EVERLAND

Everland

Tippy and June Bug March 2015

During the week of Spring Break we did a lot of fun and exciting things.  In my previous post I shared out visit to Lotte World and then to Coex Mall and Aquarium.  Our last adventure for the spring break weekend was Everland.  Everland is a theme park that sit on top of a mountain and is a part of Everland Resorts.  It has a massive zoo and like any other theme park lots of rides, food and fun!!!

As we entered Everland I noticed the really cute outfits that the employees wear and I just had to take a snapshot.  Isn't she adorable...

Inside Everland...

We saw lots of animals.

Lion

Fennec Fox

Human Children with their pet Dinosaur

Primates

This little guy was so adorable.

A word about captive animals.  I have a problem with animals being held in captivity.  I really have a problem when it comes to animals in captivity that are not living in their natural environment.  My girls are amazed by the animals and they love seeing them.  I know that some of the animals are rescue animals that can not live in the wild.  I also know that zoos sometimes cross the line when acquiring animals.  However, for the sake of my children I sat my feelings aside and enjoyed seeing all the animals.  There were many more but I felt they were way out of their respective environments so I choose not to share their pictures.  I will say that the biggest part of the zoo is one in which the humans are caged and you ride through and see the animals roaming free.  

Everland is also a bird sanctuary and there were so many birds.  

A bird sitting on my hand!  There was a special bird area that you could walk into and if you held your hand out the birds would land on it.  

Tiffany loved the birds!

There was even a bird show with so many different types of birds, each doing their very own tricks. 

 Owls

We even found Tiffany's favorite shop
Etude House!!!

It was a long day and I think we must have walked a thousand miles.  Although we left with aching feet we also left with some wonderful memories.  I will forget the pain in time but I will always remember our day.  After all isn't that what life is all about, making memories and sharing them with the ones you love.  

Me and my love...

We just had to take a selfie!!!

We are now back home and I am planning something crafty for my next post.  I wanted to do these last three post about our adventure so that we would have a sort of scrapbook to look back at and remember.  Thank you for following me and be sure to come back and see what I am doing next.  

Here's to memories and family,

Beverly

Tea Cottage Pretties

COEX MALL & AQUARIUM

Coex Mall and Aquarium

Coex Mall is a massive underground convention (CO) and Expo (Ex) center.  It features several malls and an aquarium as well.  On our resent trip to Seoul we visited Coex and had a wonderful time.  Although we did not get to see the entire mall, which is impossible in one day, we had a wonderful time.  We visited one section of the mall and the aquarium and we got a to see the center court which is up and outside the building. 

Upon entering Coex mall.

We found Tiffany's favorite store in all of Korea, Etude House.  Can you see why she, okay we, love it!!!  I so want that pink furniture....

My new pretty items from Etude House!!!

A cool shop we found in Coex mall!

June Bug with one of the characters.

Another shop...

A coffee house!

After much walking, we found the aquarium!!!

I am proud of this photo.  Have you ever tried to capture a fish on a camera?  Not easy but I got this guy...

A tank that is an actual harp and it plays as the fish swim by the cords.  Don't worry the cords are not actual wires. 

Fish tank in a Coke machine!

Fish in a phone booth.

In a video game machine...

Fish in the sink...

Fish in the mail!!!

This is a tank that you put you finger in and the little fish inside will eat the dead skin off of them.  I know it sounds gross but it is actually very therapeutic and they do a great job.  There are places here that you can go to and you put your feet in tanks with these fish.  

I like this guy.

There were lots of large tanks but because it was dark inside the photos did not come out very well. 

There were also some animals in the aquarium.  

This is a bathroom display with rabbits. 

They are sitting in the tub. 

We love this cute little quy.

Where's Tiffany?

and Eric?

A shark got Eric........................

My turtle friend.

With love from South Korea...

Beverly

Tea Cottage Pretties

THOUGHTS ON KOREA

Thoughts on Living in Korea

I remember being excited when we found out that we would be moving to Korea but upon announcing the news to my family and friends I was shocked by their negative reactions.  I think part of their negative reaction was because I would be moving so far way but the other part was a genuine negative attitude towards living in Korea.  I could not understand why people who had never lived in Korea could have such a negative view.  My family felt sorry for me and my friends did as well.  They would say things like "I am so sorry you have to go to Korea" and "Oh, I am sorry, how long do you have to stay there?”   I had to stop myself from reacting and being filled with negative thoughts regarding our move.    Then I realized something, the people that I knew who had actually lived in Korea were very positive but the people that had never lived in Korea were negative.

Sometimes in life you have to evaluate situations and be cautious about listening to others and I am of an age when I tend to set the opinions of others aside and arrive at my own conclusions.  Luckily that is exactly what I did in this situation.  I decided to suspend my judgement and opinions until I actually had something to base an opinion on, besides isn't that what intelligent adults do?  I am so glad that I did and that I moved forward and took the giant leap of faith and moved to Korea with my husband.

A few of my family members and friends told me that I was a brave woman and I would tell them that it wasn't so much that I was brave but instead the desire to keep my family together and be with my husband was stronger than my fear of the unknown.  Driven mostly by the need to keep my family together after having been separated for so many deployments, all I wanted was for us to be together and if that meant in Korea, then so be it.....

Korea is probably one of the best kept secrets ever!!!  In the eight months that I have been here I have grown to love this country.  Now keep in mind that when I say Korea I specifically mean South Korea.  This country is filled with so many wonderful things that I could never relate to you in words just how wonderful it is, nor could I ever express the magnitude of how wonderful it is to be living in Korea.

I will however, try my best to explain what I have experienced since we moved here just a short eight months ago. At first everything here was strange and unfamiliar.  My surroundings seemed like something out of a movie.  There was strange writing everywhere and buildings that did not look like any buildings I had ever seen.  The highways, houses, shops and even the people were all unfamiliar and strange to me.  As time has passed I have realized that these very same things are now familiar and they no longer seem strange to me at all.  Hidden inside my strange surroundings I have found a wealth of fabulousness (is that a word?).

I have found coffee and tea houses, cafes, makeup shops, villages, gardens and so much more.  I have visited aquariums and theme parks that are unlike any I have ever seen.  I have seen massive engineering feats that astound me. They can build anything and there are no obstacles that they cannot overcome.  Every place that I have visited is clean and well cared for and the staff is always very courteous and proper.  Koreans put great care and pride into everything that they do from sweeping the streets by hand to building and maintaining immaculate massive buildings.

The people that work in customer service actually dress well and wear gloves.  I love when I check out at a shop here and the ladies are wearing pink gloves!  When you shop in their stores they make you feel important and special.  They almost always offer you a gift and they remember you when you come back and they take care of you. The places here make you feel glorious!

Everything that everyone thought and told me about Korea that was negative is simply not true.  Like I said this is one well-kept secret and I want to set the record straight.  It is not that Korea does not have its problems but it has that something that I have been missing and thought was gone forever.  What it has is people who are working and take great pride in their work, businesses that thriving and want your business and world class customer service.  Korea also has a deep seeded cultural background that extends some 3000 years.  The best fruits and vegetables in the world that are produced here.  A recycling program that is Earth friendly and should be a model for other countries.  Koreans love their country, their land, their jobs, their homes, the things they build and their culture.

All of this comes at a price, there is nothing cheap in Korea.  You pay for what you get and you get so much more than what you pay.  Now don't get me wrong you can find some fabulous products at low prices and some of life's simple pleasures that are affordable.  The atmosphere in every shop alone is worth the price, the service makes it well worth the price and the quality of products is unmatched (at least to anything I have experienced thus far in life). 

There is an array of reasons why things are so wonderful here in Korea from political to the means of production but that is for another post.  I will say that there are industries here, factories, products, service and technologies.  People have jobs, they respect other people and property (you never see tagging or graffiti here), they respect their land, they take pride in everything, and there is a productive self-sustaining way of life here.  It reminds me of the 1960s era in America.  A time when people worked, when we had factories, when you were treated as a person not a number, when we produced our own food and when we were not in debt to others.  Being a lover of all things vintage may have something to do with my love of Korea because there is a vintage American vibe here. 

When I was preparing to come to this country I talked with one beautiful young lady that expressed how much she loved Korea.  When I told her I was moving here she said, "oh please take me with you, I miss it so much.  She had lived here before, many years ago and she told me how wonderful her experience was and that she would give anything to live here again.  Now I know why she loved it as I too have grown to love this country.  I don’t know how I am received by the Koreans although they are all good to me and very seldom do I get the feeling that I am not welcomed but I can tell you that I am quite taken with them.  I wish I could convey in words what it feels like to live here, to taste their fruit and vegetables, to visit their shops, experience their culture and to see and experience the beauty that is Korea.

Hugs from Korea,

Beverly

Tea Cottage Pretties