Family A Journey to Forever!

Monday, July 1, 2013

Gyeongbokgung Palace

We took a CYSS field trip to two Korean Palaces on May 25th. The first Palace we went to was Gyeongbokgung.(Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven) it was built in 1395, it served as the main Palace for more than five hundred years. It was steadily expanded over nearly three hundred years before being reduced to ashes during the Japanese invasion of 1592. for the next 276 years the palace grounds were left in very poor condition until finally being rebuilt in 1867.

My friend Claudia her Father, Filipe,and her son, Marco, also came on the field trip.

Brooklyn was stopped by two Korean students. They were learning English and wanted to interview Brooklyn. She was so helpful and it was kind of fun to watch her interact with these two students. It was also kind of fun because this is what I do every Thrus night so it was fun for me to see Brooklyn talk and help these students.

Brooklyn with the Korean student that interviewed her.

Procession for the Changing of the Royal Guards

Changing of the Royal Guards

WE were on the back side of the Royal Changing of the Guards

Very Cool.

Jer and the kids with the Royal Guards in the Back ground.

And the Procession leaving, the change is complete.

I'm sure this has some really cool meaning but we couldn't find anything written about it. They only had 3 English tours and our time frame didn't work with any of the tours. Bummer, I guess that's one bad thing about having to catch the bus. :-)

Jer and the kids in front of the Palace.

Claudia, Filipe and kids.

Inside the Palace. I'm not sure what it is. But it was beautiful.

Inside the palace.

This was in the center of the ceiling.

The Ceiling. Amazing right? Love all the little details. Wow!

Love this man! standing on the side of the palace.

I'm sure this has some awesome meaning. I'm not sure what it is but look how fascinating.

This is Gyeonghoeru Pavilion. This is where the king threw formal banquets. It is beautiful and just the water surrounding it was awesome.

Love my kiddos in front of this Party house.

Jer and I in front of Gyeonghoeru Pavilion

This one is a little bit different. Very cool!

Look at the detail. Wow!!!

This one is really different. I wish I knew what they represent.

These designs were all over the Palace.

Cute kids going under the palace.

The detail and color are stunning.

I think this represents a Guardian to ward off any evil.

I'm not sure what that is but it's pretty.

It was nice and warm so we stopped for a frozen treat. I'm sure I didn't' even do this Palace justice. I'm sure there are a lot of things we missed especially in the meaning and symbolism here. Not to talk about the different architect. However,this is as good as it gets when you can't speak the language and nothing is in ENGLISH!!!

Chan field trip to Everland

Korea has been a lot of firsts and one of the best firsts was going on Chandler's field trip with him.

This year, all the second graders took a trip to Everland to see the monkeys, lions, tigers, and... you guessed it, bears!

Some of the buildings look like they come from other countries but I am not sure why since we were there to see the animals; not ride the rides.

This was one of the areas inside the park. At least it looked like it could be fun.

While waiting for one of the other classes to catch up, we had a Korean family decide they wanted pictures with the American kids; so we had to get a picture too.

Yes, this monkey got to see the Golden Monkeys.

As a chaperone, I had three students I was to watch over. Obviously, I had Chandler. I also had his friend Justin in my group.

Part of the tour was a trip through a Jurassic Park type enclosure with free roaming lions, tigers, and bears. It was really cool to see them walk around and come right up to the bus.

After we saw all the animals, we were able to sit down for lunch and enjoy everybody's company.

****Disclaimer Jeremy wrote this post too*****Around the time we went, they had a rose festival at Everland. They put roses everywhere and it was pretty cool!

Chandler, thank you so much for letting me chaperone you! It was very fun and exciting. I love you.

Jer's Birthday=Motorcycle

****Disclaimer Jeremy wrote this post****Being in Korea makes everything interesting, even getting around post. As we are restricted to one car and getting an exception to policy is like getting a miracle, we decided it was time to get a motorcycle.

Part of getting a motorcycle is getting the correct equipment. I had to get a helmet and jacket. It did not take long to find the jacket but finding the right helmet was a pain in the neck. I searched many websites and found this one on Ebay but had to purchase it through the actual manufacturer's store. Thanks Mom for forwarding it to Korea.

So here is the motorcycle!Don't worry, I only wrecked once getting it home. Leaving the Harley dealership, I didn't break fast enough and ran into the guy I was following home. Oops.

During my birthday week, I was in Yongsan for some training. It really stunk and I was making the best of it, but Tina decided I was close enough for a visit. She didn't tell me and came up to Yongsan with Ade, the wife of the guy I was in class with. They surprised me at lunch! It was great to see them and be together for my birthday.