Happy Thanksgiving!

This past weekend, Sarah and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving away from family, as well as our first ever Thanksgiving in South Korea.

It is true what they say that being homesick and missing your family is so much more evident and profound around the holidays, and it was definitely an adjustment for us.

This holiday in particular has unique difficulties with it, as Korea doesn't recognize or celebrate the holiday (seeing as it's somewhat America-specific...he he he!). Therefore, you don't see or hear much about it anywhere, on top of the fact that we all had to be at work that day teaching...which makes it especially hard.

Turkey Bowl 2011 in Daegu, South Korea

Thank God for good friends here in Korea, because we had an absolutely INCREDIBLE Thanksgiving weekend, certainly the best it could have been in light of not being around family.

We began the Thanksgiving weekend on Saturday by playing an early morning pickup game of flag football at Duryu Park with a handful of our friends. My team dominated, naturally, with a 110-55 victory...it was quite the high-scoring game!! Haha! Definitely a fun tradition back in the states that we were able to bring to Korea and add a little piece of home to around the holidays.

Our Thanksgiving feast!

After working up an appetite, Sarah and I headed over to Camp George military base on Saturday afternoon, where we gathered with a handful of good friends to have a Thanksgiving potluck meal and spend time hanging out, playing games, and of course...watching football!!

Football!!! Hallelujah!!

We were able to enjoy all the usual fixings around the Thanksgiving table (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, green bean casserole, apple pie, etc.), which featured a very unique sweet potato recipe that included walnuts and bananas....YUM!  

 Thanksgiving 2011 with friends at Camp George in Daegu

As this time of year always reminds us, we have SO much to thank God for this year. From the good friends we have here in Korea, to the amazing support and love of our families back home, not to mention the ability to have community with people from all over the world (in this melting pot known as Korea), there are endless and abundant blessings in our lives to be counted (not to mention food, clothing, shelter, money, etc), and Sarah and I are truly humbled by all that we've been blessed with.

 Happy Thanksgiving! (L-R: Jen, Ann, Sydney, Tom, Lisa, Sarah, me, Kat, & Chris)

From Daegu, South Korea, we wish all of you a blessed Thanksgiving season!!! God bless!

Royal Gardens, Temples, and Kite Flying

This past weekend Sarah and I took part in a trip sponsored by the DMOE (Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education) to the incredibly beautiful Gyeonju province of South Korea.

A beautiful pond in Gyeonju near the site of the royal burial grounds

Gyeonju is approximately an hour drive from Daegu and is basically different in every way, shape, and form. It is a very wide open, nature-filled, tree covered, open fielded, temple laden town with access to deep woods, mountains, and beaches near the East Sea. There are very few buildings and life moves a lot slower than the metropolitan areas.

The trip was two full days with an overnight stay in a really nice hotel by the mountains. The DMOE had a full schedule prepared for us, and we were able to partake in so many different activities including kite flying, soap making, cloth rubbing, a concert of female musicians playing Beatles songs on traditional Korean instruments, a morning Taekkyon martial arts class, a tour of an opened above-ground royal tomb, several Buddhist temple tours, some delicious meals (including French toast for breakfast and the best bulgolgi I have eaten yet in South Korea), and a late night lantern walk through an ancient royal garden.

Ancient temple gazebos in the Royal Garden in Gyeonju

While all these activities were fun and culturally educational, the highlights for me were definitely the lantern walk in the royal garden, the Beatles songs on traditional Korean instruments, and flying kites on a beach by the East Sea.

Performance of Beatles songs using traditional Korean musical instruments

Both Sarah and I agreed that Gyeonju has been by far our favorite place to visit and explore so far here in Korea, and its beauty alone is worth the trip. We will definitely be going back sometime in the next few months.

Kite flying in Gyeonju

Word to the wise for all the EPIK folks who currently live or will be living in Daegu- take advantage of the trips that are put together by the DMOE. They are always well-organized, all expenses are paid, and the DMOE really works hard to make a memorable experience for its employees. They’re the best!

Sarah and I next to the pond at the Royal Garden