What's Going on in Gohyeon?

Spring is here. We have seen so many beautiful cherry blossoms, rhododendrons, and azaleas. We wanted to send a couple snapshots your way which would give you a better picture of everyday life as we know it. Time seems to fly. We are counting our eighth week in Korea.

Our city is very good about maintaining and landscaping. They have a number of small parks scattered throughout town.

The other side of the story is that there was literally nothing but agriculture and fishing villages here on Geoje island until about 20 years ago. The area expanded rapidly and was built very quickly and efficiently, therefore fancy architecture was not a priority. We are now just beginning to see some interesting buildings spring up.

The cause for this rapid growth on the island is the shipbuilding industry. This is Korea's largest industry and they rank 2nd in the world for production of oil tankers, and container ships. Our town, Gohyeon is the home of the 25,000 employee, Samsung shipyard. Other nearby towns are home to companies such as DSME and STX.

We really enjoy hiking in to the mountains above the city and watching the boats come and go out of the harbor. It is also an excellent view of the shipyards. Jesse is working on getting a tour.

An interesting part of our week is always going to the fish market to buy veggies fruit, fish, eggs, nuts, tofu, rice cakes, plants, and other unexpected items. It is what one would expect a foreign fish market to be like, I guess? Lots of fish splashing in and out of their buckets, lots of weird foods, lots of deals and bartering going down, and the occasional scooter pushing through the people.

Of course there are the items that we don't buy too: giant jars of ginseng, many forms and flavors of kimchi, squid, octopus, mushrooms, shellfish......etc. We have tried many of these but, it's best to let the Koreans barter for and cook the weird stuff.

Its fun to watch the fish jump from bucket to bucket, or out of the bucket. The vendors are always busy putting fish back in the right bucket.

Veggies, Veggies. They seem to be in season all of the time. Many come from greenhouses on the island, and the oranges come from nearby Jeju, the Korean equivalent of Hawaii.

There are many older, local women who sell greens that they raise and clams that they catch. I believe that they all have their own garden behind their house.

Because it is not recommended to drink the tap water, we were buying bottled water. The other day while exploring different trails on the island. We found a developed spring water fill up station. We learned that the city develops mountain springs for people to use. The stainless steel box has a pump which kicks on when you begin to fill your containers, and the water is UV sterilized. There are a number of springs on every hiking trail which people use, but we only use the developed one.

There are many items which we cannot or choose not to purchase in the market and for these we turn to the 8 story Home Plus. If you are up for a chuckle check out their 30 second video which is played throughout the store: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37wQj4jNTGw&feature=related Home Plus is much like any other super grocery store, except in Korean. They do have an extraordinary selection of rice, soy sauce, and green tea products.

We have been inspired to do some painting. There are so many cherry trees in bloom right now. Our walls are rather bare as well. We bought some water color supplies at the tiny store nearby and painted one evening. Jesse used some bamboo and fashioned them into wall hangings.

School has been fun lately, we are still enjoying it. We are bracing ourselves for another chunk of monthly tests and evaluations this next week. I think that we finally have all of the Sallys, Charlies, Marys, and Johns straight now. Jesse found this sweet PANDA HAMMER in the teachers room this last week.

The kids love to get hit on the head with it. It squeaks each time a blow is administered.

Easter has come and gone. Although it is not commercialized here we still celebrated it. Chelsie and I still got baskets from the bunny. We received hard boiled Easter eggs at church last weekend too.

Cherry Blossoms in Jinhae

As spring approaches the number of festivals every weekend increases. It seems like there is a festival for just about every occasion and season change. Festivities abound. The festivals bring a taste of the culture in various form such as dress, merchants, decorations and of course, food. Last weekend we went to the famous Cherry Blossom festival in nearby Jinhae. We left the island via ferry. It was a short and beautiful 45 minute ride through islands and inlets. We were accompanied by a good group of friends who also teach English here on the island. We never really went out into open sea as we were just going from island to mainland. The ferry makes the trip every two hours and transports cars as well. There are a few words in Korean which sound similar to English, one of them is ferry, "p'e-ri". Its always helpful to know what you are looking for.

Figuring out where you are headed around here can be a challenge. We have found it easiest to request directions by pointing to our destination on the map, or simply following the crowd. It is always an an adventure.

Upon arrival in Jinhae we followed the general flow of traffic, occasionally pointing and asking "ch'uk-jje!!?"(festival) until we began to hear the music and see the little white tents. Blossoming cherry trees lined the streets decorated with hundreds of Korean flags. The beautiful spring weather made the experience all the more enjoyable.

UMMMMMMMMM UMMMMMMM UMMMMM. There were many who enjoyed the white and pink cherry flowers.

A stage was set up in the center of town and constantly hosted entertainment for all ages. Below is a traditional Korean fan dance.

Chelsie and Lindsay strolling along the shoreline as we looked for the famous turtle ship located at the naval base.

The turtle ships were first designed and built by Admiral Ye Sunshin in anticipation of Japan's invasion of Korea. They were heavily armed and are especially known for their steel spiked roofs which discouraged the enemy from boarding. The ships became famous as a result of their many victories in the late 1500's.

Chelsie and Alissa got to "ride" on a sweet police Harley.

The vendor filled tents were quiet earlier in the day, but as afternoon approached the bustle increased. By the time we left it was a massive traffic jam. There are quite a few foreigners in Korea, but not as many in this providence. The Koreans always watch us and are very interested in where we are from, what we have in our grocery cart and what we think of the area. We have been amazed at how kind they are and how willing they are to help. During many of our adventures we have made, or should I say been adopted as "ch'in-gu" (friends). They are often excited to practice their bits and pieces of English with you. Baked goods, candies, rice cakes, Turkish kabobs, ice cream, herbal medicines, sunglasses, clothes, tennis shoes and just about any other Asian trinket you can dream up.Anyone thirsty? Coconut milk.

We stopped in a small restaurant and enjoyed a meal of "pul-go-gi", what they consider barbecue beef. We were surrounded by tons of little side dishes which accompany every entree order. Some quite tasty and we passed up. Neither of us are particularly fond of the Kimchi, spicy rotten cabbage, but they say it grows on you!??

The area was beautiful. We meandered off away from the festivities and enjoyed the town.

Still looking healthy for all of you who worry.