Sunday, May 30, 2010

MATT'S VIDEO OF THE TRIP


This video is a brief montage of clips that encaptures our spectacular trip. Hope you all enjoy it.
Below is the link.(copy and paste it to your browser)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnrMTNL4pao





Monday, May 24, 2010

GSE Team Visiting the USA~ May 24, 2010

By now, our friends from the GSE Korean team have been here for about two weeks. We've had a chance to visit with them, party with them and interview with them. We've even had a chance to practice our favorite Korean words. These words bring laughter because our pronunciation is probably not so good.
  • bi bim bap ~ salad with rice and fresh flowers
  • gam sa ham ni da~ thank you
  • pali pali~ hurry hurry
  • namu~ tree
  • yeo gi~ here
  • jeo gi~ there
  • mashita, mashta~ delicious
  • ggaji~ to or until
  • ban zak banzak~ bling bling
  • bbq~ barbecue
  • creo~ I agree
  • onyi~sister
  • opa~ brother
  • ahpa~ father
  • oma~ mother
These words came in handy in Korea, especially "Gam sa ham ni da" because we were and are filled with gratitude for the trip of a lifetime!








Tuesday, May 11, 2010

They're heeeeerrrrrrrreeeeeee! Welcome GSE Team South Korea to Boston

I just got back from the airport and the gang is all here: Mr. Eui Ju, Kim(Team Leader); Ki-Hong, Park; In Sun, Noh; So Young, Park and Dae Jin, Cho. Although I took some pictures, I'm not sharing just yet because I don't want to ruin it for the home stay families. They looked exhausted but happy to be here in Massachusetts visiting us.

It was sooooo nice to see our friends from South Korea here with us in MA. For some of them, it was their first trip out of their homeland so I can't wait to catch-up with everyone this evening at the welcome party and hear their first impressions. Remember our comments about everyone being on the phone? Guess who was the first one on the phone as soon as they hit the terminal? YES!, Ki-Hong, Park. Hilarious! Even he was laughing about it. Like I said, can't wait to hear the stories.

I should get to bed, shouldn't I? Hopefully I will be able to get some sleep. Pretty excited! See everyone tonight.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Tuesday April 27, 2010- A Busy Day in Cheonan

We packed our bags and bid a fond farewell to our second "homestay" families in Cheonan. By car, we went to the Hoimyung Chemical Plant for a board room talk with coffee, tour and luncheon. The plant manufactures and sells chemical and electronics cleaners. The head office is in Seoul; the Cheonan plant opened in 1994. We were surprised to see four security guard dogs on duty at the facility. For our tour, we removed our shoes and donned slippers for cleanliness.
Next we drove to Dangkook University which is noted for its excellent medical school and hospital. We again were given coffee in an elegant board room with fresh flowers and an impressive video about the school. Later we had a tour, including an extensive tour of the hospital. We were even allowed to be in the radiology rooms with the doctors who were reading MRIs as they were being performed. We were also allowed into the large Emergency room!
To add to the excitement, we went to the local police station and saw people in their jail cells by television camera. At the Special Unit Division, we were given coffee and exchanged business cards. We told the police that we felt very safe in Korea and the police were delighted to hear that compliment. Then we watched as a group of talented children were given a musical presentation by the police band. They were also given hats and vests to wear. On the tour, we were impressed that children were allowed to drive mini cars, similar to those at a USA amusement park, and were taught correct driving habits. Obviously, responsibility and obeying the law starts young in Korea.
In the evening, we attended a huge, formal Rotary meeting with a large banner to welcome our GSE team. We listened to a speech from a group of Rotarians visiting from Japan. Next, Val gave a speech of introductions and deep thanks. We exchanged banners from our sponsoring clubs during a formal photo shoot. Following the meeting, we ate dinner at a lively restaurant where we met our new "homestay" families. It had been another busy, successful day!

Pictures from May 3rd






Our last day at Hwalan's house.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

April 30th - District Conference





On this morning, I started to realize that the trip will becoming to an end soon. We all knew that, like all things,it would have to end but the end always seemed so far away. Today was the first day of the Disrict Conference and that much closer to going home. We met at Hwalan's house and had the morning to roam the grounds. It was nice to be able to spend some time here since we really only slept here our first night. We got a chance to check our e-mail and explore the grounds. Some of us hiked down the hillside and across the river to see the baby goats. After being in the bustling city it was nice to relax in the country.

We then went to a spa resort to take part in the conference. Today's ceremony was devoted to giving awards to particular rotarians. We were happy to see the familiar faces, of our friends, which we made along our journey. We had an extravaggant buffet dinner with many distinguished rotarians from across South Korea!! After dinner and some dancing, we went back to our homestays for our final night with these families. We couldn't wait to see the rest of our friends tomorrow.

More pictures from Seoul - April 29th