The Roberts in Korea

with friends in New Zealand

At one time, when we were living in the USA, Dina and I (Ryan) were fretting about how spread out our family would be with each of our daughters going to a different school and with each of us working in different parts of town.

Now we are all really spread out.  As we sit here in South Korea we have Becca in the USA attending university and currently Sarah is in New Zealand visting her friends Anna, Emily and the rest of the Moimoi family.  She made it through the long, twelve hour flight and is now enjoying the warm New Zealand summer and the warmth of blessed friendship.

APAC Bball Tournament in Japan - Sarah

Last week Sarah spent four days in Japan participating in the Asia Pacific Activities Conference (APAC) Girls' Basketball Tournament.  The tournament was held at Canadian Academy in Kobe, Japan.

Sarah and Gentry roomed together in a host home there in Japan and enjoyed making some new friends in that part of Asia.  The TCIS girls played well in the tournament and came away with a fifth place finish. 

Sarah had a good tournament and was named all tournament player for her team.  The entire event was a great experience and stands a fun memory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pro volleyball experience

One of the last things we did before Becca and Cody headed back to the USA was attend a professional volleyball game in Daejeon.  We showed up early to the event only to find that it was sold out. However, that means different things in different places. 

Here in Korea it didn't stop us from getting into the event.  Sold out meant that we didn't have seats for the event.  We stood in the entry way (along with lots of other people) and took in the excitement.  When I say excitement, I don't mean the volleyball game, I mean the crowd, the cheer leaders and the announcer.

Everyone in the crowd was involved in singing, cheering and making noise at the Daejeon volleyball game.  There are lots of big screens all around the stadium so it was easy for us to see the game, even though we were standing in the entryway.  We had a blast and made some memories.

foreign food with friends

Part of the fun of having friends visit us here in South Korea is the chance to expose them to some of the food here in Korean.  We took in lots of different Korean food while Becca and Cody were here over Christmas Break.  Some of our meals included:  dakgalbi bokumbap (fried chicken and rice in a spicy sauce), Korean bbq (duck, pork, sausage, beef) and shabu shabu (boiled beef with rice and lettuce).

Cody liked some of the different food options here better than others.  Some Korean meals are bigger than others.  On one occasion we had a great meal and then had to stop at McDonalds to fill up.  Fun times!

downtown daejeon with cody

It was fun to have Cody visit us here in Korea.  We love to show people that visit us all of the fun places that we have found here in the city of Daejeon.  One of our favorites is the downtown area, with all of its people, lights, sights, sounds and activity.

We had a great time eating downtown at a dakgalbi place.  We took in the light show flashing overhead the main walkway.  Becca and Cody took some sticker photos and we finished the evening with a cold treat at Baskin Robbins.

a gathering with friends

After the fun and celebration of Christmas and New Year's settled down a bit there was still quite a bit of holiday food and snacks around the house.  So, we decided to have a party.  Really, it was just a gathering of friends. 

We invited the Millers over, plus Adam (Brittney's boyfriend), we had Jaeyoung Shin and his wife Eunjoo over, James, Sarah's friend came over and there were the five of us (Ryan, Dina, Sarah, Becca and Cody).

There was nearly twenty of us crammed into our apartment and we had a blast.  Everybody ate lots of food and then the kids engaged in a game of "Uno Attack" in the living room while the adults sat around the table in the dining room talking, laughing, looking at maps of Korea on our cell phones and talking about how good it was to see the kids having a fun time.

After a great time of hanging out together the evening ended, but the good memories linger.  Oh, and the excess holiday treats (calories) are gone.

new year's day hike

Because of its location near the International Date Line, New Year's Day in South Korea happens earlier than most of the New Year's Day activities like-parades and football games-take place.  So, with limited options on the TV we decided to go on a hike up Gyejoksan Mountain, otherwise known as Chicken Foot Mountain.

New Year's Day was a bit chilly so we bundled up, packed some snacks and met the Millers at the base of the mountain.  The climb up included steep trails and even steeper stairs.  It didn't take too long to get to the pagoda at the top of the mountain and the view was fabulous.

We took in the sights, took a few pictures and made our way down the steep trail.  (Going up is tough, but going down hurts.)  Once we all got down the mountain we laid out our snacks on the hood of the Miller's car and enjoyed a feast.  It was a good time.

From there we all drove to the movie theater and took in the movie, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."  It was a great show and wonderful way to kick off the new year.

new year's eve 2013 in daejeon

New Year's Eve in Daejeon, South Korea wasn't too crazy, but we had a lot of fun.  It is not only the last day of the year, but it is also Ethan Miller's birthday.  So, we did a bit of celebrating with Ethan and his family.

We enjoyed an afternoon of bowling with the Miller family.    The pins were happy to see us and the gutters were glad to see us leave because we wore them out.  We did a lot of laughing at and with each other at the bowling alley. 

We had a great meal together at the Outback Restaurant and hung out together for the rest of the day.  We watched movies until the clock struck midnight and then Ryan went to bed.

Happy New Year!

Seoul Tower with Cody

Part of the fun of having Cody with us here in South Korea was the chance to show him around a bit of this amazing country.  On one of the days during his vist we jumped on the KTX bullet train and made our way to Seoul at an average speed of about 200 mph.

From the train station we went down, down, down, into the underground world of the Seoul subway and we made our way to the stop near the Seoul Tower.

We ascended from the subway and trudged up a hill to the cable car station and then we boarded a cable car that took us up to the base of Seoul Tower.  It was a cold, but clear day, and the view was great.  We spent nearly an hour at the top of Seoul Tower taking in the 360 degree view of the never-ending city of Seoul.

We took in a bit more of Seoul during the day riding subways, taxis, trains, and cable cars.  We had lunch at "On the Border."  Cody seemed to be happy to eat some familiar (Mexican) food. 

We had a blast taking Cody to Seoul.

old memories with a friend

Becca came back "home" to Korea for Christmas Break this year and she brought her boyfriend, Cody, with her.  It was Cody's first time to visit Korea and it was fun for Becca to show him around  a little bit of the country of South Korea and specifically, "her" town of Daejeon.

On one of the days of Christmas break Becca took Cody to see her old high school.  It is located in the O Jung Dong part of the city at the "old" TCIS campus site.  TCIS now has a new campus located in the Techno Valley part of the city of Daejeon.  A university nows owns and runs the land and the buildings where the old TCIS campus used to be.

It was fun for all of us to walk around the old campus and relive some good memories.  We all spent six years of our lives living, working and playing at that old campus.

Becca showed Cody the old TCIS gymnasium where she "dominated" the court in both basketball and volleyball.  They stood together on the "grand staircase"--a notable gathering place on the campus.  And they peeked inside the school atrium to see the dragon mascot emblem still roaring in glossy black on the tile floor.  It was a great day for all of us and fun time for Becca to share some old memories with a friend.