The last thing I did with this family was we took a little family vacation to JeongSeon about 4 hours east of Seoul.  Our first stop was for lunch at this little restaurant, we call it "The Post-It Note Restaurant".

After the post it note restaurant, we went for a ride on these super cool 'rail bikes'!  They are bikes built to go on rail road tracks!

After the rail bikes we checked into our hotel.   I'm in the picture below laying on the pillow on the floor.  This is the bedroom.  Most Korean people do not sleep on beds, they make beds on the floor out of blankets.

When we finished checking into our hotel we haeded out to the little stream next to our hotel.  Here I am hanging out with Girl.

In this next picture I am with Girl behind our hotel where the hotel owners have their kimchi pots.  Kimchi is a type of salad made of fermented cabbage with lots of garlic and spicy stuff added to it.  I don't know how anyone eats this stuff, I couldn't even stand the smell of it.  Girl and I were holding our breath while these pictures were being taken!

The last thing we did on our trip was we went to Hwa-AM Cave.  This cave is the largest cave in Asia, and boy was it fun!  It was more like a theme park than a cave.

After touring the cave we jumped back in the car and headed back to Seoul. 

You will never guess what I did....I went on my very first photo shoot!  Yes, I'm now a famous photographer!

Here I am with Boy 3, before the photo shoot, (he does a little modeling here in Korea) in Olympic Park in Seoul.

The workers treated us like we were famous, giving us donuts, drinks and anything our little hearts desired!

Here I am helping the photographer - can you see me? I'm hanging out on his hat.

This was a super fun day.

The people you sent me to stay with are CRAZY.  We got up at 5AM, that is 5 o'clock in the morning to go to the flower market!  I was so surprised when I got there, this was no ordinary flower market, this place was HUGE!  There were rows and rows of fresh flowers!  Here I am hanging out in a few sunflowers!

And can you find me among all these roses?

Check out these crazy looking flowers...

Look at this...you can even buy peppers at the flower market, but don't eat them, they are only decorative!

You can also buy all sorts of other things at the flower market, things like bags, baskets, home decorations, wrapping paper and ribbon!  Here I am hanging out in some of the ribbon....

The flower market was WAY more fun than I thought it was going to be! I'm so glad I woke up early to go! 

It took me a little while to get over the jet lag once I got here - do you know how far Korea is from Colorado?  VERY, VERY, VERY FAR!  This is one time  I wish I could have come by airplane, but NO, I had to travel by mail.  The family I am visiting is a military family, so their mail has to travel to California first, then once I arrived in California, I was put on a ship and sent all the way across the world!  I don't remember how long I was on that ship, but it was a LONG time.  The family I am visiting is GREAT!  They love having me.  The first thing I did when I got here was jump on the subway!  Here I am with Girl.

We took the subway to the Achasan subway stop, where we got off and headed for the mountain. Who knew there were mountains in the worlds 2nd largest city?!  Since I have never hiked a mountain in Korea, I had no idea what to expect, but boy was it beautiful!  Here I am at the base of the mountain with all the kids that went on this hike.  I really like the big rock behind us even though I have no idea what it says.

Here I am on the mountain with Boy 3, Girl's baby brother.

Here I am taking a break in a tree...

Our hike was lots of fun, but LONG!  We were on that mountain for over 3 hours!  After our hike the family I am staying with took us to lunch at traditional Korean restaurant!  We had galbi (grilled meats), with lots of side dishes, and did you know that in Korea they sit on the floor when they eat!

I had a great day riding the subway, hiking the mountain and finishing off with a great Korean meal! I can't wait to see what they have in store for me tomorrow, but for now, I am off to bed!

Flat Stanley had so much fun here in Korea last year that he decided to come back!  This year he came all the way from Arvada, Colorado!   Here is the letter that accompanied him:

Dear Girl,

Our class has been reading the story of Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown.  It is a funny story about a boy, Stanley, who has a terrible accident one night while he is sleeping.  His bulletin board falls down off his wall and flattens him.  Stanley decides that being flat can be fun.  He slides under doors, flies a kite and even catches a few burglars in an art museum by posing as a picture of little Bo Peep on the wall!  Stanley even mails himself in an envelope to see a friend in California - after all, it was cheaper than and airplane ticket.  In the end, Stanley does return to his normal size.  His brother Arthur inflates him with a bicycle pump!

We are now sending our Stanley to you.  Please write back and tell us what Stanley did at your house.  Did he go to school or work with you?  To the park?  Out to eat?  Photos or trinkets (postcards, goodies....) from your state/country are also great to send. 

We will be tracking Stanley's journey on our school map to see all of the wonderful places he has visited..  We look forward to hearing all about the fun you had with your new friend. 

Thank you for you time and have from!
LS
Mrs. G's Class, Arvada, CO