Welcome sign to the city of Uijeongbu, taken through the bus window.

We have now been in country for 12 days! We spent most of this last week looking for an apartment. It is a bit of a tedious process involving waiting for real estate agents to pick us up at the gate and show us various properties. But we persisted and we think we hit just the right combination - Hooray! However (this move seems to be full of "however"), the current tenants, who were supposed to vacate this week so we could move in next Monday, are now in some sort of monetary dispute with the landlord and the rental agency. Real estate transactions in Korea seem to have some interesting aspects which, of course, we don't understand at all. So, we are keeping our fingers crossed that all will turn out well and there will be no delays - we will post progress when it is made.

Layden got to spend Saturday hiking on beautful Dobangsan mountain, a part of Bukhansan National Park. This park is located at the edge of Uijeongbu. His hiking buddy is Rob, the son of dear family friends. Rob is here for a year teaching English. He was a great source of tips, hints and tricks for getting around in South Korea and we are looking forward to more ventures under his guidance.

The water pouring in sheets off the roof of the restaurant is typical of monsoon downpours - but the hike went on as soon as the rain lessened.

The park is full of temples, statues and the sound of bells. Here is a golden Buddah and a temple wall with a fierce-looking guardian. Below is a turtle. Sarah doesn't know exactly what these are yet, but she is anxious to expand her knowledge of art history and find out.