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

365 Days

Today is my one year mark in Korea. One year ago today I found myself in this country far from home and began to make a life for myself here. My life this past year has been a whirlwind of experiences and learning about myself. I am so grateful for this opportunity, but so grateful to have such amazing family and friends that make returning home such a treat.

These 365 days have been some of the hardest of my life. I never thought I would get homesick the way I sometimes found myself. I never thought I would not like my job as much as I did. I never thought I was anything worth staring at for so long. I never thought I would feel as awkward and frustrated as I did at times. Despite all of the not so good days, there were plenty of fantastic days to boot.

I will really miss the people, places, and little things that made my time here so special. The nice comments from my students in the form of a "teacher, your earrings are really big" or "teacher, your belt is really pink", the smile and wave from my favorite crossing guard, the free juice from the security man at the bank, the goodies from my co-workers at school, all the small kindnesses that had such a large impact on me. I will miss shopping at A Land in Myeong-dong, running along the Tancheon, trying new restaurants in Itaewon, gelato smoothies at my favorite coffee shop in Bundang, and all night excursions in Hongdae. I'm convinced no other city can party as long as Seoul can. I will miss all of the people that made my time here memorable. Most of all I will miss my boyfriend, Sean, without whom I might not have made it the whole year here.

Besides my one year anniversary, today also happens to be Korean thanksgiving, so Happy Chuseok! In the spirit of giving thanks, I am so thankful for my year in Korea and I feel truly blessed.

2.5 weeks until I fly home.

Namaste

Palace in the City

Since I have come to Korea I have wanted to visit one of Seoul's palaces, but never actually got around to it until this past weekend. Gyeongbokgung is the largest palace in Seoul and sits in the middle of Seoul's busy downtown. Walking through the grounds were many different buildings and structures, each used for specific purposes. I was surprised just how expansive it really was. On one end of the compound was the National Museum of Korea as well. The structures were fist built in the 12th century and have been reconstructed as needed due to damages that occurred during Japanese occupation. Each building was more beautiful and grand than the next. Gyeongbokgung is hands down one of my most favorite places I have visited in Seoul. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I have included lots for you to see for yourself.

the Korean National Museum

structure in the park, beautiful

love the traditional Korean architecture

Sean and I in the palace grounds

stunning

guards overlooking the courtyard

sneaking a photo with the guard

the second gate

the main gate

The day ended with some shopping and lunch in Insadong. We had some delicious food at a little place off the main street. The main dishes were beef with soy sauce and japchae, Korean clear noodles with seafood. Really tasty.

with all the sides, waiting for the main dishes

beef and japchae

Namaste

Seoul: The City That Never Stops

Seoul is one giant tourist attraction. There are so many things to see and do and experience. Just walking around the city is a tourist attraction. For an American like me, it's so different to see a modern city with huge sky-scrapers and fast cars dotted with ancient temples and bell towers. It's just so unique compared to any city in the western hemisphere I have ever seen. There's a real feeling of being in two time periods at once and I find it fascinating.

I wanted to check out a traditional market in Seoul, so Sean went with me and we found our way to the Gwangjang Market near Dongdaemun. This market sells a variety of different things. There are clothing stalls, gifts, household items, food, etc. When we arrived at the market it was later in the evening it appeared to be closing down. The vendors were all closing their shops for the night, but as we walked through the building a little more we discovered a thriving food market. There were lots of little stands set up right in the middle of the market where ajumas were selling all kinds of yummy foods (and soju and makgoli of course). There were kimchi and mung bean pancakes, parts of pig heads, feet, skin, etc., stews with thick pieces of beef and potatoes, and many other unrecognizable things. We sat down and had a kimchi and mung bean pancake. They were delicious. We then traveled a little further into the market hallway and found even more set-ups with lots and lots of men in business suits eating, drinking, and generally being merry. It was a little after work watering hole for the Seoul business men. There were many more stalls of creepy foods such as sundae (sausage) and lots of pig feet and intestines. Not really my thing. I just couldn't stop thinking to myself that people in America eat that stuff because they want to win $50,000 on Fear Factor or something, but people in Korea eat that stuff because they ENJOY it. The Gwangjang Market after hours was definitely an experience.

mung bean and kimchi pancake

serving up some yummies at the market

Gwangjang Market

Sean wanted to surprise me, so he took me to a place I had wanted to see in Seoul for a while; the Banpo Bridge. It is one of the most well known bridges in the world because of it's beautiful Moonlight Rainbow Fountain. The fountain shoots of spurts of water recylced from the river and is set to music with lights to create a fantastic little show. The bridge is in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest bridge fountain in the world. So many couples and families gathered near the water to see the show that goes off at certain times when the sun goes down. It was a very calming and romantic spot, a nice distraction from the busyness of the city. After all, they say New York is the city that never sleeps, but Seoul is the city that never stops.

Moonlight Rainbow Fountain

the Banpo Bridge

Namaste

11 Down, 1 More to Go!

Today is my 11 month mark in Korea. I am in the home stretch of this whirlwind of a year and I could not be happier. I describe my time here in Korea as a roller coaster because that's exactly what it's been. There have been lots of ups and downs and many in-betweens.

As I look back at my time in Korea, there are lots of things I will miss, but many things I won't. The biggest thing I will not miss is the constant staring. I am excited to come home to normalcy- just being a face among the crowd. Standing out in Korea as a blonde average size girl causes gaping stares of unbelievable amounts. While I have come to realize it's not negative, it drives me to drink. For example, the other day while eating lunch by myself a group of teenage girls at the table next to me were constantly turning around to look at me and then speaking in Korean about me. It was one of the most frustrating meals I've ever had. I mean, can't I even eat in peace without the nonsense?! I dread escalators like a 5 year old child dreads a shot at the doctor. Maybe more because I will be stared at the entire way up or down like a caged animal. The constant staring, whispering, and uncomfortableness will feel wonderful to be rid of!

The thing I will miss the most is the abundant opportunity to learn. I have absorbed and learned more this past year than I ever thought possible through conversation, experience, reading, etc. It seems that each and every day I have learned a new Korean word, gesture, something cultural or historical. I have learned about the world around me, people, and places. In such an interesting and different place as Korea, you are bound to pick up something. The things I have learned about myself and the kind of person I want to be and don't want to be have been numerous. I am just grateful of all that I have seen and will miss dearly the learning opportunities all around me.

I am very much looking forward to the next few months of soaking up my time here in Korea, travel, and spending time with the people I love.

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

Rain, Rain Go Away

I'm sure that the childhood rhyme will not do us any luck over here in South Korea where the monsoon season has begun. Everyone warned me that the rainy season is bad. I had no idea how bad. Friday after work I walked about ten minutes to the subway station and arrived soaking wet. My jeans were soaked to my thighs, my shirt drenched, and my leather Marc bag was in a pathetic state full of unhealthy moisture. Did I mention I had an umbrella?

umbrellas are the new black

Due to the spontaneous torrential downpours and unpredictable wind, my weekend plans changed. Most foreigners made their way down to the west coast for Mud Fest, but I decided last minute to forgo the mud and rain and thunderstorms and stay somewhere dry. Instead, Sean and I spent Saturday afternoon at a local cafe and enjoyed some quiet time reading, listening to tunes, and sipping on tea and fresh juice. I hadn't had a cafe afternoon in a long time and it was quite relaxing.

the little stream has turned into a dirty river

After we cleaned up, we headed to Seoul to see the most critically acclaimed live show in Korea, Nanta. The live show features four chefs who are frantically trying to cook enough food for some weddings within an hour. During the show the actors were actually making music out of the ordinary kitchen utensils while dancing, doing comedy, and cooking. Because of it's audience interaction and wildly entertaining drumming, chopping, and acting, the show has had the longest run of any in Korea's theatre history. During the show the actors pulled audience members on stage for a few different things. At one point, a male chef came towards our isle and grabbed my hand to pull me on stage. I was taken to a cooking table, a chef hat plopped on my head, and I followed what the female chef showed me to do which was make mandu- grab a disc of dough, fill it with cabbage stuff, ball it up with my hand, ring a bell, and when four were made, roll it down the food conveyor belt. It ended up being a kind of contest between myself and another a few others pulled on stage. Sad to say my team lost because we were not fast enough, but it was pretty hilarious getting pulled up there in front of the whole audience. Sean tried to get a photo, but of course my camera had just died.

the stage of Nanta

Sean and I

show poster

When we got out of the show, the rain had not let out at all, so we jumped in a cab and headed to Itaewon to try a restaurant I had been wanting to eat at for a while, the Macaroni Market. The food and drinks were not quite up to par with the prices, but I did have the most excellent salad I have had in Korea, or maybe anywhere with gorgonzola cheese, red lettuce, apple slices, walnuts, celery, and honey dressing. Mmmm.

Today the forecast is rain, again. Of course. So Sean and I are headed to COEX mall to see a movie and eat some Mexican food. All in all, a great, dry, relaxing weekend. Looking forward to a four half-days workweek and vacation begins Friday. Olleh!

Namaste

Where a Kid Can Be a Kid

I forget where that slogan was from, but it popped into my head when Sean and I entered a huge famous amusement park in Seoul this weekend, Lotte World. Lotte World is part indoor/part outdoor theme park complete with rides, games, treats, and even an indoor ice-skating rink. Supposedly the indoor portion is the largest indoor amusement park in the world. The park was filled with Korean and foreign families, teenagers and couples galore, and lots and lots of smiling kids. Almost every single Korean girl there was wearing a giant sparkly bow or animal ears on their heads. Even some guys followed the trend too.

only for a photo, I didn't give in to the trend and make a purchase

We waited in lines. Lots of lines. We ate delicious and unhealthy amusement park-treats like corn dogs, ice cream, and fries. We screamed our heads off flying through the air or dropping into oblivion on some great rides. We had a blast acting like kids for the day. Definitely two thumbs up for Lotte World.

Sean and I posing at Lotte World

inside Lotte World

in front of the castle outside

dippin' dots, yummm

the castle at night was so pretty!

Namaste

Lotus Flower: Purity of the Body, Speech, and Mind

Monday morning and another weekend comes to a close. This weekend was the perfect amount of peaceful relaxation, going out, and Korean culture. Friday night Sean and I enjoyed dinner and then caught a live jazz performance at a cafe in one of my favorite spots in Bundang, cafe street. Cafe street is a little street in Jeongja (one subway stop away from me) filled with little cafes and restaurants galore. At night twinkle lights brighten the street and the atmosphere is so romantic. Walking down this little street makes you feel as though you are miles away from Asia in some little Europen town.

Saturday night after a delicious meal, a big group of us celebrated a friend's birthday at one of our frequented spots in Gangnam. After some good conversation, a terrible game of darts, and flash-back to the ninety's music, I called it a night.

Sunday there was a huge festival in Seoul, the Lotus Lantern Festival. It is an event sponsored by the Buddhist temple near Insa-dong, Jogyesa. We arrived a little later in the afternoon missed the arts and crafts portion of the day where people could create their own paper lanterns to take home. After walking around exploring and photographing the hundreds of lanterns, Sean introduced me to a Korean favorite at a little cafe in Insa-dong. Bingsu is a Korean summer treat made of soy milk, fruit, red beans, rice cake, nuts, and crushed ice all mixed together in one yummy concoction. We also ordered sikhye, a Korean sweet rice drink with bits of rice inside. I personally don't like it because I cringe at the soggy floating pieces of rice, but most Koreans I have met love it.

Buddhist monks

paper lanterns

in front of the Jogyesa temple

lotus lantern with Buddhist symbol

bingsu

sikhye

We finished our bingsu and then headed through Insa-dong and over to the main road to claim a spot for the lantern parade. The streets were packed and we were lucky to have gotten a front row spot. People marched in traditional Korean clothing holding lanterns of all colors and shapes. There were Korean musicians, dancers, and entertainers. The lantern floats were my favorite. They were all at least 5 feet tall and lit up from the inside out. The colors, lights, and sounds were really unlike anything I had seen. It was such a cool experience and I'm glad I got to see it. We finished out the weekend with our Sunday night BBQ tradition.

hanboks and lanterns

elephant lantern float

Korean character

king lantern float

fan dancers

The greatest achievement is selflessness.

The greatest worth is self-mastery.

The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.

The greatest precept is continual awareness.

The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.

The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.

The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.

The greatest generosity is non-attachment.

The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.

The greatest patience is humility.

The greatest effort is not concerned with results.

The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

-Atisha, Buddhist teaching

Namaste