Small Town Festavel & Flood

Hey Ya'll!  It feels like it has been forever sense I have blogged on a Saturday but Ryan and I are spending the weekend down in GA at Stone Mountain and I thought I would use this time to post one of my many not yet finish but now finished drafts!  Hope you enjoy and hope you are having a great weekend!

So if you are new here I lived in Korea for a year or so and taught English.  It was amazing, I miss it like crazy, and there are so many memories I want to share and hopefully never forget.  The past few months I have noticed that I have had a few drafts hanging around....this one is sadly over a year old.  However rather than just delete this halfway written up memory I figure I would spell check it, add some photos and just go with it! So here is what I wrote about a small town festival that Ryan and I went to last summer. The photos are dated September 18th, 2010 so I would have to guess that is probably close to being around the time.

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For the past month or so we have seen fliers all over the bus stops, seen huge banners on the way to Lotta Mart and have had a few kids in class mention this festival that was going on last week over in Anseong.  The teachers mentioned that they were all going last Thursday however it rained all week so no one went.  Ryan and I had talked about going however we really didn't see the rain letting up anytime soon and we were not even too sure of where it was, not that Anseong is a big place, or what would be going on.  All the banners have shown a Korean on what looks like a tight rope line and one of my classes pulled up videos online of past festivals.  So when the sun came out on Sunday and it was a nice warm breezy day we decided to head over and see what it was all about. 

So on the way over we decided to stop at the  McDonald's because we had taken a few weeks off from the good old Big Mac and felt it was time to treat ourselves.  It was before two so they were still running the lunch deal and they were packed.  I grabbed a table as Ryan waited in line to place our order.  They have seem to have given up the whole sixty seconds or you get a free fry deal and that was fine with us.  After a few minute and the people who had ordered before us got their food our order popped up but just as it did so did a little Korean man who grabbed tray and headed off to sit down with it. This bothered us but at the same time we figured that he must of just ordered the wrong thing and thought it was his.  So we stood there waiting for two more Big Mac's to pop up however after about fifteen minutes when they didn't we started to think something was up.  So Ryan grabbed the manager and tried to explain that we never got our food, and well when he didn't seem to understand Ryan just said even louder (because when people don't speak English it is always better to just tell them everything slower and louder...however it never helps just makes you look crazy) "that man (as he pointed to the man) took (as he did the motion of taking our tray) my Big Mac." At this point I think he was starting to put it all together thanks to the hand signals and the big upset looking white guy.  So he swapped out and order said he was sorry in broken English and "fixed it"; however at this point Ryan was too mad to eat because the Korean man and his wife were laughing and enjoying their free lunch.  So I ate quickly we packed his up and headed out to the market and to hopefully find this festival we had been told about.

As we made our way around the market we saw normal Korean things fish, squid and other sea animals for sale along with fruit, peppers, cleaning supplies, and even found some other cool things.  We were able to find a really unique gift for my brother Chris for Christmas when I had just about given up on finding him anything.  After about an hour of random wondering we had checked out  a few "quilt" shops and made our way down to a pet store.  As always I had to drag Ryan in to see what we could find; sadly this one didn't have the same welcoming feeling that the one we like to like at Lotta Mart. 

Once out of the pet store we noticed big balloons in the sky and well have come to learn that these normally are around where ever there is a festival.  After making our way down a few side streets we found one packed with food vendors and people and as we passed a man selling coconut milk out of coconuts we knew we were in the right place.  However I did wonder why there were coconuts at a Korean festival but hey when in Rome drink coconut milk!

We made our ways through the vendors down towards a river we never even knew was there only to look out and see lots of colorful tents all set up, but as we made our way closer we noticed that they all seemed empty and like something wasn't right.  Once we were at street level and parallel to the river we could see that all the tents were flooded because the river over flown onto the banks and then some.

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And that is where I stopped.  My guess is that whatever class I was teaching was about to start, or Ryan and I were headed out to see friends or explore.  So lets see if I can wrap this up with a few thoughts from the festival before just ending this.....

I remember walking around a bit, being shocked at how much the water had risen from the rain, people watching, and having a good time.  We didn't ride any rides, we didn't really eat any food outside of our coconut milk, but it was something I can say I did.  We walked from one side of the river over the bridge to the other and made a loop.  After walking around for a bit we made our way back to the main part of town to catch the bus back home. 

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And last but not least we have some photos from the day....as always sorry they are so big blogger and I don't get along. Oh photos from Korea always kind of make me a little home sick.  I know I don't have any family there but I did make some great friends and the country really is amazing if you are open minded and willing to change your way of thinking.

First we hit our small town market for a little bit.  Side note they did have stores like Walmart only nicer and more high end but some people still prefer the markets.

Fish from our market.

Bags and bags of my fave! Hot red peppers!

Some chicken and all the different parts.

Down at the festival...we followed the balloons in the sky to find it.

Roasted piggy

Coconut milk

Ryan and I just thought it was odd they were selling coconut milk at a Korean festival...I never once saw a coconut tree.

Where everything was set up until the rain came.

The bridge and to the right you can see the sidewalk that was flooded.

The walking path.

View from the bridge back towards the festival

The  mountains I feel in love with in my short time there

View from the other side of the river

Korea is really big in to characters.

A Korean Christian group singing songs.

View from down at the other bridge. 

Korean carnival rides....don't worry I didn't ride any of them

And another ride. Really Koreans are good at this ride....they just sit down on the edge and the ride tries to toss them out into the middle...no seat belts or anything.

I would say that this flood was a sad event and that it was devastating for the town.  Oddly thought that was not the case at all.  Yes it did flood their festival however the vendors still came out and sold their goods, the families still came out and had a great time.  Koreans are hardy people. The rebuilt the walking paths, and were just happy to have the rain.  When walking back over the second bridge Ryan and I met some Canadians who wanted to talk to us about how sad this festival was for the town, and I wanted to just yell back about how it wasn't sad at all.  It was great that this town was strong enough to over come things like this, carry on with their lives, and rebuild.  It shocks me that they could not see that this was not bothering the Koreans at all, they were still happy and going on with the events they had planned.

Maybe we could learn something here.  This small Korean town did not go looking for a hand out from some of the other, larger towns, they didn't ask for anything spacial.  They took care of themselves.  They didn't want or ask for help.  Really anytime anything happens in America we good looking for a hangout, demanding help, make it a disaster, and don't take care of ourselves.  Korean people are proud people and yes they care for one another but they also care about being independent and taking care of themselves. 

Over all I remember this day as being a great day, I remember most days in Korea as beging good days.  Days that now feel like they are years ago even thought they have only been maybe a year or so. 

Ahh memories of Korea!

3 Year's Later

And I still miss my grandmother like crazy.  The wounds are still fresh and the last good bye is still so real.
*NOTE* Mom if you are reading this go ahead and get the tissues.

Yesterday marked 3 years sense we have lost my grandmother. Last night I started this and couldn't figure out what to say. Sadly I only got the first paragraph out and now I am trying to think of how to end it.



There are so many things to say about her like....
-She was amazing
-She took care of everyone
-She would give up anything for anyone
-She wasn't the best cook yet everything was always a work of love and was made just for you (well if you were her grand kid and she new you loved of course!)
-She let us ride on her bus when we were kids
-She always had anything we needed when we went camping
-She would let me watch Flipper with her in the summers when I was really little and would come down and find her on the couch.  She would let me climb up with her under one of the old afghan blankest and then tuck me in tight when she would head off to drive bush.
-She always smelled like dove body wash
-She made the best store bought homemade apple dumplings and to this day I cannot help but smile and laugh everytime I think of one
-She always was dressed nice with jewelry to match
-She would always laugh this musical laugh and say my name a few times a she would gently hold my face when I would do something funny
-She use to tell me she could tell when I was in a good mood or a bad mood because my hazel eyes would change to more green or more brown
-She sent cards for every holiday or whenever you were sick and they all started with her pretty, swirly hand writing saying Hi and a short special note inside
-She would let my brother and I play her piano and even taught us a few songs
-She always had soft hands, would give amazing hugs, and could make anything better
-She would make amazing lemon bars at Christmas
-She would give me candy and sit by me in church as a child
-She was fun to shop with
-She was so supportive of everything I did and always made me want to try harder
-She was grandma.

She brought me and my mom closer together. My mom and I had always been close to my grandmother, but when I was in high school we were not close. When grams got sick we needed each other because we were losing someone who was a huge part of our life. I can't thank her enough for showing me just how much I love my mother, how much she has taught me, how much more she has to show me, and how everything we were fighting about was not important.  Grams always told me to just love my mom whenever I was upset and would complain to her, that no matter how I felt she would always be my mom.  Grams was wise...most of those talks had one of those gentle face holds with a musical laugh as she would just find humor in whatever disagreement I was having with my mother. 

Sadly that is as far as I got....and well there is so much more yet I don't know how to say it. I never could thank her for all the wonderful things she did and taught me or all the great memories I have.  I never will be able to explain how great she truly was. 

So instead I will share a few of the photos I have been able to find on my laptop.


Rainy day trip with Grams, Papa and Ryan to our small museum downtown.



The end of a few days Ryan an I spent camping with Grams and Papa before heading to Jamaica. Sadly when Ryan and I left and were headed over to catch our boat I started crying not because I thought this would ever be the last camping trip I went on with grams but because I thought it was going to be the last one I ever went on with Papa.  Little did I know she was the one that was going to have cancer and end up going first.  No not possible papa was the one that was always sick, he had all the healthy problems.  Oh if we only knew now what we knew then.


Not the best photo but it just shows her being happy, grams was always happy even if she didn't have anything to be happy about. 

I could go on and on with photos, but I really don't think it is good to just sit here like a crazy person laughing one moment thinking of all the great memories I have with her, but then crying the next because I won't get to make anymore, and because there are so many things that I selfishly still want her here for to be a part of.  So it is time to wrap this up!

Gram's if there is Blogger in Heaven thanks for reading. You are still in my thoughts everyday and there are many days I still go pick up the phone to call you with good news....like I graduated, I got a job, I lost a few pounds, I cooked the hard boiled eggs just like you taught me and they weren't runny at all. Lord it sucks to miss someone but I guess that means they were really special and that we are lucky we had someone good enough to make memories to miss.

Hope everyone is having a good week.  I am thankful that Thursday is now done and over with and that I just need to drag myself through Friday before Ryan and I can head down to GA for the weekend!  Sadly I have still yet to pack.....I hate packing I never know what I am going to be in the mood to wear. 

You Know What I Miss?

Every Friday night I looked forward to watching TGIF as a kid. 

Table Rock Hike

Check it out I am wrapping up a blog that I started (or well really I am over at Ryan's having a spaghetti date night but I thought ahead and finished this up last night)....well over a month ago! Also sorry about the photos being so huge, photobucket and I were not getting along at all and I didn't want to put this post off any more than I already have.

The past few days if not maybe weeks those of us in South Carolina have been blessed with spring like weather in the 60's.  So Tuesday (January 31) I thought that it might be fun for Ryan and I to go out for a hike.

Always it started out with sayings like:
-Oh I am so excited
-This is going to be so fun
-I cannot wait to get to the top
-I love to hike we should do this more often

A few photos from the start:

The start of the steps that I was more than happy to skip up.

Then as we got started on the hike and hit some of the uphill areas you would hear me say things like: -Crap I thought I was in better shape than this
-Why do I always think this is going to be fun
-Sorry I dragged you out here for this torture
-Really now who came up with the crazy idea to hike up a huge hill for fun?

Here are a few photos from when we started hitting the hard stuff:

Most people stop here thinking they reached the top...

But it is not...that red tree shows where the trail leads next.

And then a little closer to the top: -We can do this!
-I didn't come this far to turn around
-Do you want to turn around?
-Hold on I need to rest
-I cannot wait to get the the top

Here are a few from the almost top:

The highest point but still not the end.

And then finally at the top:
-I feel like I just accomplished something!
-Wasn't that fun?
-I'm going to sit here for a few minutes and just take a break and enjoy the view.
-I love this, we should do this more often!

A few photos from the top:

One of my favorite places to sit and chill.

I always feel so close to the sky.

Everything looked so sad and dead

I love to just sit here and enjoy a good sub with Ryan and just let go and relax.

After about 30 minutes of nice quite bliss it hits me that I have to go back down the same way I came up and things get said:
-Going down is easier than coming up right?
-How do some of the old people we saw coming up here make it.  I mean getting up here is hard enough but really how do they not fall flat on their faces going down?
-I wish I could fly like the birds do.

Then once I really start heading back down:
-Wow this is easy.
-Oh I am so lucky I have yet to break my neck.
-Ouch that tree hit me.
-Crap how did I get up here...were my legs this short on the way up?

The only photo from the way down, really I would of taken more but I was trying not to fall and break my neck.


 And then once we back at the bottom and I am safe and sound with lost of smiles you hear:
-That was so much fun!
-I cannot wait to come back!
-Didn't you have fun?

Yea poor Ryan might be bringing his Ipod next time, I may or may not talk... A LOT.  Either way Ryan is always a trooper (sometimes not the happiest trooper) when it comes to my crazy hikes that I just randomly request we go on. 

I cannot wait to do this again, and with spring almost here I cannot wait to see things being, I don't know a little bit more lively!

Onesie VS. Forever Lazy Conversation

**Disclaimer if you are looking for something with substance then you might just want to pass on this post**

Conversation I had with my friend tonight over text:

Me: Wow a PJ party at the mall! You know your a good parent when you take your child and 20 of their best friends to the mall to run around.

Her: Haha I don't think Friday at the mall is very safe for a kid's party.

Me: I mean there was just a shooting here less than a month ago.

Her: I guess with the economic state thought it is a good idea for free haha.

Me: Sadly I think they are now paging one of the kids....humm lost one now did ya?

Her: Maybe it is hide and seek and they just gave up on finding them all.

Me: Haha that would be both fun and kind of cruddy all at once.

Me: AHH I figured it out! It is the Girl Scouts up here forget those other text I kind of feel like a bitch now.  However it is still annoying and kill any shot of business I might of had tonight. I mean would you want to shop with scramming girls running around in their PJ's?

Her: And still in their PJ's?  I was in the Girl Scouts and didn't go out in my PJ's.

Me: It's just like telling them that, "Hey it's ok go out in your PJ's". Really, I blame them now for the whole PJ's are cloths thing now that I know about this whole mall PJ's thing they do.

Her: They are going to be the ones that grow up and go to Wal*Mart in their PJ's in the middle of the day.

Me: Still this is the mall, we are at least a step up form wally world, be it a small step at least it is a step.

Her: LOL that is true, small step up.  Is anyone wearing the onesie?

Me: Not that I have seen, but I want some! And not the Forever Lazy that shit is gay and doesn't count!

Her: They have them at Target, the grown up sizes. Or they did a few months ago.

Me: I want one with a poop shoot so I don't have to get cold when I pee/poop in the middle of the night.

Her: Ok I think that's just the Forever Lazy

Me: No because it has always been cool and it PJ's only. That Forever Lazy crap is like normal clothing and they claim it is a-ok to go outside in it. They don't have the little footy things in the Forever Lazy

Her: Oh I thought there were...that's the coldest part, not cool.

Me: Being Forever Lazy your not going to take the time to put on socks. I mean you are lazy, openly and admittedly.

Her: Exactly! We need to get together and invent some shit!

Me: Well you add socks, tell people it is only for sleeping and put a cute pattern on it and its a onesie and I hate to point out that they have those. So we have alot of planing to do then for something new for dumb people to buy.  Oh how about forever socks?

Her: I would buy those.  I wear 2 pairs to sleep every night. One normal pair and one super thick over them

Me: Ok but what would make them forever?

Her: Maybe make a removable tab for your toes so if they get too hot, just undo that because you're too lazy to take them on and off.

Me: Humm

Her: You know like those mittens with that, except for your feet.

Me: I think that's so you can tie your shoes and do stuff with your fingers?

Her: Or so you don't have to take them off when your hot! Look it doesn't have to make sense all it needs is an infomercial and BOOM were millionaires!

Me: We need to find the right person to sell them.

Her: Ryan would be a good salesperson right? Well does he have nice feet? We need someone with nice feet for for when the camera rooms in.

Her: ZOOMS

Me: Who?

Her: Who what? Who's feet? Mine aren't pretty.

Me: Ok if not who than what is zooms?

Her: Zooms in, the camera zooms in

Me: Wow! (Yea I missed that party about Ryan) Who is going to do the voice?

Her: No idea there

Me: This idea needs work

Her: All we need is a plan, we get the people to do all the work

Me: I think you need money for people.

Her: Ideas are money my friend

That is where I just had to cut it off for the night.  So see I warned you there wasn't anything important in this post!

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge- Favorite Gift

Due to it being a crazy time of year, my brain has got all kinds of ideas bouncing around in it that I want to blog about, yet when I sit down to blog they all seem to go and hide.  So I thought I would link up and take part in the Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge over at A Complete Wast Of Makeup, and maybe even keep up on some of those thoughts bouncing around.  So sorry if you get two post some days, but really blogging once a day is pretty good for me right now!






Monday November 28th: Fave gift received EVER

As far as my favorite Christmas gift ever received goes it is a toss up between:

-The Snoopy (Charley Brown) summer camp glasses that I always use to drink out of at my grandmothers house growing up!

-My kindle, because last year when I was in Korea finding books was really a pain to find, or ship, and even better yet store! So the Kindle made it so easy for me to enjoy one of my favorite things! My parents gave me the gift of reading, no matter where I am!

My Kindle in my line up of things to do one Friday night when Ryan went to see friends in Seoul.

- Some of the Christmas ornaments off my grandmothers Christmas tree.  I grew up looking at her tree, and have memorized some of the ornaments, so getting some of those was great!

An ornament from grams tree! It is one of my elementary school photos in a school bus frame (grams always drove a school bus, and sometimes I got to go with her!)


-My Jim Shore Rudolph "Island of Misfit Toys" ornament set, and really not just becuase I love the "Island of Misfit Toys" but becuase my mom hunted them down for me becuase she knows I love them.

-And so many more, amazing gifts.  I really have always been lucky in getting thought out gifts from my family.

-Oh and I can't forget coming home last year to a white Christmas, in S. Carolina! And not just normal S. Carolina snow flurries, but really snow! I would like to think that maybe Grams was sending us all some love from above on those few white winter days. She always knew that I loved a good white Christmas.

The front yard.


Some of the back yard.


Now when it comes to giving gifts that is a whole different story, I love to give gifts, sometimes I slip up and give them early just because I am about to burst with excitement. I have a gift giving problem and just love to give gifts, what can I say.

What is your favorite gift? Or if your like me gifts?

Lunar New Years 2010 and 2011

Looking back I guess I am a little behind on a few of the blogs I wanted to write.  It has been about a month, maybe a little longer since Lunar New Year.  Originally we had planed to head off to Jeju Island for our days off to enjoy some sight seeing, relaxing, and drinks, but with everything going on at school we ended up having to move my Lasik to our time off so that it wouldn't interrupt work, or cause me to be in a lot of pain and sick at work.  So I had Lasik done the Saturday before Lunar New Years, we had Wednesday off so we headed back up to Seoul to get my contacts removed, and then we spent the next next few days off doing nothing!  If you have read my Lasik blog (I am still working on the more detailed one) my pain was not that bad after the first 3 or 4 days so I was kicking myself for putting off our trip, however at the time it was the right thing to do and now that I have perfect vision I do not regret it at all!  We are now trying to get permission to use a few of our days off to head out there in a few months.   So all I have to show from Lunar New Year's this year is the gift box our boss got everyone at work, see photo below.

Why yes that is a gift pack of tuna, Spam, and olive oil.  Seeing as how we don't eat any of these things things we gave our gift set to the husband and wife that own the Pizza School.  Ahh Pizza School is another blog all in itself, I could go on and on for my love of their pizzas, the sweet people who own them, and the talks we have with the wife who is studying English. 

Now for something a little more interesting we spent last Lunar New Year, which happened to also fall on Valentine's Day, on Jeju taking in the sights with our friend Jose.  Here are a few photos of the things we saw.  Exactly how many is a few?  There might be more than a few......

Day 1:

The Hyatt



Ryan and the ocean



Me and the ocean

Up in the room

I think he is finally smiling now that he knows he has a place to smoke cigars.

Where we ate dinner.

What we ate for dinner.

It was amazing, and feed all three of us with some left over.

Day Two:

We got a taxi a he took us to five different sights on the island. 

The first site was Oedolgae Rock:

To this day I don't understand what is so great about this rock. 

Prayer rocks

Our second stop was Jeongbang Waterfall:

Ryan out by the waterfall

I know I know people everywhere are thinking "eww" (well only those young ones) but I have always loved this one.

The third stop was the Jeju Folk Village Museum and I have to say I found it all very interesting because the history, the houses, everything is so different from what we learn in school, or see in all our museums growing up.  Sadly this place was huge and even thought I have a ton of photos we didn't have time to even see half of it. 

Outside the house

Inside the house, as you can tell we are a little two tall for traditional style Korean homes

Ryan and I spent a good amount of time petting that cow, what can I say we miss the cow at the Riverbanks Zoo. 

Kimchi pots and a garden

Bambo maze

A hut for someone in the upper society.

shoes, don't they just look cozy?

the hunter's house

a trap

A shrine to the worship the Chilseong god, the god that manages the wealth and grain of a family.

More shoes

The death table, where families would place food on special occasions for those lost. 

A kimchi pot maze

grandfather rocks

horse rides

the home for the unmarried women

hear made out of shells





The jail

The forth stop was Seongsanilchubong, a volcano.

Getting ready to start up to the top. 

on the way up

about half way up

a sad looking rock

at the top

We have been told that we need to go back in the summer, when the field is full of green grass and plants.

I had a few good group shots of the three of us but they have gone MIA so I will add them if I find them.

The last and final stop of the day was to the Manjanggul Lava Tube.  We couldn't take photos inside the tube so there are not many; however it was very neat down inside. 

The end of the tube we could take a photo of. 

The main attraction inside, shh don't tell anyone.

Yet again I have lost some photos, because we had a few good group ones yet again.

Finally we ended the day with a few photos on the balcony before calling it a day as Ryan and I got ready for an amazing dinner for Valentine's Day. 

And then sadly on day 3 it was time to leave.  3 days was not long enough and I cannot wait to get back!

Saying one last good bye to the beach.

Well, that's that.  Lunar New Year this year was nice and quite, Lunar New Year last year was amazing, yet each one of them was special for their own different reasons.  I hope you enjoyed these "few" photos, I know I had a great time thinking back to the trip and they brought many smiles to my face.