Category: photos

Yangdong Folk Village

While we were driving around the Korean countryside we stopped by Yangdong Folk Village. Over five hundred years old, it’s a functioning traditional village and the seat of two prominent Korean families. It’s also where N and I first got to know each other; we both lived there for a summer as part of a university study abroad trip way back when.

It was great to be back to the village. It was over ten years ago that we were there and it was even more better than I remembered it. Living there for a summer was a pretty amazing experience–we lived in an traditional compound with three houses (one for the girls, one for the boys, and one for our professor and his family), held our classes outside on the traditional wooden porch, washed our laundry by hand, taught classes at the local elementary school, and bathed outside using camping showers (except for when we could hitch into the next town to go to the bathhouse).

E outside the compound where we lived during our study abroad trip.

Us back where it all began.

The houses we lived in were at the top of a steep hill. I remember the walk being a bit of a pain but the view was/is spectacular.

I love the traditional houses.

The fields were golden with rice almost ready to harvest. When we lived in the village N and some of the boys helped plant rice (and had some leeches stick to their legs).

It was great to stroll around the village and down memory lane. The summer I spent in the village really cemented Korea’s place in my heart (and introduced me to my wonderful husband-to-be!)

E and Buddha = Besties

Well, we’re home (more or less). E came down with a cold the last few days we were in Korea and while he was super good on the flight home he threw up when we landed and hasn’t been feeling well since. Last night was rough because in addition having trouble sleeping due to jet lag and being sick there was a crazy loud rainstorm that kept E (and us) up for half the night.

And then this morning E threw up a few more times and I woke up having caught E’s cold. So yeah, we’re home but not quite up to speed yet.

But…um…PICTURES! There are numerous Buddhist temples around Pusan and we managed to cram in visits to four of them while we were there. These are from our visit to Beomeosa.

There was a festival going on while we were there and the courtyard was full of people praying with the monks and writing down the scripture. The monks would chant a syllable, bow, and then write it down and the worshipers would follow along with every step.

E decided to get in on the chanting/bowing action. He was actually following along and saying the chant which was pretty cute. A bunch of Korean tourists took his picture.

E’s favorite part of every temple visit was seeing Buddha. He loved peeking inside the temple at the statues.

E and Dylan befriended a puppy.

Some of the many statues.

Wandering the grounds.

I really enjoyed visiting the temples. They each had a different feel to them: some were bustling, some were serene but all of them were gorgeous.

Photographic Evidence

So…I still haven’t found a card reader that will let me download photos from my camera but I have a few pictures N took on his phone.

The first morning we were here E excitedly tore around the house exploring and chasing his cousin Dylan and ran smack into the corner of a table which left the lovely mark you can see on his cheek. It’s healed over now but for a few days everywhere we went concerned ajummas would worriedly point it out to us in case we hadn’t noticed it before. You know, because they’re helpful like that.

These photos were from the Jagalchi fish market which is always an amazing place to wander–so amazing in fact that when my camera was acting up and refusing to work the first time we visited I wheedled N into stopping by yesterday so I could take some photos myself.

It’s about 10am here and we’re getting ready for a car expedition to one of the local Buddhist temples. I love meandering around temple grounds and snapping photos of E so it should be fun.

Going on a Train Ride

I’ve had a vague urge to cram in some fun outings for E before the weather turns cold and we’re stuck inside for months. Hence visiting the state fair two weeks ago and taking a ride on the Heber Valley Railroad this last Saturday.

We went on the 90-minute ride and E loved it. It was a lot more crowded than last time we went and we couldn’t get seats in the open car. So we sat in one of the restored cars and E had a blast craning his head out the window like a dog in a pickup truck. (We insisted on keeping a firm grip on his pants which annoyed him to no end.)

The whole outing was a bit of a production (it takes almost an hour to drive up the canyon to the train station and then home again) but it was fun. I don’t know if we’ll go again next year since since you have to buy 3 year-olds their own tickets and the cost adds up quickly.

N and I haven’t been out on a date in a while so that evening we got a sitter and went to dinner and to see The Town. I was pretty wiped out from our train adventure and was worried I’d fall asleep during the movie but once it started I forgot how tired I was. It was well-paced and in general the cast was very good.

Portland Japanese Garden

When I was up in WA we drove down to Portland for the day. It was a last-minute trip and we didn’t have a set itinerary planned but it was still really nice. We visited the lovely Japanese Garden which a photographer’s dream and then spent some time wandering around Powell’s books which was both awe-inspiring and mildly disorienting.




My mom and brother were really nice about hanging on to E so I could snap pictures to my heart’s content–thanks, guys!

Home Again

I love visiting my family in WA but home is where N is and it’s really lovely to be home. Never mind that it’s already after noon and I still haven’t showered and I have a pile of laundry to do and a kitchen in sore need of restocking. E and I had a lazy morning but now we’ve got to going.

When I was in Olympia my mom and I took E to a local playground. It’s in a great park and we like to go every time we’re in town. E remembered it from last time and immediately ran to the swings, his favorite. He had a blast.



Well, this weekend will probably be pretty low-key for us which sounds wonderful right now. We’ll be playing a bit of catch-up around the house and enjoying being together as a family again (and watching a bunch of shows saved on our DVR). After a busy week it sounds heavenly.

I hope you have a great weekend!