The Mildly Exciting Adventures of Paul Richardson

Continuing on..

Hello there,

As my life continues moving forward, I continue to have photos and info to put up year. Simple enough, isn't it? This is my last week teaching at Bundang, which is a little disappointing. I've loved this experience as I am ridiculously close to work, and the classes are great fun too. Yet, due to the nature of my job, I will be moving on to another school soon. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this or not, but right now, I am more of a substitute teacher, meaning I cover for the other native teachers when they take holidays, or are sick.

This might change very soon though, as one branch of JLS, in Suji, is looking for someone to work three days a week teaching. This works out pretty well for me, as I can spend three days teaching, and the other two in the office. Good variety, at least theoretically... Suji is only 30 minutes away as well, which is nice.

I thought I'd post some photos of a park very close to my house. This park actually translates into Central Park in English. It's a beautiful place - very large - with a river, traditional buildings, and ponds. Great place to relax. Enjoy.

This style of apartment buildings are everywhere in Korea...even in Bundang!

A wonderful little river running alongside the path...

I like this shot - you can see the traditional and modern almost side-by-side!

Beyond the gate are burial grounds... (I thought it was cool!)

A better shot of the traditional building..

Simply cannot beat a Korean roof!

Last attempted shot of capturing the dramatic water fountains. Cool enough.

Okay, looking through some of my old photos, I found something neat. One of Hyejung's friends from high school is married and recently had a baby. In Korea, when a baby turns one year old, there is a big celebration. Anyway, HJ and I went along to the party and it was a really cool experience. Both the husband and wife (and baby) wear traditional clothes (Hanbok) and there are a few traditional activities as well.

We witnessed an activity that theoretically determines the baby's future. The baby is presented with a tray filled with several items, including money, a computer mouse, a ball - among other things... Okay, so basically, each item represents a future. So, money represents wealth, a mouse represents computer skills, a ball represents physical talent, etc.. Funnily enough, the baby chose money, so it was a good show! The best part though - everyone got a free gift - which meant I got two new glasses for my apartment!