Last week in Korea

Friday while I went to work, Jessie decided to explore the Art Museum. This was a fairly disappointing experience for her because the main parts of the museum were closed for renovations. This left Jessie with a room smaller than the size of my apartment to explore… not what she was expecting.

Later on, Jessie made her way to Shinsaege, which is the World’s Largest Department Store. I had recommended that she see it, but she found it a bit overwhelming. There are so many floors and so many people it does get to be a bit much. Instead, she found a HomePlus, which is a large grocery store, and wandered around. She brought home milk, so I was pleased. She met a street performer there, from AIM church, which she had met on the previous Sunday. He played Christian music on street corners for the past 29 years, travelling all around the world.

After work we went over to Amy’s house. She cooked a lovely dinner of spaghetti and veggies. We were joined by Migon, her friend and Kay. It was a nice evening with lots of laughter. This was also the first time that Jessie was able to meet Mr. Peterson. Mr. Peterson is a cat that Amy is watching while her owners travel (Yes, Mr. Peterson is a girl cat). Jessie was ecstatic because Mr. Peterson looks exactly like our first cat, Snowey.

Saturday was another busy day. Jessie explored KSU area in the morning while I had some errands to run. Afterwards we met up with Amanda, and made our way to the Busan Cultural Center. We were going to see a performance by the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra and I was really looking forward to it. We arrived a bit early which was a good thing, because the theater was almost full. The musicians came out and did a brief introduction (in Korean) and then began to play various classical hits including Beethoven, Gershwin and many others. These were beautiful to listen to and they reminded me of my grandfather, who always had a love for classical music.

The last song played was called The Classic, and it surprised me a bit. During the entire performance, the audience had been polite and respectful and listened quietly. As the musicians were playing The Classic however, everyone started humming along with the tune. I didn’t know this song but it shocked me that everyone was participating. Moreover, it shocked me that it sounded so good. As this was all happening, all I could think of was that this would probably be one of my last shocking moments in Korea. Over the year, there have been many, and as this might be the last, it saddened me. I started to cry because I was finally coming to realize that my time in Korea was coming to an end. Although the show brought me to tears, it was very well done and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

Later Saturday evening, we had tickets to the Grand Opening of Busan’s Theater which was showing an Orchestra performance. Anna had found some free tickets and had given them to me and a few friends. It was a classical day for us. We arrived at the theater a few minutes before show time and got our tickets and found our seats. The show was a much fancier affair than the one in the afternoon. People were all dressed up and a photographer was especially interested in us because we were waygooks (Americans/White people).

Overall, it was a beautiful performance. The orchestra was much larger, the lighting was more professional and there was even an opera singer that performed. The one thing that made me realize that I was still in Korea (a country that loves CUTZIE things) was when a giant teddy bear came onto stage with the orchestra and played a fake mini keyboard…. Cheesy in my opinion.
After the performance, we were all a bit hungry so Amy, Jack, Kay, Jessie and I went out for Korean BBQ. This was a delicacy that Jessie hadn’t tried yet, and there was a great restaurant in front of my apartment. We all went there and sat on the floor in traditional Korean style. Various side dishes were placed in front of us and then we got a huge plate or raw pork which we placed on the hot grill in the centre of our table. The food was absolutely delicious and although we smelled fairly smoky afterwards, it was an incredible night.

Sunday was another great day. Jessie and I went to my church (her second time now) and service was really great. A friend of mine from work, Arum also joined us, and I was so happy that she was there. At the end of the sermon, the pastor surprised me and called me up in front of the congregation. He knew that it was my last few days in Korea so he wanted to pray for me and send me off. I also gave a little speech about my time in Korea and the wonderful people I met. At the end, he presented me with a Bible from the church. Such a lovely gesture, I thought.
Following the church service, we met up with a few more friends, and the group of us were going to go to the water temple. It’s a beautiful temple set on the rocks on the ocean. The temple is a fair ways away (you need to take the subway then a bus or cab to get there) and once we got to Jangsan, the last stop on the subway, we realized how cold it was. Instead of continuing on to the temple, we made a group decision to go to the famous Dog Café instead. This Café is known for having dogs all over the place that you can play with and enjoy while sipping a latte and eating cookies.

Once we arrived at the café, the smell made me want to run in the other direction. Luckily they were actually overbooked for that day and there was a waiting list, so we just decided to go to a regular café (one that would pass public health codes). We had a great afternoon eating cakes and drinking coffee at Tous Le Jours bakery and café.

After a quick nap at home, it was time to get ready for the German Bar!!! This is a brewery at the other end of the city. It’s hilarious to me because all of the Korean staff wear durndles and leiderhosen (traditional German clothes). There’s also a live band that plays and they’re incredibly good. We arrived there and ordered some beer and eventually the dance floor opened up. When Koreans are drunk, they’re very friendly so Jessie and I made a new dance partner with a Korean man and we danced to ‘Cotton Eyed Joe’.
The night ended a little while later and it was off to bed after a great day out.

Monday through Wednesday were pretty typical days. Jessie toured around while I worked. She spent some time with Ruth (our great Korean friend) and they went to Taejondae and did the Busan City tour, despite the rain. Ruth also took Jessie to Nampodong which is a great shopping area and they explored the largest fish market. Jessie went up to the Busan tower and looked around. I’m glad she was able to see all of these things, because between working and trying to finalize everything after a year of living in Korea, I didn’t have much leftover time.

Wednesday was my last day of work and Tuesday night was the Avalon welcome/goodbye dinner. I had previously asked if Jessie would be able to join and my boss assured me that she was welcome. We met at a fish restaurant at the beach. This was traditional Korean style, so we were all seated on the floor. The menu was ALL raw fish, but many different varieties. Seeing as this was my last opportunity and I wouldn’t spend my own money to sample various raw fish, I decided to give it a go. I sampled most of the fish but when I got to the raw oyster, I thought I might die. It was so slimy and squishy, I didn’t think I would be able to get it down.

The evening ended with speeches. I was anticipating this and felt fairly comfortable standing up and speaking with my former collegues. What I wasn’t expecting was for my boss to ask Jessie to give a speech. It was quite funny watching her scramble to her feet and address many people she didn’t know. She introduced herself and told about her time so far in Korea. I can say that I had quite a bit of sister pride at that moment.

With every speech, comes a shot of alcohol, so by the end of the evening, I was feeling it a bit. We went home later and I went to bed knowing that I was almost officially unemployed… one day left! time for a vacation!

Wednesday was the last day of work and it went by smoothly. I only had 2 classes to teach so in between them, I made trips to the bank and also went back to the apartment to spend some time with Jess. I received a few gifts from my students and even one from my friend and coworker Arum. It was a great way to end the contract.

The fun all came on Wednesday evening. Jessie and I met up with some friends in the university area of town, KSU. We did a bit of bar hopping and I introduced Jessie to passion fruit flavored beer… a delicacy! Amanda was spoiling us with shot after shot and before long, we both had a buzz.

This was when we took Jessie to the Noribang. This is a very popular place in Korea. It’s a private karaoke room you can rent out with friends and sing until your heart’s content. We actually met some foreigners on the way out and they suggested that we just go in and join some other foreigners in the room, so we did that. We soon made friends and sang a few songs together. Then they left us and we had the room to ourselves. Although Kay was a bit tired, and Amanda was feeling blue, we still managed to have a great time. I think Jessie really enjoyed her first Noribang experience.

Thursday morning was very uneventful. Jessie was an angel and helped me pack. We probably spent 6 solid hours packing, cleaning and organizing things to move out. Now, many of you know that I’m quite a nester—I worked hard to make my apartment homey and I purchased many things in the process. Well moving out meant that I had to get rid of those things…. This was a fairly stressful process. Luckily I was able to sell most of it. There were quite a few items though that I reserved for my Korean grandma, Anna. She had her eye on my oven and microwave as well as some blankets and shelves. My coworker Hubert offered to help transport it on Thursday night with his car, which worked out perfectly.

We unloaded all of the stuff at Anna’s and then were invited in for her homemade curry and rice. It was delicious and Anna was beyond happy with her new gadgets. I think Hubert had a nice time as well, he got a few Anna hugs, which are worth millions.

Friday went by in a blur. I got up early and paid my bills at the bank, exchanged money, closed my account and tied up loose ends. Then I met Jessie and Amy (my friend) and we went to a bible study for the next few hours. Afterwards Jessie and I had lunch with Pastor Stan (the pastor at the church I attended), his wife, daughter and two Korean friends. We went to this fancy Korean BBQ restaurant and had marinated beef that was to die for. The food was absolutely delicious and it was so nice to spend some time with them before I left. They’re such nice people.
One of the other women at lunch was named Christine. She offered to drive Jessie and I around and give us a final tour of some of the wonders of Busan. By the time lunch was over, we only had about an hour to spare so she took us to Sonjong beach, which was beautiful despite the rain. It was really nice to get to know her a bit better. Finally she dropped us off at home.

Once home, we had to hurry to make it to the post office. I had a HUGE box of various goods that I wanted to send home. Previously I had gone to the post office and asked if there are any restrictions for mailing boxes to Canada. The only thing I was told was that it could not be larger than 2m by 2m. Well my box was definitely not that big. We hauled it over and when it was on the scale, the woman said it was much too heavy. She told me that the maximum weight was 20kg (would have been nice to know earlier). Jessie helped me unpack my box in the post office and we sent it off a little while later when it fit into the weight category. We were hurrying because we had plans with my coworker Hubert to see the dadepo fountain show.

When Hubert finally arrived, we got in the car and headed for Dadepo, which in on the outskirts of Busan. We got lost a few times but finally made it. The frustrating news we received here is that the show doesn’t start until April. This contradicts with the information I found on the website, but that usually happens when there is a language barrier. Nevertheless, we took a stroll along the beautiful beach and then made our way home where more packing was waiting for us.
Amanda came over a little while later and was the luggage Police for my packing (which was a little excessive). She went through my suitcases and sternly told me time and time again that I didn’t need so many clothes. By the end of it all, she had taken away two full bags of clothes. Jessie would like you to know that she passed with flying colours.

By about 3am, we were all packed, the apartment looked good and we were exhausted. I made a mental note that this would be the last time I would ever sleep in Korea. It’s crazy how fast a year can pass.