Party on the Beach

Having a whole week's vacation for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) was fabulous. I spent the beginning of my week relaxing and mostly indoors due to the torrential downpours and flooding outside. By mid week the weather had cleared up and I made plans for the long weekend. Sam, Terry, Sean, and I decided to go away for a little couples trip to Muuido Island. Muuido Island is a tiny island off the larger island of Yeongjong that houses Incheon airport on the west coast. It's really tiny and mostly known as a great vacation spot with nice beaches.

Once we got to the airport we hopped a bus that took us to the ferry. After taking the shortest ferry ride of my life (about 5 minutes) across and catching another bus, we made it to Hanagae Beach.

welcome to Muuido

shortest ferry ever

Sean and I on the ferry

Our first night we spent in these tiny little one room huts on the beach. They were pretty ghetto and in the morning our backs were aching from sleeping on the hard floor and we felt dirty from the gross bedding they had given us. When we found out there were no showers for our use we were a little alarmed. After exploring the area desperately trying to find somewhere else to stay, we came across a wonderful pension with many rooms which all had a kitchen, TV, bathroom, and AC. Needless to say the second night's stay was much more comfortable.

Sam in front of our tiny rooms on the beach

We spent the next two days enjoying the weather, drinking beer, eating seafood, throwing the football on the beach, getting some sun, making a campfire on the beach, reading, playing cards, grilling out, and relaxing.

Sean, Terry, and Sam on the beach

cheers

shells were everywhere

sunset the first night

campfire on the beach

Sean and I hanging around

Sam and Terry on the swings

BBQ our last night

In the early morning the tide on Muuido Island goes out. Way out. Probably hundreds of feet out. And beach dwellers are left with a huge sand bar almost as far as you can see. Sean and I walked out there one morning and were amazed by this natural phenomenon. I had never seen anything like it in my life. Then, just like clock-work, around 2:30P.M. the tide rushed back in within the span of an hour and you could enjoy the water until the sun went down.

the shoreline in the morning

tracks in the sand

I had a fantastic time on Muuido Island and felt blessed to have some really great people to spend an awesome weekend with.

Namaste

Baywatch Korea

As soon as Sam told me there was a place in Korea with cathedral sized limestone caves, beaches, and giant penis sculptures, I knew we had found our perfect vacation spot. Since we are both saving money for our big back-packing trip in about 3 months here, we opted out of a trip overseas and decided to spend our vacation exploring another part of Korea.

We met in Seoul on Monday morning and bought bus tickets to Samcheok, a city straight east of Seoul, along the coast of the East Sea. A four hour bus ride brought us to this quiet fishing town near the water. We found a motel, a love motel no less, and practiced our bargaining skills and got the room for a fantastic rate for the next three nights. We changed clothes and headed straight for the beach to soak up some late afternoon sun. When our stomaches were making noises and the sun was lowering in the sky we went off in search of dinner. There were tons of seafood restaurants all along the beach with tons of fresh seafood swimming and crawling in the tanks outside waiting to be purchased, killed, and cooked. We chose sea scallops and had them grilled right in front of us. They were delicious. We ended the night with a beer on the beach.

There were a couple of sights that we wanted to see and chose to take a trip to the caves the next day. We took a bus to the sight of the Hwanseon and Donggul caves. There was a straight uphill hike to the cave entrance or there was a long line of families waiting for a snail-slow lift, so we chose the hiking route. It was mid-day and super hot, so by the time we arrived at the entrance I was dripping sweat and thanking God for natural places like caves that are very cool inside. The Hwanseon cave is one of the largest limestone caves in all of Asia. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. The cave was absolutely huge. Huge. Huge. Huge. There were metal walkways through the entire thing and it took Sam and I over an hour and a half to make the walk. I was constantly amazed by the natural wonders we found inside: rock formations, waterfalls, strange nooks and crannies, etc. It was one of the coolest things I have seen in Korea. We ended the day at the beach.

the huge cave

Sam and I inside the cave

The next day's trip took us south of Samcheok to the little fishing village of Sinnam. This place has an interesting history that will help explain the bizarre finding here. There is a penis park with tons of huge penis sculptures and totem poles of all shapes and sizes. A strange thing to find anywhere in the world, but especially here in Korea where sex is pretty taboo and not talked about openly. Sam and I were in awe of this penis park, it was extensive even boarding on over-load, but it was surrounded by a beautiful rocky coastline and the scenery was gorgeous. Ok, so the story behind the penis-infatuation. Apparently there is a legend in the town that a virgin drowned in the water and her boyfriend tried to save her, but was unable to because of the rough water. The fisherman began having a difficult time catching anything and thought that the girl cursed the waters. One fisherman "heeded the call of nature" towards the water and realized that after he did so, the catch of the day was plentiful. The fisherman followed suite and there was a giant penis sculpture created facing the water in hopes of pleasing the frustrated ghost of the drowned virgin. The penis park sprang up, (no pun intended) and there is even a shrine to the virgin ghost to help bless the fisherman and their catch. Really all I can say about the penis park is that it was a lot of laughs and was definitely a memorable part of my travels here in Korea.

penis park in Sinnam

me and a big penis at the park

the rocky coastline

The rest of our vacation was pretty much spent at the beach, enjoying the sun and trying to work on our tans. I realized that once you begin using SPF 50 instead of lathering on oil, you are officially getting old. If there is anything I learned about Koreans at the beach it's this- they love to bury each other in the sand and they swim with their clothes on. No joke. Clothes on. Some people had bathing suites on underneath their clothes and Lord knows why they didn't wear them, but nope. Some people even swam with shoes, baseball and beach hats, long sleeve button up shirts, sweaters on. I am not kidding. It was one of the strangest things I have ever seen at the beach in my life. I don't know if they are paranoid about sunburn, don't wanna show of their skinny bods, or can't afford swim wear... still don't think any of those are the reason. It's a mystery to me. The life guards, however looked like Baywatch Korea with their almost-black skin and tiny little spandex. Sam and I were dying.

Koreans swimming with their clothes on at the beach

My second mini-vacation of my vacation week was awesome and the beach was so relaxing and refreshing. It was great to spend time with Sam and see more of what this country has to offer. Now it's back to the grind for two more weeks until my next (and last) vacation in August.

Namaste

"So Do We Get Paddles?"

I ventured to the eastern province of Gangwon-do this past weekend for an adventure filled trip through a tour company called Adventure Korea. Some friends and I decided to get out of the city Saturday and enjoy a day of white water rafting and bungee jumping. The white water rafting was not as 'good' as it might have been because the water level was low. The rapids were nothing compared to the mighty White Nile and it was just more relaxing than nerve-racking. The scenery up the river was absolutely gorgeous. We were drifting along through a canyon of shear cliffs on either side. Along the way there were several waterfalls and some beautiful and interesting rock formations. Our raft was dubbed "team soju" since our guide had a soju hang-over and several of our group had taken some swigs of soju on the bus before the rafting. After a few hours we were finally back the the starting point for some showers and lunch. When we finished lunch we headed to the bridge a few miles away for the bungee jumping portion of our trip. This was the highlight for me. Because so many people wanted to jump it took forever to get through us all. The longer we stood up on the platform the more I contemplated my decision to tempt fate yet again, but of course I went through with it. The jump was 52 meters high and I jumped solo by my ankles. The jump was quite bouncy compared to my other jumps and I actually saw stars from spinning around so much while I was hanging in the air. Several Korean people tried to jump and chickened out. One man tried three times before throwing in the towel and doing the walk of shame back down from the platform. One Korean girl bungee jumped in high heels. Yes, high heels. Only in Korea. It was a great day, but I arrived home more than 12 hours later exhausted, sunburnt, and more than likely missing a few more brain cells.

Sean and I with the river in the background

my jump courtesy of Alex Yang

Check out my bungee jump here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100245669278659

Sunday my friend Chris and I braved the crowds for the grand opening of Taco Bell in Itaewon. They were giving away free tacos and the mass of people waiting in line for them was crazy. The food actually tasted like T Bell from home. It was a little slice of America right here in Korea. Yum.

T Bell feast

Namaste

Birthdays, Bowling, and Bowing-Out

This past weekend was filled with lots of birthday fun and soccer craziness. I must say, it was a little heart-breaking to see Korea lose after making it to the top 16. Everyone was so hyped up and the expectations were so high. Just when I thought I might still have a team to cheer on, the USA goes and loses their game as well. It was a sad sad day for futbol fans in many places.

Friday night was Sam's 25th golden birthday and I traveled to Seosan to help her celebrate. We drank outside at a beautiful little park in a Korean gazebo. Afterwards we headed to her favorite local bar for a spectacular fire show and some great dance beats. We then bar hopped to another establishment where we enjoyed some super-sugary drinks and darts. It was a ton of fun and I was so glad I could be there with her to celebrate and see her in rare form. "Look at this. This water looks deliciousssss!" -Sam, to some stranger in the bathroom after she tried to put the glass in the soap-holder and say it was a cup holder. Good times.

the gazebo in the park

Bum giving us a bad-ass fire show

birthday girl and I

Saturday night held more birthday celebrations. Our friends, Frank and Alex were celebrating their birthdays and we all gathered at an upscale bowling alley in a ritzy area of Seoul called Apujeong. Saturday night also happened to be the Korea VS. Uruguay game. After a few games of bowling, some food and beers, the game began and the place was alive with screaming fans and cries of "dae han min guk!" Even though Korea played tough and got one great goal, they were no match for the South American players and lost in the end 1-2. Even though no one was jumping for joy, everyone still wanted to enjoy the night so we headed over to a dance club near by and were treated to head-throbbing music and buckets of alcohol while dancing to the top American Top 40 soundtrack. What more could you ask for to drown your soccer sorrows?

shots with the birthday boy, boyfriend, and brother

black-light bowling!

group shot

Namaste

Vegas Lights and K-Pop Stars

This weekend was a long one. Since about 23% of Korea's population is Buddhist, the country receives a national holiday for Buddha's birthday on May 22 which means a paid day off. Happy birthday Buddha!

I had been talking about visiting my friend Sam in Seosan for a while now and finally made it happen. Seosan is about an hour and a half southwest of Seoul by bus. It's located in the Chungcheongnam-do province. Leaving after school on Thursday, Sean and I caught a bus into Seoul and then headed to the bus terminal. The station was so packed because of the long weekend that we had to wait an hour and a half to catch a bus. When we arrived in Seosan Sam met us at the bus terminal and we headed to the main part of the town to grab some food and drinks. Her friends started a band together and played some live music at a local bar that night. They even played a special song for Sam and I, Toto's "Africa". Sam has become really close with the bartenders at the local bar, 501. Coby and Bum are about two of the funniest Koreans I have met. They are both so smiley and energetic and make the bar a lot of fun. I had a great time listening to live music and meeting some of Sam's friends and co-workers. The next day we slept in and then got up to walk around Seosan a bit. After eating some lunch we found ourselves in the city center and eventually in the market. The market reminded me of a smaller scale Busan market with lots of seafood, produce, and other strange meats and things for sale. We purchased bus tickets and then cooled down with some bingsu at a local place. Friday was probably the hottest day we've had so far this spring/summer in Korea. Later we said goodbye to Sam and headed back to the big city.

Check out a video of the band playing Toto's "Africa" here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100213180725979&ref=mf

Seosan, Korean Vegas

the band

me, Bum, and Sam

Sam and I on the coolest swing seat ever

bingsu with ice cream

I didn't get a chance to explore Seosan very much, but what I saw I liked. The little strip with all the bars was lit up so brightly you would have thought it was Vegas or something. Seosan is such a small town that literally every foreigner knows each other. It's kind of got this home-town feel to it, but might be too small town for me. Sam is really enjoying herself and loves getting to know everyone including her Korean neighbors and shop owners. I am looking forward to a visit again soon to get out of Seoul and have a change of scenery.

Saturday night was the 14th annual Dream concert in Seoul. This concert was a collection of the hottest K-Pop bands out there right now all gathered in one giant concert. The best part was that the tickets were only 5,000 won. Consequently, the show sold out in half an hour, but we managed to get tickets. Imagine a concert in the U.S. circa late 1990's/early 2000's with like Backstreet Boys, N'SYNC, 98 Degrees, Brittany Spears, and Christina Aguilera all performing together in one show with $5 tickets and you can begin to imagine the hugeness of this event. After arriving late to World Cup Stadium and standing in the rain, we finally made it in and found some seats. We listened to a few bands from outside the gate and then got to see one of Korea's hottest K-Pop stars, Rain perform his latest hit. After that I was exhausted and hungry, so we called it a night and grabbed some dinner and beer. It was an experience and I'm glad I got to see a bit of it, but was also glad to have made it out of there early before getting trampled by thousands of screaming Korean teenagers.

Check out a video of Rain performing here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100213191823739&ref=mf

the Dream concert

the crowd

what a trooper, got dragged to the concert after my seat buddy got sick and couldn't go

After 8 months in Korea there is never a dull moment, always something new to try or somewhere new to explore. I am loving my weekends and definitely living for them. Looking forward to a trip to Jeju Island next weekend, which is again a long one for me.

Namaste

That's My DJ

Seoul held it's 4th annual World DJ Festival this weekend. The festival kicked off at 2pm on Saturday and went all the way until 6am Sunday morning. There were different DJs and MCs from all over spinning different kinds of music such as rock, hip-hop, and house. Oh yes, there was house. Not exactly my favorite kind of music, but after enough time the beats all blend together and your feet just can't help but to move. There were four stages each playing different music simultaneously. I made my way back and forth to all of them and even squeezed my way through the crowd to the very front row for a bit.

I was surprised at the amount of people who came out for the event. There must have been hundreds (maybe a thousand?) of people spread out over a few acres of land right along the Han River. There were so many different types of people; punk rockers, goth kids, hippies, preppies, teenagers, middle-agers, Koreans, expats, you name it, they were there. People watching was part of the fun of the festival. You would be surprised at how big Doc Martins (yes, the same ones we begged our moms for in 7th grade) still are here. Not sure if it had anything to do with their huge promotional tent at the fest, but I'm thinking perhaps. Despite the differences, we all had something in common; music. Everyone came to hear the music and enjoy a night of partying and dancing.

For a few thousand won, you could down some cold Miller beers or stand by the Jager tent and sip Jager/energy drinks all night. Food was served in the form of a stick; fish cakes and sausages were devoured by hungry, energy seeking people. Glow sticks were everywhere to be found, as well as dance circles. Face painting/make-up was done by our friends and MAC make-up artists, Jin-he and Mini. Blankets and tarps were spread out all over the ground by those who arrived early and claimed their space. A reggae drumming circle came through the festival around 1am complete with a parade, flags, and lit up drums. And there were cameras. Oh man, were there cameras. People were desperately trying to capture every moment on film as if to prove that 'yes, it really happened'.

Koreans generally love to party until dawn and that's just what they did (minus the occasional person passed out on their tarp). We left the fest before sunrise, but there were plenty of people still jumping up and down rocking to the music as we made our way out. I survived with sore feet, aching throat, and pounding head, but it was worth it.

Sean and I before the DJ Fest

DJ Fest poster

some of the group

reggae drummer

Sean, me and Sam

Sam and I breakin it down

the main stage

Namaste

The Secret Life of the American Teacher

It occurred to me the other day as I was riding the subway that most teachers lead sort of a double life. I guess maybe other professionals do too, but I believe that teachers especially have to juggle two different personas. One is the teacher. This role involves more than showing up to work on time, teaching children, and grading papers. Teachers are expected to be people with high moral standards. They are supposed to be role models and set examples for their students. They are supposed to be ever-friendly and caring. They are supposed to be trustworthy and approachable. They are supposed to be what I like to think of as 'Susie Sunshines'. Of course there are the 'Debbie Downers' out there too, but I like to think that they were once 'Susie Sunshines' before time and fruitless efforts got the best of them. When I chose teaching as my profession, I knew that it would require me to behave in a certain manor and represent myself in a certain way. I believe that most teachers behave this way already to some extent or another and so consequently the 'teacher' persona is not hard to fill. If they don't, well then, I'd imagine it would be tough to present yourself in this way. (Maybe this is the case with some Debbie Downers.) The other persona I like to call 'just human'. Teachers are not perfect. No one is perfect. The 'just human' persona is one that teachers can present to people that they love and trust; friends and family. Teachers can behave and live their lives the way they like outside of school (to a certain extent- I personally don't believe any respectable teacher should be dancing on poles or peddling drugs on the side) so long as they remember that they hold a public position, a lot of times a government job. So why did I start thinking of all this on the subway the other day? Well, I thought about the persona that I show to my students at school. I am kind, sincere, sometimes complacent, and I come across as very conservative. Then I looked at my outfit. I was wearing a LBD (little black dress)- not too short or revealing but a little, make-up, hair down and curled, and lots of jewelry. I was going out to meet some friends for dinner and drinks. I would not dream in a million years of dressing this way to school. I then saw one of my students and he hardly recognized me (before I forced my friend to stand in front of me to block his vision). I didn't really want him to see me dressed up to go out because I did not want him to see anything but my teacher persona. I wanted him to think of me as the English teacher with conservative clothes, little make-up, and hair always pulled back. So why did I care? I mean, this persona is part of me too. This is when I began thinking about the concept of living a sort of double life. I would never want my students to see me drinking soju or dancing in a night club and I would never want my friends to see me standing at a blackboard dictating English grammar or singing songs with my students, hence the secret life of the American teacher (Korea edition). Conservative teacher by day, liberal 20-something by night. Kinda makes my life sounds more exciting put in this perspective and I kinda like it.

On Tuesday my school had field day. It was quite a sight to see. Just like in the states, the students were on different teams, there were parents taking photographs and videos, and lots of funny and semi-athletic events the kids participated in. Some of the events included relay races, balloon popping, tug-of-war, and many other kinds of team games. The students had a great time and I actually did too. I played photographer for the day and was assigned to pictures and videos. There were lots of parents at the school and I could tell they were all checking out the foreign English teacher. It felt a little strange, but one woman came up to me and started talking. She told me her son is in 4th grade (so I teach him English) and she is also an English teacher at another elementary school. It was the first kind of parent interaction I had had in a while and was actually really nice to talk with her. Before and after the events, the students, teachers, and principals all did a stretching routine simultaneously. Apparently every single public school in Korea teaches the students this routine and consequently every single person in Korea knows this routine. It is set to music and wish I got a video of it because it was such a riot.

All of the female teachers at my school had on the same type of 'uniform' if you will: snazzy matching track suit, designer gym shoes, white gloves, and what we foreigners here in Korea like to call a giant ajuma visor. This ajuma visor is not your typical Nike golf or Abercrombie visor, it has a huge brim and looks absolutely ridiculous. The women wear them and the white gloves to protect their skin from the sun. My co-teachers were horrified that I was not wearing a hat outside (mind you, it was a cloudy day) and insisted I wear one of their extra visors. No thank you! Korean women definitely go to great lengths to keep their skin protected in the sun. I would be curious to know what their skin cancer statistics are like here. Probably significantly lower than our tanning bed, oil lathering, sun-kissed skin obsessed country.

Yesterday was Children's Day and I, along with everyone else in Korea had the day off from work. Yes, they actually have a holiday just for children here in Korea. Most families spend time together and go to the park, shopping, out to eat, etc. The children also receive presents as well. Kinda wish I was a kid in Korea for Children's Day, sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me; no school and presents?! After field day on Tuesday we got to leave school early and I went to see The Blindside at the theatre with my sixth grade co-teachers. Then I went out with some friends Tuesday night for some Mexican food and drinks in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Yesterday I spent the day in Myeong-dong doing a little shopping and then went to Samcheong-dong. Sean suggested we check it out because I had never been before. It's a little neighborhood next to Insa-dong and I must say probably one of my most favorite neighborhoods I've visited in Seoul thus far. The streets are lined with high-end stores, little vendors selling crafts and jewelry, art galleries galore, and tons of coffee and tea shops. Most of the buildings are traditional Korean style. Around every nook and cranny is a perfect photo spot. I loved Samcheong-dong and can't wait to go back again and explore even more! I ended the night with some Korean BBQ and ice cream in the park.

traditional Korean architecture in Samcheong-dong

cute little coffee shop

Samcheong-dong's hidden byways reminded me of Stone Town, Zanzibar

Sean and I stopped for a photo-op

The weather here has turned from schizophrenic (warm and sunny one minute to rainy and windy the next to freezing the next) to humid in a matter of days and we are getting our first tastes of what summer is going to be like. Let me tell you, with no AC on buses, overcrowded subways, and moisture in the air so thick you could collect water in buckets, it's not going to be pretty. Oh well, I guess lots of cold showers and popsicles are in the cards!

Namaste