This past Wednesday, all of the foreign teachers at my school plus some of the Korean teachers met up early to go on a group walk and then out for lunch. It was a beautiful spring day and the cherry blossoms were starting to bloom. My boss suggested we spend the morning together as a way to enhance office cohesiveness and also to show the foreign teachers another of the beautiful aspects of Korea.
We began our walk and headed away from the school. Apparently one of the best areas was just around the corner and when we arrived, I definitely agreed; it was stunning. The cherry blossom trees formed an archway over the road and it looked very fairy-tale like. There is something so refreshing about seeing the sure signs of spring and being enclosed in such beauty.
During our walk, we headed toward the beach which was also very close and took the costal walk to the restaurant. Living so close to the ocean is spoiling me—I think I’d definitely be happy living near a beach for the rest of my life. Especially in Busan, you have the perfect balance of natural beauty mixed with city life. There are always endless options of what to do and where to go, but there’s always the simple, natural beauty of nature right around the corner as well.
My boss took us all out for a very delicious lunch. The restaurant was called VIPS (very important people society) and it was a North American style buffet and steak house. I had been craving food from home for a while now, so this hit the spot perfectly! Caesar salad, fajitas, pizza, pasta, different salads, fresh fruit, plenty of seafood etc. Also, on the table there were sizzling steaks to share… very tasty!
After stuffing myself and thoroughly enjoying every bite, we headed back to work. That was probably the least enjoyable thing because after eating so much, I was tired and I just wanted to nap… not work for 8 hours. It was a great little outing though.
Thursday was a very rainy day. When I got to my classroom, many of the kids had raincoats, rainboots, umbrellas, face masks and hats on. I know it was raining a fair amount, but this seemed slightly excessive. Furthermore, about half of my kids didn’t even show up for classes. I asked the kids why there were so many absent and they tried to explain that it was because of the rain. I thought it was a bit of a joke because these kids are usually pushed so hard to excel, I’m sure their mothers wouldn’t let them stay home because of a bit of rain….
My kids tried to explain and finally I understood what they were trying to tell me… the rain was toxic. Apparently the news (in Korean) had said that there was lots of radiation in the rain and that people should avoid it as best as they could. This explained why so many of my kids were bundled up and the other ones didn’t come at all.
I’m not so sure how seriously I take this news. It all seems a tad over dramatic but it sure is quite a sight seeing everyone so bundled up!
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