A Year In The World: November 2006

LE WEEKEND!!!

Just some random shots of the weekend...Sharon's birthday...that was about it!!!!!!!!

The next morning...bugging Sharon very early!!!

Dinner!!!!

The beautiful bar where you sit on the floor on pillows!!

The dude that was taking my picture!!!

Pretending I am on an ATV instead of taking the bus....

Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Well, a few new items to mention. We went out with our co-workers today for a typical Korean meal, kalbi. Mr. Kim picked up the tab which was very generous considering there were roughly 12 of us. We had not done this yet since we got here so it was great. Funny how the foreign teachers sat at one end and the Korean teachers at the other...we will have to change that the next time we go out. And yes, the Christmas lights have finally made it up at the Paradise, a full month after the lights go up back home! They are plentiful and fantastic and are really helping us get into that holiday mode, slowly but very surely...

Sharon and I in the X-MAS Lights

Random Korean Man in the lights!!

Sharon with her cake !!!!

Shawn and Sharon at the restaurant

We found an ATV outside the apartment!

So we took silly pictures on it....

The gang from work at the restaurant!!!

Mr.Kim and his ice cream..explaining to me that he couldn't bite it because it was too hard!!

OVARIAN CYST PARTY 2006!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought it was about time I crawled out from under the sheets and let y'all know that I am on the up and ups. If I went home tomorrow, I could say that I had a very well rounded Korean experience..hospital care included!

Last Saturday I woke up with some pretty intense abdominal pain and with the help of a Nebraskan couple, I got to a doctor that could speak english. She did an ultrasound and told me I had a large ovarian "mess." hmmm, a mess I thought?!?!? A few hours later, my mess and I were undergoing surgery and before long, in bed recovering.

The nurses were as helpful to me as they could be, not understanding each other proved to be a little difficult when I was asking why I had to have shots in my bum twice a day...instead of getting an answer, I got a shrug of the shoulders and a shot in the bum!

After spending 3 nights in a room with two other ladies, and their entire families (snoaring husbands, mothers who MUST turn the heat on to tropical temperatures) I moved to a private room and got some seriously needed rest.

I came home last thursday...am nursing my wounds back to health, including a wonderful headcold that nurse #1 gave to me!

Test results were negative...life goes on!!!!!!

I sometimes forget to appreciate the best thing about this experience, which is the fact that I am going through it with Yvon, and so this is for him. Te quiero mi Principe.

Hasta Los Huesos - Julio

Escucha esto may

Quisiera tener otra vez y besar tu boca, ay que rico
mira bien que tembrado estoy por tenerte cerca
no puedo permitir que te alejes de mi vida
lo que siento por ti es algo que no termina
no hay final, no hay finaaalll...y yeah

[Chorus]

Aun estoy enamorado de ti, no olvides eso
asi como la primera vez, hasta los huesos
Aun estoy enamorado de ti, no olvides eso
asi como la primera vez, hasta los huesos
amor, amor, amor, amor.

Solo quiero que regreses, ven

Ya se amor, el tiempo paso, no pude evitarlo
pero en mi no murio el amor, super alimentarlo
hablando de ti, recordando tu sonrisa
contigo soy feliz, cual pajaro con la brisa
al volar, al volaaarrr....y yeah

[Chorus]x3

Escuchaste mami?

SEOUL SURPRISE!!!!!

While in Seoul this past weekend, both Yvon and I were slapped in the face with such a wonderful suprise! Our friend from Ottawa, Adam, though he is best known to us as Gibbs, asked us to meet up with a friend of his living in Seoul. As we waited....and waited at the subway stop we agreed on, we nearly lost our patience and left..until, from across the street, we spotted....GIBBS!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing! After the shock wore off and we started talking, he let us know that he has been here a month and is working in the northern part of the country for the next year! He has been waiting for the right time to surprise us, and though it didn't work out as well as he wanted...I was very surprised and I think I needed it. I think I needed to see a familiar face, someone who could share stories of people we both know. It lifted my spirits so much. THANK YOU GIBBS!!!!!

Though we don't have many pictures of our weekend in Seoul, as we were more captivated by the North, that and my camera's batteries died, here are some shots that we took.

Gibbs, Yvon and I!!!!!!!!

Escape rope from our hotel room the 1st night!

Funny sign at the Train station!!

Funny bar in Seoul!!!!!!!!!!! Any takers?

Another sign that Yvon thought was funny!

Gibbs......I think it's him under the squirrelly face...

Our tradional guest house for Saturday night...

The inside garden!!!

In front of our door!!!!!!!!!!

DMZ

It's hard to not give too much information about this, but at the same time, hard to say anything at all. It is the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. 4 Km wide and 250 Km long. It is the most heavily guarded border in the world with the most protected ecosystem of it's kind. Though it was filled with soldiers and guards, it was oddly the most quiet and peaceful place I have seen here. Saying anything more just wouldn't do it justice.

The tour takes us right into the DMZ and just beside the official northern border.

Bridge of No Return...where POW's were released and given a choice of North or South, but once they decided they could never change their minds.

North Korean Guard Post

South Korean Guard keeping an eye on the northern boundary (The building in the back ground is in North Korea)

ROK (Republic of Korea) soldier in ready position guarding the UN flag in the conference row building. North/South talks happen in this room, and half the room is in the south, the other in the north. We were not to touch, or talk to this soldier.