Jessie's First Full Week in Korea

After a busy weekend, Monday morning came way too quickly. We planned to meet a Korean friend Ruth for lunch at a local Vietnamese restaurant. The group of us consisted of Ruth, Jessie, Amy, Kay and myself. We had a wonderful lunch that consisted of rice paper wraps filled with various veggies, freshly cooked beef and delicious peanut and hot sauce.

The day was so beautiful that we decided to buy some ice cream and take a stroll along the beach, which was right outside of the restaurant (it’s a hard life!). We walked for a while and then came to a work out area that faced the ocean. This was Jessie’s first experience seeing one of these areas and it reminded me of my excitement when I saw one for the first time… such a foreign concept for Canadians.

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We spent the next hour testing out the workout equipment and having a great time.

Eventually, it was time for Kay, Amy and I to go to work, but luckily Ruth had the day off and recruited Jessie for an afternoon for hiking Geumnyeonsam Mountain. This was a relief for me because I knew Jessie would be bored if she spent another full day with me at work. Ruth is a wonderful and optimistic person, and I was sure that Jessie would have a blast with her.

Sure enough, when I came home that night, I was told various stories of all of their adventures hiking up the mountain (I haven’t even hiked that one yet!). One of Jessie’s favorite things was the “Starbus” van that sold snacks and drinks on the mountain. She told me that she and Ruth relaxed with a bottle of Maggoli which is Korean rice wine and enjoyed the stunning views.

Tuesday morning was an early wakeup. We met my friend Amanda at the subway station and boarded the train to the Shrine. This shrine was a monument set up to honour the Korean soldiers who fought against the Japanese. It consisted of beautifully manicured gardens, traditional houses and many different historical artifacts.

Although the shrine is much more beautiful in spring when everything is green and blooming, it was wonderful to see it and experience the beauty that is still present in winter. I think Jessie really enjoyed it.

Afterwards we had the option of going to a market or heading home. I was tired from our early morning, so I opted for a quick nap before I had to go to work.

On Wednesday, I took one of my 10 vacation days and spent the day with Jessie. I had a huge itinerary for us to do and we had a nice early start to the day. First, we made our way to the aquarium. I had found a coupon online so we got in for half price (although it seemed to puzzle them employees, I think they just didn’t want to have to speak English to us, so they let us pass).

The aquarium is a beautiful place full of different aquatic life. My favorite displays were the penguins, otters, sea turtles, sting rays and sharks. A few of the sharks were quite comical. One had crazy teeth and looked like it was in severe need of braces. Another had a dramatic back deformity. All I could think of when I saw him was my Chiropractor back home and what he’d say if he saw the shark!

We were lucky enough to see a feeding show of the sharks and large fish. I couldn’t figure out which were better to watch: the fish or the captivated toddlers in the audience. Overall it was a great way to spend the morning.

After the aquarium we walked around the Haeundae market. This is where Jessie tried her first Pajon (Korean style pancake) this one was filled with a green grass similar to chives. Unfortunately this Pajon was pretty oily but usually they’re very tasty. She also tried some tempura vegetables, shrimp and kimbap…. She loves kimbap!

Soon after, we got back on the subway and arrived at the BEXCO convention centre. Currently there’s an exhibition going on called Trick Art. This is an area where there are many different paintings and displays that you can take pictures with and interact with. It was a great time and was fun getting to be silly with Jessie. By the end of it though, we were done with pictures.

Originally we had planned to go to Nampodong which is a large shopping area, but by this point we were already winding down. We stopped off at Suyeong Market and bought some fruit which we brought home and then went down the road to a highly recommended traditional Korean restaurant.

Jessie had been looking forward to a traditional Korean meal on the floor so this was the perfect opportunity. The menu was very reasonable and we both ordered a stewed beef meal. The meal came with a beautiful assortment of fresh vegetables which would be used as wrappers for the meat and rice. It also came with a spicy fish stew, seaweed soup and a large amount of Korean side dishes…. Quite a table full of food!!

Jessie and I enjoyed the meal. I think she enjoyed it more than me because these flavors were new to her (the taste of Kimchi is beginning to get old for me now) but it was very good. We finished the meal off with a tasty ice cream from next door.

After eating and sitting on a warm floor, I was feeling a bit drowsy. Jessie agreed to pausing our day of adventure for a quick nap as I was quite knackered… well after 30 minutes I was ready to go out and embrace the world again, but Jessie was dead to it. I could not get her to wake up… she was out!

She didn’t get up until after 9pm, so the remainder of our plans for the day were shifted to next week (no problem at all). I decided to make the rest of the evening into a cleaning spree so that our apartment didn’t look quite so horrendous. I already had a lot of stuff to begin with, but the addition of Jessie, her backpack and two large suitcases make my apartment into more of a madhouse.

We went to bed a few hours later… it’s amazing how tiring touring can be.

Thursday morning was also an early one. We left the apartment early and headed off to Igiedae Park which is a beautiful mountain /costal walk right along the ocean. The views are breathtaking and it’s only about a 40minute walk from my house. The day was amazing! It was a high of 15 degrees…. Much warmer than previous days. We had such a fantastic time walking around and meeting fellow Korean hikers along the way. It was a great way to spend time with Jessie.

I’ve noticed over the past week that I can relive the excitement of Korea through Jessie’s experiences. Over the past year, I’ve grown accustomed to the many wonders of life in this country. The fact that Jessie is experiencing all of these things for the first time causes her to react in a very expressive way… this reminds me how wonderful these things are and that I shouldn’t overlook them as much as I do. Igiedae was one of those things… I had forgotten just how valuable and beautiful the coastline of Korea can be if you stop to appreciate it…. Thanks Jessie!!

Once we got to a plateau in our walk, we came across a little bar/café/beverage area and sat down. We ordered some Maggoli from a very cute old Korean man. The Maggoli was a little off but the view was beautiful. Sitting in the morning overlooking such a fantastic view with my sister, who I haven’t seen for a year…. It’s the best! I think the old man saw that we weren’t downing the Maggoli too eagerly, so he came and gave us both a cup of coffee as “service” which means Free of Charge here. It was so sweet. When Jessie went up to pay for our drinks he thanked her by saying “Sank you, Sir”…. Awww!!!

Unfortunately our walk came to an end a little while later because I had to get to work. We had some slight confusion after ordering a cab but eventually we found one and made our way to work… the rest of the day was not nearly as exciting.

Jessie's Arrival

This past Thursday has probably been one of the most exciting days for me in my adult life. It was the day I would pick up my little sister in the airport after not seeing her (or any of my other family members) for almost a year. The entire day I was nauseous with anticipation and was constantly thinking of her arrival (which was scheduled for 9pm). My classes flew by and I couldn’t help but tell my students the exciting news. They were also excited to meet Laura Teacher’s sister.

At 8:15, my boss met me and told me he’d drive me to the airport. This was an extremely nice gesture, as I thought I’d have to take the train there and back. We had a wonderful chance to talk together and I got to know more about his life and stories of his youth… he’s a very interesting person.

The wait for Jessie’s plane to arrive was made longer due to the fact that she was delayed. As I was waiting for her to walk out the doors I could hardly contain myself. My boss was telling me all about his dreams and ambitions for the next five years and all I could do was stare at the door with my nerves on end.

Finally, she walked through and I rushed over to hug her. Being as we’re so close and it’s been such a long time since I’ve seen her, of course I started bawling as soon as we hugged. My poor boss came over and saw me in a weepy mess of joy and didn’t know what to do. I don’t think he’s used to females that emote as much as I do.

My boss kindly drove us back to my apartment where we hauled her two large suitcases and she began unpacking. Inside them were many assorted baked goods from home… I was so excited to taste them—they bring back many flavors of home for me. We stayed up until about 1:30am talking and then drifted off to sleep, happy to be reunited again.

By 6am, Jessie was wide awake because of the time difference. Due to the small size of my apartment, this meant that I was also awake. It would take her a while to adjust to the time difference, but for now, we just decided to roll with it.

We had a nice breakfast together. I made her a special meal of chocolate chip pancakes with beautiful red strawberries on top… something I had been dreaming about and craving for days beforehand. Afterwards I took her to a bible study that I have been attending at a friend’s house. This apartment was right on Haeundae beach and gave Jessie a great view of one of Korea’s top beaches. She also met some wonderful women and enjoyed a nice morning together with the group.

Afterwards we took a stroll along the beach and ended up at my work. We ate some Korean food for lunch (Jessie LOVED it!) and then Jessie sat in on my classes for the day and met some of my students.

By 10pm, when I finished work, Jessie was pretty exhausted and so we decided to go home. On the way, we passed the spa where I have a membership, so I made an executive decision and told Jessie that we’d go in for just a little bit. Well, she was pretty apprehensive because this is the naked spa, where you bathe and relax with other naked women… she wasn’t sure if she was ready for it. I decided that she just needed to plunge in, so I told her she’d be just fine.

Afterwards, she told me it had been one of her favorite things so far. We both came home a little while later; relaxed, refreshed and ready for a good night’s sleep.

Saturday morning came all too quickly. Jessie was still recovering from her jetlag and woke up at 7am… at least this was an improvement from the morning before. We had a nice breakfast and then went for a long walk along the beach and surrounding boardwalk. The morning was so beautiful and was the perfect opportunity to take pictures.

In the afternoon, we headed to the Busan Cultural Centre for a traditional Korean performance. The Gukak Chamber Orchestra played a very interesting selection of songs including Sujech'on, Gayageum Sanjo, Gyeonggi Folk songs, Daepung-ryu, andPansori. These were great to experience as they are very different from our typical western style of music. Jessie and I decided that when there was no rhythm or beat in the songs we considered it to be quite unpleasant noise, however as soon as there was some type of beat, it was much more enjoyable. Overall it was very well done.

Afterwards we took a stroll to the nearby UN cemetery however it had closed so we went to a stationary shop and Jessie bought all sorts of ‘cutezy’ items. Note: Korea is packed with all things cute… Jessie was like a kid in a candy store.

Following the shopping spree, we met up with some friends for a delicious shabu-shabu dinner. This is a meal similar to hot pot, where you get a large pot in the centre of the table and add various meats and veggies. Apart from being a little spicy, it was very delicious. This is also where Jessie tried her first taste of Soju… quite the facial expression at that one!

The evening ended fairly early after a warm cup of tea and plans for the following day…

Sunday morning we started with Church. I was curious to see what Jessie thought, but she was warmly welcomed and really enjoyed it. She finally was able to meet my beloved Anna who has become my Korean grandmother. Anna was thrilled to meet Jessie, as she has heard so much about her the past year. The two of them quickly grew very close, and we are all excited to get together later this week.

Afterwards we headed to Haeundae area. We walked around and then settled on a restaurant overlooking the beach where we had two different dishes. Although one was a bit spicy again, both were delicious and Jessie thoroughly enjoyed the Korean flavours of kimchi.

We walked along the beach and made our way to the boating area where we were thinking of boarding a boat cruise that would take us to nearby islands. Plans changed when we saw the prices of the tour and we decided to be economical and take a beautiful walk to the APEC house. The APEC house was built for the 2005 Leader’s meeting and luncheon. It cost around 19 million dollars to build and is now open to the public for viewing. It was interesting to tour around it and see the various rooms and information boards.

The area around the APEC house is covered in beautiful gardens and manicured paths. We spent some time wandering around and finally walked back through the city and made our way home.

Jessie and I took a little rest and then wandered out for our last outing of the day: SPALAND! Spaland is another naked spa but it is a world class attraction. This was my first time visiting this particular spa, and it definitely puts the other ones to shame.

There were so many jaw dropping rooms and facilities it’s impossible not to have an oasis retreat. We spent some time in the baths (one of which included an outdoor steaming hot waterfall) then made our way to the Jimjilban part, which is where you put on a uniform and just relax.

We visited various rooms but my favorite was the last area where we sat in leather recliners and had body massages…. Amazing! It’s needless to say that I slept well that night… what a wonderful weekend.