Karaoke!!! Korean Style!

So this is the view from the top of the Boy's apt building... the 31st floor, they live on the 12th, and that building is right in front of their window

More views from the top!

All of us before we went out!

At the waffle place... we're kind of addicted! Obviously it's hard for us to take decent picture!

Our new friend Ken who teaches middle school at CCA with me. I met him on the teacher retreat. He's Korean American from North Carolina, so he speaks fluent English and Korean. It sure made getting around a lot easier having a Korean speaker with us! It was funny because we were like, Ken can you show us around Suwon? And then we ended up taking him to places he'd never been!

Here's a good one... although it looks like Cameron has a shot... but I promise it's just water!!!!

At the karaoke place!!! It's sooo fun! You get your own little room with two-four mics (depending on how big your group is) There's lots of American songs to choose from, and there's some oldies and really new songs, so it was quite exciting!! I have a feeling I will frequent karaoke places often! It was only about $4.00 each for an hour.

This is Cameron really into some song he was singing... I think it was an N'SYNC song! haha

I'm pretty sure this is the part when Cameron and I sang "Dancing Queen" it's a karaoke classic! Oh, and Mom and Leanna, I sang "Rainy Days and Mondays" just for ya'll! They had quite a large Carpenters selection, so you'll have to try it when you come visit!

Please watch this hilarious youtube video as a preface to the video of Anthony and Cameron I'm posting... this is the clip that inspired them to sing "Touch My Body" by Mariah Carey...WATCH THIS FIRST (CLICK HERE)

안녕하세요 (Ann-yeong-ha-say-oh : Hello in Korean )

Anthony in the position you most often find him in... he always sits or lays down with his computer and falls asleep there. You just can't leave him anywhere or he'll be gone!

One of the best creations in food history I believe. This was an exceptionally great waffle! For some reason, the fruit is just phenomenal here. It's crazy how good all the fruit tastes. And this waffle was better than any I've ever had in the states (sorry mom! haha), apparently this guy has won awards for his waffles, and he deserves them! Yummy!

Cameron, April and Anthony got a waffle with ice cream and fruit

This is a pretty exciting street at night. It's a lot of clubs and bars, so there's always a lot of drunk people, but it's still fun to go down. There's also alot of really classy American soldiers that hang out there (and by classy I mean they're the type who give Americans a bad name in Suwon).

Athony and I around Suwon station somewhere

Cameron and I

A random fortress in the middle of Suwon. Not very many historical buildings survived the Korean War, so this is a big deal.

Me in front of the fortress thing.... Please notice the french fry looking food in my hands. This is a typical example of things that look really tastey but are in fact not at all. They were like sweet potato sticks that were so crunchy I thought I wouldn't have teeth anymore. Needless to say I "accidentally" left these on a shelf in a store somewhere. It was disappointing since they were so good.

We found this in a 1000 Won store (like the $1 store in the US) so funny!

So today this car decided it could just drive on the sidewalk. Awesome.

So I haven't really been doing anything too exciting recently... I haven't had to work and everyone else has, so I've been pretty bored. I'm finally comfortable venturing out on my own, so I do quite often. I still get lost quite frequently trying to master public transportation, but I never feel lost because I know at any point i can just get in a taxi and get back home. So it's always good learning experiences to take the bus. I don't think they really have subways here?? I just take the bus as often as I can because it's like $.75 each time, as compared to a taxi which is about $4-5 each time. The boys live about 10min away by taxi, so if I'm in a hurry I'll take a taxi there, but I can also take the bus which takes 20-30 minutes.

Erik, April, Cameron, Anthony and I have been really building a little "family" here. Most nights we trade off cooking dinner and eat as a "family" together. It's pretty cute I think! haha. Last week we had fried chicken and sides (compliments of April and Erik), tacos (compliments of me) and spaghetti (compliments of April and Erik). I think it needs to be Anthony and Cameron's turn to cook! I've really enjoyed our time cooking and eating together, it helps when are families are so far :)

Well, next week I start working full time, and I start teaching around the 9th of March.

Love you all and miss you dearly,
Ash

CCA Teacher's Retreat To the Mountains!

The View from our condo

The fake snow ski slopes!!

My rental gear.... it only cost me about $25 for lift tickets, clothes rental, and ski rental! It was awesome!

Skiing!!!

The Church where we had our meetings everyday...

Some of my new English teacher friends!

Really good Korean food!

My favorite dish, Bulgogi (to the left of the fish in the black bowl) it's basically just beef. It's really yummy with the rice.

Lotte World!!!

So on Valentines Day we went to an amusement park called Lotte World in Seoul. It was a little expensive- about 35,000 Won (about $30) but we had fun. It was also VERY cold outside. It's a half indoor, half outdoor park. Novel idea. Here are some pictures from that! Oh, and Anthony and Cameron arrived safely! I haven't seen them much because of the retreat, but it's been nice having them here!

The Space Needle of Seoul haha

The Indoor part of Lotte World

Cameron and I on a ride much like the roaring rapids at six flags, but you don't get soaked, so it was a lot more fun.

Umm this picture is priceless. The Asian in the middle was probably the most annoying person I have ever come into contact with, which is saying a lot because I've known some pretty obnoxious people. Unfortunately he spoke English. We were all about ready to kill ourselves after standing in line with this guy for over an hour. For example, after we took this picture, he was like, I'm so photogenic right?? HA. Luckily we nonchalantly ditched him after we got off :)

I think this warning sign is missing a couple of words haha.

Does this castle look familiar to anyone?

My favorite ride. It was amazing.

Day Three.... I'm finally unpacked!!!!

All My Suitcases.....

The View From my bedroom Window

My Desk Area

The only decent comforter I could find

The Other wall...

My Room is tinyyyyyy!

All my clothes fit!

Me and Erik (Cameron and Anthony's rommie--he works for DBU too)

My Roommate April!

The greatest day.... I found tortillas in the frozen foods!

Waffle with fruit and ice cream and whipped cream... it was yummy

My new favorite coffee shop

Some downtown at night...

So there's some pictures for now. Anthony and Cameron got here today, so I'll get to see them tonight! I can't wait. I ventured in the city by myself today, and was reasonably successful. I got lost for a while, but I made it eventually back to my apt. I was proud! Ok, that's all for now! I'm going skiing this weekend I think with all the CCA teachers!!!! Woohoo!

Love you all,
Ash

Oh Korea, How I love you :)

Helllloooooooo from the far reaches of Eastern Asia! It's like 5am, and I am not asleep (obviously)...... oh, jet lag. I made it safely to Seoul at about 6:30pm Wed (Like 3am ya'lls time). Customs was a breeze to go through, which I was so thankful for! I made friends with a Korean girl who helped me get around the airport. Which I was grateful for since I had no idea how to get around that airport. You have to take one of those trams to get to baggage claim, so I was grateful she was so nice and showed me around. John, the guy who hired me and April, my roommate were there waiting for me as soon as I got out of customs, and thankfully they had a big enough car to bring all my many bags!

It took about an hour to get to our apt from the airport, but we finally made it around 8pm. Can I just say that my apt is tiny tiny tiny! But I love it, it's so homey and little. I did get a surprise when I got here though. A fellow CCA teacher is staying with us right now for the time being until her apt is ready next week! So, it's pretty crammed in here, and I wasn't really able to unpack because her stuff is still in my room. It's all good though, the Lord is just teaching me flexibility early :)

Right when we got to our apt, we met John's wife, Amy and they live on the 2nd floor of our apt building. She is pregnant, and her due date was last Wed, so she definitely looks close to popping! They are SOOO nice though, and Amy offered to take me shopping today to get the rest of the things I need, pregnant and all.

After we met Amy, April and I took a taxi to the other side of Suwon to meet Erik, a friend from DBU who will be Cameron and Anthony's roommate. They live in pretty much the nicest apt complex in Suwon, so it makes our apt look pretty ghetto, but I love it! Sorry I don't have pictures yet, but I wanted to wait until I got my room put together this afternoon. April and Erik took me to the grocery store, and I was able to get some Coke Light... haha. I'm so addicted. However, for this 6 pack of tiny Coke Light cans, it was a whopping $3.50. I am slowly learning that living here is veryyyy expensive. I also was able to buy a phone to go with my vonage set, so now you can call me at the local 817 number. Just remember that I am 15 hours ahead, so try not to call me in the middle of the night! But who knows, maybe jet lag will keep me up like it is now.

Some observations about South Korea so far:
1. Koreans do not pay attention to where they're walking. I swear I would've gotten run over by like 4 shopping carts in the grocery store if I hadn't of gotten out of the way. Also, no one pays attention where they're walking in the streets. A girl definitely charged right into Erik tonight, it was quite funny.
2. There are quite a few white people here... it's funny though because they all want to talk to you. Most are also English teachers, but I would say that most English teachers do not have a good reputation among Koreans because the majority just come here to party, and teach English on the side.

I think that's all I have for now.... I'll try to put up pictures later!

In Him,
Ash

We all have jobs, and are on our way!!!

So, it's official! I have my plane ticket, and I am on my way Feb.10th! In case you're wondering, that's in 9 days!!! Also, good news, Anthony and Cameron have jobs officially at DBU-Asia in Suwon as English teachers! They are supposed to be arriving in Suwon a couple of days after me. I had to leave a little bit earlier than expected to attend a teaching retreat with CCA on the 15th of Feb.

It's going to be a crazy week this next week trying to pull everything that I need together so quickly, but it will be fun! All I have left to do is get my background check, do some last minute shopping, and PACK!!!! Here's a picture of the three of us we are using for our prayer card!