Here is tentative draft for 2011 travel plansFeb - Busan and Beomosa Temple, Geojedo Island- week in Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Osaka)Mar - Andong Folk Village- CheonWaDae Presidential Palace : SeoulApr - Shilla Millenium Park : Gyeongju - Goryeong Soldier Festival & Cherry Blossom- Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival- Gwangalli Eobang Festival & Busan Anchovy FestivalMay - Jongmyo Ancestral Rite : Seoul- Daegu Herbal Festival- Jeju Island 4 days- ov...

Happy New 2011!New years is celebrated a bit differently here. What most people like to do is goto the coast to watch the first sunrise at dawn. But I heard the roads are very congested getting there and back. Another teacher said he likes to climb to the top of a mountain and wait to see the first sunrise. Or a third option in downtown Daegu was to goto a park where they have a giant drum which they beat at the stroke of midnite.The weather had turned a bit cold...

A Christmas tale to share...This week we had a farewell dinner with my English Buddy Program teacher and the District Head who we were reporting to. We went to a Shabu Shabu restaurant which I had been to before with a teacher from my school but this time I had my camera. I will try to describe with words and pictures further downFirst we had rice paper wraps. You take what looks like a CD sized plastic disc, which is really transparent rice paper. You dip it in ...

This month on the 15th we had our monthly Civilian Defence Drill with the sirens when all the cars pull over. This time I even got a flyer at my apartment about it given the recent north korea attack. Now this is a monthly routine practice and not a big deal to folks. Every six months they even do the big drill when people go into bomb shelters. However, CNN starts broadcasting people in Seoul running into subway stations making out we are all scared, in a state ...

This Saturday I wanted to find one of the four US military bases in Daegu, Camp Walker, as I read there was an import goods black market nearby. On the bus there I passed one of the other bases (there are three close to each other). They are actually not far from downtown, I thought they would be out in the suburbs. There is a one story concrete wall with barbed wire all around. But I could clearly see all inside the base from the bus. Later I checked on google m...