Fall Travels: Gurye, part 2

Here are some more photos of us playing at Hwaeum Temple.  The fall colors had not quite emerged yet, but the weather was just gorgeous.  My camera ran out of batteries, which is why the photos are limited to one spot and there aren't that many (compared to my usual number).  We also traveled to a great temple building into the side of a mountain and discovered how much the boys love to hike.  There, we found a wonderful view of Gurye as well as surrounding countryside and the town of Namwon.  The night before, we watched a changgeuk (pansori musical theater) performance under the stars at the festival and had a great night sleep in the hotel. We had a really great time.  Hoping for another Gurye trip next year.

As part of the festival, singers performed at the temple that day.  The singers performed scenes from pansori individually, and then they all convened to sing some folk songs of the southwestern region.  Below, I pose under the banner advertising the dongpyeonje (eastern school) pansori festival.  It was a great success as literally thousands of people came out to see performances.  Our seminar the day before was packed, as well.

Fall Travels: Gurye, part 1

We spent a lot of time traveling this fall, and here are some photos of these travels.  I'm having trouble uploading photos (shocker, I know--considering changing blog sites, so don't be surprised if that happens soon), so could not get all of the Gurye photos up. But, here is the first set.  Gurye is located in the southwestern province, South Jeolla.  This is the second year I participated in the pansori festival there, so we have taken advantage of my out of town work to take a short family trip.  Here we are playing at Hwaeumsa (Hwaeum Buddhist temple).

Above, the boys practice fighting with their quest in mind to become great monks a la pop cultural heritage.

More Tashi Photos

We were really enjoying taking Tashi outside and I was working on training him to come when called.  But, the doctor told us not to take him outside anymore until his entire round of shots was complete.  Tashi has come down with some sort of foot infection and the doctor was pretty upset with us.  He actually did tell us initially not to take Tashi outside, but I was like "He's a dog for goodness sake."  Well, I was wrong, but I had just thought even puppies could go outside and play.  He said we can carry him around outside, but don't put him down since he is still only 3 months old and has not been fully vaccinated. We have to wait until next month to take him outside and let him down on the ground, but by then we'll have snow and ice on the ground.  Right now, the fall weasther is just perfect for a playful little guy like Tashi.  Oh well.  Because of the foot infection, poor Tashi now has to wear this cone on his head over the next week to prevent him from licking the medicine off of his foot. The bad thing is that Tashi prefers to poop outside, so we're having to lock him out on the balcony to make him poo on the paper.  He will go to the balcony door and pee very easily, but for some reason he does not want to do number 2 on paper.  Well, that's enough potty talk. He seems to have sensitive skin, so we've stopped giving him the food we got at the market and we're giving him Science Diet and organic treats instead.  The cone has not stopped his energy level though. This is one playful puppy and we're having to take the 'don't bite us' behavior modification plan up a notch.  Now, the doctor recommends rolling up a newspaper and slamming it on the floor or a table really hard when he bites. The point is to startle him.  We'll see how it works.

Meet Tashi

Photos from Tashi's 'gotcha' day above and below (Jack liked the little yippy white dog above--I was totally against the yipper).  Although we had gone to the market to get fish supplies and had not planned on a puppy, we fell in love (well, the kids and I did, but Jack wasn't initially convinced--he liked the little yappy mini breeds).  It all started when Jack promised Dahin he would get her a puppy if she made a 100 on her dictation test.  He never thought it would happen, but I was not thrilled with that kind of promise considering the fact Dahin could not keep a snail alive and we would end up being responsible for the puppy most of the time.  But, I also figured it would never happen, as well.  Well, it did.  I almost passed out when Jack called me to tell me.  I was in the middle of a haegeum lesson and Heejin  thought someone had died due to my reaction.  I told her about the situation and she said, "Ooh, Dahin will be so happy!"  Yeah, well.  I told Dahin that we should just do fish at first and that worked for a week.  When she and Jack went to the  open-air market located near Cheongyecheon (there you find everything from Halloween to Christmas stores, toy stores to pet stores) they checked out the pet area for fish supplies.  While there, they found two little puppies in a cage--one cute as can be and one not so much.  Dahin fell in love and Jack thought at least that one was just perfect (you know, the cute one).  A grandmother standing next to Dahin said, "Yeah, they're real good dogs--loyal, kind, and loving--and when they get big enough you can eat them." Dahin freaked out.  Jack and I both assured her that people do not eat their pets here, but Jack said that when the halmoni bought a hamster and was leaving the store he wanted to say, "Have a nice snack."  Well, Dahin was pretty upset about it and I could not get it out of my mind.  Technically, the little guys were muts, although people were calling them 'palbari' which is just a new pc term for 'dong kae' (shit dog).  It just makes having a mut sound nicer: 'palbari.'  Anyway, we ended up having to go back to the market on the weekend because we needed some more fish supplies and I meandered by the dog cage (actually, it was quite purposeful) to find the two cuties.  Well, when I got there, there was just one little brown puppy curled up in the cage alone.  Jack said, "Oh, it looks like his brother was sold.  That's a shame.  He was too cute."  I couldn't resist and asked the girl at the store if I could hold him and, well, it was all over from there.  He had these sad little eyes and his paws just hung on to me.  I knew I couldn't leave him there since I was pretty sure no one would buy him and he might end up going to some sort of dog broker (and their treatment of dogs is pretty infamous here.  We all know where those dogs end up.).  So, we paid our 30,000 won fee and took munchkin home without anything ready except a bag of food.  We started with the name Brownie, then Mocha, then Koko--but they didn't seem right.  The kids loved the name Koko, but Jack and I thought it sounded too girlie and too, you know, miniature doggish.  Because the people at the store said he was part Tibetan Spaniel (although, looking at him, I don't see it) I thought I'd look up some Tibetan names.  Jack had wanted to go with "Lucky," which I vetoed for the cheese factor, but I found "Tashi," which means 'lucky' in Tibetan.  It seems to fit him perfectly.  Over the next few days we ordered a crate, stainless steel bowls, leashes, toys, etc.  Now, we're online getting Science Diet and other imports for our new baby.  He is super smart.  Has accidents with the potty thing, but does not pee in his crate or in the car.  Jack has fallen in love with Tashi, too.  Koreans tend to like designer dogs, and I guess Americans do, too.  But, Tashi has proven to be so cool.  He hasn't barked except once.  He holds his pee and poo very well and has learned quickly to use the paper and go outside (although the vet has vetoed this--more on that later). Very patient little guy. Also, everyone is saying that mixed breeds tend to be more gentle and good with kids, with training, of course.  Jack is convinced now we made the right decision in choosing Tashi.  I agree 100%.  We're training him not to be so nippy, but I think he's getting it.  He's very active and loves to play fetch.

  We are very happy to have a new family member:  Welcome Tashi Sung!

Dahin's Birthday Photos--Friends Party

Dahin had six of her girlfriends from school come over for pizza and cake.  I prepared a jewelry-making activity for the girls as well and it was a good thing I did.  It kept the girls concentrated in one spot, interacting, and quiet (as a whole).  They made some great pieces of jewelry using the shaping clay and hair pins and hairbands (see below).

After some pizza, the girls sat down and painted each others nails while I prepared for the cake and icecream.  We ordered 3 pizzas and it was just enough--whew!

One of the girls brought her little sister and it was perfect since she is in Ronan and Oliver's preschool.  The boys had a lot of fun playing with their friend.

The girls really liked the cake, which was a relief.  Korean cakes are a lot lighter--like angel food cake with whipped cream frosting.  American-style cakes are a bit heavier, but the girls loved it--the cake was gone by the end of the evening!

After present opening the girls gathered for a group photo.  Everyone seemed to have a great time and the girls all wanted to stay later.  I was able to meet some of the girls' parents for the first time, which was good.

Above are some of the pieces the girls made.  Oliver made the sparkly star pin on the bottom.  He made it for me, so guess who's wearing it on her sweaters now (per Oliver's orders).  Tashi, below, spent most of the evening in his crate with his stuffy.  He came out occasionally, but some of the girls were a little skiddish around him so it was better to keep him safe and sound in his crate.

 Once the girls all went home, Oliver and Ronan played with the clay a bit and made some more pieces.

Dahin had a wonderful time with her friends, so I was glad we were able to do the party.  Happy B-Day!

Dahin's Birthday Photos--Family Party

For Dahin's birthday, we went to Outback Steakhouse for a family dinner and thoroughly humilated her with the birthday song--he he he.  My student/haegeum teacher had won a competition to play a concerto with the KBS traditional orchestra, so we needed to go see that on Dahin's actual B-Day.  Dahin agreed to have a party on Friday, instead, so it all worked out.  We had a great dinner and a yummy dessert before heading to KBS hall for the concert.

After the concert, we headed home and opened presents from the boys and Apa and Mommy.  I decided to save trees and used wrapping cloths and little gift bags to wrap her presents.

The boys each made Dahin cards.  They were very proud of their cards.  We'd also gotten the boys presents to give to Dahin.  Oliver gave her a key chain and hair bands and Ronan gave her earrings.

The grand present of the evening included inline skates, a helmet, and knee pads.  She'd been asking for this for a while, so it was the perfect gift.

 Tashi (more on him later) admires Dahin's new inline skating get-up.

Happy Birthday Dahin!

Well, it's been quite a while since posting!  The not being able to post photos episode turned  me off of Blogger for a while, but I'm back now.  SOOOOOO much has happened over the past two months, but I will start with Dahin's birthday this past week.  We had a family dinner and present opening and then she had a party with her school friends on Friday.  On the top is the video of her blowing out her candle and the kids singing "Happy Birthday" and the video just above this text is Dahin thanking Bubbie and Grandfather for the cards and gifts they sent.  Happy Birthday Dahin!  Cannot believe she is 10!