2012 baby!!

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine..." - R.E.M.

It's 2012... Happy New Year from South Korea!

Our New Years Eve was a blast! We started off the evening with some good friends eating at one of our favorite joints, The Holy Grill, in downtown Daegu.

The whole gang at The Holy Grill restaurant in downtown Daegu...best Cajun chicken sandwich on the planet!

For those of you living or planning to live in Daegu, you MUST eat at The Holy Grill. The owner Aaron is a cool guy and also the chef, and his dishes are finger-lickin' delicious! I recommend the steak burrito or the open-face Cajun chicken sandwich. YUM! They also have Red Rock beer on tap, which is my absolute favorite brew in Korea!

We hung out at the restaurant for several hours, mingling and playing one round of "Left, Right, Center". Sarah's friend and co-teacher Young Ji (on the far left of the above photo) was the winner of the game and collected a nice sum of 30,000 won, which is the equivalent of $30! Not bad for one round of a dice game.

Afterwards we went out for drinks at a lounge where we played a hand of the Phase 10 card game followed by several exhilirating rounds of Jenga, which is all the rave here in Daegu!

Me, right before knocking over the Jenga stack...terrible!

We finished off the evening perfectly, with our grand finale at the downtown park in Daegu ringing in 2012 with music, the ringing of the bell at midnight, and an incredible fireworks display to send us in to the new year in style!

All in all, we hope all of you had a safe and fun New Years this year, and we are SOOOO excited for all that awaits us in 2012...gonna be a BIG year! ;)

English Camps

In South Korea, students enjoy "summer vacation" in winter, usually between December 24th and sometime near the end of February. It's sort of the reverse of how school is done in the states.

And when I say "vacation", it is certainly not the vacation American kids are probably used to. Students here in Korea spend most of their vacation studying English, math, and science. They attend winter camps and many of them still attend their hogwons (night school for students) during the break. Needless to say, these poor kids never stop working.

Sarah and I with my students at the Seodaegu winter camp

For us as teachers, though, our time during the break is quite fun and light-hearted. When we aren't desk-warming (term used for sitting at our desks all day with no work to do waiting for the last bell to ring), we get to plan English camps.

English camps are basically a time in which the students still come to school to learn English, but the classes are more like activity times comprised of games and other fun exercises to allow students to have a ton of fun while learning.

Me disguised as a superhero for Sarah's "Superhero Camp"

Sarah and I had the incredible (and incredibly unique) opportunity to co-teach both of our school's English camps and plan the events together.

Sarah doing a puppet skit at "Superhero Camp"

During my camp, which was Monday December 26th-Wednesday December 28th, students from grades 4-6 came for 3 hours a day and got to do a whole variety of fun things. We made fake passports, played Twister and Simon Says, watched movie trailers and reviewed them with simple English sentences, and many other fun things. Students even got to pretend to be meteorologists, and Sarah and I had the chance to teach them all how to play Uno, an American favorite!

Students making their superhero capes at "Superhero Camp"

Sarah's camp took place from Wednesday January 4th-Friday January 6th. Her 3rd and 4th graders had the incredible opportunity to partake in a "Superhero Camp", which Sarah designed and orchestrated herself. Students got to learn about different superheros, make their own super hero masks and cape, play capture the flag, and color and create their own fictional superhero. Needless to say, the kids had a blast! I wish they had fun stuff like this when I was in school...he he he!

One student's superhero mask...NICE!

After Sarah's camp ended, we all went out for some pizza to celebrate the successes of the camps as well as the fact that they were over.

The teachers celebrating the end of camps with some PIZZA!!

Though it was exhausting at the time, it was fun and kept us busy during this nice long break.

Now, Sarah and I have nothing to do but desk-warm from now until the first week of March when classes begin again. Unfortunately, we still have to come in and sit at our desks for 8 hours...BRUTAL!

If you've ever wanted to write a novel or learn how to knit, desk-warming in South Korea is the way to get it done!

Merry Christmas from Daegu!

We wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone who reads this blog a VERY Merry Christmas and a blessed holiday season!

Sarah decorated our apartment for Christmas!

This year was Sarah and my first Christmas ever away from our families, and Christmas in Korea was certainly an adjustment for us. Thank God for the community of friends we have come to know and love here, as being near to others is such a valuable part of this holiday and time of year.

Our Daegu friends (L-R: Fraser, Tom, Ann, Sarah, Jen, me, Soo Yean, Chris, Sydney, Kat, & Tyler)

Sarah and I were able to host a group of our friends on Christmas Eve for a very fun and festive Christmas party extravaganza.

Tom & Chris decorating Christmas cookies

The afternoon and evening were filled with plenty of fun things, not to mention some delicious food (honey baked ham, pesto pasta, 7-bean chilli with pineapple, mashed potatoes, buffalo chicken dip, etc.). We had a lot of fun things we did, including a white elephant gift exchange, baking and decorating Christmas cookies, doing a Secret Santa gift-giving time, and watching "A Muppet Christmas Carol".

Christmas cookies from our Christmas Eve party

On Christmas Day, I woke up early and cooked Sarah a traditional American Christmas breakfast- A broccoli and cheese omelette with crispy fried bacon and orange juice. We then got our day started by reading the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-20 and taking time to pray and remember why we celebrate this season.

Next we got to have a special Christmas just the two of us, taking time to give each other gifts and celebrate the blessings we have as a married couple. You can see several photos below for some of our "highlight" gifts.

I got Sarah the book "Pyongyang: A Journey In North Korea" by Guy Delisle

Sarah bought me some nice-smelling cologne

I bought Sarah a matching hoodie and sweatpants "Chick Chick" outfit...haha!

Sarah bought me a Cleveland Indians hat to represent my hometown team in the U.S.!

After that we spent a few hours Skyping with our families back home, and then it was off to church for a Christmas service and dinner.

We hope that everyone back home had an equally relaxing and blessed Christmas weekend, and we truly wish you all the best as we look forward to the start of 2012.

Love and blessings,
Brad & Sarah

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...in some ways

The lights are all around us here, and the feeling in the air is that it is most definitely the Christmas season, but only recently... surprisingly.

Sarah and I in front of the huge Christmas tree near Duryu Park in our neighborhood

Sarah and I were not to sure what to expect around the holiday season, as it is both of our first Christmas away from our families and a hard time of year (especially) to be away from the ones you love.

 Sarah and I enjoying some warm holiday drinks at a cafe downtown

We've really enjoyed walking around downtown in Daegu, looking at all the Christmas lights, and even becoming a little nostalgic about things as ridiculous as the commercialism of Christmas. It's amazing what you appreciate when you're away from home, even the least favorite parts about the holidays. Haha!

It had only recently started to even feel like winter here in Korea. In fact, last week I went on a mountain hike with my students, and I didn't even wear my jacket. It felt like fall!

A few of my 3rd and 4th graders on our climb up Apsan Mountain last week

School has been busy for the both of us the past few weeks, as we've been simultaneously wrapping up our school years (Korean public school end in December and begin new in March) as well as preparing for our winter English camps, which are a whole different beast of their own.

I just had my last English festival for the school year, and this time around our kids put on an English song festival. My students, grades 3-6, picked a wide variety of English songs to perform. From traditional Christmas music to pop songs like Justin Bieber, The Backstreet Boys, and The Beatles, I was incredibly moved by the amount of time and effort they all put into their performances. Their English was incredible, and the artistic talent is also evident among so many of them.

Some of my 6th graders performing "Party Rock Anthem" at this week's English song festival

Sarah and I have both been fighting off the recycled colds that seem to bounce around our friend circles and our schools, and in so many ways it feels like another holiday winter as many of you might find back in the states (except for the fact that everyone hear speaks another language...LOL!).

Sarah and I are still putting together our vacation plans for this January, when we'll have about 2 1/2 weeks off for winter break. Our plan is to travel to different parts of Korea and explore other parts of the country. We're both very excited about this!

One piece of advice to people planning to come over to Korea and teach. Travel around Asia is not as easy or cheap as it is in other parts of the continent. Traveling to Japan, China, and even Vietnam can run you hundreds upon thousands of dollars for flights and accommodations, not to mention food. For China, it costs $150 just to get a special Visa to travel their during your break.

We've found that the most popular travel destinations for ESL teachers are Thailand or simply to stay put and travel around South Korea.

More to come in the weeks ahead, and we'll be sure to give you all another update on or around Christmas Day.

Until then, God's blessings and peace. Enjoy the season, and stay warm!!!

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

Beautiful Busan

One of the things Sarah and I always praise Daegu for is its accessibility as a metropolitan region. In addition to be an accessible province in and of itself, it is also extremely close to many other exciting areas in South Korea. One of them is the coastal province of Busan.

Me inside a fish tank a Busan Aquarium at Haeundae Beach

Busan is a little over a 1-hour $10 roundtrip trainride from Daegu. It's located on the Southeast coast of Korea, and is known for its beautiful beaches, massive seaport, fish markets, and incredible nightlife.

This past weekend was Busan's annual fireworks festival, and a bunch of us went up for the weekend to enjoy the festivities. In addition, we also spent the day walking around the Busan Aquarium at Haeundae Beach (definitely recommend this as well!).

2011 Busan Fireworks Festival at the beach

This exhibition of explosions and loud noises is not your average fireworks show (sorry, 4th of July), and it is certainly not for the faint at heart. :)

We arrived at the beach around 3:00 in the afternoon, which I would recommend to anyone going to this festival in future years. We were able to secure a front row spot on the sandy beach and had some of the best seats in the house when the official show began around 6:00.

The only complaint was the excessive rain and overcrowded vibe. People come from all over Korea (and other nearby regions) to watch this firework show, so you can imagine the insanity (just think New York City during an Apocolypse...haha!).

All in all though, it was an INCREDIBLE weekend and worth every minute waiting on the beach and every drop of rain that fell on us. Put this in your list of "to-do's" if you haven't already!

Happy birthday, Tom! (Tom & Lisa)

It was also a great weekend in that we had the chance to celebrate our good friend Tom's 23rd birthday (he's a youngin!). It was a fun combo of festivities and a great way to hang with friends.