2014...Just the Beginning

So since moving to South Korea we have had a few adventures and interesting experiences, but have really been enjoying our time. I was recently asked by my sister what the meaning of our blog title was.  It is simply our "Korean" names, if we could even call them that.
So in Korea, and some Asian cultures, it is common for people to have difficulty pronouncing the L sound. It often comes out as an r sound, so Paul has become Paur here. It's just the way things are. As for my name, some consonant combinations do not exist or are very difficult to pronounce, which is why I have become Kendera.  It is easier to add a vowel sound into my name then it is to pronounce the dr vowel combination.
These names are who we are in Korea so we thought we would share that little story with you.

So 2014 came in with a bang... or more like a blow for us.  All of the people we live with here went out and had a good time.  We were still jetlagged and overcoming colds so we decided to have a quiet night in watching Netflix, sipping tea, and drinking cough syrup. Paul managed to stay awake until midnight and woke me up a few minutes before so we could ring in the new year. Around 12:01 we headed to bed since we had a busy day ahead of us.

On January 1st we headed to Haeundae Beach, an hour away from Sasang (our area) by subway. We were fortunate enough on our first day here to get our "Cash Bee" cards with the help from a Korean friend so we can ride the metro and city buses when we need to. At Haeundae we played "Spot the Foreigner" as we looked for a friend Paul had went to high school with. Once we found each other without the use of any technology we wandered around. We saw the market, a few restaurants and the beach.
This was the day we also realized we had no idea how to adjust the settings on the new camera so the pictures have a weird effect to them.

Haeundae Beach, January 1, 2014

After walking the beach we decided to follow a path and go for a little hike. In case you didn't know, Busan is built in a mountain range, so anywhere you walk will usually involve steep hills and a lot of stairs.
So we hiked and climbed stairs and enjoyed the views along the way.
Eventually we arrived at a lighthouse and decided to climb another set of stairs up to a temple area.

The views were beautiful and the architecture was amazing, but we were not expecting to climb that many hills. So we decided to head back down to the metro station and head over to Namcheon, the neighbuorhood where Paul's friend currently lives.

Namcheon is a nice area of the city with a lot of American style restaurants.  This area has a lot of Hagwons and there are a lot of foreigners, as we are called, in this area.  There is also a beautiful beach called Gwangalli beach. We toured around for a bit, had a bite to eat, and then headed back home. 
Below are some pictures form our adventure, and since I have written too much and a picture's worth a thousand words, I'll let you enjoy the view!

On our Haeundae hike.

Gwangalli Beach at dusk

The Gwangalli bridge during the day and evening

Leftover  New Years decorations on the beach