I can't believe the time has come for me to leave Korea. It hasn't been quite a year, but my boss made an offer to leave early due to semester changes and I gladly accepted. I have really enjoyed Korea, but I've never liked the school I'm working for. The only thing that has kept me going this whole time are my kids, especially my kindergarten class. They had their graduation last week and I was sad to see them go. They are my little babies and I'm so proud of how much they learned and progressed. I will most likely never see them again, but glad to have had the opportunity and hope that I made a difference in their lives. I have exactly two weeks left of work and they are going to be hectic. Since a new teacher is coming I have to work her schedule and the newest teachers have the worst classes.
I'm also trying to prepare for my upcoming travels. I bought a ticket to Thailand and have been reading like crazy about where to go. I'm still not sure exactly what I'm doing, but I know for sure I will spend a few days in Bangkok, from there go north to Chang Mai, and then off to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Everything else, including how I will get to these places and where I will be staying is up in the air. I've heard that this is a great way to go about it when you're backpacking because you never know what will happen or who you will meet along the way. I am very excited to embark on this adventure, but also extremely nervous as well. I know in my heart that I will be fine and have a wonderful time. It's just another big change, and changes have always been difficult for me to face. Life would be boring without them. I'm planning to be in SE Asia for about a month, then I'm headed back home. I'm also nervous about going home because I've become so accustomed to my lifestyle in Korea. I will then be missing things and people in Korea. I can't wait to see my family, friends and cats back home though!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Indonesia
I have not travelled much, but I have to say Indonesia is an amazing place. We flew out early Christmas day into Bali. We stayed in an area called Legion. This night wasn't too crazy, just wandered around a bit and had some delicious cheap dinner. We got hassled by peddlers as we walked and ate, especially many kids trying to sell bracelets. Then we hung out at our hotel in the pool with a swim up bar for hours. Our skin was actually wrinkled by the time we got out. The next day we had to get up early to head to Gili Trawangan, a very small island. We took what they call the fast boat over, which was the worst ride I've ever been on. It had three huge motors on the back and we went full speed in the middle of the ocean with huge waves that slammed our bodies around. I took sea sickness medication and I still felt nauseous and terrified the entire hour and a half ride. It was totally worth it though because this island is extremely beautiful. There are no motor vehicles, just horse carts, bicycles, and walking. It's kind of funny that the island is also full of cats, no dogs, but many cats. They come up to you and beg while you're eating, which was annoying, but there were some cute ones. Goats, roosters, and cows were some of the other animals wandering around. We stayed at a very nice beach bungalow. The beach was only a few feet away from us and you could hear it while sleeping. I spent many hours in the hammock on our patio.
It is such a rough life waking up without an alarm clock and wondering what you will do with your day. We stayed for 7 days and most of them we snorkeled, swam and relaxed on the beach. The water is that clear turquoise color and the snorkeling was unreal. It was full of coral reefs where we saw turtles and many tropical fish I've only seen in aquariums. There were even huge schools of fish that would just swim right next to you. It was nice to float along and enjoy the scenery. Much of our time was also focused on eating. They had these huge flatbeds with pillows that you lounge at while you eat. The food was super cheap and very tasty. Although I love Korean food it was great to eat things more similar to home. They also had cheap drinks and so many fresh squeezed fruit juices. Many of the locals frequent the tattoo shop, which is also a bar. You could sit down intending to just stay for a short time and hours go by without notice. It was interesting to be in a foreign country where everyone speaks English. We met a few foreigners, but mostly hung out with the locals. Everyone is friendly and the kids are adorable. The guys there are very good looking as well. Their religion is mostly Muslim. It was strange to hear the calls to prayer several times a day coming from the temple. We had another favorite bar called Sama Sama. Every night they play live reggae music and you can chill or dance. We really didn't do that much on the island. I have never felt so relaxed and it felt great to be lazy. It wasn't until the 5th day that we rented bikes to ride around and see the rest of the island. They had a huge party for New Year's Eve which many bars participated in. There were even some fireworks set off the beach. Life is slow paced, but the days still seemed to go by too fast. I was very sad to leave because this is true paradise. You can buy a bungalow for $3000-$4000. We are thinking about going in on one.
Since none of us wanted to take the fast boat back to Bali we booked a flight from a "travel agent" on the island. We supposedly also booked a slow boat to Lombok, where the airport is, and a car to drive us around when we got there. It turned out that none of this was real and we had to find another driver to take us. None of us had much money either because the atm on the island didn't work. It was sketchy, but part of the adventure. When arriving at the airport we found out the airline wasn't even flying the whole week. The other two airlines first said they were out of tickets. Then they found us some for early morning the next day. We got extremely lucky and almost got stuck there. At least we got to spend a night in Senggigi at a nice resort. We finally got to see a beautiful sunset. We hadn't seen any because many afternoons it rained. They had some serious monsoons, with massive thunder and lightning. The next day we took the shortest flight ever, not even 30 minutes, back to Bali.
We were supposed to be in Bali 2 days, and were going to go shopping the first one. We never got to do much shopping since this day was taken from us. It was okay, but I was looking forward to buying some cheap clothes that actually fit and some gifts. We went on a tour and rented a driver for $40. He drove us around the entire day, what a deal! First he took us to an art museum in Ubud, which was cool, but we didn't ask to go there. Then we had lunch at a volcano. The drive was full of scenery, although some of the roads were a but curvy and scary. They also drive on the other side of the road, which is difficult to get used to. It was amazing to see how many people drive scooters. They women often ride sideways because they are wearing skirts. They also pack the items and people on the scooters. The whole family rides with kids and babies packed in between adults. After lunch we went to a monkey forest sanctuary where the monkeys are just roaming around in the trees. You can feed them, but I didn't buy any food. I did put my arm down though to take a picture and one just climbed up and onto my head. It sat there for awhile, I think it liked me. Maybe it knew how much I love monkeys. But then another monkey climbed on me and bit me. I'm glad it didn't break the skin. I could have spent days there, but our time was limited. We were trying to make it to Uluwatu by sunset to see a famous fire dance. It takes place on a beautiful cliff and there's a temple as well. There were also more monkeys, but these were not too nice. I walked by one and he grabbed my sunglasses so fast I couldn't believe it. I had to pay a local to get them back. They had one earpiece missing and the other one had a bite taken out of them. I wouldn't have cared, but they are prescription sunglasses. The lenses are mostly fine, so I can get the frames fixed. The fire dance was very cool to experience. Our day was nearing an end and we had just enough time to eat some dinner on the beach and catch our flight back home to Korea. It was a wonderful vacation, my best ever. But none of us wanted to leave. We went from 85 degree weather back to 15 or colder. Three out of four of us got a lovely stomach bug on return, but it was well worth it! I highly recommend a visit if you ever have the opportunity. I will definitely be returning some day!
It is such a rough life waking up without an alarm clock and wondering what you will do with your day. We stayed for 7 days and most of them we snorkeled, swam and relaxed on the beach. The water is that clear turquoise color and the snorkeling was unreal. It was full of coral reefs where we saw turtles and many tropical fish I've only seen in aquariums. There were even huge schools of fish that would just swim right next to you. It was nice to float along and enjoy the scenery. Much of our time was also focused on eating. They had these huge flatbeds with pillows that you lounge at while you eat. The food was super cheap and very tasty. Although I love Korean food it was great to eat things more similar to home. They also had cheap drinks and so many fresh squeezed fruit juices. Many of the locals frequent the tattoo shop, which is also a bar. You could sit down intending to just stay for a short time and hours go by without notice. It was interesting to be in a foreign country where everyone speaks English. We met a few foreigners, but mostly hung out with the locals. Everyone is friendly and the kids are adorable. The guys there are very good looking as well. Their religion is mostly Muslim. It was strange to hear the calls to prayer several times a day coming from the temple. We had another favorite bar called Sama Sama. Every night they play live reggae music and you can chill or dance. We really didn't do that much on the island. I have never felt so relaxed and it felt great to be lazy. It wasn't until the 5th day that we rented bikes to ride around and see the rest of the island. They had a huge party for New Year's Eve which many bars participated in. There were even some fireworks set off the beach. Life is slow paced, but the days still seemed to go by too fast. I was very sad to leave because this is true paradise. You can buy a bungalow for $3000-$4000. We are thinking about going in on one.
Since none of us wanted to take the fast boat back to Bali we booked a flight from a "travel agent" on the island. We supposedly also booked a slow boat to Lombok, where the airport is, and a car to drive us around when we got there. It turned out that none of this was real and we had to find another driver to take us. None of us had much money either because the atm on the island didn't work. It was sketchy, but part of the adventure. When arriving at the airport we found out the airline wasn't even flying the whole week. The other two airlines first said they were out of tickets. Then they found us some for early morning the next day. We got extremely lucky and almost got stuck there. At least we got to spend a night in Senggigi at a nice resort. We finally got to see a beautiful sunset. We hadn't seen any because many afternoons it rained. They had some serious monsoons, with massive thunder and lightning. The next day we took the shortest flight ever, not even 30 minutes, back to Bali.
We were supposed to be in Bali 2 days, and were going to go shopping the first one. We never got to do much shopping since this day was taken from us. It was okay, but I was looking forward to buying some cheap clothes that actually fit and some gifts. We went on a tour and rented a driver for $40. He drove us around the entire day, what a deal! First he took us to an art museum in Ubud, which was cool, but we didn't ask to go there. Then we had lunch at a volcano. The drive was full of scenery, although some of the roads were a but curvy and scary. They also drive on the other side of the road, which is difficult to get used to. It was amazing to see how many people drive scooters. They women often ride sideways because they are wearing skirts. They also pack the items and people on the scooters. The whole family rides with kids and babies packed in between adults. After lunch we went to a monkey forest sanctuary where the monkeys are just roaming around in the trees. You can feed them, but I didn't buy any food. I did put my arm down though to take a picture and one just climbed up and onto my head. It sat there for awhile, I think it liked me. Maybe it knew how much I love monkeys. But then another monkey climbed on me and bit me. I'm glad it didn't break the skin. I could have spent days there, but our time was limited. We were trying to make it to Uluwatu by sunset to see a famous fire dance. It takes place on a beautiful cliff and there's a temple as well. There were also more monkeys, but these were not too nice. I walked by one and he grabbed my sunglasses so fast I couldn't believe it. I had to pay a local to get them back. They had one earpiece missing and the other one had a bite taken out of them. I wouldn't have cared, but they are prescription sunglasses. The lenses are mostly fine, so I can get the frames fixed. The fire dance was very cool to experience. Our day was nearing an end and we had just enough time to eat some dinner on the beach and catch our flight back home to Korea. It was a wonderful vacation, my best ever. But none of us wanted to leave. We went from 85 degree weather back to 15 or colder. Three out of four of us got a lovely stomach bug on return, but it was well worth it! I highly recommend a visit if you ever have the opportunity. I will definitely be returning some day!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The last two months
Once again it's been a long time since I've blogged. I guess no matter where you are in the world you tend to get busy. Since it's been a couple of months it's difficult to know where to begin. In Korea the month of October is full of festivals. I managed to to catch a few. The first was a drum festival where people from around the world come to play different styles of drums. The second was a fireworks festival, which was cool, but I would not recommend it to anyone. I would say at least a million people, if not more went to this park. I've heard of the 'push man' for the subways but have never seen them in action. It means that there are so many people trying to get on, well literally push you on the subway that someone has to stop them when it gets too full. When getting off I barely had to walk, just got pushed through the exit. I've been to many concerts and been in crowds before, but have never experienced one quite like this. The fireworks were sweet, but I couldn't even find most of the people I was trying to meet there. Then they closed the subway to leave the area and we had to walk far just to get home. Ridiculous if you ask me. The third festival was called Rocktober. It was in an area populated by many foreigners and held in many small pubs. There were some solo artists and a few bands. It made me feel more at home, especially since there's not much live music here. Of course in October there's always Halloween! Almost all of the kids got dressed up and they looked incredibly adorable. We went to some good parties as well. We also went on a field trip to a sweet potato farm and dug up some gigantic potatoes. The kids screamed whenever they found one and we got to take huge bags of them home to enjoy.
Some friends of mine went down to Busan to go shark diving at an aquarium. Busan is on the southeast coast of Korea and is an international port to Japan, Russia and China. I didn't go diving, but I went down for the weekend to check out the area and hang out. We took the train and when we arrived looked at what they call 'Foreigner's Street'. It was supposed to be a good place to shop for larger sized items, but it ended up being very sleazy and sketchy. We did eat some pretty good Chinese food though. Busan is also known for it's beaches and we were staying at a hotel right on the best one. It was a nice break to get away from the city and enjoy my favorite place to be! I thought we would be eating seafood since it's prevalent in beach areas, but we ended up eating some delicious Mexican food instead. My co-worker Kaleigh was so excited to see the Pacific Ocean that she went swimming with all of her clothes on. She said she was just wading and fell in, but it was funny anyway. We set off a bunch of fireworks and sparklers and drank too much. But I have to say it was a great weekend!
I can't believe November has come and gone. I've met so many people here that I hang out with at different times and it's hard to keep up with all of them. One thing I did was go shopping at some huge markets. I scored on a few things, but I'm not big on shopping and it was slightly overwhelming. I've also gone on a few hikes. The fall here is absolutely beautiful! I joined a hiking group, which is about half foreigners and half Koreans, all of them good people. They go on hikes year round, so if I'm brave enough I may go at least once this winter to see the snow in the mountains. I also went to a website launch party that my friends created. They talked me into playing an open mic. It was the biggest crowd I've ever played for, probably close to 100 people, but it was fun.
School has been hectic and they keep giving us more things to do without any extra pay or appreciation. The kids really do make up for all the bullshit I have to deal with, but lately it's been one thing after another. We went on another field trip to a car museum and training of how to cross the street. They enjoyed seeing all the old cars, especially when they saw ones from the US. Koreans are fascinated with the US, plus I think we produced some amazing cars from back in the day. My boss was nice enough though to give us a Thanksgiving feast at her house. There wasn't any stuffing or pie, but we got to have prime rib, potatoes, and turkey, which is rare and expensive in Korea. It has been extremely cold to my standards lately. I am not used to having real seasons and it's not even winter yet. I've been bundling up, but hope that I can survive what it has in store. I am lucky though because I get to go on winter vacation to Indonesia. I will be sitting on a beach during Christmas and I can't wait! This will be my first Christmas away from home, which will be weird and sad, but you can't beat a much needed break with great friends.
Some friends of mine went down to Busan to go shark diving at an aquarium. Busan is on the southeast coast of Korea and is an international port to Japan, Russia and China. I didn't go diving, but I went down for the weekend to check out the area and hang out. We took the train and when we arrived looked at what they call 'Foreigner's Street'. It was supposed to be a good place to shop for larger sized items, but it ended up being very sleazy and sketchy. We did eat some pretty good Chinese food though. Busan is also known for it's beaches and we were staying at a hotel right on the best one. It was a nice break to get away from the city and enjoy my favorite place to be! I thought we would be eating seafood since it's prevalent in beach areas, but we ended up eating some delicious Mexican food instead. My co-worker Kaleigh was so excited to see the Pacific Ocean that she went swimming with all of her clothes on. She said she was just wading and fell in, but it was funny anyway. We set off a bunch of fireworks and sparklers and drank too much. But I have to say it was a great weekend!
I can't believe November has come and gone. I've met so many people here that I hang out with at different times and it's hard to keep up with all of them. One thing I did was go shopping at some huge markets. I scored on a few things, but I'm not big on shopping and it was slightly overwhelming. I've also gone on a few hikes. The fall here is absolutely beautiful! I joined a hiking group, which is about half foreigners and half Koreans, all of them good people. They go on hikes year round, so if I'm brave enough I may go at least once this winter to see the snow in the mountains. I also went to a website launch party that my friends created. They talked me into playing an open mic. It was the biggest crowd I've ever played for, probably close to 100 people, but it was fun.
School has been hectic and they keep giving us more things to do without any extra pay or appreciation. The kids really do make up for all the bullshit I have to deal with, but lately it's been one thing after another. We went on another field trip to a car museum and training of how to cross the street. They enjoyed seeing all the old cars, especially when they saw ones from the US. Koreans are fascinated with the US, plus I think we produced some amazing cars from back in the day. My boss was nice enough though to give us a Thanksgiving feast at her house. There wasn't any stuffing or pie, but we got to have prime rib, potatoes, and turkey, which is rare and expensive in Korea. It has been extremely cold to my standards lately. I am not used to having real seasons and it's not even winter yet. I've been bundling up, but hope that I can survive what it has in store. I am lucky though because I get to go on winter vacation to Indonesia. I will be sitting on a beach during Christmas and I can't wait! This will be my first Christmas away from home, which will be weird and sad, but you can't beat a much needed break with great friends.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Life Update & Korean Folk Village
Some days seem to last forever, but in general time just seems to fly by. I can't believe I've been here for five months now. I am getting very used to this lifestyle and for the most part love teaching. I have created such a strong bond with my kindergardeners because I have them every day for the whole year, but my elementary students change every semester and some classes are only 2 or 3 times a week. I have also started one private lesson because I have shorter days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I get paid $50 to go play with a 7-year old for an hour. His name is Willy, his parents want him to think English can be fun, and it's pretty easy. I may have to change professions wherever I may end up. I of course miss my family, friends and cats dearly, but I can't say that I miss Seattle or America in particular right now. I can't even send money home because the exchange rate is so poor that I will lose a ton of money. Everything is going really well, except the fact that I've been sick once again. I first had another cold, which is easy enough to deal with and still make it to work. But then I came down with one of the worst stomach bugs I think I've ever had. I've been to the doctor twice, taken a number of drugs of which I have no idea what they are. They seem to be helping, but I haven't done anything but work and rest for the last two weeks. My apartment is pretty small and it's driving me crazy, but I'm sure it's good for me. I am on my way to getting better and am very hopeful that this is it! I am not going to be sick like this again!
Before I got the pleasure of hanging out in my bathroom for several days we had a three day weekend a few weeks ago and it was for Korean Thanksgiving, which is called Chuseok. It was very interesting because all the Koreans go to where their families are from, including the cemeteries. I've never seen this place so empty, it was like a ghost town. Luckily I was warned about this and made it to the grocery store before the weekend because not many places were open for business. The Korean folk Village in Suwon was open and I have been wanting to go check it out, but heard this was the best time to go. In the last month I have also got two new co-workers because the other teacher's contracts were up. So I went with one of them and we took a bus, which I've been doing much more often. It's supposed to be a 30 minute bus ride, but we missed the stop and ended up taking a cab back for about 20 minutes. Not too bad and I am getting more comfortable with the buses, but still have some issues at times. When we arrived we immediately got something to eat. We were expecting slightly different kinds of food because it is a village of all the traditional ways of living in Korea. Come to find out later on the other side far away from the entrance they have many other kinds of food that aren't served much anymore in Korea. We were full by the time we got there, so we didn't try any. We wandered through out the whole village and there were mostly all different kinds of houses from different regions in the country. There were also people who were doing certain jobs and dressed the parts, such as a blacksmith, weaving and paper making.
The highlight of the day was definitely the performances. There was a main area that these farmers came down and played their drums and danced around. It's difficult to describe, but they had things twirling from their hats and they moved their necks in a particular way to all create the same pattern. They did a bunch of acrobatics as well, but nothing could tell you how amazing it was. I did take a short video, but still can't figure out how to post them on here. After this performance there was a tight rope walker, which again is hard to describe unless you were there to see it. Walking across was nothing! He bounced, did flips and many kinds of dips. It was also raining and we thought he might slip and fall because of it. It was pretty funny to see all the Koreans running for cover when it started to dump rain. It was a pretty warm day, and the rain came out of nowhere so most of us didn't have umbrellas. We just stood there and enjoyed the show. It felt great, but they are scared that their hair might fall out due to acid rain here. They are also afraid of fan death. If you sleep in a room with a fan on you might not wake up, so watch out for those fans people! There was then a traditional wedding, but it was very crowded and we couldn't really see much so we didn't stick around for long. I did see the bride and she looked beautiful, but couldn't get a picture unfortunately. Then we just wandered around a bit more. We walked along a river, where you could take a boat ride, but we didn't partake. On the other side there were some museums and even an amusement park. We wanted to go on the bumper cars, but couldn't find the ticket booth so we just went home. It was great to see how Koreans used to live, especially compared to the modern city life with the hustle and bustle most of them live now.
Before I got the pleasure of hanging out in my bathroom for several days we had a three day weekend a few weeks ago and it was for Korean Thanksgiving, which is called Chuseok. It was very interesting because all the Koreans go to where their families are from, including the cemeteries. I've never seen this place so empty, it was like a ghost town. Luckily I was warned about this and made it to the grocery store before the weekend because not many places were open for business. The Korean folk Village in Suwon was open and I have been wanting to go check it out, but heard this was the best time to go. In the last month I have also got two new co-workers because the other teacher's contracts were up. So I went with one of them and we took a bus, which I've been doing much more often. It's supposed to be a 30 minute bus ride, but we missed the stop and ended up taking a cab back for about 20 minutes. Not too bad and I am getting more comfortable with the buses, but still have some issues at times. When we arrived we immediately got something to eat. We were expecting slightly different kinds of food because it is a village of all the traditional ways of living in Korea. Come to find out later on the other side far away from the entrance they have many other kinds of food that aren't served much anymore in Korea. We were full by the time we got there, so we didn't try any. We wandered through out the whole village and there were mostly all different kinds of houses from different regions in the country. There were also people who were doing certain jobs and dressed the parts, such as a blacksmith, weaving and paper making.
The highlight of the day was definitely the performances. There was a main area that these farmers came down and played their drums and danced around. It's difficult to describe, but they had things twirling from their hats and they moved their necks in a particular way to all create the same pattern. They did a bunch of acrobatics as well, but nothing could tell you how amazing it was. I did take a short video, but still can't figure out how to post them on here. After this performance there was a tight rope walker, which again is hard to describe unless you were there to see it. Walking across was nothing! He bounced, did flips and many kinds of dips. It was also raining and we thought he might slip and fall because of it. It was pretty funny to see all the Koreans running for cover when it started to dump rain. It was a pretty warm day, and the rain came out of nowhere so most of us didn't have umbrellas. We just stood there and enjoyed the show. It felt great, but they are scared that their hair might fall out due to acid rain here. They are also afraid of fan death. If you sleep in a room with a fan on you might not wake up, so watch out for those fans people! There was then a traditional wedding, but it was very crowded and we couldn't really see much so we didn't stick around for long. I did see the bride and she looked beautiful, but couldn't get a picture unfortunately. Then we just wandered around a bit more. We walked along a river, where you could take a boat ride, but we didn't partake. On the other side there were some museums and even an amusement park. We wanted to go on the bumper cars, but couldn't find the ticket booth so we just went home. It was great to see how Koreans used to live, especially compared to the modern city life with the hustle and bustle most of them live now.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Summer Vacation
Time seems to fly by lately and I keep postponing my blogging. I get two weeks of paid vacation here, but they are at set times, when everyone else in the country is also on vacation. I wanted to go experience another part of Asia as many of my friends did, but plane tickets were too expensive by the time I started looking. I was also maybe going to catch a ferry to Japan, but again there's too many people here and everything was booked. So I decided to travel along the southwest coast of Korea. I'm sure most of you know Seoul is a huge city and very much north, in fact a little too close to North Korea for my comfort. I've heard that area is beautiful anyway, and you know that I love being out there in nature. I went with my co-worker and friend Laura, who I hang out with most of the time. We started off the trip by getting on a bus to get to the train station. We have taken this bus before, and it was the correct number, but of course for some reason it was some special bus that went very far in the opposite direction. We knew we were headed the wrong way, but thought maybe it was some weird route or something. We ended up being on a bus for 3 hours, when it should have taken 30 minutes. It was long but at least it was scenic, and we had already decided that it was going to be a go with the flow kind of trip. When we finally arrived at the train station we were on the train for over 5 hours. It was a beautiful trip, everything was green and we went through many small towns. I have to say it was cool to see a different parts of Korea because living in the city, especially the rich suburbs, it's just not the same. Our destination was Yeosu, a small coastal town/city? Since the whole day was spent traveling we got a cheap motel, something to eat and wandered around for a bit. I can't believe how hot and humid it was by the water. August is supposed to be the hottest month here, and I thought it was hot in the city, but nothing compared to where we were. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing 100% humidity. You so much as even step outside and you are drenched with sweat. It was pretty disgusting! At least all of the places we stayed had air conditioning, otherwise I'm not sure I would have slept/survived.
The next day we woke up early to catch a boat to Geomundo Island. We had heard and read about how amazing it was. The ride itself was 3 hours and pretty bumpy. It felt as if we were on a ride at an amusement park. I took sea-sickness pills, but many people on the boat got sick. They stopped at many islands along the way, but when we were out in the ocean it was a very rough ride. We got to this island and were told we should take another boat to the Baekdo Islands. We didn't want to go on another boat right away so we checked out the town. There really wasn't much going on and it was difficult walking around in the midday heat. We tried to look for another boat, but no one was there to operate any of them. Instead we crossed a bridge to the other side of town and found a place to go swimming and cool off. As soon as we came out of the water there were some Koreans offering their bbq feast to us. I can't believe Koreans sometimes. When I first got here I thought things like this were weird, but it actually happens quite frequently. They are either extremely friendly or rude. Even though they didn't know much English and we didn't know much Korean it was still a very fun time and a great free meal! I think people in these smaller towns were really fascinated by us because they don't get many foreigners. I thought I got stared at a lot in the city, but I really felt famous on this trip. Most of the people in the smaller towns were very friendly, which seems to be the case anywhere you go. After the feast and of course some drinks, we went back to see if we could get a boat to the other islands. Still couldn't find anyone to take us and we ended up hanging out on a random boat for a while. Then we just took another ferry back to where we started because we felt a little trapped on this island. We thought about staying, but there wasn't much to do and it wasn't like paradise where you could get a place to stay on the beach. On the ride back we met another random Korean, also very friendly. I think they mostly just want to practice their English, but who knows. He was from Yeosu and wanted to show us around. He took us to a very expensive sashimi dinner and drove us around his town. Two free meals in one day, you can't beat that!
After getting some rest we went to Boseoung Green Tea Fields. They say that the best time to go is the fall or spring, but I think it was still beautiful. I've never seen tea growing before. We also got to taste it, absolutely delicious and ate green tea ice cream. It didn't take that much time to wander around and we took a train to Mokpo, another coastal city. This place was bigger and different yet again. It has an international port, so many of the signs are also in Chinese. You can take ferries to and from China, Japan and some other islands. I truly enjoyed it here and if I were to come back to Korea I would consider living there. It's difficult to describe a place, unless you've seen it, but it had a whole unique feel to it. We were looking into going to Jeju Island, which is the most famous place to go in Korea, but again everything was booked. They did tell us that we could get there at 6am to get on a waiting list for standing room only. It would have been a 3 hour wait and a 6 hour boat ride and we didn't feel up for it. Instead we checked out Mokpo. We also went further south to a place called Jindo. In the book I have it was talking about this biblical like phenomenon where there is the parting of the seas and you can walk out on the land where this is happening. We took a 2 hour bus ride down to find out that it only happens at a certain time. Jindo was extremely small and we definitely didn't want to stay there. They are also known for breeding these special dogs. We took a taxi to check them out, but all the dogs did was bark at us. They were cute and do tricks and shows, but the people said it was too hot for them to perform. So we took a bus back to Mokpo. For how hot it was and how amazing the color of the water was there wasn't that many places that you could actually swim. We tried to find a place here, but the beach itself wasn't that great. We did meet two foreigners that we hung out with all night and watched the sunset with.
The following day we took another boat ride around some of the islands near Mokpo. At one point we came to what looked like a nice beach and most of the boat emptied off. I wanted to get off, but my friend didn't. Before the boat ride we had said we were heading back home this day to get some rest before work. I still wish I would have stayed to enjoy the beach, but can't change anything now. Although I may not end up back there I now know where to go if I do. It seems like we did tons of traveling and not much relaxing. We took trains, boats, buses and even a car ride, everything but planes. Even though I haven't yet left Korea it was a great experience to see a different side of the country. I have another week off around Christmas and I'm already planning to go to Indonesia. Some friends I met go there all the time to the Gili Islands and it sounds like a fabulous time. I will have saved up more money by then. I'm also planning on traveling SE Asia when my contract is up. That way I can take my time and hopefully see all I wish to see.
The next day we woke up early to catch a boat to Geomundo Island. We had heard and read about how amazing it was. The ride itself was 3 hours and pretty bumpy. It felt as if we were on a ride at an amusement park. I took sea-sickness pills, but many people on the boat got sick. They stopped at many islands along the way, but when we were out in the ocean it was a very rough ride. We got to this island and were told we should take another boat to the Baekdo Islands. We didn't want to go on another boat right away so we checked out the town. There really wasn't much going on and it was difficult walking around in the midday heat. We tried to look for another boat, but no one was there to operate any of them. Instead we crossed a bridge to the other side of town and found a place to go swimming and cool off. As soon as we came out of the water there were some Koreans offering their bbq feast to us. I can't believe Koreans sometimes. When I first got here I thought things like this were weird, but it actually happens quite frequently. They are either extremely friendly or rude. Even though they didn't know much English and we didn't know much Korean it was still a very fun time and a great free meal! I think people in these smaller towns were really fascinated by us because they don't get many foreigners. I thought I got stared at a lot in the city, but I really felt famous on this trip. Most of the people in the smaller towns were very friendly, which seems to be the case anywhere you go. After the feast and of course some drinks, we went back to see if we could get a boat to the other islands. Still couldn't find anyone to take us and we ended up hanging out on a random boat for a while. Then we just took another ferry back to where we started because we felt a little trapped on this island. We thought about staying, but there wasn't much to do and it wasn't like paradise where you could get a place to stay on the beach. On the ride back we met another random Korean, also very friendly. I think they mostly just want to practice their English, but who knows. He was from Yeosu and wanted to show us around. He took us to a very expensive sashimi dinner and drove us around his town. Two free meals in one day, you can't beat that!
After getting some rest we went to Boseoung Green Tea Fields. They say that the best time to go is the fall or spring, but I think it was still beautiful. I've never seen tea growing before. We also got to taste it, absolutely delicious and ate green tea ice cream. It didn't take that much time to wander around and we took a train to Mokpo, another coastal city. This place was bigger and different yet again. It has an international port, so many of the signs are also in Chinese. You can take ferries to and from China, Japan and some other islands. I truly enjoyed it here and if I were to come back to Korea I would consider living there. It's difficult to describe a place, unless you've seen it, but it had a whole unique feel to it. We were looking into going to Jeju Island, which is the most famous place to go in Korea, but again everything was booked. They did tell us that we could get there at 6am to get on a waiting list for standing room only. It would have been a 3 hour wait and a 6 hour boat ride and we didn't feel up for it. Instead we checked out Mokpo. We also went further south to a place called Jindo. In the book I have it was talking about this biblical like phenomenon where there is the parting of the seas and you can walk out on the land where this is happening. We took a 2 hour bus ride down to find out that it only happens at a certain time. Jindo was extremely small and we definitely didn't want to stay there. They are also known for breeding these special dogs. We took a taxi to check them out, but all the dogs did was bark at us. They were cute and do tricks and shows, but the people said it was too hot for them to perform. So we took a bus back to Mokpo. For how hot it was and how amazing the color of the water was there wasn't that many places that you could actually swim. We tried to find a place here, but the beach itself wasn't that great. We did meet two foreigners that we hung out with all night and watched the sunset with.
The following day we took another boat ride around some of the islands near Mokpo. At one point we came to what looked like a nice beach and most of the boat emptied off. I wanted to get off, but my friend didn't. Before the boat ride we had said we were heading back home this day to get some rest before work. I still wish I would have stayed to enjoy the beach, but can't change anything now. Although I may not end up back there I now know where to go if I do. It seems like we did tons of traveling and not much relaxing. We took trains, boats, buses and even a car ride, everything but planes. Even though I haven't yet left Korea it was a great experience to see a different side of the country. I have another week off around Christmas and I'm already planning to go to Indonesia. Some friends I met go there all the time to the Gili Islands and it sounds like a fabulous time. I will have saved up more money by then. I'm also planning on traveling SE Asia when my contract is up. That way I can take my time and hopefully see all I wish to see.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Mudfest
This country sometimes makes me feel like a kid again because I'm always playing and doing things I normally wouldn't do. This last weekend was probably one of the best since I've been here. I went to a big event called the Mudfestival. I've never heard of such a thing, as I'm sure you haven't either. The first one happened in 1998 and it has grown in popularity since attracting millions of people. The mud is rich in minerals and great for your skin. Everybody said I just had to go and I'm glad I made it. We had to take a train for 2 hours, not the subway a real train, to Daecheon, and then a quick cab ride to the beach of Boryeoung. The train ride itself was very nice. It had comfortable seats, and it just wouldn't be Korea if it didn't have PC's, arcade games and massage chairs. I would always much rather be on the ground traveling and it's a good chance to see the beautiful scenery. Upon arrival to the beach we had to wait and gather everyone. I went with a group of almost 40 and we all slept in one big room on the floor called a 'minbak'. It was quite cozy and no one really slept that much anyway. After we dropped our belongings off at the room and changed we were ready to hit the mud. Well, first we staked out a spot on the beach where we could meet up once in a while. Then we hit up the mud wrestling pit. It was a crazy time full of slippery mud. You could also go to a station where you can paint the mud on if you don't feel like getting in the pit. There were other ways to get muddy too. They had a prison where people just throw buckets of mud at you, tug of war, and a huge mud bath, but this one had a long line. Speaking of long lines, there were two different slides you could go on after getting muddy. A few of us waited in one for over an hour and as soon as it was our turn the air ran out and we didn't get to go. Then we went over to the other slide and told people our situation. I don't think they believed us, but they were nice enough and let us cut in their line. This slide you had to climb up before going down. I forgot my sunglasses were on my head and they are now gone. At least they were cheap, along with the cheap shoes I lost. Everyone seemed to have lost something this weekend. Money, cellphones, etc. so I feel lucky.
As the day progressed we swam in the ocean to wash off, which was freezing, and kept getting muddy several times. We were worried because when we left in the morning it was raining, but it turned out to be a nice day. It was very hot, and even with sunblock on I still managed to get somewhat sunburned. We woke up so early to get there that I had to take a nap, which was successful until this guy next to me started snoring. Then we decided to see how much stuff we could pile on top of him before he woke up. If you look at the progression of the photos I'm sure you will be laughing as hard as we were. At some point there was also a mini parade, but it wasn't that great. There was also a stage where music was playing all day, but it didn't impress us either. That night we went back to our room to get cleaned up and went out to eat at an outdoor seafood restaurant. We ordered unlimited clams that were grilled at our table and wow they were delicious. Anytime you go to an area by the ocean there is tons of seafood available. Later on there was an amazing fireworks show. It seemed to last for a long time and was more impressive than the ones I've seen back home. It did remind me of being home though because it was just the 4th of July and there were so many foreigners there that it didn't seem like we were in Korea anymore. They even had a special area with all foreign food if you didn't want to eat at any of the Korean places. Of course there were many street food vendors as there always is. They had these corn dogs with fried potatoes on the outside. I'm sure it was one of the most unhealthiest things I've tried here, but it sure was tasty. After a crazy night of mostly non-sleep we did the same thing the next day until it was time to catch the train back home. I brought a disposable camera with me, but haven't got the pictures developed yet. I really didn't need it though because many other people brought their cameras and I got all these wonderful shots from them. There were many Koreans taking pictures of all of us and in the paper the next day there was a picture of two of my friends. We couldn't believe that out of all the people and pictures that were taken that they were chosen. I was unsure before I came that playing in the mud might be lame, but it was awesome and almost felt like a mini vacation to get out on the beach and enjoy myself away from the city.
As the day progressed we swam in the ocean to wash off, which was freezing, and kept getting muddy several times. We were worried because when we left in the morning it was raining, but it turned out to be a nice day. It was very hot, and even with sunblock on I still managed to get somewhat sunburned. We woke up so early to get there that I had to take a nap, which was successful until this guy next to me started snoring. Then we decided to see how much stuff we could pile on top of him before he woke up. If you look at the progression of the photos I'm sure you will be laughing as hard as we were. At some point there was also a mini parade, but it wasn't that great. There was also a stage where music was playing all day, but it didn't impress us either. That night we went back to our room to get cleaned up and went out to eat at an outdoor seafood restaurant. We ordered unlimited clams that were grilled at our table and wow they were delicious. Anytime you go to an area by the ocean there is tons of seafood available. Later on there was an amazing fireworks show. It seemed to last for a long time and was more impressive than the ones I've seen back home. It did remind me of being home though because it was just the 4th of July and there were so many foreigners there that it didn't seem like we were in Korea anymore. They even had a special area with all foreign food if you didn't want to eat at any of the Korean places. Of course there were many street food vendors as there always is. They had these corn dogs with fried potatoes on the outside. I'm sure it was one of the most unhealthiest things I've tried here, but it sure was tasty. After a crazy night of mostly non-sleep we did the same thing the next day until it was time to catch the train back home. I brought a disposable camera with me, but haven't got the pictures developed yet. I really didn't need it though because many other people brought their cameras and I got all these wonderful shots from them. There were many Koreans taking pictures of all of us and in the paper the next day there was a picture of two of my friends. We couldn't believe that out of all the people and pictures that were taken that they were chosen. I was unsure before I came that playing in the mud might be lame, but it was awesome and almost felt like a mini vacation to get out on the beach and enjoy myself away from the city.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Korea continues to be crazy
Once again I have a lot to say. I meant to blog about this stuff awhile back, but I've been busy and it's been incredibly hot and humid. I try to stay indoors with the air conditioning as much as possible. It's unbearable to go outside unless you have to. Anyway wanted to tell you about a couple of fun weekends I've had. The first one on Friday went out to a really great bbq pork dinner with my boss and some co-workers and after we went to a Noribong, which is a private kareoke room you can rent. I''ve done this before, but it was all ladies so we got to sing some silly and sappy songs. Guess you had to be there, but it was a blast! Every room has a name. If you want to go use a computer they have pc-bong, if you want to go to a bathhouse it's a jimjil-bong and so on. Pretty interesting. Saturday I was on a mission because I finally got my hands on a guitar and was looking for strings. I was supposed to get this 'karma guitar' from a girl who said it had been passed around through many people in Korea. Never got it, but a lady at work brought one in for me to use. A friend of mine told me about an area where they have music shops, but it is very far from where I live and it was pouring down rain. I got lucky though because I went to go get some lunch and found a music store right down the street from me. Later that night I went to an Irish bar called the Dublin. It's only 4 subway stations away and many foreigners hang out there frequently. On Wednesday nights they have open mic's, which I actually played at once so far, but it doesn't start until 10 and makes for a very late night. Even Saturday I saw another sunrise and went home to get some rest.
Sunday I had plans to go to Moran Market. It's one of the biggest here, but only happens on a day that ends in 4 or 9. I need to mention that it's also the one that sells dog meat. This was very disturbing to me because you all know I am such an animal lover and I've had dogs as pets. I know that if I eat meat I shouldn't be upset, but it's the way that they treat them. They also had goats and rabbits and they are kept in such small cages where the animals can't even move around. I know this happens with cows and chickens back home, but we don't see it. Let me tell you that up close it almost makes me want to be a vegetarian. As we were walking by I saw a dog get killed and I almost cried.My friend Laura was trying to take pictures and video, but they kept telling her not to. It's funny that anything Koreans are ashamed of they don't want you to take pictures. We also found a dildo stand in the back corner of the market, which is a very rare thing here and he wouldn't allow pictures either. I had to walk away from the dogs because I nearly got sick as well. I don't think I'll have to worry about accidentally eating dog either because it's very expensive. The animals were only in one area so we moved on and checked out the rest of the market. There was so much good cheap stuff otherwise. Clothes in huge piles, various food in bulk, and food to eat as well. The market went around and around for many blocks and had several alleyways. There was even some cross dresser guy singing and dancing as entertainment. I'm glad I went, but if I go again I will avoid the animal area.
The following weekend was a good one too. I found a group that plays poker on Friday nights right down the street from where I live, less than a 5 minute walk. I miss playing and it's a group of almost 20. I didn't win that night, but it was great to play again and meet even more new people in my area. Saturday was extremely rainy and I was feeling tired so I was going to try and go see a movie. But Korea does not keep anything for very long. All of the Blockbusters are only here for about 2 weeks, so there was nothing good to see. Even certain businesses go down quickly and a new one is there almost the next day. It's insane how quick these people are, always in a hurry! At the moment I have a stupid mosquito trying to get me. They are everywhere here too and I think they are smarter than others. They know how to hide and are hard to kill. I even bought a mosquito repellant that you plug into the wall, which seems to help, but I still get attacked sometimes. Sunday was awesome though. I went on a long bike ride with a bunch of people to celebrate someone's birthday. Some of them had their own bikes already and the rest of us were going to rent them. The bike shop didn't have enough to rent and I've been wanting to buy one anyway so I did. I inspired another girl to buy a bike as well. It was a bit difficult to ride due to the humidity, but we made it. Went along the river, past a Buddhist temple, then down some other trails. Eventually we ended up at the OK Mart and sat outside with some beers. It was funny because we kept recruiting people to sit with us. Any foreigner we saw we tried to get them to come have a beer with us. We started out as 10 and ended up being almost 20. It was a wonderful day and now I have a bike that I can cruise around on. I like walking and taking the subway, but it's good to have options.
Sunday I had plans to go to Moran Market. It's one of the biggest here, but only happens on a day that ends in 4 or 9. I need to mention that it's also the one that sells dog meat. This was very disturbing to me because you all know I am such an animal lover and I've had dogs as pets. I know that if I eat meat I shouldn't be upset, but it's the way that they treat them. They also had goats and rabbits and they are kept in such small cages where the animals can't even move around. I know this happens with cows and chickens back home, but we don't see it. Let me tell you that up close it almost makes me want to be a vegetarian. As we were walking by I saw a dog get killed and I almost cried.My friend Laura was trying to take pictures and video, but they kept telling her not to. It's funny that anything Koreans are ashamed of they don't want you to take pictures. We also found a dildo stand in the back corner of the market, which is a very rare thing here and he wouldn't allow pictures either. I had to walk away from the dogs because I nearly got sick as well. I don't think I'll have to worry about accidentally eating dog either because it's very expensive. The animals were only in one area so we moved on and checked out the rest of the market. There was so much good cheap stuff otherwise. Clothes in huge piles, various food in bulk, and food to eat as well. The market went around and around for many blocks and had several alleyways. There was even some cross dresser guy singing and dancing as entertainment. I'm glad I went, but if I go again I will avoid the animal area.
The following weekend was a good one too. I found a group that plays poker on Friday nights right down the street from where I live, less than a 5 minute walk. I miss playing and it's a group of almost 20. I didn't win that night, but it was great to play again and meet even more new people in my area. Saturday was extremely rainy and I was feeling tired so I was going to try and go see a movie. But Korea does not keep anything for very long. All of the Blockbusters are only here for about 2 weeks, so there was nothing good to see. Even certain businesses go down quickly and a new one is there almost the next day. It's insane how quick these people are, always in a hurry! At the moment I have a stupid mosquito trying to get me. They are everywhere here too and I think they are smarter than others. They know how to hide and are hard to kill. I even bought a mosquito repellant that you plug into the wall, which seems to help, but I still get attacked sometimes. Sunday was awesome though. I went on a long bike ride with a bunch of people to celebrate someone's birthday. Some of them had their own bikes already and the rest of us were going to rent them. The bike shop didn't have enough to rent and I've been wanting to buy one anyway so I did. I inspired another girl to buy a bike as well. It was a bit difficult to ride due to the humidity, but we made it. Went along the river, past a Buddhist temple, then down some other trails. Eventually we ended up at the OK Mart and sat outside with some beers. It was funny because we kept recruiting people to sit with us. Any foreigner we saw we tried to get them to come have a beer with us. We started out as 10 and ended up being almost 20. It was a wonderful day and now I have a bike that I can cruise around on. I like walking and taking the subway, but it's good to have options.
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