Party Day for Religion Class (20. June)

June 20th was the last day of Religion class for the term. To celebrate, my 2 students and I ate lunch together at a Korean restaurant just down the road.

It's called "Chang Hang Seon Galbi". "Chang Hang Seon" just happens to be the name of the owner: a famous Korean actor.

We had beef stew (more similar to soup than stew as I remember) with rice and other typical Korean side dishes. I loved it! We also got to have our pictures taken with Chang Hang Seon.

Enough talk. On to the pictures!

From my side of the table.

The tin bowl and lid to the left contains the rice.

Careful mother.



Ah, food!

After we were finished.

Eve, Chang Hang Seon, and yours truly.

The 3 of us at the foyer of the restaurant (it was over 30 C/86 F outside, which was too hot for us at the moment).

Well, I never thought I'd meet a Korean celebrity. Who knew?

Hmmm . . . what unexpected surprise awaits me next?

An Exceptionally Good Sunday (19. June)

On Sunday, June 19, one of my best friends from orientation came down to visit me in Cheonan. I showed him around downtown and walked over to the train station. As we were walking about near Cheonan Station, we found a place that appealled to us: a cat cafe! A cat cafe is where you can drink your coffee (or whatever) while petting/playing/watching/etc. cats.

Considering the both of us are cat-lovers, we just had to check it out!

Below are the images I captured:

In the cafe, plus one of the owners.

The TV area.

The eating area.

Looking out towards the window.

The smell was a little bad, but after a while it went away (or we got used to it).

They were mostly Siamese cats. They are not my favorite breed, but I was happy just to be able to be in contact with cats.

Arron has now been claimed.

There was a point when he had 3 cats on his lap! They all love him!

Simply adorable.

Arron + Motion + Still Life


Afterwards, we met 2 of my students at the Kraze Burger in Galleria (the huge mall near my apartment). From there, we went to see if we could get to Hyeongchungsa (Admiral Yi Sun Shin's park and shrine). It took some work, but we were able to make it in--but only for a brief 30 minutes or so.

Arron setting his camera, Sally walking back a bit, and Jim observing everything (plus the docent waiting for us to leave).

Happy Moment.

Dunno what was said, but I like the facial expressions.

From the Admiral's shrine.

Better view than I remember.

Even good things must come to end. We all had a great time and I hope we can do something like this again soon. I absolutely loved this.

Taejo Mountain Hike (18. June)

On Sabbath, June 18, I met up with a former student I haven't seen in a long time. The two of us went and hiked Taejo Mountain.

If you've looked through my blog, you'd see that I was already at Taejo Mountain before: but I never went to the top.

Until today.

It was a bit steep at times, but we helped each other go up and down it. The view from the top was nice, but the day was a little cloudy--next time, go on a clear day.

We had lunch at the park then returned to downtown, where we parted ways.

It was a really nice time--not to mention, a good workout.

Kate and I once we reached the summit.

Too bad my camera isn't the best and the view was a little cloudy.

In case you did not believe me . . .

We asked a kind hiker if he could take a picture of us.

The distance between us is not because we don't like each other, but because we're trying not to go rolling down the mountain.

A nice day that must be repeated.

Long June Weekend (3-6. June)

Hi all. Sorry for the weeks of silence. A lot has happened, but let me tell you about a long weekend we just had. Monday, June 6, was Memorial Day in Korea and we all had a day off from work. Let me show you some of the moments I recorded from this weekend.

Friday: 3. June

I visited the Arario Gallery.

This is an art gallery that has different exhibits every month or so. One of my students happens to work here, so I went to see her. She showed me around and we enjoyed each other's company. I wasn't sure if it was ok to take pictures or not, so I kept it to a minimum.

This is called "Chromatophobia" (fear of money)

Those are actual coins nailed on to the beam.

Here, you can contribute to the art piece.

My student and Chromatophobia.

Me checking out the coins up close.

Mostly Korean coins, but there were American, British, Canadian, Thai, etc.

The artist is Indian, but he apparently doesn't think much of Indian culture.

There were a lot more interesting pieces, but I was too enthrawled in them, I forgot to take pictures.

A fountain beside the Arario Gallery.

Next stop: the new H&M store.

Wow! They have european sizes!

This was a dress I tried on.

Didn't buy it.

Maybe I will.

Haven't decided yet.

Saturday: 4. June

I travelled up to Seoul to spend the rest of the weekend with Jennifer and Michelle.

Most of the day was spent in travelling.

Caffe Bene!

This was a delicious lemon/lime mojito (non-alcoholic) drink.

L to R: Michelle, Jennifer, and Jin Song.

2 really cool Korean guys we met (they're friends of Michelle). They're really great guys. The taller one knows Spanish!

Sunday: 5. June

Another relaxing day of meeting and hanging out with other people.

Jin Song at Jennifer's apartment. Apparently, he was bored.

We met up with 2 other people at Seoul Grand Park. I was going to understand why it was called "Grand" park.

We took the chairlift to go in the park.

An amusement park called, "Seoul Land".

How original.

Tracy and I on the chairlift.

I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Yeah, some of the chairlifts didn't have people, but carriages.

Another way in/out of the park.

Getting closer.

The Rose Garden and Seoul Land in the background.

Wow, roses . . .

The entrance to the Rose Garden.

Now, for a few of the roses:

Ok, not a rose, but still gorgeous.

Tropical floral arrangement.

Contemplative Michelle

Daydreaming Joann

A stage where a concert and dance show was held.

The 2 singers. They sang really well.

Afterwards, for the dance show, they had several types of international dances.

I've seen better.

Going back to the entrance/exit, but walking back.

These are all the good pictures from my weekend. We did do stuff and hung out on Monday, but I didn't use my camera at all--it was in a locker in a subway station. I forgot to take it out with me. Oh well. I can tell you in person what happened.

Hope you're doing well and have a good one!