Morning of the Opening Ceremony.

Here I am in front of the main building the morning of Opening Ceremonies. Tuesday, October 30, 2007. Glad to be part of it.
Daegu English Village

The plane, the plane!

I told you there was a 747 in front of my dorm room. I think this place will be lots of fun!

Looking out towards the pond.

Not much to say about this shot. I hope the village looks this nice in 2 weeks. :)

The entrance!

You can see the main entrance behind me. This is the rotunda area I guess you could call it. You can look down the glass pyramid into the situational area below. The coffee shop is right underneath it.

Immigration!

I love going through immigration. The kids will have real passports when they arrive and have them stamped throughout their week with us.

Sarah B. and Sara C.

Flying first class on Yeungjin Airlines. This is the only plane I can afford first class.

Pilot?

I'm pretty sure I could fly this thing. Wendy, this should be a breeze compared to the one we were in at the Air Force last summer!

Pet store or Zoo or Jungle????

That is truly the question. The pet store is more like a zoo if you ask me! Do you see the hippo in the background? What about the penguins, do they have these items in pet stores back home in the U.S.? Maybe I have been gone too long!

Here's Me.

I just really like this picture.

It could happen!

Here I am in the broadcasting classroom. I am telling you this place is amazing! Have I said that yet?

My 2nd job!

I think this could be my back up job if this gig doesn't work out! This is the transportation classroom. This room is huge! It makes me feel like I'm on the streets of New York.

My new band!!

My new band rockin' it out in the Mini Concert Hall. I have always wanted to play the drums! This is one of our classrooms. I think I will organize something like "School of Rock."

Karaoke Bang!

Did someone say Karaoke? I am listening to "September" right now on my I-tunes, Aunt Debbie does that ring a bell with you? I will rock that out in DEV! (Daegu English Village) Also known as DGEV (Daegu English Village) as well as YEV (Yeungjin English Village) I have no idea where I work???

Don't Ask??!!

Me, being a big dork in my office before going to the opening ceremony! I think I am mentally preparing!

Down to main event!

Sarah and Veronica ahead of me going down the pass. All the Korean women are dressed as flight attendants welcoming us to the ceremony. They do this for all the people that show up. It is a pretty big ordeal. They were practicing an hour before, saying a very formal "welcome" and bowing in unison. It is a very awesome culture!

Travis and Dr. Kim

Here are our announcers, they did a great job! Travis is one of my coworkers, he reminds me of my brother Jake!

The Press.

This is just some of the press that was all up in our faces. I should be on every TV station in Korea!

The Mayor!

This is the Mayor of the Province we are living in. This guy is so a politician. He gave a speech in Korean and then turned to us and gave a speech in English. I was impressed. He is a very kind man. He promised us all Soju if we do a great job with this project! :)

UCCS Representing!

Dr. Lavonne Neal and Dr. Rob Danin giving a speech at the ceremony. Rob is our lead coordinator here in Korea. Dr. Lavonne Neal is the Dean of Education at UCCS. She came for the opening ceremony.

Tree Planting.

They planted a tree at the opening ceremony. All the VIP's threw a little dirt on to make it official!

Finale!

Fireworks ended the Ceremony! Let me tell you they scared the heck out of all of us...we had no idea it was coming! It was a wonderful Grand Opening and I am proud to be a founder of this project!

Beautiful!

I am standing under the airplane looking towards the center rotunda. The rotunda is on top, straight ahead is situational classrooms.

Looking up towards the dorms.

This is a photo looking up towards our dorm rooms. Girls are located on the 4th floor and the boys are above us on the 5th floor. It should be interesting!

Kindergarten play room!

They have this amazing kindergarten play room. I want to play in there everyday.

Transportation Room!

Here's me just chillin' in the transportation room. It has a real taxi cab and everything. This place is like an kids wonderland!

Colorado Crew!

At the hotel, it is named after a wonderful mountain back home! All the people from Colorado posed to make a memorable shot!

In the plane.

Kristin is walking to the back of the plane. As you can see it is not quite finished yet!

How fun!

Stephanie and I on the patio outside of the workout facility! I envision lots of patio tables and chairs to bask in the sun!

Looking out....

This is a shot from the patio outside of our work out facility. To the right of the bridge is the airplane, to help keep everything in perspective.

The Plane!

This is looking out across the bridge towards the airplane. It is hidden from view being painted!

Front and Center!

Here I am in the center rotunda of the village. I am so excited to be here...it is what I have been waiting for!

Drop off!

We went up to the Village today for a tour. Here is the clan waiting for further directions! Notice how the pillars are complete.

New Hair!

I got my haircut today! I am planning on growing it out, we will see how long that lasts! :) As you can see my amoeba is getting smaller.

My amoeba!

We went out to dinner for Chinese food last Sunday, it was interesting! As you can see, my flesh eating amoeba is still on my eye. It has been 6 weeks baby!!!! Maybe I should have it checked out??

I love this place!

This is my favorite coffee place. It is about a 15 minute walk to from my dorm, and well worth it! They give you a free banana with every drink.

50 cent face mask???

I think this may be part of my halloween costume. I guess you will have to wait to find out! I know the suspense is killing you, it's only a few more days.

Bein' Me!

I don't know what to say.....priceless!

Don't ask....

Beer, Broccoli and Bogdewiecz!

The crew.

Here we are leaving our home to see how the Monks live. It should be awesome!

To the Temple!

Here we are ready to experience the sleepover of a lifetime.

Isn't that nice of them?

Is this considered discrimination? Well, I know I like my toilet much better than the ditch they use.

Does this remind you of a horror movie?

So, we get dropped off at the bus stop and have to walk 15 minutes to the Temple entrance. I seriously felt like I was in a horror movie...a few foreigners walking down the deserted road...get axed!

Are you kidding?

Yes, this really is a women who came out and walked in front of us with an axe like item. What am I doing?

Golgulsa Temple

Here I go with an open mind and open heart. Bring on the Buddist Monks.

Room 201

This is where I slept. Yep, that's my bed over there on the left, doesn't it look cozy? All the women that were spending the night slept in this room. We were one big happy family!

Meditation

Climbed up the wrong side...oh well! I walked up the left side and it was peaceful and serene. I sat up top for a while chilled. In this photo I was walking down and looking over at the main shrine. That is where I will go next.

In the mountain.

This is one of the many areas in the mountain that have been made into prayer spots. They are all cave like, very unique for a Temple.

Main shrine.

Looking up at the main shrine. Amazing! You should see it in the morning.....breathtaking!

One way up to the main shrine.

Here is one of the ways up to the main shrine. I actually took the road to the left....talk about incline. It was a good workout to say the least and well worth it at the top.

Dining Room

Waiting for dinner time. You must only take as much food as will eat. You have to clean your plate, so choose wisely. Monks are vegetarians and the food wasn't too bad. Maybe too many rice cakes, thanks Mo!