We visited the family farm of Amy's friend, Rora, for the annual kimchi-making tradition.
Here is Rora's brother with his 5-month-old boy...and I'm washing onions in the restroom.
Amy and I both got a chance to make kimchi, some of which we took home with us.
We had to race home (about 2 hours away) because Amy was invited to preach a pair of sermons this and next week. We had more people at the service than usual (seriously).
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Kimjang: Kimchi-Making
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Bombing from the North.
Many of you have heard the news from yesterday that North Korea shelled an island off of South Korea, killing one and injuring many, including civilians. South Korea responded in kind and politicos are working out strategy in a 'war room' bunker somewhere under Seoul.
I want to allay fears that we might be in danger. Certainly it is worrying news. And there is nothing to be taken lightly about bombing or violence of any kind. The Epp/Hamilton family, however is safe and life in Anyang seems unchanged. Joe and Naomi both went to school this morning, the hustle and bustle of life on the street goes on, people are doing business as usual.
Twenty years ago, when I was 13, I lived in Amman Jordan and our family was being asked the same questions about safety. Of course, that was the first Gulf War and a lot more serious and involved. Friends, pray for North and South Korea, a swift resolution, wisdom and caution for leaders and safety for the people of these nations.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Going to the zoo...
Everyone has had a chance to go to the zoo in the Epp/Hamilton family except me. I finally got my chance this past weekend. The zoo is located at Seoul Grand Park, a few metro stops away from us. This area also features museums, a science center, and Seoul Land, a large amusement park. We went with our neighbor/friends and their kids. We saw some animals (and learned their Korean names), but I think the best things were that it was beautiful weather, Seoul Grand park is surrounded by mountains and has many gorgeous and colourful trees scattered throughout, and there was a great place to play for the kids. Also, there was a dolphin/sealion show. I was told that there would be a monkey that rides the dolphin but I was disappointed to find that the monkey is no longer in the show. Joe told me that the dophins ate the monkey. He was kidding. But I believed him.
Here is the evidence.
First, the beautiful fall colors...over the stairs to the crocodile slide.
Joe and 'Diana' SeoYeong.
Diana and 'Frank' (MinJun) were very fond of playing thumb wrestling with Joe. Joe was very popular with the kids.
Dolphin show! Naomi took this one.
Here's Naomi with here friends.
This basically speaks for itself. 
This basically speaks for itself.
There was lots of candy - included with the three candy-filled umbrellas were plastic tops. (see above)
Lunch!! I love kimbab. Known in Seattle and other places in NA as sushi rolls.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Life on the farm
This past weekend Joe and Naomi and I were invited to come out to Soowan Kim's (a friend from Seattle) parent's farm house. It was basically a large acreage with extensive gardens, fruit trees and running-around space. We shot a few hoops, did some running around, sang karaoke (norebang) watched the fire of the dried up weeds being burned up, ate barbecue, stayed up late. It was very fun and relaxing and somehow at the same time we were exhausted when we got back. Here are some pictures. The fruit pictured is a persimmon, which is a common fall fruit here and which I'd never tried before. Delicious. I think the pots are for making kimchi, but I never got around to asking. The little spring/waterfall is blocked up when it's really hot in summer and the family sits around the table eating watermelon.
Halloween in Korea
The day is well past now, of course. But here are some pictures of what we did on Halloween. The holiday has become popular in the past few years among children studying English, which almost everyone does at an after-school 'academy'. My friend Rora (her English name) lives down the hall from us in our building. She has a small after-school academy in her home.
On the Friday before Halloween she threw a party for her students and their friends. Her apartment is tiny like ours and I think she said about 50 kids rotated through it. She had activities set up including bobbing for apples, face painting, sticking your hand in a box and touching some slimy eels, folding trick-or-treat bags and pumpkin carving. If the kids finished three of the five tasks, and said 'Trick or treat' in English they earned their treats. Rora is the princess in the picture below.
And here I am in my 'Gigi' costume (from Kiki's Delivery Service - in short, a black cat). I was in charge of the jack-o-lanterns. Now, this is the best part of Halloween, in my opinion, including the slimy insides of the pumpkins. But the kids were sooo grossed out. It was awesome. There was an audible gasp when we put the lighted candle inside. That was pretty cool too.
Here are the results. Pretty basic. But I was working free-hand.
Face painting. Naomi was excited about dressing up as Gigi (Kiki is her favorite movie) but she refused to wear the adorable ears I made or have the whiskers drawn on. She did let me paint her face, but the threw a fit and made me wipe it off five minutes or less later.
She did eat a lot of cake and candy, though.
Hope you all enjoyed your Halloweens, too.
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