A Really Big Buddha

The biggest Buddha that we have seen here in Korea, this structure has enough room inside to house its worshipers and their prayer lanterns on their visit to Soraksan National Park.

Sorak Mountain

Some have referred to it as 'fairytale-ish', others compare it to the Lord of the Rings, we are fortunate enough to call it part of our home country (for now).

Sorak Mountain is widely known as the sister mountain to Geumgansan or The Diamond Mountains of North Korea, which we visited earlier this year. Just below the Korean penninsula's dividing boarder, Soraksan National Park boasts all the majesty of its North Korean counterpart just with a little less political mystery and intrigue. This is not to say that the myths, tales and history surrounding these mountains pale in comparison.

As you can see Sorak mountain (translated as snowy crags mountain) is full of ragged towering pinnacles, lush overgrown forests, stunning views, meandering brooks, and boulder scattered riverbeds.

Although some complained that the view was hampered by the mist and clouds we still caught glimpses of the amazing temple strewn valleys below, the dazzling East Sea (Sea of Japan) on the horizon and the lofty silk like waterfall on the next peak over.

-The Summit (Gwongeumseoung) Rachel, Felicia, Lisa, and Tim-

Timbits, Toonies and Loonies

Being some of the only, if not thee only, Canadians at church on Sundays we get our share of inquisitive Americans who want to know about their mysterious neighbors to the North. For some reason, good or bad, they seem to take Trevor and I as your average, everyday Canadian. Sorry to all of you fellow Canadians who are half normal.

This last trip proved to be just another Canadian lesson with good ol' Trev and Rach. On the bus while a group of Americans had Trevor cornered demanding that he talk so that they could pick apart his 'about(s)', 'out(s)', and 'eh(s)' a group of girls were learning from a fellow American, Jessica, about the humor of Timbits, Toonies and Loonies. I sat back to supervise the peer teaching and could not help but burst out laughing when the one girl exclaimed, "Wow! How do you know so much about Canada?" after Jess was done with her tri-fold spiel. What a sad world it is when Timbits, Toonies and Loonies summarize the entire international communities knowledge of our beloved country.

Great one-liners from this weekend included, "You look like you say washroom!" Hilary's remark as a measure of my so called 'Canadianess', "Stop talking to 'the Canadian" and "Look at them! They have the maple leaf plastered all over them."

We are more than happy to represent our country, even when it means changing 'I am Canadian' to 'I am THE Canadian!'

A Traffic Nightmare

Forty of us piled into a bus after church on Sunday and battled the traffic, spanning from Seoul clear across the peninsula, to reach the Sea of Japan. A week off for Chusok, Korean Thanksgiving, was a great incentive to head out and do some sightseeing and chillin' outside of the city.

Chusok is the most important holiday in Korea and as tradition demands every family must return to the husbands birthplace and pay homage to the families deceased relatives. Basically ancestor worship. As you can well imagine 22 million people leaving the city on the same evening, let alone weekend, makes for some pretty unreal traffic jams. To put it into perspective, on a normal day it would take about 4 hours to drive clear across the country, but on Chusok holiday it is not unrealistic to get caught in traffic for up to 15-24 hours.

We were so fortunate, we added one hour onto our four hour drive. It does not get any better than that! However, getting back into the city on Tuesday night, or should I say Wednesday morning, was a different story.

The East Sea (Sea of Japan)

Over Chusok, Korean Thanksgiving, we were lucky enough to be blessed with not only a week off of work but also a trip to the east coast of Korea with many of our friends. We had an exceptional day on Naksan Beach which is located on the Sea of Japan. I feel that I need to mention that in Korea the Sea of Japan is referred to as the East Sea. If you know your history you can appreciate why the Koreans will not tolerate a sea that is so much a part of their motherland being named after their century old rival. Claiming that the sea is named the Sea of Japan is like a slap in the face to Koreans. So to be politically correct in our host country the East Sea was a wonderfully relaxing destination for a time away from Seoul.

We swam and body surfed, dove in the sand for frisbees and volleyballs, chatted with old friends and made some great new ones, slept to the sound of waves and gulls, got some good rays and just soaked it all in.

To top it all off we ended the day at a Korean salt water sauna (Asian bathhouse) to relax in the steam bathes and hot pools. It was such a soothing day.

The New Address

We are officially all moved into our new apartment. Our boxes are unpacked and we are settled in nicely. We are just waiting for the guest to arrive!!

( A very hairy Kimchi)

We have had a few requests for our mailing address so I thought that I would post it for everyone.

If you are thinking of sending us mail keep in mind that the English address may not get to us. Try both languages on the envelope. The best solution would be to print out our address and glue it to the envelope. The address is:

Korean:

서울시 중구 인현동 2가 3번지

덕수중학교

Postal code: 100-282

English:

Duksu Middle School
c/o Rachel/Trevor Olson
3 Bunji 2ga
Inhyundong, Jung gu
Seoul, South Korea
100-282

The New Pad

As keeping with tradition we thought that it would be appropriate to post a screening of our new home here in Seoul. We love our new accommodations and are very please with the location as well. We are now located in downtown Seoul, within walking distance of both our schools and our church, whereas last year most every location cost us an hour on the subway. I hope you enjoy your visit to our little home. Feel free to come visit in person.