Graduation Time!!

It's time for 고 to be graduated from her University!!! She will be a graduate of 한국 외국어 대학교 or Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. http://www.hufs.ac.kr/eng/index.jsp

I'm so proud of her for her dedication to language and her drive to use it as a vehicle to international business which she also studied. She's actually in exams this week and next, but soon it will all be over and the world will quickly open up to her.

I always love these posed pictures. It reminds me of my Ensworth picture. I was too young to understand at the time, but Uncle John referred to me as a "young Republican." I take great offense to that at this point. I think I've done a pretty good job shaking that insult -I mean title...;)

So, before you start firing questions to 고 about what's next and where does she want to work and so on, just relax... She's got a solid plan.

So, if you want to say congratulations or wish her luck, please feel free to do so under the comments! She worked real hard and is about to feel the freedom that we all felt when it was our time. We're going to have a little party for her next week and we'll post some pictures from that as well.

Dear 고,

Congratulations! I'm so proud of you. I know how hard you have worked and I know you are going to great things for the world. Here's a little thing for you. We listen to it all the time and I know it's "our song" so to say, but why not.

I love you 고고!! 사랑해~!!!

Tickets in Hand!!!

We got our tickets today! I really appreciate Wonderland for being so flexible and open to my vacation request and buying the tickets. In general, it is a great hagwon and such a respectable employer. Coming to Korea was just a great idea and not one day goes by that I don't recognize how much this little Asian country has given me.


I'll be leaving Korea on the 26th of July and returning on the 7th of September!!! Nice, huh? One thing to mention though. When I come back, I'll be replacing Rhett. This is huge. Rhett has been a driving force at Wonderland for 5 years. He's transformed the curriculum and made his name there. He has gone to bat for so many teachers not because he always cared for them or agreed with them, but because he is fiercly loyal. His dedication to the school, ESL teaching, and his fellow teachers will be missed in the office and around town. He'll still be here in Korea. Here's to Rhett:

Rhett and me in Cambodia on Christmas Day!

Suzanna, Rhett and Joel at the Itaewon scavenger hunt in September 2006.

Rhett right after a shave and a haircut.

Rhett cooking food for us at Deok Jeok Do last October.

Rhett on the Han river. This was my second day and he helped for a smooth transition. Thanks!

We have tons of videos of him, but I think those will stay on facebook.com rather than the public blog. He leaves Wonderland at the beginning of September. I will post about his triumphant exit then. This was just a tease and a the first glimpse at a new direction for Rhett in Korea. Good luck, buddy!

Now, onto the tickets. Here's the time table...

7/26/2007

Seoul (Incheon Airport) 10:05am

Flight Time: 2h20m

Tokyo (Narita Airpost) 12:25 pm

Layover Time: 1h45m

Tokyo (Narita Airport) 2:10pm

Flight Time: 11h27

Chicago (Ohare Airport) 11:37am

Layover Time: 3h12m

Chicago (Ohare Airport) 3:25pm

Flight Time: 1h54m

Tulsa (Tulsa Airport) 5:19pm

Total Time: 20 hours and 38 minutes

아이고!!!! (That is a frustrated expression, not 고운)

So, that is the trip on the way there. I'm happy that I will get to be with 고 this time. 고 did a lot of work finding these tickets and all of us should thank her. Thanks 고고!!!

I know Kristin, Trey and Hattie wanted to be there to welcome us, but we'll be waiting for you instead!!!

The flight back isn't as exciting to write about, so I will stop here!!

Fun times await!!!!

Free My Seoul Welcomes 김고운!

고 will be posting on here with me and her posts will be in yellow. So, keep an eye out for her! 안녕!

I am excited to write on here from now on with George and keep you posted on what's new in our lives in Korea and everywhere in between! Good bye till next time! Annyeong!

Happy Birthday Dad!

June 9th, 1951 was the day for this guy. Wow! I can't believe you're actually 56. Do you feel that old? Haha! Sorry...

However, I remember a five year old Mark Wheeler who innocently said, "Coach Hogan! You have gray hair!"

That was so classic. Since then we've seen the beard, the stache, the sideburns, the gottee and even the bald face. I think you've settled on the George Carlin look for now. Nice!


Happy Birthday John! I hope you have a great time! I can't wait to meet you guys. I hope I can handle the heat in Arizona. I don't think I have ever experienced that high temperature in my life. Happy Birthday again! Bye!

So, Happy Birthday Dad. I know you and Kathy had a nice day and I'll let call you about the tickets as soon as we buy our tickets to America!

Homeward Bound

As you all know very well by now, 고 and I are coming home for all of August plus a little more before and after. In honor of the upcoming trip I decided to add a couple videos...


Here's a 1967 Simon and Garfunkel from Monterey.



And here is the famed concert in Central Park.



I thought that those were appropriate. When I was on my way here last July, I remember being on the plane and listening to my Ipod when Homeward Bound came on. I turned it off right away as I thought it might make me homesick. I figured getting homesick on my way to Korea was kind of lame. However, I thought about how nice it would be to be listening to that on my way back home and now that time has come. I know I have seven weeks left, but it will go by fast and then 고 and I will be on our way.

We're so excited and are in the process of buying our tickets home. They are expensive though, but we'll make it!

Here's the plan...

• July 27th: Fly from Korea to Oklahoma.

Of course we'll have several stops along the way. Our options so far are Korea to Japan to Chicago and then to Tulsa or Korea to Japan to Detroit and then to Tulsa. We'll be tired, but drinking banana coladas and martinis by the pool won't take too much effort. The jet lag might take a slight toll on us as well.

• July 27th - August 5th: Tulsa, Oklahoma

I imagine this time will be spent sleeping, eating, drinking, swimming (고 will learn) and playing games. We're going to try and hike with the dogs, hangout with Joyce and Luis, get to know Hattie, check out some Native American sites and rock out with the family. That'll be nice. It has been a year since we last hung out and I need to have a good political spit with Dave.

• August 5th - August 11th: Phoenix, Arizona

Now, it's time to hang out with Dad. Usually when we visit Dad, we have several things planned and this trip is not different. Besides seeing the new house and drinking and talking by the pool, we plan to check out the Grand Canyon and even head down to Nogales, Mexico. We're not too sure what to do down there as I have not ever been either, but maybe this will help you guys.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogales,_Sonora

I'm not sure what we'll do in Mexico. Presumably we'll eat the food and drink some stiff margaritas.

Besides those two things, I'd really like to float the Snake River and get a massive sunburn like always. Maybe even ride a horse??

• August 11th - August 17th: Ohio and Tennessee
  

This week will be spent traveling around visiting people mostly. We'll start in Cincinnati and get to know Hattie some more and catch up with Kristin, Trey and Sadie. We'll hike around the creek, go to a Red's game and I'm not sure there is anything else to do in Cincinnati. Oh yeah, we'll go to the ONLY Korean restaurant which in actually in Covington, KY. From Cincinnati, we'll go to Knoxville where we'll spend the rest of the week with family and my great friends. We'll drink, dance, camp and do what we always did. Most of the people have moved on, but there are still a few left. Get ready!

• August 17th - August 25th: Family Vacation in the Adriondacks

This is going to be wild. We'll be up there for the week. We'll grill out, canoe, hike, swim, fish, sleep, play, drink, relax and enjoy being together for the week because soon after, I'll be heading back to Korea for one final run...

• August 25th - September 2nd - 6th

This will be our time to relax and tie up any loose ends before we cruise out. I know that I need to renew my Tennessee drivers license at a fictious address. I have not lived there in a couple years, but I don't want to have to take the written drivers test again. I will sometime, but not now.

The whole trip will be a nice break. I will miss Korea though. Korea is my home. It'll be strange driving my car instead of filing into the crowded, but nice, subways of Seoul. It will be weird ordering food without incident. I'm not sure if I remember what it's like to be in a house or feel carpet under my feet. It'll be hard to use restraint when making fun of people because I'll run the risk of people understanding what I'm saying. I'm not going to even comment on how odd it will be to see white people. At least I'll have my favorite person with me reminding me of our home...

If you want to do something special with me and 고, then let me know now...

The Human Wall

Martial Arts and other forms of fighting are very big all over the world, but especially here in Asia. Korea would never claim to produce the world's greatest fighters, but when it comes to this guy, they do have some legitimate right to stand tall.

His name is 최홍만 (Choi Hong Man: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choi_Hong_Man ). He's huge and besides being one of the best K-1 (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-1) fighters, he is quite the celebrity in Korea.

First, here's a compilation of him fighting. He's lost only once...



He also does a few other things though. Note the size difference.



And you can even catch him doing this...



We're actually watching him fight right now. I was inspired to share it with you guys at home.

Memorial Day in Korea (D-Day for the Rest of the World)

고 and I didn't do too much, but the day before my school went to the War Memorial Museum.





Not too many pics of the museum, but here's an album with me and students.


www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2142945&l=b7736&id=9411400

Colbert v. Korea

As you know, Colbert did a satirical skit where he "reined in Rain" and made his very own Korean pop music video. It was so funny! However, the humor was lost on the Korean media and they viewed it as an attack on their international superstar, Rain. I understand it though because they simply do not know his humor or his TV persona.

Regardless, it made for a funny clip. I really like the incorrect translation of Korea. That's classic.

Here's the video from Comedy Central. (Click on the link and it will take you to the video after a 10 second plug for the station.)

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

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!

New Digs...

Again, it's been too long since we last met here. I hope all is well because it's wonderful on this end.

So, here's a little catch up!

About a month and a half ago, Terry (Wonderlands glorified crossing gaurd), told me that I had to move apartments. I was a bit shocked at first. I had been planning on moving into Aaron or Suzanna's place after they left, but he said it would be two weeks before that would be possible. So, I thought I was going to have to move to some new place and then move to one of the other places two weeks after that. I was not thrilled about that. So, I went with Terry and checked out the new place and it was not too great. I was not happy about it at first. I took some pictures with my phone and sent them to 고운. Afterall, she would be living there too!

As always, she was positive and upbeat about the new place. That made me feel much better. We reminded ourselves that we would be setting it up and decorating it together. It would really be our place.

Let's remember my old place. I had an old and heavily used TV, a small board for a bed and a kitchen that I could barely get my gut in and out of without effort. It was not that bad and I really never complained, but I was excited about a new place.
고운 and I effortlessly packed most of our stuff and were ready for the move. I moved the stuff with the help of some teachers while 고 was at her Chinese class.

That night the new place looked different though. It seemed bigger, newer and, most of all, came with new appliances! I was thrilled! we left and went to a local hof, 쪼끼쪼끼, and started drinking. 고 met us later and was greeted by an overly excited me who wanted to show her our new place.

It was a mess that first night, but we have made it a home now. It's changed since these pictures were taken, but here's the jist of it...






We bought a lamp and a rug for the new place. Having only overhead light gets to be really awful after awhile. We like it. Also, that chair has been moved!





Here's another angle. Notice the Korean and American flags! That's right.





The only thing that bothers us about the place is the small window. It's seems biggeer than the picture makes it appear, but oh well.




That door leads to the bathroom. There's 고!



These are of the kitchen! We have more room and a fancy new washing machine! It's all so new!!!







And the bathroom. It's a bit smaller than the old place, but the water pressure and cleanliness of it is amazing. 고 does not have to clean this floor like she did in the old place!




And here's the outside of my building. I'm not sure what was here before, but the building is brand new. It comes with no keys, only codes. Plus, it has an elevator! That doesn't matter though because the apartment is on the first floor.




There's my door!



Elevator!



Just outside the building!




And the rest are foyers and hallways!




So that's that. We're really digging the new place.

Now, what else?

My new class is going great. They are tons of fun and Dinah, who is still my partner, and I are enjoying teaching them.

The weather has finally gievn in to the spring and it's beautiful is Korea again. The yellow sand from Mongolia can get a bit old sometimes, but that will pass.

고운 and I are planning a trip to Japan soon as well. I'll keep you updated on that too!

I will try and remember to put up some pictures of my new students and other happenings soon!

안녕!

Finally, a little culture...

More to come, but I did finally go and see a little traditonal Korean culture. I'm going to more places in the weeks to come, but here's a picture or two. I'll write more this week...










More to come, but I did finally go and a little traditonal Korean culture. I'm going to more places in the weeks to come, but here's a picture or two. I'll write more this week...