Cheonan City Bus Tour (22. May '11)

Wedding on Sabbath and bus tour on Sunday . . . what a weekend!

The 2 SDA Language Institutes in Cheonan came together again for the bus tour of a few historical sights in our city of Cheonan. We went through quite a bit to get to this event. Alas, the day had come. We were able to see quite a bit that would have been hard to see on our own.

Eve and MJ (my Religion students) ready to start the tour.

Jack and his 2 kids excited to begin.



1st Stop: Cheonan Museum

The 1st thing we saw as we stepped off the bus: a really cool pedestrian bridge in front of the museum.

Up to Cheonan Museum.

Limited view of the inside welcoming hall.

An old-fashioned car in the kids' hands-on section of the museum--my favorite part.

2nd Stop: Lee Dong Nyeong Memorial and Birthplace

Lee Dong Nyeong's Memorial

A map of the area.
There are tons of cranes here, it's insane!

Just wanting to get in on the action.

Hmmm . . . maybe Rachel and I got a little too much in the action.

The great patriot.

Lee Dong Nyeong's birthplace. This is the traditional Korean home. It was nice and cool inside.

A hollow tree that caught my attention.

3rd Stop: Aunae Market, where the March 1st Movement of 1919 took place.

This is where we had lunch.

1 of the students from Cheonan, Max, lives here and took us to a restuarant that serves tofu dishes. It was good, but not the best I've ever had. Also, we were a bit late for the bus. Since we were about 15, we weren't too concerned about being left behind.

4th Stop: Yu Gwan Sun's Memorial

This sign just begged me to take its picture.

Yu Gwan Sun, the "Joan of Arc" of Korea.

The museum.

This is pretty cool.

Inside the museum, showing a sceen from the March 1st Movement, where Yu Gwan Sun helped lead out and was captured.

The plaza area between the museum and the statue.

Right beside the entrance to the shrine dedicated to Yu Gwan Sun.

How mant typos/mistakes can you find?

Hey, at least they tried; that should count for something.

Inside Yu Gwan Sun's shrine.

On the way to a neighboring shrine on the same park.

The shrine dedicated to others who have fought and died for Korea's liberation from Japan.

Names

Walking back to the plaza, I see this on my right.

Immortal spirit



5th Stop: Yu Gwan Sun's birthplace (or a replica of it)

Wow, the kitchen doesn't look that bad at all!

Out-house.

The gate around the home.

The house from the bus window.

6th Stop: Independence Hall

This is the statue that greets you as you approach the gate.

The Statue of the Indomitable Koreans

Panoramic view from the Grand Hall of the Nation.

The "Open Space for Harmony and Unity".
Ah, the architecture . . .


I didn't get to see much this time. I entered The 1st 2 exhibit halls that I missed last time, but I couldn't finish them. I did get to view a movie at the 4-D theater. That was nice and kinda funny, even though I didn't understand the Korean.

After this, we returned to Cheonan Station before 17:00. We all went our seperate ways. Today as I finish this, it is Tuesday and I'm still tired. I'd like to do this again and do so with those who were not able to attend this time. We'll see how it goes.

My 1st Korean Wedding (21.May '11)

On May 21, 2011, MJ and I went to Rooney's wedding in Seoul.

Rooney was a former student of mine in my Level 5/6 class in Nov./Dec. (and MJ's former classmate). He invited us to his wedding a while back. I was excited to be invited and to go.

This was my 1st time in a Korean wedding. I saw a few things that were different from Western weddings, but it was still a lot of fun (actually, there were points that were sheer hilarious!).

MJ and I in the bus, headed to the Express Bus Terminal in Seoul.

Samjung Hotel, where the wedding was held.

Engagement pictures of the bride and groom, for all to see.

Whoa, I've never seen Rooney dressed up like this before.

He lit up when he saw MJ and I.

That alone was worth the trip.

The flowers and candles on the edges of the aisle in the center of the reception hall.

I was not ready for this: it's normal in Korea to have your reception before, during, and after the wedding ceremony. Different, but good. Now I can understand why Korean weddings are somewhat short (according to what I've heard).

The menu.

The lights in this hall annoyed me.

On. Off. On. Off.

I need to have my camera in the proper light-setting!

They're on to me, I just know it . . .

From the candle stand directly behind me.

Fortunately for MJ and I, we were early and able to get a good table right beside the aisle.

Close-up!

I had a few pics from the ceremony, but they didn't turn out too well.

As they were going through the "gate" made of Rooney's ROTC buddies.

Oh, the ROTC guys were killing me!

There were about 10, who made 5 "gates". In order for Rooney and his wife to go through the "gates", the couple (4 out of 5, Rooney) had to do some ridiculously embarrassing feat. Of course, everything was in Korean, but with actions and body language (and MJ's occasional translations) I got what was going on. It was indeed memorable!

Ah, the main course.

Sooooo lovely.

Dessert: Blueberry mouse cake.

Never knew it existed. It was exquisite!

So, that was the wedding. MJ and I stuck around in Seoul for a little longer, then went back to Cheonan later that afternoon.

Thank you Rooney, for inviting us to your wedding! It was well prepared and beautiful. May God bless you in your new life!

Coordinators' Meeting (15. May 2011)

Sunday, May 15, I went to my 2nd Coordinators' Meeting. Considering that the meeting started around 8:30 (with free breakfast @ 7:30), this meant I had to wake up insanely early at Cheonan to make it to Hoegi station (in Seoul) on time. I woke up @ 5am (on a Sunday!), but there was a reason: I wanted an excuse to the use the KTX train.

The KTX is Korea's bullet train. A regular train ride of 1 hr. and 10 (+/-) minutes can be covered in less than 40 minutes with the KTX (travel time between Cheonan and Seoul).

Well, I got ready a little quicker than I anticipated, so I decided to walk to the KTX station from home. It took 40 minutes.

Pictures from my 1st bullet train ride ever:

From the circle-bridge, just before sunrise.

The sign on my platform. It's the train on the top (#332) that I'm waiting for. This was taken about 12 minutes (+/-) before the train arrived.

Inside the train from my seat. It reminds me of an airplane!

See the tv at the top? On the upper-left corner of the screen, the train's speed was displayed. It went up to over 300km/hr. (186 mph).

Whoa. I'm tired, but this is cool.

Ok, so much for tons of pictures. I wanted to watch the scenery go by--and did. Then, at Seoul Station, it was a dash to the metro to get to Hoegi, then a dash to get to the Main Institute. Praise God, I made it. It took about 1 hr and 30 min. total travelling time and 13,600 Korean Won ($12.52 USA/ 8.80 Euros).

Random picture as I waited for the metro that would take me home.

I have a friend who works in this Institute. Oh, by the way, this picture was taken from the train platform. Hi, Rebecca!