New Blog ....Change Your Links...thanks~!

I have made the switch to self-hosting on Wordpress. I will not be posting on Blogger anymore. You can follow me here. (M2k)I still have some bugs to work out and probably will get rid of the flash to speed up the load time. I still am not 100% happy with the theme, but it is the best one that I have found. I will still be posting the same kind of content, but most centered around photos that I have taken. I was going to wait till the move back to Hattiesburg, but decided to go on and make the change.

If you are looking for information on Dongtan, please feel free to have a look at my photos or older posts. If you are looking for a school in Korea, give me an email and let me get you in touch with my recruiters.

Dongtan Questions

If you have sent me an email asking about Dongtan or Korea in general, sorry for the late replies. I still have at least 3 more emails to answer. I have been in the middle of redesigning the blog and planning a vacation. At a later date I do plan on having a post with information all about Dongtan. I do seem to answer the same questions over and over and probably will end up just publishing the email that I write here on the blog.

Best Fake Punt Ever (Bills/Titans)

another test

MIA

I have been MIA as of late. I will be making the switch to wordpress and self hosting my blog sometime in the future. I have already hosted my domain and still working on trying to pick a theme that works. I have gone through about 10 different themes to find the one that works best for me. I am looking for something similiar to what I have now, but am not having much luck. I want to be able to show larger pictures and have a side bar. Anyone that has a good suggestion, please leave a comment!

Embracing the Unknown and a Whole Lot of Change

4 years ago I wrote:

I am in the final stages of leaving for Korea for a year. There are quite a few people who did not believe that I was serious about moving overseas........HA I'll show them. My VISA should arrive sometime next week. I will be working for large school in the Yeongtong area of Suwon, South Korea. Hopefully if I have the will power, I will update this frequently.

When I wrote the title of this post, I was not thinking about what I wrote 4 years ago when I was preparing to come to Korea. I was actually thinking about what will happen when we make the big move back to Hattiesburg, MS 2 months from now. I often think about how much has changed since I got on that Delta Airlines flight to Korea. I wonder how much more will change in the next 4 years.

Lately, I have been bogged down with thoughts of jobs, houses, cars, money.etc. Then I start to think about what all has changed since I set foot in Korea. Mainly, I think about the biggies. There have been additions to the family both through weddings and births. There have been losses. Basically, I am going back to a family and set of friends that are in a totally different situation than when I left them. I am sure that they feel the same way about me. I disappear for 4 years and come back with wife in tow. The move would only be so much easier if I was only worried about visible/outward changes. The changes that I am most worried about are the ones that have taken place internally. I hope that I have changed for the better. I know that I have a better sense of the world and of the way America is viewed outside of the western hemisphere. I think that I have also learned how to cope with adversity in a total different way. I am still trying to figure out how if any my personality has changed. My four years in Korea have been far from perfect, but they have been pretty damn good. I am sure that I will be eager to return to Korea four years from now. We do have plans to come back and settle in Jeju, but it remains to be see if those plans stick.



I have grown accustomed to my way of life here in Korea. I have my routine. I miss my family and friends but there are things besides my family and friends that are drawing me back home. Sweet tea, fried catfish, clean air, New Orleans, Southern accents, football weekends, family dinners, soul food, cotton farms, tailgating are all calling me back. My family is probably the single biggest reason why I am excited to get back. I will be able to spend some much needed time with my parents. I also will get a chance to hold my nephew for the first time. I will also get to spend time with my new sister and brother in law. I also will be able to spend time with my best friends and their new children, some of whom I have never seen. All in all, it is time for the move and I can't wait.

We literally have a list of at least a hundred items that must be completed before we can make the journey home. The next couple of months will be spent worrying about wedding ceremony arrangements, flights, packing, vacations, pensions....so much, but these are actually items that I enjoy worrying about.

I can't wait to look back 4 years from now and see what all has changed.

Gangwon-do Weekend 2박3일 Part 6 Last Day

We woke up pretty early and got on the road. We headed to a 5 day travelling market. Basically, this market moves from town to town and comes back every 5 days. There were lots of interesting things to be seen and I am so pissed that I did not get a photo of the dried frogs. We left the market and started on our way home. Troy with his eagle eyes found the sushi restaurant that specialized in the sushi that he really wanted to try. It was a local trout like fish that was grown in a pond in front of the restaurant.

Ginseng??

Working hard

Squid and Fruit
Fishing on their vacation

Korean Turnip Greens

Random Field

Troy taking it easy

We also ended up stopping at a great fruit market where we picked up some fresh seedless grapes. All in all it was a great trip and I look forward to going back. I would really love to be able to go back and hit all the good photo spots at the time with the best light.

Gangwon-do Weekend 2박3일 Part 5 Moonlight Dinner

We left the cave and found a small market to buy some meat, soju and beer. Troy and Joanne took care of the meat and JJ and I went in search of some beverages. There was a really cute miniature pincher that was sitting on a sofa with the owner of the small store. He let me pet him, but when I stopped to take a picture, he suddenly forgot that he was a miniature.Bad ass Dog

We got back to the pension and rested for awhile. I went out to try and grab a couple of HDR photos.(seen below)
Cornfield HDR
Right outside our door. I wish I would have gotten more of the field and less of the fence.

and then the pension owner, Troy and I got everything ready for our cookout. Again, I loved Gangwon-do kimchi. We had some great meat and had an enjoyable evening under the moonlight.

Firing it up

JJ chomping down

Great Kimchi

Troy grilling it up

Troy posing

Eating and cooking at the same time

You can see that the temperature at night was definitely lower. After eating and drinking too much, it was way too easy to fall asleep. Sunday was a very busy day, but I didn't take too many photos...Only one more update to go!

Gangwon-do Weekend 2박3일 Part 4 The Cave

Walking to the ticket office to find out about the 1+ wait.

A dish special to the region. Muk. The name is actually longer, but I really can't remember or spell it.

Finished with a great meal

The Monorail

We left the creek and went to Hwa Am Cave. There was about an hour wait for the monorail, so we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a restaurant near the cave monorail ticket office. Troy and I had a jug of Makgeolli just because we could. There was a pretty cool park near the restaurant, so we walked around and relaxed while waiting for our monorail trip.

Fountains in the park.

Troy resting after our meal and drinks.

When it was time for us to board the monorail, it felt like I was back at Gangnam station. About 40 of us all crowded into one of the cars and of course because I am slow and don't elbow people, I didn't get a seat, but it was a really short trip up the mountain, maybe 15min. We entered the cave and it felt wonderfully cool inside. The first section of the cave had some Disney World like figurines showing the history of the mining. They also had sections of the cave covered with glass and magnifying circles, so that you could see the gold veins running through. The last section of the cave was for kids and it really reminded me of It's a Small World.

Reflections on the Monorail

Walking down a hellacious staircase

Formations

More formations

Snowbunny

A shaky view of one of the caverns

Lion Rock

Welcome to .....

Yes, God indeed has a sense of humor.

We left the cave and went back to the pension for a great moonlight barbecue. Part 5 tomorrow!

I also wanted to say thanks for the messages about my mother. She is doing much better and should be getting out of the hospital sometime this week.

Gangwon-do Weekend 2박3일 Part 3 The Creek

JJ pausing to take a shot

Joanne and JJ getting ready to go to the creek

Troy posing

Taking a break

Stopping for a break

So happy

Look what I got

Digging under the rocks

Crowded

Catfish?

We left the convenience store and made our way to small creek that was supposedly well known for its fresh spring drinking water. I was going to try the water, but heard it tasted strange, so I passed. We walked around this area for awhile and started watching people try to catch these catfish like fish. I think the fish were released for people to catch, but regardless people were having a great time. They were searching under rocks, diving under the water, and generally just having a great time. We walked down the creek and then took a trail on the other side of the creek to make our way back to the car. We then made our way to a great cave which will come in part 4.

A Great Call

I spoke to my dad last night around 1 or 2 am Korea time and was given the message that mom was doing much better. I called it a night and crashed out.

This morning around 8am I was awoken by the sound of my cellphone singing. My mother was on the line, but it took me a few extra seconds to 1. wake up 2. recognize her voice. I believe that she was still on some pain medicine, but she really sounded fine and didn't remember anything from the day of the surgery. She has been moved from ICU to her own room, so hopefully she will be able to go home in the next 4 or 5 days. I look forward to being able to talk to her when I am fully awake. I went back to sleep after speaking with her for just a few minutes and when I woke up, I thought for a second that it might be a dream.

In other news, we made another visit to the dentist. JJ had one of her wisdom teeth taken out and I got prepped for my crown. It was so nice to be able to sit in the dentist's office waiting room and check my email via the computer set up in the waiting room for clients.