Oeosa Temple

Living in Korea definitely has its perks - like being able to take a 10 minute drive, and end up in a tranquil, place of worship, surrounded by majestic nature, compliments of our great Creator!! That's exactly what Leigh and I did this past Saturday.  Growing up in the South, as I hiked up the small Korean mountain, I couldn't help but think how skinny would Christians be if we had to hike up mountains to worship? You better believe I'd think twice about indulging on that hashbrown casserole at Cracker Barrel! :)

Leigh getting temple rocks for his mom! :)

So majestic!

Our Fambily :)

Nature's Sanctuary!

Kathryn Visits Korea

Towards the end of November, my friend Kathryn -who you might remember from my Visit to America  post - expressed some interest in visiting Korea.  I told her to absolutely check into tickets (as you can tell from my blog, I've thoroughly enjoyed my time here) and to keep me posted. She bought her ticket the first weekend in January, declared 2012 her year 'for adventure' and set her countdown to Korea for t-30 days! I couldn't wait to have her here! I felt so special that someone would want to come all the way here to visit, and I knew if she could appreciate her experience in Korea even just 1/20th of the way that I do - it would be a worthwhile trip for her!

During her visit we stayed pretty busy! She nearly mastered chopsticks, indulged in some Korean cuisines (gimbap, cheese dong cass, Korean BBQ, mandoo). She volunteered as my teaching assistant, went shopping in Korean markets, said goodbye to modesty at the Korean Sauna (read about jim-jil bangs here), met a lot of the teachers in Pohang from English speaking countries all over, bounced around Pohang's sights: Bukbu Beach, Jukdo Market, Homigot, and Gyeongju's tourist hot spots: Bulguksa, Anapji, Gyeongju Observation Tower and Seokguram Grotto!
 Here's her visit in review via pictures:

Kat's first night in Korea - mac n cheese with chopsticks!

Kathryn at the "shijang" (traditional market) beside my school

Kathryn Teacher with some of BB English students!

My beautiful boss, Lee Si Rim, invited us to be in her wedding photos!

Gyeongju Observation Tower

Kathryn's Pagoda - Make a Wish!

Well water cheers at Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju

Anapji pond in Gyeongju

Pohang Ladies at Live Story for Open Mic Night!

The first part of February was spent with a hometown friend in Korea - thanks for visiting Kathryn! The first part of March will be spent with Leigh's family in the Philippines! :) Definitely a great way to end the winter and start the Spring! Very Blessed :)

Thankful Thursday

Korea gets a huge point this week! :)  AND I was once again reminded of something to be sincerely thankful for.   I'm so thankful to live in a country with efficient, reasonably priced healthcare!!!

 In America, usually when I would get sick, I'd run to the medicine cabinet or Walgreen's/CVS/Eckerd one of which that'd be on every corner hoping to find some over the counter cure to knock me out, hoping that when I woke up, I'd miraculously be feeling better.  Lord knows, if I actually made the trip to the doctor, I'd show up for my 'scheduled appointment' only to wait for 3x the estimated time.  Once signed in, I'd be overwhelmed with new/existing patient documents and be asked about my insurance info and provider, and then forced to pay a co-pay.  Then, a drive to the pharmacy (all while I'm feeling like crap! :( ) to wait for a prescription to be filled to find out oh lucky me! it's not covered on insurance so I have to pay the $xxx dollar fee! Exhausting!

:) Ok, I'm off my soapbox, and on to the Thankful!

Early in the week while my friend Kathryn was visiting from home, I felt a cold coming on. I had the sniffles, a sinus headache, a deep cough, and a manly voice that could rival Leigh's.  Even my students were saying "husky voice teacher"! :) So, I stopped in at my doctor's office - he asked me my syptoms, instructed me to wear a mask, offered me some vitamins (no antibiotics) and some kind of injection in the bum.

•  Doctor's Visit Fee + Injection: $4.00
• Paperwork: a sign on my receipt
• Pharmacy: Location directly beside the Dr's office
• Grand total of medicine: $2.30
• Grand Total: 10 minutes of my life to feel better and less than a $7 ding in the wallet!

Korea, go on with your bad self and your Healthcare (Korean Healthcare) :)