Grand Park

Yesterday, Lacey and I took a stroll through Ulsan Grand Park. The park itself is gigantic. It takes about two hours to walk the whole thing. It has fountains, waterfalls, windmills, lilly pads, the whole gamut. Not to mention, leaves falling everywhere. Autumn is stunning out here. Here are some photos to give you a taste of what a Korean central park is like: 

The Month that felt like the year that felt like a minute

Out Our front door

Well, we have been in Ulsan for over a month now. It has been quite the adjustment. The first three weeks of our adventure were a bit of a tough go. We were both sick and jet lagged. A mixture of kids who are never taught to cover their mouths when they cough, and a less than "fresh" air quality probably played a major part. But once we got over our coughs and sniffles, we really started to miss our old beds less and less, and started to fall more and more in love with our new country. Teaching is completely different than we thought it would be. The whole system is completely opposite of everything we grew up with. Big cultural differences on childhood development out here. Somethings are completely appalling, while others make you laugh like crazy with joy. Everyday we need to take deep breaths and remind ourselves where we are, and mutter "Well, that's Korea for ya." The kids are great. They are absolutely adorable and friggin crazy. So far "Birthday Friday" and "Halloween Day" have been the ultimate.

Birthday Friday meets Halloween Day

After working, we get to play. Last weekend we met our friend Beth in the sea-side city of Busan. We walked the beach, watched a fireworks extravaganza, wandered through an aquarium, (where people pay to swim in the shark tank without a cage.) and explored a buddhist temple in the rain. It was a good weekend to say the least.



To wrap up this post, here is a list compiled after the first month.

Loves at first sight:

1. Learning to read Hangul
2. Magnetized shopping carts
3. Successfully communicating with cab drivers
4. Eating like Anthony Bourdain on a daily basis 
5. Having a space that is completely ours 

I'm over it:

1. The random whiffs of who knows what, while waiting at the crosswalks 
2. The batting cage that operates at 3am outside our back window 
3. getting stared at 
4. finding octopus beaks in my soup 
5. Instant coffee 

That does it for now. We love you all and miss you dearly: Lacey and Jamie