부처님 오신날!!!

We had a couple days of vacation last week, so 고 and I decided we would go and see some of Korea! We had the days off because it was Buddha's birthday on Thursday. The title, 부처님 오신날, literally means the day Buddha (부처) came to earth. So we reserved the train tickets and hotel and headed to 경주 (Gyeongju) for a couple days and then to 부산 (Busan -a port city which is Korea's second largest city).

We woke up at about 430am and got ready and headed to the subway. We had tickets to Daegu on the fast KTX train and then we had tickets for the slow train from Daegu to Gyeongju. The train went by fast as we filled it with music, sleep and of course, Madlibs...

The reason we were going to Gyeonju is because it was the capitol of Korea hundreds of years ago when it was a Buddhist nation. There is a rich history there.

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongju

We went to a few sites and did the tourist thing. It was a nice change to get out of the big city and see some grass and trees, but we soon found out that we missed how easy it was to eat, drink and get around in Seoul. We had long waits for buses and quite a hard time finding a single hof to sit and relax over a beer.

We stayed at Hotel Hyundai. It was the nice, but far from the dozens of digs the family has put me up in over the years. It did have a bathtub (which is rare in Korea) and for some reason we had two beds. So, we did the only thing we could in the room...






We ate an over priced dinner and listened to an awful Russian duo sing mediocre English songs to the whole restaurant. It was so bad. We had a great time with each other though.

We hopped on a bus for Busan and were there in no time! It was nice to smell the ocean air and see the occasional palm tree. The beach was small, but it was good enough.





고 was so cute it the water!!!

We stayed in a hotel that was not as luxurious as we first thought when we paid for it. During the day it was tolerable, but once night came, well...




A little creepy, huh?

The beach was fun at night too!!






So, we made the most of our time off and I got to share new parts of the country with the girl I love so much! She is so amazing!

From the South!!!

고 and I had a great time in Gyeonju for Buddha's birthday. Both of us were surprised by the number of followers in Korea. It was beautiful weather and we loved the hotel. Now, we're in Busan and are getting ready to go to the beach for the evening. We'll be back in Seoul tomorrow evening to write and post some pictures.

Real quick...the hotel we stayed in while in Gyeonju was amazing. However, the hotel we chose for this night is designed more for the traveling bachelor rather than the family. The pics should make you laugh...

We accept!!!

We got our invitation in the mail today. I'm not sure we've ever seen something so American! 고 was so happy to see her name on there as well! You guys are really welcoming her in and that's so great!

Hello, it's me 고운! First of all, thank you very much for the invitation! That was the sweetest invitation card ever! That card just gave me an idea about America with lots of sun and drinks in the summer! That really excited me big time! Ah, I saw some pictures of your old house and it was a very nice and big house. In fact, I'm kind of scared of big houses like that since there are only fairly small houses in Korea. Well, I should get used to them soon enough! Well, thanks again and you have a great night! Bye bye!






On a side note, we went to the Zoo the other day. This is a racoon dog. Since mom and Uncle John had a pet raccoon of their own I figured this could be nice blend of Spot and Rocky. I've never heard of it, but it's here!!!



Alright, here are flamingos. Hmm.. I'm pretty sure what's in your head!! :D That's right! My lovely George's legs! hahahaha! When I saw those flamingos and I looked at George and the first thing he said was 'shut uuuuup~' and smiled. He knew exactly what I was thinking and the funny part is that he knew that those legs reminded him of his own legs haha! But, here's the important part. I love his legs, those are the most adorable legs in the world! Well, anyway, we had a great time in the zoo together.I always have great time with him! He is a magician of love and caring! Aww! I'm so happy!!! :D





Isn't she great?

More Classic Colbert!

Click on the link...


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879&q=genre%3Acomedy+is%3Afree

It's a little long, but worth it...

Hi everyone!

Hi,I guess this is the first time for me to say hello to George's family and friends! I've been a little bit shy to say hello to Harriet and Kristin eventhough I've had millions of chances to talk to you while he was on the phone! :D George has tried hard to put me on the phone several times but I was just so shy!! haha! Well, it'll be soon enough! I would love to talk to you guys and be extremely close to you. George is the most incredible and indiscribable man in the world and I am certain that his family is just as great as he is!

In about 2 months, we will all see each other in person and I am so excited and, honestly, a bit nervous! ahh! I just can't wait!! - Harriet and Dave, Uncle John, Kristin, Trey and Hattie and also Sadie, we will have great time this summer! Well, I hope you guys have a nice day! I am saying good bye for now :)

From,

고운

P.S John and Kathy, you're next....

He's Singin' in Korean (Revisited)

The Korean media sadly did not understand the humor or Colberts' satirical TV persona, so understandably they viewed it as an attack on one of their own. However, 고운 watched it and thought it was so funny. We have watched it over and over again since then. It's so funny!!!

So, Colbert gave an update on his "rivalry" with Rain. Here is the most recent clip.
(Click on the link and it will take to you to the Comedy Central site. It will load after a 10 second plug.)


Mom told me about this clip that Colbert did on his great show. I had told 고운 about it, but had yet to see it. We watched it today and just laughed and laughed. It was hilarious! Watch it here...



The best part is that I his Korean is better than mine, but that's not hard...

href="http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=88100&ml_collection=&ml_gateway=&ml_gateway_id=&ml_comedian=&ml_runtime=&ml_context=show&ml_origin_url=%2Fshows%2Fthe_colbert_report%2Fvideos%2Fmost_recent%2Findex.jhtml&ml_playlist=&lnk=&is_large=true">

김고운 and 조지 호갠

We had this done at 서울 대공원 (Seoul Zoo and Botanical Garden)




Life is going so well over here in Korea. The weather is beautiful, summer is approaching, teaching is going great and I have the privilege to spend my free time with my life-changing partner. 고운 is so wonderful and full of life! I love her with all my heart and those of you lucky enough to meet her will too! We'll be in America from the end of July to the beginning of September so you'll have a chance soon! We're excited to travel there and she's so excited (and nervous) to meet my family and friends...

I have not put ANY recent pictures up in months except for the pics of our new place, so here are some good ones!!!






The next three pics are from our 간년 (Ganhyun) trip...




In the train!!!



On the rocks after a rained-out climbing trip.



This is our 촉구 (Cho-ku)team, the Power T!! We dominated! 고 led the way with her precision serving! I was so proud!




These are all random pics of 고 and me!










So, although I have not been active on the blog, I am here and I am loving it all!