Spring Break Pictures 1

Tinian was strongly affected by WWII, being taken over by the Japanese and then the Americans. There are still leftovers from the war on the island.
The Hinode American Memorial, which is believed to have been build by Americans to honor those who were killed in the battle for Tinian.

The sign for the NKK Shrine Trail. NKK is Nanyo Kohatsu Kaisha, the company that developed sugar plantations on Tinian in the prewar years. NKK also built the Shinto shrine, in the picture below.

The Old Japanese Communications Center: This building was used for inter-island communications during WWII.

For spring break I went to the Northern Mariana Islands, particularly Guam and Tinian. The islands are beautiful and I had a great time! My dad said he wanted lots of pictures, so here they are. All the information in the captions came from my Tinian map I got when I rented my car!

Part 3

#10 & 11
#12 (This one is Japanese)

#13

Part #2

#5
#6

#7 & 8

#9

Mom's B-day Present #1

#1
#2

#3 This one looked like a Korean vineyard picture!

#4

Hi mom,

Let me know which tapestry you like and I'll pick it up next weekend.

A Korean Romeo or Juliet

In my freshmen class, I'm teaching Romeo and Juliet. To prepare, I had my students make a list of physical and personality traits they'd look for in their "perfect mate." Here are some of my favorite responses, in their own words:

Boys' Responses

• Shorter than me--168-172 cm
• Not obese
• Someone who wouldn't only look at my looks
• Not short hair
• She must be pretty and have a balanced face
• Not too picky when eating and good at cooking
• Who is Korean
• Long hair (passed their shoulders a bit)
• Her job as a model
• Has a mid-wealth family and parents are very nice
• Good body (S line) and V-line for face
• Small
• Quiet, soft voice

Girls' Responses

• Tall, over 180 cm
• No double eye-lids
• Double eye-lids
• Thick grey eyebrows
• Good at singing and dancing
• Not watching nor wanting any other women
• Read newspaper
• No mama boy
• Who laughs a lot (not too much)
• Can't be my mate if he is bald or fat
• No mean mother-in-law
• I want him to be good looking, but not as much as so the other ladies would be drilling (I think she means drooling!) over him.
• Someone who can shop with me
• Who isn't Korean because of the traditions that are annoying for women
• Who is Korean
• He must be taller than me but not skinner (sp).
• Should not be notorious
• Has lots of money, is able to buy me a pink limo
• Christian, although I'm athiest--Christians tend to drink/get wasted less
• Likes the Rolling Stones

Snowy Seoul

On my way to the gym at school in the snow.
The tiger statue and the fish pond under the snow.

Early morning in the neighborhood.

Kim's Compound

Last week it snowed in Seoul. It was nice because not only does it make Seoul look more attractive, but it also warmed up a bit. It had been super chilly here, so I was happy it warmed up to close to freezing. This weekend it's way warmer...spring may be on its way!

2nd Annual Egerton Cup

Francie, Heather, and I enjoying some Thai food.
An action shot during the game.

This year's shirts.

It was just over a year ago that John Egerton, an SIS teacher, was killed in a motorcycle here in Seoul. In honor of his favorite sport, we had the 2nd annual Egerton Cup where people played soccer. Afterwards, there was a Thai food buffet, which was one of his favorite types of cuisine. It was a nice way to remember and honor John.