Jangsan Mountain

For our first day of our break we took a 4 hour hike up and down Jangsan Mountain.  I'm not sure why it has taken us so long to make it up there, but I am so glad we finally did! The view from the top, as well as from several stops along the way, was amazing.  We also encountered some fun things along the way, including a temple and several "Physical Parks" which are outdoor stretching/work out areas within the park. Enjoy the pictures!!

The beginning of our hike

The reservoir at the base of the mountain

Physical Park

Tiny glimpse of Busan

Buddhist Temple

Chuseok Gifts

This weekend begins our first Korean Holiday experience - Chuseok.  It is basically celebrated like we would celebrate Thanksgiving, and we even get Monday-Wednesday off school next week! It is also very common to give gifts for Chuseok, so below are some of the gifts that Justin got from his students and their parents this past week.  They range from yummy kiwis to Armani shaving cream!

Gift-wrapped Kiwis!

Yellow Kiwis from New Zealand

Armani Shaving Cream

Fruit Basket

Baking Adventures

We have used our new convection oven several times already!  We love it! We went shopping for baking supplies, and that alone was quite the experience.  Buying things like yeast, baking soda, coca powder, and pizza sauce was not as easy as you might think.  The aisles aren't exactly organized like we are used to, so for most of the items on our list we ended up translating them in our Droid's Dictionary, and then we showed it to a worker and they helped us. The packaging is even different, so I am including pictures of that as well as pictures from our first batch of brownies!

Baking brownies!

This is how you make spaghetti with two different sauces on only two burners. 

Making Garlic Bread

Cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and yeast, from top to bottom

3rd Week of School

Despite having a short week at school this week because of the typhoon, it sure felt awfully long.  Justin is still getting over the lingering parts of his cold, and mine came full force early in the week.  We are doing better now, but it makes the days of teaching seem longer, that's for sure.

There really isn't a whole lot to report from this week.  We had friends over Friday night for pizza and games and had a great time! Saturday we got to Skype with both of our families, and after that we made a Costco run.  We finally broke down and got a convection oven, and then we also found a Crock Pot! YAY!! We are so excited to be able to cook with a bit more of variety.

The most exciting part of the week, though, was probably on Friday when Justin got his Alien Card! That means we can now get a bank account, and then internet, and then he can get a phone.  It also means that I can now apply for my dependent visa! All great news!

We are looking forward to this coming week mostly because at the end of it, we get a 5 day weekend! The following Monday-Wednesday we don't have school because of the Korean holiday Chuseok.  It's celebrated kind of like Thanksgiving - meaning that families get together the same we we tend to. It doesn't mean the same thing though.  And we hear that the streets will be bare and that a lot of stores will be closed those days.  We are actually going to be on a church retreat for a few days during that time, so we are extra excited!

I'll leave you with a picture that I took out of our veranda Friday night.  I love our view!

Apartment Pictures Take 2.

Since we had school off due to Typhoon Sanba, we spent Monday deep cleaning our apartment.  We reorganized and spruced some things up a bit. We thought it was time that we show you the updated pictures of our apartment including some of the newer purchases and additions to our home.  Enjoy!

Our kitchen complete with a new table! 

New table!

 

Office

One of our favorite parts!! It is even dry-erase!

Our bedroom with the "new" dresser that we acquired.

Spare Bedroom

Entertainment center with new TV. 

Next mission: Find a new entertainment center.

We have been reminded recently of how blessed we are to have this wonderful 3 Bedroom apartment provided for us by the school.  We really couldn't ask for anything better! We have enjoyed making it feel more like home today.  Back to school tomorrow, but YAY for only a 4 day week thanks to the typhoon! It really didn't do much again - at least not that we could see.  Sure it was incredibly windy, and it rained a lot, but it wasn't very exciting at all.  

Pray this week goes smoothly and more bumps get worked out.  We are all ready for a "normal" week, whatever that means.  We only have two more weeks of school until our first vacation, so pray that we keep going strong these next two weeks.  I am also starting basketball practice this week, so pray that my energy keeps up with me and that it is more fun than work! Justin is getting over being sick (he missed a half day of school), and I just have a scratchy throat - so pray it stays at that.  

We are continuing to enjoy getting to know people at church and spending time with them.  We go out to lunch after church with a big group each week, and we have LOVED that.  It doesn't hurt that we have eaten at a Mexican restaurant the last two weeks.  I could probably eat there every Sunday and never complain.  Just like home! :) 

So to say the least, we are blessed.  And it is wonderful.  We hope the weather really clears up soon for a while (it has been very rainy this last week) so that we can go on some hikes and see some great views of the city.  It is finally cooling down here and staying cool, so we are looking forward to seeing more! 

Thanks for your prayers and thoughts! We miss you and love you all!

Typhoon Sanba

What do you have in Korea instead of snow days or fog delays?  Typhoon Days!

Typhoon Sanba is nearing Busan, and as a safety precaution, BFS has cancelled school for Monday.  While we are still just expecting heavy rains and lots of wind, our school bus routes are more than just your average bus ride as they can be near 2 hours for some students.  With that in mind, ownership has cancelled school.  Unfortunately we are also supposed to stay indoors all day, so that will make for a longer day.  But who doesn't love a 3 day weekend!

You can keep track of Typhoon Sanba on Wunderground and we will try to keep you posted as long as we can get some internet and if there is anything worth updating you about.

Our Healthy Charcoal Mattress

As we were changing the sheets on our bed today, we took the time to finally read the stickers/labels on the bed.  We found them funny enough to share with you all.  In case we haven't told you, Korean mattresses are not exactly the most comfortable.  Our mattress is actually more of a box spring.  By more of a box spring, I mean it is a box spring.  Below are the stickers we found today.

Notice the grammar and spelling in this picture.

Doesn't it look comfy?? 

This is how much give it has (or lack of give) when Justin pushes down as hard as he can.

I couldn't get this one to rotate.  Still funny.

We have enjoyed a pretty relaxing Saturday after doing some work this morning and going on a trip to a local Teacher Supply store to grab a few things for projects this week.  Enjoy your weekend!

Philippians 4:4     Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.