Our Thanksgiving

the view from our house overlooking the garlic fields and the vast ocean beyond.

this is the house we rented. it was actually divided into four apartments. i couldn't believe how american it looked. this is not typical for korea. single family homes generally have an asian flair or very contemporary look--not this one.

claire posing by the ocean view

garlic was aplenty. they covered the fields with plastic similiar to what many in america do with their gardens. i've never seen this done with fields until coming to korea.

the fishing docks. very interesting process. carts are used for so many things here--carrying boxes (cardboard collection is similar to aluminum collection in the states), fish, trash, you name it.

sardines. these are of the highest quality, which means more money. buyers come to this market just off the docks to buy their supply.

chris, claire and mya on the ferry.

mya on the beach, eating her first "fluffernutter." she loved it. sand and a fluffernutter--does it get any more new england than that?

my babies footprints. ahhhh.

mya's, claire's and my footprints. chris kept his shoes on so he was banned from the photo.

mya on the cliffs. what a doll.

chris and claire making their way back up the walk from the cliffs.

this was the view on one of the last flat areas before walking down to the water.

Chris and I are pretty quiet people. To my sisters, I am pretty much known as the antisocial one. Others may find that strange. I guess it just depends on the group. The same holds true for Chris. At times, he is very quiet, hardly saying a peep and in other social situations, he is wowing the crowd with his wittiness. Yes, he can be pretty funny. Anyway, my goal since coming to Korea has been to step out of my comfort zone and not let the situation dictate my social abilities. This Thanksgiving weekend, Chris and I did just that. It all started several weeks back when I chatted with our neighbor gal, Heather. She and her husband have 6, yes 6 kiddos ranging in age from 1 to 17. You would never guess it--they look fantastic and so full of life! During our conversation, she mentioned all the fun things she has been doing and I couldn't help but be in awe. She is a stay at home momma, which enables her to explore during the day. She has an awesome Korean friend who helps organize the excursions. Anyway, she mentioned this amazing trip they were taking to the southern coast of Korea and asked if we'd like to join them. They were actually going with a group from church, which I found out shortly later were of the Mormon faith. Obviously, their faith mattered very little to me, however, I will admit growing up in predominantly Prodestant/Catholic North Dakota, my knowledge of the Mormon faith was primarily dictated by what I'd seen on tv or heard through casual conversation. That being said, I was also raised in a very open, non-judgmental minded faith. I am not sure what came over me (given my social timidness) but I quickly agreed and our plans rolled into place. In the weeks following, Chris and I had numerous conversations about the potential ackwardness this trip could have. We knew one of 10 families (however, didn't really KNOW any--our neighbors were acquaintances at best), all whom shared the same faith. We were definitely the outsiders. Fast forward to Thanksgiving Day. We loaded up the cars and headed to the Officer's Club where we dined on the Thanksgiving Feast. It was delicious. We ended up sharing a table with our neighbors, which was great. It allowed us a better chance to get to know them, since our contact thus far was minimal.
Soon after lunch we were off on our four hour trek down the coast of South Korea. It was a lovely drive and as we stepped off the beaten path, we discovered picturesque views of mountains, quaint little villages and the lovely, gigantic OCEAN.
We spent the next two days enjoying our lovely, truly lovely company. The girls had plenty of kiddos to play with and each came out of their shells as the weekend progressed. The itinerary was perfect. We stopped at a fishing dock to see how the Korean people fish for anchovies. Typically, the men do the fishing and the women unload the fish into crates which are then sold. They still use a method that was introduced thousands of years ago--sticks and netting to make a trap. The fish swim with the current and cannot reverse their route, which traps them in the net. We took a ferry ride around a few islands. There are 80 in total, but only 3 are inhabited. We also hiked up to a temple. It is a well known temple where prayers are answered. We did not go inside, but I said a few none the less. Time will tell ;) The hike was a tough one. We brought the stroller, but as we quickly learned, "stroller accessible" in Korea basically means you can bring a stroller if you dare. It was a challenging climb up and a fast one on the way down if you catch my drift. We spent a few hours at a beautiful beach. Even though it was too cold to swim, Mya was ready! She loves water. The evenings were spent playing games. It was fun. We were in great company. (The ways of the Lord are amazing.) Each family had their own house, which we rented for less than a hotel room in the states. It was a rather amazing experience. Our  final stop was a hike down to some rocky cliffs and bridges. A gorgeous view awaited. Again, it was an extremely tough climb and our level of fitness was challenged. We survived despite the sting of our lungs! We bolted back to the base as quickly as we could to dine on some good old American food. We do miss the states!!