The Spice Life

There you are, Summer!

2010-06-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, first things first: I've got to show you a few pictures of my pride and joy these days (that would be my garden). Summer has arrived in triple digits today, so I guess it's not messing around anymore. We've had a long spring with temperatures in the 70s and 80s for May and mid-June, but now it's 90s and 100s! You know what that means: happy tomato plants (and weary sweet pea plants). I pulled up the last of my sweet peas the other day. It was long past time to say adieu, but I couldn't handle the thought of goodbye until it became even harder to look at the poor, yellow, wilted guys. The tomato plant featured in this first picture is the model plant of the garden, definitely the top of the class. It has now almost exceeded my height when my arm is stretched all the way up. See second picture.

The tomatoes along the back fence have not done as well as the model plant, but they are producing some big, green tomatoes. Will we get to taste them before moving in August? Maybe I'll have to make a deal with them -- no water after the middle of July if they still haven't turned red. An ultimatum, if you will. Somehow it seems like a lose-lose situation.

These plants are taller than me now! It's not even July!

Dan built something for the green beans to climb. Will we be around to see some pods? Check back for the answer in July.

The cherry tomato plant decided to be very fruitful a its base, and then grow up with only a few tomatoes in its mid and top section. Pourquoi, plante, pourquoi?

These are for my eating pleasure later. 4 whole cherry tomatoes! I should really consider selling them at the Farmer's Market in town. $15/1 cherry tomato sounds about right. When commodities are scarce, prices skyrocket!!! Everybody knows that.

Below are some photos from the garden several weeks ago. I thought they were good enough to make it into today's post.

Well, I couldn't exactly leave out a picture of the first piano that actually belongs to me. Mine. My very own! Yamaha Arius is its name.

We had our 3rd wedding anniversary on June 2nd. We posed in the garden just for you.

Anniversary flowers :)

In May, we had visitors!! Scott and Janet Anderson visited us with the 2 cutest kids in the world who happen to be theirs. Carter and Olivia, come back and play with us! (You too, Scott and Janet!) What a good couple of days that was.

A garden of my own.

2010-03-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

This spring, I decided that munching on crispy greens (and reds) from my own backyard would be the way to go. I've been squinting my eyes trying to read seed package instructions and scanning websites for the best way to take care of my growing buddies. The result is a modest, sorta funny-looking garden with what I hope is great potential. My sugar peas are almost half a foot tall, and my green beans have definitely reached a foot. Radishes and lettuce will come soon (as soon as the fear of frost is past - where did those cold nights come from?) followed by jalapenos and cherry tomatoes, if they can all fit in my tiny dirt space. More pictures to come... I'm trying to grow basil and rosemary inside, but after a whole month, they're barely an inch tall. Come on now! Well, that's my story, morning glory. Cheers to the few readers who've come this way. :)

A little bit of LATELY...

2010-01-29T21:27:00.000-08:00

It's not Thanksgiving anymore, and it's hardly Christmas... it's pretty much February, but here we are, at that moment of boredom that leads to a photo-filled "little bit of lately" post. Here's a look at Christmas, the little baby boy we know as Mordy (Katie and Luke's son of 12 weeks), and a visit from the one and only Jenny Abegg. Here we go...

Probably my favorite picture of Dan and Mordecai. Mo. Mordy. How tiny can that thing get? Pretty tiny, if you curl him up just right!

About a month old here...

Christmas!!! Get the Christmas dishes out!! (and! don't use a normal mug - only a red Christmas tree will do, otherwise Carol will be pissed.)

Making Russian Wedding Cakes. A nice shot of the husband, if I may say so myself.
.

George and me chillaxing.

Christmas Eve!!

A few days after Christmas, Jenny came to visit!! We struggled to get this one-of-a-kind stop sign picture. Appreciate it!!

In Dan's (I don't take ownership yet) pickup in progress.

A discarded exhaust pipe has oh so many uses: #1: communication tunnel.

#2: Microphone (just look at my audience of one - such attention!)

#3: electric guitar, of course.

Shot at the doorway.

Fake first meeting. (but our happiness is genuine)

Cheesy, but definitely necessary, Christmas tree best friend photo.

A little New Year's Eve beer, boys?

This boy must wait his turn (for a vase of beer). We wanted him alive that night, and functioning normally

A babe cannot stop Katie from getting in her Wii game for the night!

A more joyous New Year's Eve has never been known! Eh, Mordy!!?

Cheers to a new decade!
Try not kissing that face!!!

pooper.

river.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T20:33:00.000-08:00

from us... and my lovely Spicer/Brownell family. :)

Hi, I'm new.

2009-11-05T14:29:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry for the kitten picture . . . but I thought it might give a glimpse into how I've been feeling at times in the last 3 weeks in a new place. Kinda like that. A little dazed, a little new, a bit uncertain, fairly lost in a few ways, but overall still cute, right?

As a waitress in a new job (breakfast place), I play the "I'm new" card frequently to foster some sympathy at the tables I'm serving. It might also help with the tips and how often I forget to bring the right things to my customers. The current bane of my existence at work is TOAST. Who knew how aggravating a slice of crusty bread could be? Now I know. You have to time it, butter it, and battle with the other waitresses for your turn with the semi-broken toast machine, then balance the little plate way up your arm as you serve your omelet, french toast, what have you. Don't let this complaining give you the wrong impression; I'm so grateful that I have this job. In the process of applying for quite a few jobs around Chico, Dan and I met a lady at a yard sale who knew a friend... this friend happens to now be my boss at the cafe where I work. Proof (to me, at least) that God is sincere about providing for our needs, even in little steps.

So, the new thing... even though I moved around a lot as a kid, went to different schools and traveled with Dan, I don't know if I've ever felt the acuteness of being new as I do now. One would think that Korea might have topped this. It probably did, but I'll bet you the fortunate ability of human memory to get hazy while romanticizing adventures past is affecting my judgment at the moment. Familiarity of place (as in culture, language, etc) is all intact, which confuses this sentiment I've got going on in my heart right now. It could be that, as usual, I want to start a job by being perfect at it, meet people yet feel right away we're kindred spirits and hang out nonstop, get involved in the community and know exactly where to volunteer, find a group of friends, and while I'm at it, have a home with furniture that all matches!! It's strange to me that Chico might be home for the next 5 years if Dan starts pursuing a career as either a) a Physician Assistant or b) a high school teacher. Either way, he'll need to start school or medical work experience before going to PA school. I'm so used to being somewhere for a school-term period, or year-long job, that it's almost unimaginable to think I can start letting roots grow. I've been holding on to them and perhaps been cautious with putting effort into having community. Is it time? Won't we just pick up and leave in a while anyway? It's not as though we're anywhere near buying a house... THAT is way too grown up. That can wait until we're 30. I still want to be able to pack my belongings in a trailer in rows and stacks of rubbermaids [see below]. Note: this is actually all we own, although we have bought a bed, a dryer, and have a TV now, too.

On the plus side, I am loving being in California and experiencing a season besides summer here. Today is what... November 5th... and it's one of the first days since living here that the temperature has gone below 70 degrees. Yes, I am definitely ok with that. I am also more than fine with living near a huge park with gigantic oaks, living in biking distance to work and our gym, and among some of the friendliest people I've ever had as neighbors.

Oh, and we also live less than 2 hours from both Dan's sister and his parents. Family = good. Our cousin/friend Katie (seen in previous posts at her baby shower) is expecting her baby boy this week!!! Life is good even if growing is slow. Realizing that friendships and being good at my job need more than a few weeks to develop helps, too. Another plus is being able to watch all the friendly, jumpy grey squirrels around our yard:

All for now... That might be the most personal post I've ever written. On that note, if you're reading this and made it all the way to here, I probably miss you and love you. The end.

Just a Taste...

2009-10-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

We're back from the distant land where my oldest sister Chris recently got hitched... It was a the biggest whirlwind of a trip I have ever possibly experienced, but maybe the finest? A mere 20-hour flight (not counting the layover) gets you across the world. Is it just me or is this insanity? While we were above the Atlantic, perfectly slicing through the space between South America and Africa, it took a great deal of motivated thinking to replace images of plummeting towards the uninhabited watery mass below with lovely imaginings of snapping photos of zebras, elephants, and giraffes... From the evidence below, you can see that my motivated thinking saved the day. Or, the highly trained pilots who flew our Boeing 777 (a formidable plane). Next, I have to tell you that I'm not really in a healthy enough state to give justice to the trip to SA. I'll leave you with these pictures, hoping you'll check back soon for more!

And lastly... how could I not post some photos of my dear sis getting married?

Reunited...

2009-09-16T11:10:00.000-07:00

... and it feels so good!

After 21 months without seeing my best friend, we finally got together in the great Pacific Northwest. What a trip!! 9 days straight of j2 time. No more Pacific or Atlantic Oceans to divide us, no more teaching in Korea, no more gallavanting in Switzerland (Jenny), no more internet-less friendship in remote parts of BC (Jenny, again). Just the state of Oregon between my old chum and me. That's a distance I can live with, for now anyway.

Backyard Shower

2009-08-16T18:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, my friend (if we want to get specific, my cousin-in-law's wife - let's just say my cousin) Katie Brownell and her baby boy (due November 6th) were showered with love at the Spicer homestead. We decorated the back deck and ... if I may say so, it looked lovely. I sure married into a family that can host a good party! I was given the job of photographing the event, so I thought I'd post a few, and give another big congrats to Katie and Luke!! Love you three...

Traveling Ceases Not

2009-07-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hello out there!

I admit, this blog has that stale feeling that comes along with its author's (or authors' if we want to count Dan in on this) failure to update. I apologize for the long silence, and hope you haven't given up completely on checking in from time to time. A fois, si vous voulez.

So, let's get the housekeeping over with, as my phonology professor used to always say before we started the lesson. Housekeeping matters are as follows: 1. how long have we been home (home being not Korea), 2. what we've been doing, 3. where we've been, 4. where we're headed, and 5. what we plan to do with our lives now. Is it only me who cringes when I take a look at the last two matters at hand? I've recently been visiting friends/family (sorry to jump ahead on the list) in BC and I don't know how many times I was asked those 2 questions, along with "where will you work?", "where will you live?", "oh, so you don't have anything lined up?", "you haven't worked for HOW long?", "How was Korea?" (my favorite open ended question of the month). Ok, some of that isn't true, but I definitely felt unemployed, unsure of living/working situations, and at the same time, amazed to be back in my hometown with people I loved and missed. Not a bad situation.

Back to my list.
1. Dan and I have now been home (mostly in California with Dan's parents) just about 6 weeks.

2. I just got back the other day from 3 weeks seeing friends and family. I got to hang out with my old roommates Jana and Jenny and meet Jenny's newest friend and daughter, Ada Lynn. We spent time, the four of us, in Poulsbo, WA, and I said hello and farewell to Jana who left shortly after for a YEAR in India with International Justice Mission. What a woman. I then ventured up (this is with parents and sister Chris) across the 49th parallel and was greeted by the rest of my family (the six of us hadn't been together for more than 2 years), and then we were quickly inundated with uncles, aunts, friends called uncles and aunts, and old friends and their new babies, and old favorite nooks of White Rock. We swam, ate well, celebrated Chris' 29th birthday on White Rock beach à la barbeque and went to and fro to Vancouver to see sisters #2 and 4, along with their significant others. Meanwhile, Dan supported my travels by staying at home and working for his dad, getting firewood, fixing things, painting, and the like. This decision was also reached in part because... well, living in America is just a lot more costly than living in Seoul. We have to do real-life grownup things, like pay for health insurance, cell phones, car insurance, gas, ... although we're avoiding the rent-paying for the moment. Korea just didn't demand a lot from our wallet, save trips to Costco and buying milk. Are we considering going back? No. Maybe. No. I don't know. Probably not. I hope not.

(2 continued). Last week, I met up with the Spicer clan in Gold Beach, Oregon, and camped, romped around, kayaked, dipped in the river, ate endless BBQs, devoured fish n' chips, stumbled across an elk in the forest, glimpsed river otters in the Rogue River (adjacent to Dan's uncle's property), ran up and down the beach with Jack the dog, hiked little trails in huge Douglas Fir forests, snapped a few distant photos of reckless, but talented windsurfers, and... basically, decided I need to live there at some point.

3. See #2.

4. We aren't headed anywhere in particular. That's not entirely true. We'll be moving to Auburn, CA to live with Dan's sister (Katy) for a while, hopefully do some substitute teaching and temporary work because.... come September 18th, we are boarding a plane to go to a distant, distant, very far, distant land called South Africa. Why? You see, several years ago my sister Chris (oldest, #1) got involved with this nation. Why she chose this remote edge of our planet, do not ask me. Anyway, after years of living there, hanging out with little chillens, studying for her Master's, she managed to win the heart of a pilot named Barry Andrews. In June they got engaged and their wedding is Oct. 2nd, so we're heading off early to see the sights (namely humongous animals at the Kruger Park) for a few days and tour around Cape Town for the remaining time before the wedding. Why stop traveling when you don't have to?

5. Life plan = ?. Life plans are a little unnerving for this here typist, so I like to go a month at a time. Dan, on the other hand, has a plan to go back to school late next spring to start his Master's in teaching (high school science, math, and "those types of subjects"). Depending on where he gets accepted, we'll be moving. Our options: UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, UC Davis... and hopefully we'll end up at one of those locations (UCSC please!!!). We shall see what happens with me, though I'm keen on going back to school quite part time to learn Spanish... like, really learn it. I want to use it with ESL and anything else I can get involved with to work with immigrants and that kind of business.

Finally, that's over with. Here are some pictures of the last weeks here.... now you're all caught up with even the details you never asked for! Take care now.

we, in fact, did not make this castle, though aren't we convincing???

Port Orford

being silly in Vancouver

Bubble blown by hippies on Commercial Ave.

Sisters reunited (Chris' birthday)

White Rock wildlife.

Chris' Birthday Barbeque.

The newly engaged, to-be Christina Andrews!

What/Who is bigger? Ada or Wine?

Cuteness incarnate (above and below)

It's a Spicer sign! Byeeee!!

The Homestretch...5 Days Remain.

2009-06-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

3 weeks ago, all the staff at our school went out on the Nowon town to say goodbye to the other foreign teachers and to welcome the new ones (Tom and Christy Gage). These faithful remnants are the ones who went out for a second round of drinks, during which our boss, on the far left (blocking his face with a victory sign) got smashed. My friend at work: Sophia. She is one of the brightest things that happened at our academy.

Finally leaving the smokey bar and heading back... or were we looking for the bar? It's all a bit of a blur ... Here is "downtown" Nowon by night, anywho.

Last weekend, we went to a Korean Major League baseball game in Jamsil. This is how you know you're in Korea: while the teams are warming up, you get to watch a Hapkido show.

Now, for the big question: what kind of beer will we drink? Prime Max ("delicious idea") or Hite ("from natural mineral water")? Note: It's all Hite... it's all the same.

or ...I vote regular old Hite. The boys had an obvious favorite:The Lotte Giants cheerleader man. What team spirit! He never showed fatigue or disinterest, despite the fact that only one point was scored (Giants) in the first inning, leaving the miserable score 1:0 for the rest of the game. It must take a lot to dampen his spirits!In the end, it doesn't really matter who wins... just look at those expressions of satisfaction and happiness on Tom's and Dan's faces. But our team did win afterall. Go Lotte Giants! (Ro-te, Gi-ee-ant-suh!)We ran into a bit of spousal violence while waiting for the subway. Who are these kids, anyway?

Note: I don't know what happened with the text in this post. Forgive me...

THE LAST MONTH ^^

2009-05-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

. . .

Although I'd like to admit we flew to Paris last weekend and snapped this shot, I actually just found it via the internets and thought it was super cool and wanted to share before I start rambling about Korea and life in general... let's drool together.

What has really been happening lately is a lot of good breakfast eating... pancakes a la wild blueberry, and cinnamon rolls on my birthday last week. What a chef I married!!

My expert color coordinator husband not only had this bouquet on the table (next to hot cinnamon rolls, no less), but he also chose the flower combo and paper and, in the style of my students' usual writing, "So, I was very, very happy and exciting and wonderful and beautiful. And I was so, so good because the flowers are very, very nice, so I am very surprised! So, my birthday is so nice!" I'm 24. Yikes.

What else has been happening? We can't, as usual, get enough of the cute, miniature Korean kids and their matching kindergarten uniforms. Before our long weekend in early May we went to a popular amusement park (Everland) for the day and honestly had more fun looking at cute as pie kindy groups walking/shuffling/wandering/eating snacks/posing for the camera than we did on the rides, though the woooden roller coaster was a close second.

Two weekends ago, we took the KTX (bullet-ish train) to Busan, the second largest city in Korea. The beach was such a beautiful change, and our friend Connor came with us so it was of course about a million times better.

We're up on top of the "Aqua Palace Hotel" here. We snuck by the suspicious elevator/hotel man and went to the top floor, where a restaurant worker let us go up the stairs to the top as if badly dressed foreigners were always wandering in the expensive restaurant inquiring if they could please just use this little staircase to get a view of the city. Anyway, it worked out great, and look at the bridge all lit up, too!

Back on the ground...

We also managed to squeeze into our busy schedule (it's a lie! ... another favored expression among our students - our schedule is anything but busy) a little picnic by the Han River, on a floating dock where you can catch a tour boat. We didn't want to catch the boat. We just wanted a covered area to look at the river, and no one seemed to mind or notice (until Dan popped open the champagne).

Today marks exactly 11 months in Korea. We arrived last June 18th and today is May 18th. In a way, it's wild how time has flown like an arrow (I have to tell my students to leave off the "like an arrow" cause we just ... don't say that). Truthfully though, my mind can't handle that 2009 is nearly halfway through. What? I can barely even type that. We are trying to hide a bit how overly excited we are to get back home. I'm not hiding it from you - just my coworkers and friends here. Last Friday while my kids were taking a test, I calculated that I had precisely 23 working days left, 99 classes to go, and 34 days left in Korea. I smiled. While I'm emotionally and culturally ready to get on a direct flight home, today at work reminded me that I will miss so many things about our job here. My kids were extra sweet today (though the younger ones were experimenting with English profanity in my first class, resulting in my efforts to be mad at them, but they're just so cute... ). I already know I'll miss the simplicity of our lifestyle here, and the closeness we have with our students (pre-adolescent, mostly!). There is definitely some mutual adoration in some of my classes, which makes not only teaching them rewarding and easy, but loving them and choking up at the thought of never seeing them get older (and possibly easier to talk to in English?) even easier. Dan and I so often just want to steal our students a couple of hours/days and hang out with them. It's also always entertaining when a student spells the name of the former president "Bushi" and shrugs with a smirk saying, "Sorry, I don't know spelling". I'll end this, with more thoughts to come, perhaps. Here's a picture from a few months ago of one of my favorite students Jessica, newly self-renamed Sunny.

a few last thoughts... Who could resist falling in love with Tom's nonchalant, yes-I'm-wearing- designer-jeans-and shoes attitude? He always says "Hi, Julie" in the most laid-back, perfect English, even though he's been studying English for only a year or so. LOVE this kid.

And, lastly, a letter from my student Potter (after Harry Potter, of course) to his Father. Signed, "Wonderful, Potter". Click for larger image.

Peace

Everland - Korea's Disneyland Knock-off

2009-04-30T05:42:00.000-07:00

So, there was this new, totally impressive looking wooden roller coaster at Everland... it happened to be the only roller coaster (not for kids) that wasn't under maintenance. The result: two rides after two 90 min lineups... and one priceless video. You might get dizzy, just warning!

A Day in Nowon

2009-02-28T20:01:00.000-08:00

Follow us for a walk through Nowon. We start on the 15th floor of our apartment. Dan demonstrates summoning the elevator about 15 stories too late...

This is the parking lot of our apartment building. We live right beside a school.

This is where we put our trash in special garbage bags you have to buy at the store. They're stacked/leaning against the tree. In the grey buckets we put our compost stuff - smells great in this cozy corner of the parking lot! ^.~

This is my student Star. Yes, his name is Star. If you click on the picture you can see his face gleaming with sweat. These kids run around everywhere in thick wool or down jackets and then get to class just dripping with sweat. Then they fling the window open letting in the winter cold and vehemently protest when I close the window, explaining that it's actually freezing in the class and that they should perhaps take off their 3 or 4 layers of winter clothes. What a concept...

Two of my happiest students, or in the top 10. Fred on the right. Star in the center. Off to play some tiger vs. fox stuffed animal game in the sidewalks winding around the apartment buildings.

We usually don't get this view of our school/work. This is the back of the academy.

We passed this truck on our walk to the subway - chicken?

A nice and "green" bus... note the grass/flower ornamentation along the windshield.

I don't understand why they have barbed wire everywhere between the apartment buildings. What if an unsuspecting kid ran backwards to return the badminton birdie his dad just served and met this prickly bush? His ankle-length down jacket would be ruined for sure! (well, on the bright side, maybe he wouldn't sweat as much anymore)

These fruit stands are everywhere. Everything sells for an alright price, like oranges and bananas, but if you want a good, red apple (they seem to only sell one type of apple), that'll cost you 3000won for 2 apples. That used to be about $3 Cdn., but now is $2.50 Cdn and less than $2 US. Don't let me write anymore on the exchange, 'cause I'm already dying a little inside.

A "bakery" where you can buy any shape and form of bread, all white, all kind of sweet.... and really cute cakes and immaculate sandwiches.

I ate gelato here tonight! A sweet little upstairs, too.

Shampoo?

We like this little dumpling stand. They've got good mandu.

Lotte Department Store. Less than a 10-min walk from our apartment. Do you see the Lotte employee directing traffic? In the middle of this crowded intersection? He's not a police man. He's Lotte's man. White gloves and all.

More dumplings.

The subway station... line 7 and line 4... this is how we get everywhere we need to go.

Into the depths. Personally, I prefer escalators.

Waiting for the subway to arrive.

THE cutest kid. (I may say that about once a day about different kids, but there are few other ways to explain how cute each kid is.) He listened for so long while this man explained the exits and maps and this kid just soaked it all in. And he has cool shoes and a puffy jacket too long for his arms. Cuteness.

Vehicle cuteness. Outside of the foreign food store in Itaewon where we can buy things like whole wheat flour, an avacado for 4,300 won (each), bull's eye BBQ sauce, old spice deodorant, and repackaged Costco goods (from the local Costco) that are marked up 100-200%. We stick to Costco for those goods...

Love Day in Korea

2009-02-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

Dan and I went to a restaurant called "Zen Hideaway" in a popular shopping district in Seoul (Myeong-dong). What a peaceful change to the overcrowded shopping alleys and Korean idea of space and movement. ... It's true though - you can't walk around without being bumped and jolted by everyone and their mom, so Zen was the answer for Saturday night. Honestly, we've never done anything for Valentine's day, either while dating or married. This was the fourth valentine's for us, so we decided to make it memorable (and it also helps that we both have an income now!). It was a good night... amazing food... good wine (we ordered a bottle - what? I've never done that before!)... good company, and our designated driver, seoul subway, helped get us home safe and sound. ;)

The deer, pictured above, was not part of the zen of Zen Hideaway. We found this loveable fur-ball in the Kosney home store, and I couldn't resist posing with the fellow. Yours for 400,000 Korean won. What's stopping you??

More Bali Pictures

2009-01-02T01:46:00.001-08:00

Here are some more pictures. We might post some of jakarta in a bit. Maybe. I (Dan) am super sick with fever and some terrible (to say the least) bowel ailments. Not fun. Maybe I will just keep posting stuff in between bathroom trips. :(

Bali Bali Bali

2008-12-29T19:49:00.000-08:00

So we are in Bali, and it's freaking sweet. Wish you were here,... well I wish that some of you were here, and that the other random people that dont know us were... well.. they could come too I guess. I hope that you are almost relaxed as I am. I don't think that you could be more relaxed, unless you are on some illicit substances. Here are some pictars to look at. May the new year find you all well!

Six months and we're outta here!

2008-12-20T17:53:00.001-08:00

Well, at least for a week or so! ;) Bali, here we come!!

Last week, we hit our 6-month mark of teaching in Korea! The good news is that we're not ready to pack up and get out (permanently) and we're growing fonder of Korea with each day, even with its occasional peculiarities and lack of neighborhood Christmas lights during December. (Downtown department stores do a good job of lighting up the trees and decorating their shop windows; it's just the familiar neighborhoods with their festive lights and big Christmas trees in the windows that we miss.) The best Christmas present this year is going to happen late on Christmas day when Dan and I fly into the airport in Bali, Indonesia!! Everyone in my family save my younger sister Jo (miss you, Jo!!!!) will be there. We'll stay in Bali for a few nights and then head to Jakarta, where my parents have been living and teaching for over a year. We get to see their home, the university where they work, and their neighborhood they've told us so much about. We get to spend New Year's Eve there and we'll return to Seoul January 4th, the day before we're back to work! I can't think of a better way to bring in the new year or mark our halfway point here.

Back with Dad!

Back with Mom!

Back with Chris!

Back with Jen and Dae Ho!

We'll miss you so much, Jo!~

Melly Curisumasu!

2008-12-09T05:34:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure we're the only apartment in Nowon with Christmas lights on the balcony. I guess they haven't thought of that style of Christmas cheer. I miss all the Christmas lights in the neighborhoods back home!

Ever looked for an Asian Snowman? Seek no more. Ye have already found. (look up)

The view looking down from the 15th floor of our apartment building.

Dan's favorite shot of the night (above).

Can you find our apartment??

Asian snowman - side profile.

Setting up for Christmas!

2008-12-04T20:11:00.000-08:00

Dan opening the package from his parents at work - he just couldn't wait!

Look at all those gifts!! They arrived in a ginormous package last week - even pre-stuffed stockings. They have been lovingly placed under our tree waiting to be opened on Christmas (eve?). THANK YOU to my Spicer and Brownell family!!!

Video Smorgasbord

2008-12-04T04:21:00.000-08:00

December has come and we all know what that means - time to post a few videos! That's what December means to me, anyway. This first little clip has a big bang. This is the B-Boy group, whom we had never heard of but are now crazy about. (to the extent that I will post this on my blog.) Our boss notified us that we had to attend a mandatory foreign language teacher seminar in Seoul last weekend. 9 am Saturday morning rolled around, and we stumbled up the stairs from the subway station and followed the "hey, you American idiots, walk this way" signs to a nice auditorium somewhere near Yeouido. We weren't thrilled about being there, but it was our curiosity that kept us somewhat alert. We were all sitting slumped in our seats until the cheerful Korean MC announced in English that we were about to watch a dance show of sorts by the B-Boy group. My ears perked up, my eyes focused from the red velvet seat in front of me to the brightly lit stage. A handful of Korean dudes were bouncing around the stage and swinging their arms in hiphop style. The music started to thump, and then the formerly sleepy foreigners were in for an incredible display of Korean breakdancing. I particularly liked the guy with the long, flowing hair. He seemed to incarnate an anime character... see for yourself!

Next... though the quality of the video is less than professional, listen carefully to the conversation the students are having with Dan. Really funny... basically the students are helping Brian come up with ways to threaten the lives of all of Dan's family (including me, 'his Julie'). This video shows the escalation of a three-minute session. It started with, "My mother will kill your mother"... "My grandfather will kill your mother" ... "My dog will kill your cat"... to chickens and octopi. Watch it to believe me.

Our friend and former colleague, Kate, got married a couple of weeks ago. As a surprise for her brand new husband, she broke out into song right on stage in front of all the guests. It was priceless, really. I couldn't resist posting it.

Did you go to the hospital?

2008-11-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

"So did you go to the hospital?" asks the Korean. (Julie just taught direct speech and knew exactly how to punctuate that.) And also Julie just remarked how our room is starting to look like a slum again, but fortunately I have a wife that also sees the four fingers pointing back at her and so she doesn't get on my nerves :). Anyway... ... ... ... ... I went to the doctor today, ... not the 'hospital' as Koreans call everything medical... and I received a prescription that I conveniently filled on the bottom floor of the same building. I left the building with seven dollars less than when I entered, which is a small but excellent testament to socialized medicine. I wish it would be like this when I return home. High hopes I guess. I am on a thorough regiment of pills... about 7 to be exact, that I take 3 times a day. These koreans like to add all of the symptomatic stuff in with the prescription so you don't have to go out and buy advil cold and sinus etc. ( I just figured this out today). So Dan (me ) is on the up n up and I love all you whom I have left on the right side of the world... as opposed to the wrong side. I drank some soju to help the pills go down well and now I feel a bit sleepy so I will sign off give good morning to you and a nite nite to those that are on my wrong side of the world. love you all..

dan

Hiking and Halloween

2008-11-04T20:19:00.001-08:00

At the close of October and the onset of November, Dan and I find ourselves enjoying life in Korea more and more. It has become more than a routine and I know that I have settled into a very content attitude here (one I feel is hard to come by when living away from home). I hope it lasts a while. Last weekend, we hiked up to the peak of a nearby mountain with our friends who are teaching in Sanbon (Seoul), which is a 1.5 hour subway ride away. The sunshine and freshness of nature cured me from the week's weariness.

The last few pictures are from last Friday (Halloween). It isn't celebrated here, so it's hard to come by a costume, and that's my excuse for not dressing up. That didn't stop one class I had, who were beyond excited to come to academy that day! We watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" and had snacks, drew and colored Jack-o-laterns, and made origami ghosts. Pretty good for a 50-min class! (I confess, we did the drawings earlier that week...)

Here you are, more pictures than you could ever ask for:

Not the most comforting way to start a hike...

Dobongsan Peak, Bukhansan National Park

Hiking is super popular in Korea - so we bravely faced the crowds on the mountain,
remember we're the tourists, we're the tourists... this type of reminder helps to keep the sanity on the mountain.

Meditation?

Christina and me at the top.

The building with the blue top right in the middle is the hospital across the street from our apartment in Nowon!

Jared and Tina

Korea would not be Korea without its cute trail mascots!

Seoul/Namsan Tower in the distance.

The perfect place to rest one's legs after a long hike. >_<

I was definitely underdressed for one of my classes on Halloween!

The reason I go to work sometimes (besides the money): these kids.
Rose, Berry, Iris, Bruno (aka alien), Harry, Veronica, Julie

The Return to Soraksan

2008-10-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

Just as I promised you, we returned to the east coast of South Korea to play in the ocean and see Soraksan park again. The fall colors were even better than we thought since the weather was perfect. This, however, also had the impact of drawing half of Korea's population to the trails of the mountain. Packs of Korean hikers clad in ultra hiking gear (for well-kept, sometimes paved trails) swarmed the mountain and made it a bit difficult to feel like we were out in nature's wilderness and beauty. Their bright red, pink, yellow, green, and blue jackets, gloves, pants, boots, walking sticks, hats, backpacks, and similarly dressed children, allowed for no stopping, or any passing, on the trail. The first hike we went on wasn't so packed, so its memory hasn't been marred.

Here's a slideshow of our weekend. Call me lazy, but it's a LOT easier than posting them one by one. Enjoy!! Back to work today...

Pictures with No Connections

2008-10-20T05:48:00.000-07:00

So, I had a few pictures to share, none of which seem to particularly go together... but, at the same time, I couldn't exactly leave outdated photos of me battling tonsillitis when it's been gone for a few weeks now, could I?

We've been doing well, and the days have been going quickly, for the most part. Fall has come with its cooler weather, and there's been plenty of sun and perfect feeling days! October makes me love Korea more than I did before... Next weekend, we're setting off on a three-hour bus ride to the coast to revisit our beloved Sokcho and Mt. Soraksan, which will hopefully be ablaze in fall colors! In the meantime, life has been a bit dull in terms of documenting it with pictures or stories on this blog. However, here are a few selections from the last couple of weeks:

On an evening bike ride to our Korean friends' house for dinner...

A post-dinner workout at our friends' house (the same night). A lot of Koreans are fans of the hoolahooping (though they call it something I can't remember). It's like no hoola hoop you've seen or experienced before, I am telling you! It's got little jabby things on the inside that apparantly "melt" or "work" your abdomen fat away while hoola-ing. All it caused for me was grief. I guess I'm just not strong enough. ;)

View from our friends' apartment. A little nicer than ours, n'est-ce pas?

Last week, I had my 11-year olds write messages to their foreign teacher who returned home, and I couldn't help post some of their artwork/doodles. So incredibly cute in a remarkably Asian-cute style. I'm not sure if it's true in real life, but cartoonized Asians sure seem to wink a lot. (thanks to Berry for her drawing)

My student, Julie, drew this one.

My tonsils felt ignored...

2008-09-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

...so they decided to get really puffy. Well, they got the attention they craved. After a few days with a sore throat, I came to the conclusion that I had a little case of tonsillitis. So, this morning, Dan's friend brought us to a nearby clinic. The doctor took out the tongue depressor stick and put it on my tongue and looked at the back of my mouth for about 0.5 seconds. Then he asked me a few questions, then handed me a prescription. The visit cost a little over 4,000 won (about 4 US dollars). We proceeded to the pharmacy downstairs and I got my medicine (oh no! Another 3,000 won! How will we ever afford doctor visits and medicine that add up to 8 dollars?!)....

Anyway, this is what the medicine looks like (I thought it deserved some documenting):

1. feeling a little skeptical about the colorful pills...

2. maybe they'll do the trick...

3. putting my complete trust in the pills

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it a bit cruel to have a patient who is already experiencing enough pain simply swallowing to take 6 pills 3 times a day for 3 days?

The Latest from SK

2008-09-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

For a while, I didn't feel like writing anything on our blog since it's hard to judge if anyone actually reads the thing. But, the other day, I was reminded that people do happen upon it every once and a while, so here's to you, our faithful/sometimes faithful and curious readers.

As the weather changed from warm and extremely humid (June) to hot and extremely humid and rainy (July) to hot, rainy, and fairly humid (August), to sunny, hot, not too humid (early September) to clear, warm, sunny (now), I want to give it up to the One who makes and changes weather. If cooler days were not on the upcoming forecast, I might quit my job. Luckily for my wallet and school, the days have been changing. That, my friends, is your weather report for the summer in Seoul. Some people appreciate and are fascinated by weather updates, like my dad. Others, like my mom, would rather get kicked in the shin. So, it was a toss-up whether or not to include this paragraph.

Do read on...

What can I tell you about our lives here that could be interesting? Teaching is becoming quite routine, with good days, fun classes, and the very opposite of that half of the time. We are beginning to understand and see the real expense of Korean academic rigor on these kids' and teenagers' lives. It's not as noticeable in our youngest classes, which consist of studying from a fun, multi-colored and well written English learning book, with plenty of games and competitive screaming and hanging off the foreign teachers. But as the day progresses, and we teach students that have already been in public school most of the day, and are in their 2nd or 3rd hour of "Academy" (the type of private afternoon school where we teach), you wonder how long a 13-year old should have to study, bent over in a small desk-chair. I start wanting to let my students sleep instead of shaking them and asking them to answer a question. Here's your tests, students, I say, inwardly wishing we could all just play outside and that I never had to give them tests. Sometimes, though, the compassionate side of me wanes as the I'm-getting-paid-to-teach-you and your-parents-will-be-mad-at-you- if-you-get-bad-grades side of me wakes up for a little while. In these moments, it's hard for me to face a class of 14-year-olds who stare at me blankly while I ask about their weekend, or if they did their homework, or if they could answer the question I've repeated 5 times. It's also a bit discouraging when you hand out a small, "fun" speaking exercise and your student groans very loudly as he reluctantly accepts the slip of paper (with both hands, of course - Korean etiquette).

Usually, something comical happens during even the worst classes and it's enough to keep Dan and I liking our job and admiring that Koreans are extremely hard workers, and even if they generally push their kids too hard (according to North American standards, anyway), it's apparent why the Korean economy has been growing and succeeding despite so many obstacles during the last few decades. Hard work equals success, and Koreans take that motto very, very seriously.

What you also might want to know about Korea: We get about 3-5 English channels (some change to Korean sometimes) on T.V. In the last 2 weeks, the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" has been on at least 4 times that I have seen. "The Rock" is on quite a lot, as are the Terminator movies, Die Hard 2, True Lies, lots of movies with Keanu Reeves, and Jurassic Park (according to our friend who has caught it a couple of times). There is just so much anticipation when you wake up in the morning. What movie will be playing today? How about at 3 am when you still can't sleep? Oh yes! The Matrix is on, AGAIN! (usually not my reaction).

That's all I've got for now... it's time to get ready for work. Thanks for reading... we miss you all... Bring on the weekend!

My Korea~ ^_^

2008-09-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

I got so excited with the last slideshow I put up, I just couldn't resist doing it again. These are shots from the last three months.

Chuseok Weekend

2008-09-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a slideshow of pictures from our Chuseok/Thanksgiving weekend on the east sea of Korea. We're sad to be back in the city...

Julie's new motto and Dan's new passion

2008-08-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

Last week, Dan and I acquired two new things: a new motto and a new passion. Now, don't think too carefully here... we haven't completely changed our lives. Instead, we've added two bicycles to the Spicer apartment/household. My bike's name written on its orange flashy paint is "Motto" and Dan's bike, though not pictured here today, has the name "Passion" written on it. We like to ride Motto and Passion around Nowon and down to the river, whizzing by the slow pedestrians and joining the other crazies on the sidewalk, i.e. delivery guys on scooters and old men on bikes.

Giving it a test drive down the ol' apartment hallway.

The Motto.

Each week, we have about this much recycling stuff to bring to the main floor of our apartment building to sort and get rid of! We don't have to takeout the trash much, but we tend to put off the job of recycling until it gets to this point. Sickness.

From the Heart

2008-08-04T06:48:00.000-07:00

To see more pictures click here...
and here.

Nowon at Night, What a Sight!

2008-07-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

10:30 pm, from our "apartuh"

Biking around Olympic Park with the parents

A Hot November Day

2008-07-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce you to Korea's summer weather. All you must do is imagine a typically rainy and "puddly" November day in Vancouver. Rather than it being cold to the bone, however, imagine that putting a rain jacket on would just increase your sweat count. This is a July day in Seoul. It poured rain for the last two days, to the point where the outdoor basketball courts and bicycle trails by the river near our apartment were completely flooded. But no, this didn't stop the little kiddies from bravely navigating their tricycles through the happy puddles. It just made their smiles cuter and their chubby legs pedal faster.

The sidewalks in our neck of the woods slash Nowon (the name of our district) become a slight bit treacherous when the rains hit. Usually the sidewalks must be tread on cautiously anyway, due to their wavy nature - the bricks are not exactly evenly laid. Eventually, you stop caring whether your shoes are completely soaked. That is why I am so happy with my crocs that I purchased back in the US of A. They get a bit squeaky, but they hold up well in the rain. Apparently, everything north of the main river in Seoul is less affluent than the south side of the river. We live in the north, but we like the feel. Middle class is our middle name. Nowon has actually come a long way, according to one of our friends we saw today. It was a bit more on the ghetto side a couple of years ago. Thanks to increasing Korean efficiency and economic growth, our area is not crappy anymore. All we care about is that there's a kimbap (like a California sushi roll) place right across the street, a 7-11 in sight from our balcony, a store named "Wal-Mart" in the basement next door, and the academy where we work a 4 min walk from our place. This is the good life.

We reached our one-month mark last Thursday, which is hard to believe! We feel pretty settled... enough that we don't feel like complete noobs showing my parents around when they come in 2 days. We know how to get the attention of a waiter, order at least three different things that we actually like, say "how much is it?", thank you, and goodbye. We went to a giant bookstore today and bought yet another Korean learn yourself book. This one should hopefully work. $20 bucks says it does. :)

I finally uploaded some pictures for your enjoyment... they're not really in any order.

It's probably 8 am your time, so good morning! And in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening and good night! (lean back with double-chin smile)

... we might have watched The Truman Show last night. kthanxbai

Pre-riot. We decided to get lost.

The Cheong gye Cheon River (청계천)

This nearly 6 km creek runs through the middle of Seoul - a mere $90 million project that opened in 2005. It's so nice on a hot day to dip your feet in the creek!

Connor's happiness just can't be contained.

My Face is Sweaty... so are my hands...

2008-07-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

So I just bought some chicken an dumplings from a dude on the street that I like to frequent. He has the best damn chicken kabobs with these rice dumplings that are all soaked in spicy bbq sauce-ish stuff. Julie and I look like body builders these days because we work out all the time so we have to eat about 6000 calories a day just to stay alive. Julie is definitely going to disapprove of this post. So... school os great. The little kids are so fun to be with, the middle schoolers are hard to entertain, and the high schoolers are great. I am figuring out how to teach... and sometimes how to teach well I hope. It's fun trying new things and working through problems well enough that I can get a problem under control so that class can function well. Most of all the kids really suck at english so I don't have to be as smart as julie and know sentence structure like I know my you know what. Anyway, I can just ask her if I have a problem,.. that's why I married her.. to solve simple problems that my laziness cannot overcome.. that and a getaway from the draft if John McCain gets elected and the sh** hits the fan and we blow up Iran. I have to go to class. We will post some pictures soon and have some more details that aren't just me being stupid. We love and miss you friends!

House From Space

2008-06-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

This is what google thinks our house looks like... We live at the top of the bright big one in the middle... Just a little bit to the left side.

View Larger Map

Our first week!

2008-06-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

Has it really been a week? We arrived in Seoul last Thursday night, moved into our apartment on Saturday, hung out with friends Sunday, went to a soccer game at the world cup stadium (North Korea vs. South Korea - a 0-0 tied score, unfortunately), and started teaching at our new job on Monday! That's normal, right? :)

Dan and I teach at an after school English academy in a district of Seoul called Nowon-gu, so our teaching day begins around 2-3 pm and goes until 8-9 pm. Not a bad schedule for our night owl selves. We have the nicest boss on the face of the planet, and the kids are cute and mostly well behaved. Some classes are better than others... The day starts out with the little ones (age 7ish) and finishes with middle schoolers.

So, here are some pictures of our time so far!

Fast friends - actually, just some Koreans who wanted a pic with us

View from the 15th floor (top) of our apart. building

Moving into the apartment...some friends had come to say farewell to Nathan and Lydia (the teachers we replaced)

Our Grand West Adventure

2008-06-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

This is what I'm going to do. I just spent a fine chunk of time putting up a bunch of photos on facebook. It would be in my best interest for you to look at them there. However, I will post a few here to tempt you to click the link below:

view the first set here
view the second set here

But first... get a sneak peak:

Carpenteria Campground, near Santa Barbara, CA

My favorite spot.

The best camping spot in the world.

Dan at the Grand Canyon

Cutie Daniel

On our way...

2008-06-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

So, almost a year has gone by since the last post on here, but now you will find us much changed, and hopefully dedicated to keeping you in the loop. On Wednesday, June 18th, we are taking off for Seoul, Korea to teach English for one year. Shocked? Don't be. This decision has been brewing for months now and we are excited and nervously looking forward to a year of old fashioned work, paying off debt, and exploring the country with friends we have over there and friends we'll make.

There will be more to come once we arrive, so stay posted!

Volunteering in Ecuador

2007-02-28T23:40:00.000-08:00

Hey there everybody!
We have some interesting plans for the summer! Julie and I will be traveling to Costa Rica for our honeymoon, then will fly to Ecuador to live and volunteer in Quito. Because of this, we will be even poorer than we were after wedding expenses, so we wouldn't mind it if there were some of you who would like to contribute to our trip. Though details have not been completely worked out yet, we hope to volunteer working with needy people, such as a daycare in the city dump or something of that sort. Monetarily we are ok because student loans are awesome, but we would love a gift of money for this cause if you cant seem to find the right gift. :)

First Two Weeks in Quito

Hey there!

2007-01-15T23:16:00.000-08:00

Glad that you have found us. Feel free to drop a comment by clicking the "comment" text to the lower right of this box, or email us at twospices@gmail.com . Most of the info you need should be accessible at this site, though feel free to email us with questions. Dan and Julie