Vancouver

I love traveling. Through traveling, I can make new friends, have opportunities to have conversation with local people, and try exotic food. So I was planning to travel to a new place, so my aunt suggested going to Vancouver.

Vancouver! The only knowledge of Vancouver I have is this city is close to Seattle. The next step is making a hotel reservation and making my detailed plans.... In short, there was a lot to do. Today I would like to talk about Elizabeth Park, which is located in Vancouver.

The day we went to Elizabeth Park was super hot. I and my friend were totally exhausted and honestly wanted to go back to Seattle. To make it worse, the main entrance of the park did not look so good. We were disappointed and took a rest under a big tree. While taking a rest under the tree, a thought came to me.

'Why am I complaining about this situation? Vancouver is a new experience for me, and I can enjoy if I just change my mind.'

Then, I tried to see everything from a new standpoint. The weather was a little bit hot, but still awesome. The tree was a maple tree with a little squirrel climbing it and I could feel a light breeze. Where can I find a more peaceful place than here?

With my change of mood, we started climbing the hill again. There was a fountain on the top of the park. Children were busy hanging out in some cool water, and their parents were smiling at them. We just dipped our feet in the cold water because we didn't have spare clothes. It made us feel much better. Spending time dipping my feet in the water made me think introspectively: why I'm in America and what I've done until now.

After enjoying in the fountain, we headed to another beautiful place. The scenic view took my breath away. It was the best park in my life, and there is no need to describe here. If God actualized the Garden of Eden, it would take after this park. There are lots of exotic and beautiful flowers. There were no signs indicating the names of the flowers, so I couldn't learn the names. However, these flowers were fancy and colorful!

Also there was a pond. The style of the pond looked like a Chinese pond. The water continuously flowed and was making the peace of harmony.

After having a great time in the park, we went to a famous Japanese restaurant. This restaurant is famous for serving big portions of food. I ordered a special lunch box. The first impression looked really nice, but the taste was so-so. However, it was a good trial I think.

Vancouver is really close to Seattle. We took a bus for 4 hours, and the round-trip rate was only 40 dollars. If you're considering what to do during this coming vacation, I strongly recommend going to Vancouver! Eat, enjoy, and hang out in Vancouvr!

Pike place market

How many students can give a correct answer to this question?

Q. Pike Place Market is one of oldest markets in Seattle. 
   When was it first opened?
  
   1) 1857 
   2) 1890 
   3) 1907 
   4) 2014

I bet that everyone in our class knows this place. For me, it is one of the best symbols that represents Seattle. However, I've never carefully explored this place. So I chose this place to report on for my blog.

I went to 9 places in Pike Place Market and I'll explain some interesting places among them. Then, let's start our trip to Pike Place Market!

My first destination was Beecher's Handmade Cheese.
The amazing fact is that there is an explanation about this shop in an English dictionary written by Koreans. It says, the cheese here is made by craftsmen. I could see the processes for making cheese right in the window. I can't explain it in detail, but it was exciting. I also tried samples of cheese. To be honest, they were just cheese. I couldn't find any difference between them and ordinary cheese. However, it is still interesting for me to see various kinds of cheese.

My next destination was The first Starbucks. When people imagine Seattle in their minds, the first Starbucks always comes up. I'm sure that you guys already know this place. However, did you know this secret?: It's not the original Starbucks. Then what is the first Starbucks? I found the information on the Web. The first Starbucks was opened by an English teacher, a history teacher, and a writer in 1971 and was on 2000 Western Ave. However, they moved it to its current location in Pike Place Market 5 years later. In other words, the first Starbucks doesn't exist on 2000 Western Ave any more.

Where did I head next? I went to Pike Place Fish. I like eating fish, especially raw fish. So I was shocked by the explanation done by Iris. When I eat fish, I'm used to flipping fish just like Moe does. Anyway, the atmosphere of Pike Place Fish was energetic and vigorous. Fishmongers were speaking loudly to sell fish, and customers were busy finding fresh fish. Sometimes, Seattle rains a lot so I feel depressed or gloomy. If you feel like me, I strongly recommend going to this place because it will contribute to change your mood.

My last place was Market Spice. I love the smell of spice. Some are a little odd, but the most are fragrant. There was a bottle of BBQ spice, and I wanted to taste a sample of it. Most Korean food is a little bit spicy, so sometimes I miss spicy food. However, it isn't easy to find spicy food in America. The bottle reminded me of Korea. By the way, I really love cooking, so the spices in that store attracted me. If I go there next time, I'll buy some spices for making my food taste better.

I thought that I already knew enough about Pike Place Market. However, I found that I was arrogant. There are exotic shops, vigorous people, and smiling tourists. From this activity, I found small pieces of happiness in my life. Maybe we're used to our daily lives, so there is something that we're missing or ignoring. Be a stranger for one day! You can find many things you don't expect

Hey, Mr.Park

Hi, guys!

Look at this picture. Do people in this picture have something in common?
If you succeed in answering my question, I'll give you a small chocolate.

The answer is 'the elderly.'

We all have the elderly in our countries. Before discussing this theme, we should know who the elderly are. However, the problem is that the definition of the elderly can be changed according to a person's perception. So to make my comparison clear, I'll define the elderly as people who are over the age of 60.

So...let's start compare 2 countries : Korea and America.

1) How the young greet the elderly?

The picture on left is in Korea, and the one on right is in America.

Did you catch the difference?

In Korea, like most Asian countries, the young bow to the elderly and speak

"안녕하세요." It literally means 'hello', but it is very formal.

When I was a child, teachers educated me about the correct way to give a bow, like the above picture. They told me that "If you meet an old person whom you know or familiar with, you should stop and bow to him or her politely."

In other words, giving a bow is a very important factor in building relationships with 

the elderly.

How about in America? They seem to be more generous about greeting old people.

They just say "hi", give a hug, or shake hands. Hence, in Koreans's view,

Americans look less formal compared to Koreans.

                             2) Ways of speaking

Look at this chart. I know that you guys are not native Koreans, so you probably have a problem reading it. However, you can easily notice that the right is much longer.

As you already know, there are formal and informal vocabularies in English.

Nevertheless, there is no clear distinction between formal and informal language compared to Korean. I'll show you three examples.

When we say "hi', we can speak this word to anyone regardless of age. However, I can say "hi" to my friend, but I can't to the elderly. Koreans distinguish between speaking to the elderly and the young. In other words, we have 2 ways of speaking according to age.

                                3) Saying an elderly person's name

I have an American friend in America. He is much older than me. He has not only two sons and one daughter but also grandchildren. So, I was a little confused about how to say his name at first. I thought, "Do I have to put Mr. in front of his name when I speak to him? If not, how can I say his name?" I was cautious. However, he told me, "Just say my first name or call me friend."

I've never imagined that I address an elderly person's name by his first name. In Korea, even if I and an elderly person are really close, it is rude to say his name without being formal. It isn't acceptable. There are several ways to address the elderly in Korea. I'll explain the 2 ways.

Even though we treat the elderly in different cultures, they all deserve being
treated with respect. I hope that the young can understand the elderly more. Also, I hope you guys had fun in my presentation. Thanks!

Last Friday, I went to Mt. Rainier with my aunt and uncle.
It is not close to my dorm which is on campus.
Maybe it took about 40 or 50 minutes to arrive there.
It was the first time to climb a mountain in Seattle, so I was not only little excited but also nervous.



I fell asleep while my uncle drove a car. Like this.

But I didn't slobber like the above picture, sincerely.

When I opened my eyes, the first scene came to me was this, the mountain covered with snow. I was very surprised because it is the first week of July, not winter.

We started climbing the mountain at 12:30 pm. It was not early. The mountain was slippery, so I had to change my clothes and shoes. Also I put on sunglasses because of sunlight. It was much higher than I expected and inclined.

There were a lot of people climbing this mountain. The most depressing fact for me was this. No matter how I tried to climb the mountain, I couldn't see the top! I felt like, I am walking in a desert without water. Only snow, snow, and snow!

 

I thought that I could never reach the top. However, god helped me. After spending 3 hours for climbing, finally I could see the top.

Actually, a place that I reached was not the top of this mountain.

It is one of the peaks. However, I was really satisfied with this view.

You can see the peak in that picture. It belongs to the state of Oregon, not Washington.

After enjoying the view, I felt hunger. My appetite is like I can eat anything if it is food.

So we ate sandwiches that we bought in a supermarket.

The price of sandwiches was only 2.5 dollars per one.

However, if I graded the taste of it at that time, it would be 10 out of 10.

While I came down from this mountain, I saw an animal.

I have no idea about this animal's name. It looks like a beaver.

I wanted to touch it, but a ranger came to me and said no. 

He said that I could be infected by touching it.

So what did I learn from this trip?

Our lives are full of adventure and new things.

Don't stay at home, go out, meet new friends, and try something new.

A man said this. I'll finish my presentation by reading it.

Life’s too short to sit around moping.