Great Olympic Games!

Well, I intended to re-start my blog entries last Thursday. The weather was beautiful and probably the most clear of the entire Summer. Since I didn't get my entry completed...I decided to give it try for Friday...but then it rained the whole day..so it messed up my initial weather report! :-) One reason I have been a bit behind with my postings-The Olympic Games. I have always enjoyed watching but for some reason this year was even more special. Maybe it was being away from home and feeling even more patriotic thinking about all of those fine athletes representing the USA....we really enjoyed catching any events...especially ones in English. We were happy to see the Koreans being so excited about their teams also...you could walk down the street and see almost all of the little shops and taxi drivers (yes, while they drove) with TVs going....all on the Olympics! There are some large screen TVs positioned in some of the malls and on the streets...with usually a group of people gathering to watch. The most popular for the Koreans....Judo, Baseball, Ping-Pong, Archery and swimming. The Korean swimmer who received a Silver is SO popular over here...they are going crazy over him! They also love Kobe Bryant. We have about five Korean sports channels...EVERY channel replayed the Gold Medal Baseball game today from last night! We really enjoyed the swimming, gymnastics,fencing, track&field...all of it...especially the sand volleyball and basketball. Of course we like all of the basketball players...but especially Tayshaun Prince! I enjoyed watching the swimming so much that I attempted to re-enact Phelps gold-medal sweep by doing a few laps at the pool...I was even more impressed with his wins...and also realized I need to exercise more! :-) One of the cute German kids from the pool hung on the lane rope and said "You are a good swimmer"...I didn't want to disappoint him...so I really went for it! haha I had actually been watching these kids at the pool...usually 'fists are flying' but that day they appeared to be re-enacting Olympic diving...it was hilarious and so cute. They seemed so serious as they quietly studied the water and planned their maneuver..then ran really fast..did a half-twist/half-flip in the air...and landed usually on their back with a loud "smack!" But of course the pain didn't slow them down...it went on for what seemed like hours. As the kids got a little tired they reverted to their old standby games of taking turns throwing each other into the pool, fighting, then beating each other with flippers (that had been provided by the lifeguard staff...along with goggles for everyone!) :-) Finally, all eight kids were given ice cream cones by the lifeguard (imagine being handed a bag of gold and how happy your would be). The most aggressive fellow (and smallest of the group) is always where the action is...and that includes getting first in line for ice cream.

This weekend was HUGE for Fantasy Football...and after a rough start we were thankful to watch the activities in Michigan with the web cam...it almost made me miss attending more by watching....but we enjoyed it! The subs sure looked tasty! Peyton is my QB AGAIN this year...so we will see how the season goes!

Today we went for a little hike on a mountain nearby...it was hot but worth the awesome view from the top. We scouted around the Harley Davidson shop. If you are a Harley fan...you would love Seoul...lots of Harley's and motorcycle clubs who really know how to wear their gear! I told Chris I would enjoy seeing 'Orange County Chopper'....live someday...I'll let you know how that little plan works out! Those guys are so patriotic...I wrote a letter to Discovery Channel complimenting the show and they responded with a great note back! They do some really cool things for morale and encouragement for our soldiers.....it almost chokes me up just thinking about it. After our visit to the Harley store we went to a little Korean restaurant near our apartment. We spoke almost all Korean (just basics) to the nice people. It seemed to really entertain them...and we got a kick out of it also. We find that even though you don't want to make a mistake the Korean people really appreciate that you gave it your best shot!

Well, we just watched the Olympic basketball game and hope to catch the closing ceremonies. We thought the players and of course Coach K did a great job! One of our neighbors went to the final week of the Olympics and will return tonight (Sunday). I'm really looking forward to hearing about her trip to the "Birds Nest"....:-)

In closing tonight...the sky is a beautiful lavender/pink and so clear you can almost see the leaves on the trees! It's been a good weekend...and we hope for a great week. Now, to study some Korean!

Calling all Buckeyes!

The weather was super on Sunday (although still really humid)...less hazy. There was one cloud burst on Saturday evening...so the rainy season seems to be slowing down. On Saturday walked to Itaewon and saw a store that usually carries clothes from Marshall's, TJ Max, Macy's ...then raises the prices about 200%. Well, this day the sign said "85% off" store wide. We couldn't resist. The place was packed with Buckeye, Ohio State, Eddie George, A.J. Hawk and BCS Championship t-shirts. I thought Florida won but I might be confused....:-) We did find one lone T-shirt with Michigan/Ohio State Football helmets crashing into the other and saying "Greatest Rivalry on Earth"....we snatched it right up! Some lucky Wolverine fan will be receiving this gem for Christmas! haha. Anyway, as we stood looking through all of these shirts....all we could think of was "do we know any Buckeye fans?" I would have picked a few up but could only think of a few Bearcat fans. As we walked out of the store (with our purchase) we just kept saying too bad we don't know any Buckeye's....you won't believe what happened next...and Chris is my witness that this happened. Two blocks from the store we were waiting for the light to change and I looked to my left. There was a guy wearing a white "BUCKEYE" ball cap with little letters "Cleveland"....I walked over to him (Chris told me it was another type of Buckeye but I was determined :-) and told him about the great 5.00 dollar t-shirts and pulled mine out of the bag to show him....he got really excited...grabbed his Korean wife by the hand and they shot off in the direction of the store! I was so happy....if someone had spotted a great deal on cool UK shirts or Peyton Manning gear...I would hope they would share the info with me! :-) Seriously, if anyone has a special lil' Buckeye that needs a 5.00 dollar t-shirt just let me know and I will pick up a few. The shirts were high quality and unique...just the wrong team!

The picture with this post is from a Hindu Temple in Singapore. We removed our shoes and really saw some interesting things while walking around. This temple was completely different from the one in Bali. Lots of colors/statues/incense/amazing ceiling paintings and building design. You may be able to see the red marks on our foreheads. For some reason (I hope for good reasons) we were the only foreigner type people called over for the blessing. I'm really not sure why we were selected but we thought a blessing sounded good and appreciated it. I will post a picture of the fellow that gave us the mark on the blog also. He was very nice. The gal taking this picture was Japanese. I was surprised that she appeared to be traveling alone. I don't want to make generalizations...but oftentimes the Asians travel in 'packs'....similar to when they travel to the US. Our friend Hannah said they travel in these groups for several reasons...excellent group booking prices from Korea, very limited time to see a particular sight so move in a herd type formation and they don't really mind being in a crowd. She said most Koreans think of the US as " DC, LA, Grand Canyon, and NY"....

Bali IV

It's a cloudy but clear Saturday morning here in Seoul. We rushed home from dinner last night to catch the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. Quite a show! The commentary was in Korean of course (last night) so we got up this morning and watched the broadcast on AFN. This time we caught the whole spectacle and lighting of the torch. I'm sure glad that fellow didn't fall from the rigging as he ran along the top of the stadium...whew! :-) I asked Chris if he had EVER seen anything quite like it (the show) and he said "Yes, everyday when I roll into work"...:-) I am sure the Korean channels will focus on ping pong, badminton, tae kwon do......so it is nice having some of the programming from the US. I read on-line about the delayed broadcast....I guess you can chalk seeing the Olympic Opening Live (althought in Korean) as a 'perk' to living in Asia...:-) Right now the PGA Golf from Oakland Hills is on the Korean Golf Channel. We are looking forward to watching the Olympics and rooting for the US!

The picture attached to this entry is from the Barong & Kris Dance in Bali. It is a traditional play that represents an eternal fight between good and evil spirits. Barong (a mythological animal) represents a good spirit and Rangda (a mythological monster) represents the evil one. I think this photo is of the 'bad guy'. There were a total of 5 acts with music, dancing and drama. I have also posted a picture of the musicians. Notice the little girl in the red shirt. Her Father must have been one of the musicians...she was so cute and stood the entire time without making a peep.

Our favorite restaurant in Bali was Bumbu Bali. Awesome service and great food. I didn't get a picture of the food presentation...but you can go to http://www.balifoods.com/ to see the restaurant/food presentation and info about their cooking classes. We liked it so much...we went twice!

Bali III

Well, it's another hot and humid day here in Seoul. I received an email from a gal that lives about 10 minutes from us...and her Yellow Labrador is really not enjoying this heat. It's around 100+. Since it is such a warm day, I posted a picture from the hotel in Bali. We stayed at the Conrad Hilton ...and it was super. If you check out the website you will see a really neat Chapel on the grounds. For some reason I did not get a picture...but the entire building is glass in almost an "A frame" shape...it's pretty spectacular. There were several honeymooners there and we "think" an engagement. You may be able to see a covered building on the left side of this photo. It is marble and surrounded by fountains. On our last night they placed candles inside a paper-like holder all around the platform, fountains...everywhere...there must have been over 200 candles. They topped it off with rose pedals all over the place and linens draping the corners of the roof. We were thoroughly entertained from our perch above the festivities having some snacks and relaxing before dinner. There were two other couples sitting on the veranda area with us...one couple from Boston and the other from Germany. We were all discussing the elaborate preparations and wondering what the occasion was. All the hostess told us was "It's a very special dinner"...we were hoping for a swarm of paparazzi or something! In the end...it was a marriage proposal...and after all of the effort/planning we hoped she said yes! :-)

Bali II

At first glance the attached picture appears to be shaded and quite old. Actually, the color of this building and the surrounding ones were the color of soot...and it was recently built. This part of Bali is known for a very large volcano (see photo to left). The building was built with volcano dust. Underneath is a huge parking garage. It houses government/city offices. This was part of the same tour the day we went to the Hindu Temple, artisan market, lunch overlooking the Volcano and listened to our helpful guide chat constantly..:-) We found a really interesting painting of a Balinese Rice Goddess...and since we eat a lot of rice here in Korea...we thought it would be a good purchase! :-) The volcano was really something to see. We had an interesting lunch watching the mountain, observing ladies carrying offerings to their little altars around the property, and watching the little dogs follow after the offerings. Many people hike the volcano but you must leave around 2:30am to make it to the top by sunrise. It sounded fun but maybe I'll save that daybreak hike for the sunrise in Hawaii...I would love to see that one. Chris has seen it and says it was breathtaking. I have Hawaii on my "Top 10" list of places I would love to visit in the US.

Bali I

Greetings! We have returned from Bali alive and well. Our connecting flights were through Singapore each way. I would have to say an excellent airport...almost like Somerset Mall in Michigan...you name the brand and they have it. There was plenty of security in both Singapore and Bali. The radical Muslim element is alive in these areas so a pretty significant show of force was noted in the Singapore airport...well equipped for sure. The pictures for this entry focus on an Ancient Hindu Temple in Bali. Our guide said it was the oldest temple in Indonesia. It has vacillated between Hindu and Buddhist over the years but primarily Hindu. The guide was Hindu but said they vary in their practices from the Hindu faith elsewhere in the world...primarily because they eat beef and pork. I was amazed. I am sure there are other differences but I'm not sure what they are. Chris and I donned a skirt/wrap before entering the temple grounds because we wore walking shorts that day. I noticed SOME of the tourists....I won't name which ones weren't very respectful...just wore their 'daisy dukes'....(hint: Not US, Japan or Canada)..:-) The grounds were spectacular with natural waterfalls, plants, offering areas to place your flowers/food (available for purchase in shops leading to the temple and a few on the grounds). I believe this is still a place utilized for worship...with the oldest part of the temple being a small cave (see picture for entrance) where they burn incense and leave offerings in 3 different areas of the cave.