Japan Videos
Friday, February 23, 2007
Videos
Below is one video out of like 5 that I took of the scenery and stuff. If you click on the link below this video you can see the rest of the videos that I took. They are pretty sweet, so check them out! This just shows you a slideshow of the videos...you can see them individually by clicking on the link that says Japan Videos.
Japan Videos
Japan Videos
Japan-Day 4
Alright, so not much with this day except that it involved way to much travel. In the morning I get up at 6 to get a taxi to the bus station in Hakuba. I then take the bus to Tokyo. This is a four hour trip. Then I go and eat at a place in Shinjuku. After that I go to the Korean Consulate to pick up my visa. I can't pick it up till 1:30....so I wait about 45 minutes in the consulate. I then pick it up and head to TCAT to get a bus to the Tokyo airport. I try taking the subway, but can't find my way to TCAT very easily, so I get off at the one station and decide to take a taxi there. Good move as it was already about 2:15 and my plane leaves for Seoul at 5. So I get to TCAT and get a bus to the airport at 2:30. I then get to the airport after an hour long bus ride and find that the plane has been delayed for an hour. So now it doesn't leave till 6. So I get some dinner at McDonalds....mmmmm. Then I take the plane ride for 2 hours.
When I get to Seoul we wait on the tarmac for about 15 minutes as all the gates are full. I then get out, go through customs and stuff and then buy a bus ticket for Daejeon. The bus leaves at 9:30....so I wait for another half hour. Then finally this bus comes and I take the 2.5 hour bus to Daejeon. Then once in Daejeon I took a taxi to the school and it was nice to be home again.
This trip was seriously an amazing one and want to go back there to ski sometime again and to explore more of tokyo as I feel I only explored an inch of what could be miles of exploration.
Thanks for reading all these and blessings!
Mike
When I get to Seoul we wait on the tarmac for about 15 minutes as all the gates are full. I then get out, go through customs and stuff and then buy a bus ticket for Daejeon. The bus leaves at 9:30....so I wait for another half hour. Then finally this bus comes and I take the 2.5 hour bus to Daejeon. Then once in Daejeon I took a taxi to the school and it was nice to be home again.
This trip was seriously an amazing one and want to go back there to ski sometime again and to explore more of tokyo as I feel I only explored an inch of what could be miles of exploration.
Thanks for reading all these and blessings!
Mike
Japan-Day 3
Let's call this day the day of many many blessings.
Alright, so I get up in the morning and find out that I can get a lift ticket for Happo One (the main ski resort in Hakuba) for only 2000 Yen. This is about $15. I managed to get it from the owners wife of the lodge I was staying at. She got the deal because someone had a season pass and wasn't going to use it today. What a blessing. So then the one guy I met from Australia and I go to the resort. He helps me get my rentals and then we take a lift up to a place on the mountain where we can get bfast. So we get bfast (which was really good) and sit and chat there for a while, waiting for the snow to get soft as right now it was icy. So we wait and then decide to ski down to the Gondola. Anyway, skiing down to the gondola was tough as my skiis that I received were too long, so I fell on the way down and decided I had to go get shorter skiis.
So, I went and got shorter skiis. Then I went to the Gondola and met a couple from New Zealand. They just moved there 2 years ago and were from Singapore. They were a very friendly couple. From there I did my first main run and it was awesome. It was a long long run and it was a lot easier with my shorter skiis. Then from the bottom I went to the top of the mountain through taking 3 lifts up to the top. The view from the top was absolutely incredible. Words can't describe it and my pictures certainly don't do it justice. But there is a reason they are called the Japan Alps. The mountains around here shoot up to about 9000 ft and where we were was at about 6000 ft at the top of the ski lifts. So from here I did some more runs before lunch. So I'm starting to get sore, so I decide I'll do some lunch somewhere. So I go down the mountain and start walking to this one restaurant. So I feel for my wallet and it isn't there!! I start to worry and notice that a hole was ripped in the pocket and my wallet must have fallen out about 3 hours earlier when I fell that one time. I started to think about how I could possibly find it. It had all my money, cards, etc. in it. Not all the money, but a lot. So I think man, it could be burried under snow, someone could've taken it, anything. So, I check with the ticket counter at the resort and ask if they have a lost and found. The lady then asks, "what's your name?" I tell her "Mike" and she then hands me my wallet with everything in it and said a man dropped it off. Wow, what a blessing. This is blessing #2 of the day.
Then I ski for a little longer and then decide to go up to the restaurant I had bfast at and get a cup of coffee. So I have my coffee and then one of the guys that works there comes by and gives me a free cup of green tea. Mmmm, it was so good. Then I skiied down my last run and head for the shuttle bus.
Now, I remembered which shuttle bus we took, but couldn't quite remember at this point. So I get in the one shuttle bus and ask the guy beside me if this is the one and find out he is staying at the same lodge I am. So we took that shuttle bus back and chatted. I concider this blessing #3 as I don't know if I would've felt confident by myself to get back to the lodge where we were staying. So we get back to the lodge, I get a shower, and then this guy who I made friends with on the shuttle bus decide to go find somewhere to eat. The night before we heard about this place called the White Horse which serves really good food. So we go there. To give a background on this guy, he is in his late 30's early 40's, has a wife and kids back in Perth Australia, and is a Christian. So we go to this place and I get a cappuchino and he orders some New Zealand wine. We then get pizza and after that dessert. So I'm ready to pay for my meal and he says "I'll cover it." What??! This is like a $55 meal. But he covers it. This is blessing #4 of the day. Also, through conversation he invites me to come stay in Perth whenever I want and can use a car there and so forth. Wow, a free place to stay in Perth.
So needless to say it was hard for me to accept so much hospitality. We chatted about the church and similarities of Japan to Australia in spirituality and so much more. Really cool to have someone to talk to about that stuff. So then I get back to the lodge and just hang out there for a little longer before going to bed.
Oh yeah, there was another guy from the lodge I met, the one I went to bfast with that offered for me to stay in Sydney as well. He owns a house on the beach and said that if I want to surf or whatever to come stay there as well. So, I think I need to go to Australia soon.
So that was my skiing day. What an incredible day it was. Below are some pictures from the mountain. As the other posts, click on the picture for the full gallery of them.
Also, this post isn't to brag about the blessings, but that it is to point out that not all blessings from God are obvious. Look for them, because they are definately out there. God cares for us and looks out for us, it's just not always obvious.
Alright, the photos below are in a slideshow format. If you want to see them individually, click on the link at the bottom that says "Skiing in Hakuba, Japan."
Skiing in Hakuba, Japan
Alright, so I get up in the morning and find out that I can get a lift ticket for Happo One (the main ski resort in Hakuba) for only 2000 Yen. This is about $15. I managed to get it from the owners wife of the lodge I was staying at. She got the deal because someone had a season pass and wasn't going to use it today. What a blessing. So then the one guy I met from Australia and I go to the resort. He helps me get my rentals and then we take a lift up to a place on the mountain where we can get bfast. So we get bfast (which was really good) and sit and chat there for a while, waiting for the snow to get soft as right now it was icy. So we wait and then decide to ski down to the Gondola. Anyway, skiing down to the gondola was tough as my skiis that I received were too long, so I fell on the way down and decided I had to go get shorter skiis.
So, I went and got shorter skiis. Then I went to the Gondola and met a couple from New Zealand. They just moved there 2 years ago and were from Singapore. They were a very friendly couple. From there I did my first main run and it was awesome. It was a long long run and it was a lot easier with my shorter skiis. Then from the bottom I went to the top of the mountain through taking 3 lifts up to the top. The view from the top was absolutely incredible. Words can't describe it and my pictures certainly don't do it justice. But there is a reason they are called the Japan Alps. The mountains around here shoot up to about 9000 ft and where we were was at about 6000 ft at the top of the ski lifts. So from here I did some more runs before lunch. So I'm starting to get sore, so I decide I'll do some lunch somewhere. So I go down the mountain and start walking to this one restaurant. So I feel for my wallet and it isn't there!! I start to worry and notice that a hole was ripped in the pocket and my wallet must have fallen out about 3 hours earlier when I fell that one time. I started to think about how I could possibly find it. It had all my money, cards, etc. in it. Not all the money, but a lot. So I think man, it could be burried under snow, someone could've taken it, anything. So, I check with the ticket counter at the resort and ask if they have a lost and found. The lady then asks, "what's your name?" I tell her "Mike" and she then hands me my wallet with everything in it and said a man dropped it off. Wow, what a blessing. This is blessing #2 of the day.
Then I ski for a little longer and then decide to go up to the restaurant I had bfast at and get a cup of coffee. So I have my coffee and then one of the guys that works there comes by and gives me a free cup of green tea. Mmmm, it was so good. Then I skiied down my last run and head for the shuttle bus.
Now, I remembered which shuttle bus we took, but couldn't quite remember at this point. So I get in the one shuttle bus and ask the guy beside me if this is the one and find out he is staying at the same lodge I am. So we took that shuttle bus back and chatted. I concider this blessing #3 as I don't know if I would've felt confident by myself to get back to the lodge where we were staying. So we get back to the lodge, I get a shower, and then this guy who I made friends with on the shuttle bus decide to go find somewhere to eat. The night before we heard about this place called the White Horse which serves really good food. So we go there. To give a background on this guy, he is in his late 30's early 40's, has a wife and kids back in Perth Australia, and is a Christian. So we go to this place and I get a cappuchino and he orders some New Zealand wine. We then get pizza and after that dessert. So I'm ready to pay for my meal and he says "I'll cover it." What??! This is like a $55 meal. But he covers it. This is blessing #4 of the day. Also, through conversation he invites me to come stay in Perth whenever I want and can use a car there and so forth. Wow, a free place to stay in Perth.
So needless to say it was hard for me to accept so much hospitality. We chatted about the church and similarities of Japan to Australia in spirituality and so much more. Really cool to have someone to talk to about that stuff. So then I get back to the lodge and just hang out there for a little longer before going to bed.
Oh yeah, there was another guy from the lodge I met, the one I went to bfast with that offered for me to stay in Sydney as well. He owns a house on the beach and said that if I want to surf or whatever to come stay there as well. So, I think I need to go to Australia soon.
So that was my skiing day. What an incredible day it was. Below are some pictures from the mountain. As the other posts, click on the picture for the full gallery of them.
Also, this post isn't to brag about the blessings, but that it is to point out that not all blessings from God are obvious. Look for them, because they are definately out there. God cares for us and looks out for us, it's just not always obvious.
Alright, the photos below are in a slideshow format. If you want to see them individually, click on the link at the bottom that says "Skiing in Hakuba, Japan."
Skiing in Hakuba, Japan
Japan-Day2
Alright, so day 2. I got up and went downstairs to have bfast. Hmm, bfast in Japan is a lot different than the states. Haha. The only thing I recognized for bfast was eggs. The other stuff they had there was like noodles, salmon, and other miscellaneous stuff like that. So I had bfast and decide to head to the Korean Consulate, because my main reason for this trip is to get my Visa. So I get to the consolate and hand them the papers and they tell me I have to fill out another application. But....what???? I have an application here in my hand and sure it's a copy, but why do I have to fill out another one? So I ask this to three people, but they all insist that I need to fill out another application. So, I did, and handed it in. They take it and I pay my $45 for the visa. They then say that I have to come back on the 23rd and pick it up at 1:30pm.
Alright, so that's done. I then go down to Shinjuku station again on the subway and go to the bus terminal to buy a ticket to Hakuba up in Nagano. They tell me the next bus is for 3:30 in the afternoon. Alright, that's cool, so I ask if there is anything earlier and to no avail there isn't. I don't think they understood me (which there was a lot of this on this trip). So I have like 4 hours to kill. What to do? So, I remembered in my hotel they said that Tokyo Tower is something neat to see. It's like the eiffel tower in form, but taller (actually the tallest of it's kind). So I find how to get there on subway and go. I get there, pay the admission fee and go up the elevator to 150 meters. I get off and see the view. Wow, what a view of the city. I saw the city last night but not in the daytime. It's a huge city as you can see in the pictures below. Then I take another elevator up to a special observation deck at 250 meters. From here, just about everything is visible. It's amazing. Then I decide to explore more around the tower and find a gift shop area and get some japanese looking things for my apartment.
After this, I decided to go back to Shinjuku station and have some lunch. At places in japan they have machines where they have pictures of all their meals and you put in your money and it prints out a ticket and then you give the ticket to them and they give you your meal. So I did this at the one place and had a good meal.
Then I went to the bus terminal and waited for an hour for my bus to leave. I then get on the bus and start my trip up to Hakuba. The bus was quite comfortable and stopped at two rest stops on the way. The trip up there was beautiful and the mountains start about 45 minutes out of the city. It got dark half way through the trip though so I had no idea what kind of mountains I would find in Hakuba. There was snow on the ground though when we got closer to Hakuba and this got me excited.
So, I was on the bus, but I had no idea how to get to the place I was staying once I got there. That's fine, I thought. I can find it myself. So the bus stops, and I get out and start looking around. I have no idea where to start. So then this guy comes up to me and it like "Hey, where are you staying?". I'm like Hakuba Powder Lodging. He says "there is no way you are walking there yourself, I just called a taxi, you can come with me." So I'm like "sure, thanks." We get in the taxi and he tells me he is part owner of the place Snow Beds and that he knows the owner of the place that I'm staying at. So the taxi drops me off, and he pays for the taxi. This was an amazing blessing from God. Because there is no way I would've found this place. So I go inside my place and there are a bunch of people there already. It's a backpacker Hostel pretty much.
So, I check in and meet some of the people. There were people there from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Finland. Most of them had been there for at least a week and the one guy in my room had been there for 2 months already. Nice people. That evening it was fun talking to them and the one guy there from Japan came to this place because he wants to learn english. So we talked some english with him. He was good for only have studied it for a month. Also, from the stories, some of these guys were true skiing pros. They were talking about hiking up to the tops of these mountains and making their own runs.
Anyway, that was the end of day 2. Tomorrow I would go skiing and that had me excited. Pictures below. It's a slideshow. If you want to see them individually, click on the link at the bottom of the slideshow.
Tokyo from Tokyo Tower
Alright, so that's done. I then go down to Shinjuku station again on the subway and go to the bus terminal to buy a ticket to Hakuba up in Nagano. They tell me the next bus is for 3:30 in the afternoon. Alright, that's cool, so I ask if there is anything earlier and to no avail there isn't. I don't think they understood me (which there was a lot of this on this trip). So I have like 4 hours to kill. What to do? So, I remembered in my hotel they said that Tokyo Tower is something neat to see. It's like the eiffel tower in form, but taller (actually the tallest of it's kind). So I find how to get there on subway and go. I get there, pay the admission fee and go up the elevator to 150 meters. I get off and see the view. Wow, what a view of the city. I saw the city last night but not in the daytime. It's a huge city as you can see in the pictures below. Then I take another elevator up to a special observation deck at 250 meters. From here, just about everything is visible. It's amazing. Then I decide to explore more around the tower and find a gift shop area and get some japanese looking things for my apartment.
After this, I decided to go back to Shinjuku station and have some lunch. At places in japan they have machines where they have pictures of all their meals and you put in your money and it prints out a ticket and then you give the ticket to them and they give you your meal. So I did this at the one place and had a good meal.
Then I went to the bus terminal and waited for an hour for my bus to leave. I then get on the bus and start my trip up to Hakuba. The bus was quite comfortable and stopped at two rest stops on the way. The trip up there was beautiful and the mountains start about 45 minutes out of the city. It got dark half way through the trip though so I had no idea what kind of mountains I would find in Hakuba. There was snow on the ground though when we got closer to Hakuba and this got me excited.
So, I was on the bus, but I had no idea how to get to the place I was staying once I got there. That's fine, I thought. I can find it myself. So the bus stops, and I get out and start looking around. I have no idea where to start. So then this guy comes up to me and it like "Hey, where are you staying?". I'm like Hakuba Powder Lodging. He says "there is no way you are walking there yourself, I just called a taxi, you can come with me." So I'm like "sure, thanks." We get in the taxi and he tells me he is part owner of the place Snow Beds and that he knows the owner of the place that I'm staying at. So the taxi drops me off, and he pays for the taxi. This was an amazing blessing from God. Because there is no way I would've found this place. So I go inside my place and there are a bunch of people there already. It's a backpacker Hostel pretty much.
So, I check in and meet some of the people. There were people there from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Finland. Most of them had been there for at least a week and the one guy in my room had been there for 2 months already. Nice people. That evening it was fun talking to them and the one guy there from Japan came to this place because he wants to learn english. So we talked some english with him. He was good for only have studied it for a month. Also, from the stories, some of these guys were true skiing pros. They were talking about hiking up to the tops of these mountains and making their own runs.
Anyway, that was the end of day 2. Tomorrow I would go skiing and that had me excited. Pictures below. It's a slideshow. If you want to see them individually, click on the link at the bottom of the slideshow.
Tokyo from Tokyo Tower
Japan-Day 1
Alright, so here it goes. I'm going to try to give you an outline of my trip to Japan. Which this could end up being very long, so please brace yourselves. This trip was incredible and I want to share all the cool things God did and also just to try to show how Japan is pretty awesome.
So, alright, on Tuesday I left for Japan. Got on the plane and got to Tokyo. I exchanged my money and hopped on the Limosine bus for Tokyo. It took me about an hour but it was a very comfortable ride for about $20. This isn't bad as it would cost $200 to take a taxi to Tokyo. So then the limo bus takes us to TCAT (tokyo central airport terminal). Then I take a taxi to my hotel. I check in and look at my room. My room isn't more than 10 ft across but it has everything I need in a small amount of space. See, space in Tokyo is running out so they have to find interesting ways to put things in small space. You can see some of the room pictures below.
So I'm in my hotel, and I get bored, so I decide to explore some of Tokyo. Here is where the fun starts. I go down to the desk and ask how to get to Shinjuku. He gives me a subway map, gives me some pointers on it in broken english. So I go, and get to the subway station and stare at the map in front of me and the ticket machines and sit in shock for about 7 minutes about how to use it. But then I learn from seeing other people and put my money in the machine and make it to Shinjuku.
Shinjuku station is a subway/train station that sees about 3.5 million people a day. When I was there it was crowded but not too bad. So by this time I'm hungry so I stop at one of the many restaurants at shinjuku station and have a nice $8 meal. Yes, stuff isn't very cheap here. The meal was good though. I was surrounded by all these people in suits though and was by myself and felt out of place.
So after my meal I decide to try to find the Metropolitan Government buildings where you can get a sweet view of the city. So I ask around and most people don't understand where I want to go. So then as I'm walking a see a bus stop that says Tokyo Government Metropolitan Building. I see a guy there and ask him if this bus will take me there. He then points straight ahead and says I can walk there (again in broken english). So I walk there and find the building and go up to the 45th floor where they have an observatory. I stay up there for about an hour. It's amazing beyond belief. The view at night of Tokyo is something else. It's so huge and vast and there is city for miles and miles.
After seeing that I decided to head back to the hotel and crash for the night. You can see in the one photo below that the hotel provided me with a kimono (I think that's what it is).
Anyway, this was just Day 1. Some of the photos are below. If you click on the photos below, you can go to a photo album to see the rest of the photos.
Random Japan Photos
So, alright, on Tuesday I left for Japan. Got on the plane and got to Tokyo. I exchanged my money and hopped on the Limosine bus for Tokyo. It took me about an hour but it was a very comfortable ride for about $20. This isn't bad as it would cost $200 to take a taxi to Tokyo. So then the limo bus takes us to TCAT (tokyo central airport terminal). Then I take a taxi to my hotel. I check in and look at my room. My room isn't more than 10 ft across but it has everything I need in a small amount of space. See, space in Tokyo is running out so they have to find interesting ways to put things in small space. You can see some of the room pictures below.
So I'm in my hotel, and I get bored, so I decide to explore some of Tokyo. Here is where the fun starts. I go down to the desk and ask how to get to Shinjuku. He gives me a subway map, gives me some pointers on it in broken english. So I go, and get to the subway station and stare at the map in front of me and the ticket machines and sit in shock for about 7 minutes about how to use it. But then I learn from seeing other people and put my money in the machine and make it to Shinjuku.
Shinjuku station is a subway/train station that sees about 3.5 million people a day. When I was there it was crowded but not too bad. So by this time I'm hungry so I stop at one of the many restaurants at shinjuku station and have a nice $8 meal. Yes, stuff isn't very cheap here. The meal was good though. I was surrounded by all these people in suits though and was by myself and felt out of place.
So after my meal I decide to try to find the Metropolitan Government buildings where you can get a sweet view of the city. So I ask around and most people don't understand where I want to go. So then as I'm walking a see a bus stop that says Tokyo Government Metropolitan Building. I see a guy there and ask him if this bus will take me there. He then points straight ahead and says I can walk there (again in broken english). So I walk there and find the building and go up to the 45th floor where they have an observatory. I stay up there for about an hour. It's amazing beyond belief. The view at night of Tokyo is something else. It's so huge and vast and there is city for miles and miles.
After seeing that I decided to head back to the hotel and crash for the night. You can see in the one photo below that the hotel provided me with a kimono (I think that's what it is).
Anyway, this was just Day 1. Some of the photos are below. If you click on the photos below, you can go to a photo album to see the rest of the photos.
Random Japan Photos
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Something to Think About
So, I've been reading the book "Irrisistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne and I want to just say that if you haven't read it to read it because it will really get you thinking about what you believe and how you are living your life as a Christian. Anyway, tonight I was looking online and found this song by the Goo Goo Dolls. Take note, they aren't Christian, but read the lyrics. Read them and it's amazing to think how this Song is pretty much what Shane Claiborne talks about in his book....what amazing Lyrics. At least I think so:
Better Days
And you ask me what I want this year
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And desire and love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
And it's someplace simple where we could live
And something only you can give
And thats faith and trust and peace while we're alive
And the one poor child that saved this world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
I wish everyone was loved tonight
And somehow stop this endless fight
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
It's neat to me because so often we label things "Christian" or "Non Christian" and here is a band who a lot of Christian would write off and yet they are writing some very introspective lyrics. Props to them.
Anyway, just thought about posting that.
Better Days
And you ask me what I want this year
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And desire and love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
And it's someplace simple where we could live
And something only you can give
And thats faith and trust and peace while we're alive
And the one poor child that saved this world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
I wish everyone was loved tonight
And somehow stop this endless fight
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again
It's neat to me because so often we label things "Christian" or "Non Christian" and here is a band who a lot of Christian would write off and yet they are writing some very introspective lyrics. Props to them.
Anyway, just thought about posting that.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Valentines Day-A Compare and Contrast
So, as you may guess from my post title, it's Valentines Day. Yup, actually it's about to end in 10 minutes, so I better make this fast. Haha....
Anyway, this is Korea Intresting Fact #6 i think:
Valentines Day in Korea is so much sweeter than it is the states.
Why???? How Can that Be???
Well, I'll tell you. Here, they pretty much have two valentines days. This valentines day is for the GUYS!....yup, this day is when the girls get the guys something for valentines. And I mean they go overboard. I heard today of a basket of stuff showing up at a classroom door for a guy in that class. And in our dorm, someone put tape with arrows guiding one guy to stuff at his door.
Then for the Girls there is White day here. White day is about a month away and it is where the guys get the girls stuff.
And then there is black day and that is for those who don't like valentines at all but need a holiday. Haha!
But I noticed with this system, most of the guys on my hall were happy tonight and not depressed, because it wasn't up to them whether or not they got/or gave a valentine. In fact, most of them got something for valentines from a girl. What a better system, because at least in the states most guys are depressed on valentines day unless they have a girlfriend. Not here.
So what did I do for valentines? Well, I went out to eat at this place where you sit on the floor and they make the food right in front of you. The food was so good, it was this spicy cabbage/chicken/rice stuff...mmmm. Then we went to play pingpong at a pingpong place nearby, went to the batting cages nearby, and just hung out. So overall, it was a great valentines night/evening.
So....it's almost Lunar Holiday here and that means I'm soon going to Japan for my visa and to ski. Which is exciting but scary as well as Tokyo is huge. I'm going to be going to a train/subway station that sees 3.5 million people pass through it every day!
Well, so as you can see, life here is good. I might post between now and my japan trip or I may not. Eitherway.....
Blessings
Anyway, this is Korea Intresting Fact #6 i think:
Valentines Day in Korea is so much sweeter than it is the states.
Why???? How Can that Be???
Well, I'll tell you. Here, they pretty much have two valentines days. This valentines day is for the GUYS!....yup, this day is when the girls get the guys something for valentines. And I mean they go overboard. I heard today of a basket of stuff showing up at a classroom door for a guy in that class. And in our dorm, someone put tape with arrows guiding one guy to stuff at his door.
Then for the Girls there is White day here. White day is about a month away and it is where the guys get the girls stuff.
And then there is black day and that is for those who don't like valentines at all but need a holiday. Haha!
But I noticed with this system, most of the guys on my hall were happy tonight and not depressed, because it wasn't up to them whether or not they got/or gave a valentine. In fact, most of them got something for valentines from a girl. What a better system, because at least in the states most guys are depressed on valentines day unless they have a girlfriend. Not here.
So what did I do for valentines? Well, I went out to eat at this place where you sit on the floor and they make the food right in front of you. The food was so good, it was this spicy cabbage/chicken/rice stuff...mmmm. Then we went to play pingpong at a pingpong place nearby, went to the batting cages nearby, and just hung out. So overall, it was a great valentines night/evening.
So....it's almost Lunar Holiday here and that means I'm soon going to Japan for my visa and to ski. Which is exciting but scary as well as Tokyo is huge. I'm going to be going to a train/subway station that sees 3.5 million people pass through it every day!
Well, so as you can see, life here is good. I might post between now and my japan trip or I may not. Eitherway.....
Blessings
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Movie from Krispy Kreme Opening
Hey Guys, here is a video from RA Ryan Cordell from the Krispy Kreme Opening here in Taejeon.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Krispy Kreme's and more
Alright, not too much new to post, but I'll post this nonetheless.
So, on thursday it was the grand opening of guess what????? Yup, Krispy Kreme just opened up a store here in Daejeon on Thursday. So being the Americans that we are, a group of us went right after bfast. To our amazement, there was already a line. So we join the line and wait for the store to open. This is 8:35 when we get there. So we wait, and wait, and wait. We hope it opens at 9:00. Not so....and all this time it's raining as well. As we look inside, we see about 12 employees getting ready for their big grand opening. Here in Korea, when a new store opens its a huge deal and they have to have a lot of fanfare.
So, we wait in the rain till 10:00 when they finally open. And man is it glorious! When we walk in they offer us a free hot doughnut. Mmmmm, just like home. So we all got our doughnuts and went back to the school.
Yeah, so, we were probably crazy to wait an hour and half in the rain for krispy kreme.....but we were the first foreigners in the new kripy kreme here. How many people can say that. Also, what an experience.
As for this weekend, it's been good so far. Last night I went out to eat and had some squid bulgogi. Bulgogi is a beef dish here, but this one had squid in it as well. We didn't know it when we ordered it. But it was still good. Then I went to a lock-in with the youth from CIC. CIC stands for Christian International Church. It's the church I go to here. The lock-in was fun. Played games like dutch-blitz, and guesstures. It was a good time. Got back to my apartment at like 3:30 in the morning! But didn't get up till 12:00 today. So that was nice. Then the rest of this weekend starting tonight I work....so yeah, keep in touch and hope life is treating you well.
Blessings
Oh yeah, below are photos from the Krispy Kreme Run! The photos are thanks to Ryan Cordell. One of the RA's here. In the bottom two photos, the first one is me and Lee (one of the RA's) and the bottom one is of Laura and Callie (two other RA's here).
So, on thursday it was the grand opening of guess what????? Yup, Krispy Kreme just opened up a store here in Daejeon on Thursday. So being the Americans that we are, a group of us went right after bfast. To our amazement, there was already a line. So we join the line and wait for the store to open. This is 8:35 when we get there. So we wait, and wait, and wait. We hope it opens at 9:00. Not so....and all this time it's raining as well. As we look inside, we see about 12 employees getting ready for their big grand opening. Here in Korea, when a new store opens its a huge deal and they have to have a lot of fanfare.
So, we wait in the rain till 10:00 when they finally open. And man is it glorious! When we walk in they offer us a free hot doughnut. Mmmmm, just like home. So we all got our doughnuts and went back to the school.
Yeah, so, we were probably crazy to wait an hour and half in the rain for krispy kreme.....but we were the first foreigners in the new kripy kreme here. How many people can say that. Also, what an experience.
As for this weekend, it's been good so far. Last night I went out to eat and had some squid bulgogi. Bulgogi is a beef dish here, but this one had squid in it as well. We didn't know it when we ordered it. But it was still good. Then I went to a lock-in with the youth from CIC. CIC stands for Christian International Church. It's the church I go to here. The lock-in was fun. Played games like dutch-blitz, and guesstures. It was a good time. Got back to my apartment at like 3:30 in the morning! But didn't get up till 12:00 today. So that was nice. Then the rest of this weekend starting tonight I work....so yeah, keep in touch and hope life is treating you well.
Blessings
Oh yeah, below are photos from the Krispy Kreme Run! The photos are thanks to Ryan Cordell. One of the RA's here. In the bottom two photos, the first one is me and Lee (one of the RA's) and the bottom one is of Laura and Callie (two other RA's here).
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
More Skiing Pictures
Alright, so these are more pictures from the ski trip. The first is of a big ice wall on the way back from the skiing. The second one is of the trial map. As you can see it wasn't a huge resort. The third is a picture of some of the group. The fourth is a picture of Scott. He's one of the RA's and this day he was wearing a wonderful ski suit as you can see. Then the last one is of us on the bus.
So speaking of skiing, I'm going to Japan (Tokyo) for my visa over Lunar Break here which is like in a week and a bit. So I'm planning to stay there for an extra two days and go skiing at nagano where the olympics were held in '98. So I'm stoked about that.
Also, this here are going well. Enjoying life and living day to day.
Blessings
Mike
So speaking of skiing, I'm going to Japan (Tokyo) for my visa over Lunar Break here which is like in a week and a bit. So I'm planning to stay there for an extra two days and go skiing at nagano where the olympics were held in '98. So I'm stoked about that.
Also, this here are going well. Enjoying life and living day to day.
Blessings
Mike
Monday, February 5, 2007
I-Phone???? Not in Korea
Korea interesting fact #5: Cell-phones are KING!
Alright, so here in korea there is a facination with cell phones and rightfully so. Korea in the leader in cell phones and everyone has one or two or more. If you don't have a cell phone, you are in the very slim minority.
And cell phones here are nothing like the cell phones in the states. They don't even really compare to the I-phone (the supposed God of cell phones that just hit the market in the states). My cell phone that I have here which is on the lower end can take 1.3 megapixel pictures, it can take and watch movies, I can edit my pictures on it, and so forth. I can connect to the internet, download stuff, check e-mail. Also, I can listen to mp3's on my phone.
This is only the start for my cell phone. But some cell phones here are nuts. With some cell phones, you can use them as a remote control, some are motion sensitive, so that if you move your phone in the motion of a 1, it will speed dial number 1.
Also, if you ever want to watch something crazy, watch someone here text message. They do it so fast you won't know what hit ya.
So, I just thought you would find that interesting. Just a thought though, cell phones here are expensive....anywhere from over $100-1000 dollars. Not just a drop in the bank if you ask me.
Blessings.
Alright, so here in korea there is a facination with cell phones and rightfully so. Korea in the leader in cell phones and everyone has one or two or more. If you don't have a cell phone, you are in the very slim minority.
And cell phones here are nothing like the cell phones in the states. They don't even really compare to the I-phone (the supposed God of cell phones that just hit the market in the states). My cell phone that I have here which is on the lower end can take 1.3 megapixel pictures, it can take and watch movies, I can edit my pictures on it, and so forth. I can connect to the internet, download stuff, check e-mail. Also, I can listen to mp3's on my phone.
This is only the start for my cell phone. But some cell phones here are nuts. With some cell phones, you can use them as a remote control, some are motion sensitive, so that if you move your phone in the motion of a 1, it will speed dial number 1.
Also, if you ever want to watch something crazy, watch someone here text message. They do it so fast you won't know what hit ya.
So, I just thought you would find that interesting. Just a thought though, cell phones here are expensive....anywhere from over $100-1000 dollars. Not just a drop in the bank if you ask me.
Blessings.
Dorm Ski Trip
So things here continue to go well with the occasional bump in the road when one of our students doesn't follow a rule or such. But all in all it's been a smooth ride so far and it's coming to my one month of being here. That's crazy! I feel like I've been here for such a long time and yet in some instances I feel like I've only been here a little.
This last week has been fun, but nothing too much to really comment on except for the fact that I've been watching American Idol sometimes here, and watched part of the superbowl yesterday with Korean commentators. It was definately not as fun not understanding a word, but it was still the superbowl.
As for the title of this post, on Saturday we had a dorm SKI trip :-D I love skiing, so I went along of course.
We left here at like 6:30 in the morning to drive for about 2 hours to the mountains east of Seoul. When we got there we found a nice little resort with about 5 decent trails and enough snow cover on all them. Also there was a big hotel there for guests. So we get there and we find a couple hundred people there already. So we go get our rentals. We had to fill out a form on height and everything to get the right sized stuff and that was hard as it was all in metric. So I had to know my shoe size in mm and my height in cm. Well, we then got our rentals and hit the slopes.
Oh, what a great time. The slopes were in perfect condition in the morning. Great carving, good steepness on the slopes that I took at least and not too packed (on the black diamond that is). The lifts at this place (which is called Oak Valley) were decent. The one I went on every time was an eight person lift. You heard right....eight person.
So then it was lunch time and we all had some delicious lunch. Then back out to the slopes. This time around though.....not so much fun. Why? Well, a couple hundred more people came it was starting to warm up. So I go for the slopes. The first time down the one slope, I realize the snow has gotten a lot wetter. This is not good as it sticks to your skiis and for one you slow down, and two, your ski can get stuck and it's very hard to carve with those conditions. The other bad part was with so many other people, the slopes were getting packed. So I stopped after two more runs.
Oh, I did forget to mention that at least in the morning it snowed a little, so I felt like I was at a true resort.
So yeah, that was my experience. As for this week, not so much is happening yet. I still need to go to Japan sometime for my Visa. Not sure when yet though. Well, that's it here. There are some skiing pictures down below here.
Blessings
This last week has been fun, but nothing too much to really comment on except for the fact that I've been watching American Idol sometimes here, and watched part of the superbowl yesterday with Korean commentators. It was definately not as fun not understanding a word, but it was still the superbowl.
As for the title of this post, on Saturday we had a dorm SKI trip :-D I love skiing, so I went along of course.
We left here at like 6:30 in the morning to drive for about 2 hours to the mountains east of Seoul. When we got there we found a nice little resort with about 5 decent trails and enough snow cover on all them. Also there was a big hotel there for guests. So we get there and we find a couple hundred people there already. So we go get our rentals. We had to fill out a form on height and everything to get the right sized stuff and that was hard as it was all in metric. So I had to know my shoe size in mm and my height in cm. Well, we then got our rentals and hit the slopes.
Oh, what a great time. The slopes were in perfect condition in the morning. Great carving, good steepness on the slopes that I took at least and not too packed (on the black diamond that is). The lifts at this place (which is called Oak Valley) were decent. The one I went on every time was an eight person lift. You heard right....eight person.
So then it was lunch time and we all had some delicious lunch. Then back out to the slopes. This time around though.....not so much fun. Why? Well, a couple hundred more people came it was starting to warm up. So I go for the slopes. The first time down the one slope, I realize the snow has gotten a lot wetter. This is not good as it sticks to your skiis and for one you slow down, and two, your ski can get stuck and it's very hard to carve with those conditions. The other bad part was with so many other people, the slopes were getting packed. So I stopped after two more runs.
Oh, I did forget to mention that at least in the morning it snowed a little, so I felt like I was at a true resort.
So yeah, that was my experience. As for this week, not so much is happening yet. I still need to go to Japan sometime for my Visa. Not sure when yet though. Well, that's it here. There are some skiing pictures down below here.
Blessings
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