Despite having the minimum number of players (meaning she had no subs) her team placed 5 among 12 teams. On top of that she didn't have her star player and many of her starters. The girls really stepped up to the plate and did a great job. Many of the other coaches commented on how tough her team was. Each girl had to play every second of every game. Sometimes three games in a single day. Most games were comprised of 5 individual sets, each to 25 points. The team won the best sportsmanship award. Nicely done!!

This Saturday I met up with a couple friends to seek out the beer school to see what lessons it could teach us. We hopped on the subway and a couple of interchanges later we got off. We decided to check out a huge vegetable market in route since we were passing so close. It was huge, awesome and cheap! It is a wholesale market where restaurants by there veggies that is also open to the public. My buddy Ron who was with us said he had come a couple day earlier by subway. He had to take a cab home because the 20 dollars he spent bought him so many vegetables he couldn't carry them all.

After that we consulted the rudimentary map I had cobbled together and headed off with visions of airlocks, brewers yeast and carboys in our minds. After a couple trips around the block we stumbled upon the Beer School only to realize that it was in fact closed. Of course there where no hours posted or day of operation. We decided to grab a bite and then head back.

We found what appeared to be a suitable place for lunch. It turned out to be an incredibly tasty endeavor. After lunch we returned to Beer School only to find that school was still not in session. Not to be deterred we decided that we at least could do a little research on the subject so we flagged a cab, squeezed 5 in and headed to an area that has a huge market. It was the first what I call "Asian"style market that I have been to since coming to Korea. A huge open air market where you can get anything under the sun. I say motorcycle jackets, used shoes, silk worm pupae, new and used clothing, sunglasses, snow boarding helmets, trinkets as well as anything and everything else you could imagine. After wandering around for a while we went in search of a place to find a libation. We came upon an establishment called the USA bar. We thought that we'd check it out and found it to be a little on the expensive side. We decided that we should do a tequila shot in honor of North America (only Canadians and Americans present) and move on. After we ceremoniously saluted our homeland we moved on. We all five hopped in a cab and headed to an area called Sinchon. Therein lie the famous request bars. These are the bars that are stacked with actual records that you could make requests from. We hung out for abit before some of the party headed for home.

Those of us who were left went in search of sushi. We found what appeared to be a suitable restaurant and proceed to stuff our face with fish. After we felt good and fat we headed out for more request bars. I won't go into details to protect the guilty. I'll just say that there was plenty of loud singing and rough and tumble behavior; some of which resulted in random bruising and socks exiting via the cab window.

Sunday I went on a bike ride with a buddy. It was nice to get out and exercise. I felt much better afterward.

Next week we have autumn break. YEAH! Nothing planned yet but there is still time.

I'll leave you with some Quimages. One is him in his weightlifter pants and the other is him in a jacket he just had to put on. He is holding a cool truck Molly sent him in one of the photos. He loves the truck because it makes noise and is a wind up. You can probably tell he was he was a bit cranky in the jacket photo. I still think it is a hilarious photo nonetheless.





Adios

Election Night

I thought before I head to bed I'll go and check out interactive electoral vote maps on the internet...again. After running through possible scenarios it seems to me that there is almost no way that John McCain can win. But you never know, depending on which poll you listen to it could be a landslide or a close race. The problem with polls are, who are they calling? Most polls only call people who have voted in recent elections. If you have been reading the news you know that record numbers of people have registered and will be voting for the first time.(or at least the first time in a long time) It should be interesting nonetheless.

In other news I am heading to a home brew shop this weekend with some buddies to see about getting a home brew kit up and running. I have a feeling some olfactory/taste bud exercise will ensue.

Adios,

Kung Fu Donught

This week as you know was Halloween. Halloween is always a good time it seems. Quinn dressed up as Steven Seagal. The ladies in the nursery took them trick or treating around the school. He and the other little ones came by my room in the morning for some treats. The trick was left up to the ladies as they had to pull something out to get him out of the room without a freak out. He wanted to stay pretty bad. Halloween is a write off anyways so I was very close to telling them to just let him stay and have him spend the day with the class. Good judgment got the better of me and he was off. Anyway here is a picture of my class in full costume.

I have provided a picture of Steven Seagal for you here:


And here is a picture of Quinn as Steven Seagal:
Ahh... Now you see the resemblance.

On Saturday the social committee at school hosted a Halloween extravaganza. The kids really had a blast. Lucky for us it was at our apartment building. On the fifth floor of our building there is a common area that is shared by all 4 buildings. It is quite a nice area because you can go outside and not have to deal with street traffic. There are rooms in each of the four buildings on the 5th floor that residents can use. The school rented one out and that is where the "party" was located. All the kids hung out together and did kid stuff. At one point they all went trick or treating at each teacher apartment. They had a blast of course. After trick or treating there were some games for the kids. One game was the "doughnut on a string" game where you have to eat the doughnut off the string without using your hands. The older kids went first; Q was watching intently as he thought he might be next. Smart chap because he was next. He was an observant cat because not once did he try to use his hands. It was classic. Here are some Quimages of the event:

Here is Q's best friend Emma giving it a go. Q was offering moral support.


After the festivities wound down it was time for a little adult party time. The school partnered with SIS, another international school, to have a big blowout Halloween bash. Earlier in the week I went to a costume store with a fellow teacher who just so happens to be named Ben. The only thing I found that would fit was a Bruce Lee outfit. It was sweet so I purchased it. (I found it a bit difficult to get a cab while wearing it. Not sure why?) The party was fun; even complete with live music. Here is a pic of Bruce.. err me and another teacher Derrick.



I thought I would throw in a pic of the band looking a bit ghostly on Halloween.
J is away for a weeklong V-ball tournament. I know it is hard for her to be away for Quinn for so long so send her good vibes.

Adios