Ranch Dip

Jon and I have been here for more than three months now. It's hard to believe! It is going fast. The last couple weekends have been fun. So far every weekend here we have experienced something new and interesting. Even the smallest things, that you would think would be completely uneventful, can turn into a hilarious story. There are always unexpected things happening or we will stumble upon a new place to explore. We have had a blast spending so much time together and not knowing what we might encounter that day. I haven't done as good at blogging lately but this will catch you up on our most recent outings.

We went with some friends a couple weekends ago to this very traditional little restaurant about an hour outside of Busan. It was very cute and something we would never have happened upon ourselves. A family runs it and they only serve 4 entrees. We each got a different one so we could try everything. The food was good and the atmosphere was very authentic Korean. This was a fun candid shot of us when our camera was taking pictures at will and our friend couldn't get it to stop.

Here is the outside of the restaurant. Very old and traditional. It was a great cultural experience.

After dinner we went to a cafe next door in a cottage. It was super cozy and homey feeling. The woman who owns it brews her own tea. This was one of her homemade teas that is unique because she mixes 5 completely different flavors together (bitter, sweet, salty, sour... and I don't know the other one). It came out in this little kettle sitting on a stand with a candle underneath to keep it warm. This is the most intense thing I think I have EVER tasted. It was seriously bursting with flavor. Not just the first taste, but every single sip was another explosion for the taste buds. It had a strong smell of cedar and a powerful citrus taste along with a little bit of woodsy-ness, throw some cough syrup in there, and a sour war head with an after taste of dill pickles. This stuff could probably clean a clogged pipe!

Then just this last weekend we hung out with some of our other foreigner friends. After eating hamburgers for dinner we went to a video game room where you rent out a huge TV and a wii or nintendo or play station for an hour at a time. It's $.85 per person, per hour. We played Mario cart. I didn't do so well, but had fun.

This past Saturday we went on a hike along a wall built on a mountain. I don't know the significance of the wall or the name of the mountain, but it was really pretty and a lot of fun. Jasmine (our secretary) and Vicky (our boss) took us. Vicky told us she would only hike for 1 hour, but Jasmine made the plan and it ended up taking us about 3 hours. So Vicki is the one in the pink pretending to cry.

This big rock had a lone tree growing out of it. Way to be, tree!

The great wall of..... Busan??? It's a very short wall and I don't know that it would keep any thing out. Again, no idea about the wall.

Sitting on the edge of the world...

I like this because you can see the wall behind them.

This is a very Korean thing to do. You stop along your hike and unpack your lunch...which pretty much has to consist of rice, kimchi, several side dishes, and hot coffee or tea. They say pizza, sandwiches and hot dogs are snacks. It isn't a meal without rice and side dishes.

So we had an absolutely delicious lunch! Jasmine packed it for us. There was beef stirfry, steamed broccoli and ham, rice, kimchi, clams, fruit, and egg salad sandwiches. Jon and I brought carrots, cucumbers and ranch dip -which they have never tried. So then it turned into trying everything with the ranch dip for Jasmine and Vicky. Jasmine dipped a kiwi in there and before we could stop her she popped it in her mouth. We were laughing and trying to explain you wouldn't eat ranch with fruit and she insisted it was delicious. Vicky tried it then and agreed it was good. It was super funny - can you imagine ranch dip on a kiwi? Yuck. They kept eating it that way though. Whatever floats their boat!

On the hike down. It was really gorgeous walking through all the trees and leaves and hopping from boulder to boulder. Too bad we missed the time when the leaves were changing colors.

This was at a temple along the hike. I don't know what they are exactly but I thought they were really pretty.

Jon, Jonny, Vicky and Jasmine.

The picture speaks for itself.

I told Vicky and Jasmine to go pose in the doorway and as we were taking this picture people were walking by and looking at us and Vicky says, "I am not Korean, I am Chinese." It was really funny. Maybe you had to be there, but we loved it.

Guess that's all for now. In closing I will tell you what made my day at school today.... one of the most adorable little boys, Owen, said "Nicole Teacher, very very I love you. Nicole Teacher, how beautiful."

Until next time!