Not Just Another Rainy Day in Seoul

We've had some wild weather here in Seoul in the past 24 hours (Tuesday & Wednesday).  Thursday update - Looks like it will continue today, already raining heavily this morning here in Anam, near Korea University.

I got soaked to the skin on my 10-minute walk up the hill to my apartment Tuesday afternoon, but at least I am alive.  Things were much worse in my neighborhood Wednesday morning.  I wore my rain gear and my waterproof  hiking boots on my walk down the hill this morning, but the boots didn't do much good.  The waterproofing just kept the water inside.

Comparing Yeongdo in 1980 with 2011

I served in the island of Yeongdo as an LDS missionary from May through November of 1980.  I served with Glenn Leewright, Peter Stewart & Jed Hill as companions.  Other missionaries that lived in the same house at the same time were: Chris Morin, Jim Falconer, Dan Mitchell, Charles Cook & 김학수.

I went back this week with copies of some of the photos I took then on my iPhone.  I went back to many of the same places and took photos of what they look like today, after 31 years.  Here a some of the comparisons.

Train from Provo to Denver, January 2011

Back in 2005, when I first came to Seoul to teach, I met Eddy Berry, a professor at Utah State University.  She told me about taking Amtrak from Salt Lake City to Denver and I decided if I ever got the chance I was going to take the trip too.

Since the annual American Economics Association Meeting were in Denver this last January, I decided that Yeongmi and I would get there by train.  The trip was a lot longer than driving, but the scenery was fantastic.

Korean Baseball Game

On Tuesday I got to attend a baseball game here in Seoul.  The Korea University ISC staff arranged for the professors to attend the evening game between the Dusan Bears (the home team) and the Lotte Giants who are from Yeongmi's hometown of Busan.  Our seats were on the 10th row or so, in the 3rd-base section with all the Giants fans.  We were in the lower section, right below the stage set up for the Giants cheerleaders.  Yes, they have baseball cheerleaders.  And yes, they need a stage.

Trip to Ulleungdo, July 2011

Ulleungdo is a small island 75 miles off the east coast of Korea. It is a fairly popular tourist destination in Korea, though the island only holds about 2000 tourists at any one time. The native population is about 8000. The name Ulleungdo is based on Chinese characters and it means “Island of Tree-Covered Hills”.