Fall is here and time is flying

         Hello from Busan! Time is flying. We have already been here for 3 months and have seen summer come and go. Fall is creeping in and so is the weather. It was once the hottest summer that anyone can remember and now it is back to early fall temperatures of around 78 degrees. The beach is empty now and baseball season is finishing this weekend. However, there are still tons of outdoor activities to do. Volleyball is still being played on Sundays at the beach and now on Monday nights with a bunch of Koreans thanks to a friend of mine. Fleming and I can also start hiking now that the weather is cooler. Busan and all of Korea are mostly mountains. It is a national pastime and we are eager to start climbing those trails.
           School is going well and we are set for a nice chuck of vacation starting soon. September 18-22 will be a five day weekend thanks to the holiday called Chuseok. This is basically Korean thanksgiving. We are have some other random days off in September and October and we are not complaining. We had hoped to take a weekend trip to Tokyo or Hong Kong in October but it is not looking like it will happen due to some school stuff going on. This is also a busy time for projects and things. However, we will get there soon.
            We continue to meet more and more awesome people from all around the world. This is one of the best parts of living abroad. Over Chuseok break, we will be attending a church retreat for one night and also possibly traveling outside the city to visit another area. We had hoped to maybe visit Seoul or another area but tickets on trains and buses and flights are impossible to get and have long since been booked. Nevertheless, there is so much to do that we will stay busy!
            There hasnt been much going on in the past month other than work and enjoying the weekends. Now that football has started, I have found myself watching the games on the internet in the middle of the night. This has wears my out but I refuse to miss a Gamecock game. Fleming, however, has remained snoring and in bed during our games. We should have some much more interesting stuff ahead of us with vacation times coming up and the weather changing. We will continue to pray for everyone and think of you. Take care and Go Gamecocks!!!

Beach season is officially over. This is a picture of the biggest beach in Busan. It holds the Guinness book of records for the most umbrellas on a beach at one time.

What better than a free dinosaur park on the top of the world's largest department store????? Fleming only allows me to go once a month. She is so mean. She was embarrassed when I played the Jurassic Park music on my phone when we walked around.

A pirate ship at the dinosaur park. Fleming said I could be captain. Only me, not those kids. I am a bigger than them and its my ship.

I have implemented an incentive program for my classes. They can earn Neal dollars to be redeemed for candy, Ramen noodles, stickers and American coins. 

Birthday party for Fleming's class!

A lesson on pilgrims by Fleming. One chunky boy must have thought it was ninjas that came to America.

One of my classes making restaurant menus. 

A church event for married couples in which we played games, had dinner and enjoyed fellowship.

An area of town of great color but lower income. Photo courtesy of Elliott Klinger.

The teachers at my school were all given Chuseok holiday gifts. I received a wine set while my Korean teachers received smelly, dried fish. USA 1 Korea 0

An evening picnic at a hidden part of the city. We went there with two Korean friends. Amazing view.

Same place but behind us is one of the nicest areas of the city. Those apartments are like 40 stories and veryyyy expensive. 

For our dinner picnic, we had raw fish. He is a little fish market nearby where we purchased our fish.

Here is our dinner. One halibut and two smaller fish made the ultimate sacrifice. Their sacrifice was honored with soy sauce, spicy sauce and beer. 

The freshest raw fish you will ever have. Literally 5 minutes from swimming to filleted. 

Fleming and some friends going 7 am yoga on the beach. Not many better ways to start the day.