Doosan Resort, Chuncheon, South Korea

It's Monday morning here, and I am trying to get organized for the crazy upcoming week. I think we are all getting anxious to move on to our homestays and assigned schools, as most of us feel pretty well "orientated." The past month has been a good experience in and of itself, but it's time to move on, and I am excited to teach. Most of the kids in my group headed to Seoul this weekend, but three of my friends and I stayed to enjoy some of the local Chuncheon sites; we were not dissapointed. The weather here turned very hot earlier this week, low 90's plus extreme humidity, so yesterday the four of us set out on a mission to find a swimming pool. We found a wonderful resort right on the river, called the Doosan Resort that looked somewhat western, except for the fact that everyone there was Asian. We layed by the pool for four hours, which was the first time I've had a chance to swim since I got here. The pool was crowded, but everyone seemed very accepting, in fact they seemed to like having some foreigners around to gawk at and occassionally tried to practice their Enlish with us. When we first got there my friend Rohit and I were sitting on lawn chairs talking, when a little boy holding a toy car, no older than two years old, slid off his father's lap and walked over to Rohit until he was right next to him and gave him a little bow, then he walked over and did the same to me and went back and climbed up onto his father's lap. I don't know if you've ever seen a toddler bow to someone, but it was adorable to the point of laughter. After swimming we took a taxi cab to a waterfall that is about 15 minutes outside of town. We hiked and watched as Korean families picnicked and played games in the water with each other. We ended our day with a great dinner of cold noodles with vegetables followed by a bottle of wine on the front steps of our University, (no alcohol allowed in the dorms). I have posted some pictures of our weekend above.

In Korea everyone makes the peace sign with their hands when they get their picture taken, and everyone has a different reason for why they do it. One person told me it means "Kimchi" (like the food) and another told me it means you're happy... whatever the meaning, EVERYONE does it including adults, small children, and even foreigners!!!