Birthday in Busan

On the night before my birthday I sat down with a bottle of wine and sipped away, feeling increasingly more sorry for myself with each sip. Although I am loving my time here in Korea, I was feeling very far away from all of my family and friends back in Canada. Thinking of years past with celebrations including my close loved ones made me miss the comfort and familiarity of home. I went to sleep a few hours later in a very lonely state.

When I woke up the next morning, I was pleasantly greeted with birthday text messages, emails and facebook posts. I got myself ready because I had plans to meet some of my girlfriends at the beach for brunch. At around 10am, there was a surprise knock on my door. Standing there were my friends Amy, Dorrial, Amanda and Derya wearing party hats, holding a lit cake and singing Happy Birthday to me in the hallway. To say I was surprised would have been a huge understatement. As many of you know, I am a fairly emotional person (and sometimes those emotions come out as the opposite of what is expected) so, in the midst of this joyous gathering… of course I start crying. And yes, Dorrial got it all on tape!

My friends came in and I started off the morning with a cup of coffee and a slice of delicious blueberry cheesecake. I was thinking to myself how silly I was the night before… I am so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends here in Korea… we really are like a small family.

After the cake and celebrations, we made our way down to the beach where we enjoyed a huge and very satisfying North American style brunch. It was the best of both worlds: food that doesn’t set you on fire while you eat it, and the wonderful view of Gwangan beach. We had some great conversations and enjoyed the morning together.

Soon after lunch I went into work. A few of my coworkers knew it was my birthday and congratulated me. Shortly after 4, I went over to the younger kids campus and a few of the kids said “Happy Birthday Laura teacher” which really surprised me… I was shocked that they knew. When I got to the main reception area, all of the lights were turned off and there were two big cakes with candles lit waiting for me. All of the kids and teachers burst into “happy birthday” and again, made me feel so special.

The day made me recognize how truly blessed I am… to be surrounded by people who go out of their way to make me feel special and valued. What great memories to look back on during future birthdays from now.

As I was teaching my classes, the kids made sure to give me High-fives and congratulatory comments… they were all really good too! All in all, a very rewarding day!

Later that evening, a few of us went out to Seomyeon to a German/Bavarian bar for some drinks. It was a great way to wind down from the day and have a few laughs. I went home later that night feeling great to be here in Korea, especially since I’m surrounded by so many awesome people!

Summer Vacation: Geochang and Namwon

This is a long time overdue, but August 1-3 were my school’s summer vacation days. I had planned to go on a small trip with 3 co-workers (Nam, Migon and Amy) and we met Monday morning thinking that we’d head out to an island and spend the night.

Plans changed slightly when we were told that a bad storm was coming and we might become stranded on the island if we decided to go. Instead, we chose a small town about 3 hours away that was having a theater festival that weekend. The town was called Geochang and when we arrived, we were all pleasantly surprised by the large amounts of grass, trees and flowers. These are things that are not commonly seen in Busan.

Our first priority was to find a place to sleep for the night. This town was extremely old and some of the Korean traditional houses (Hanoks) dated back 300 years! Unfortunately, due to the popularity of the festival going on, there were no rooms left anywhere!

Nam went out in search of a room while Migon, Amy and I walked around and observed the area. We came across this large tree (which was said to be 600 years old!) with a patio beneath it. When we walked closer, we were greeted by a group of old men. They were so friendly and so interested that “Americans” would visit their town. Amy and I had a nice time interacting with them while Migon translated. We got to talking and they suggested that there might be a person who would let us sleep in their house.

Nam was still on the search when we were led to a room in a family’s house that they were offering us for the night. It wasn’t super traditional, but it was a place to sleep and that was fine for us.

We later found out that pretty much the entire town is one large family and their spouses. Everyone works together in this close knit community and it seems like there is a great sense of unity.

After we put our things away in our room, we went back outside in search of food… we were all famished by this point. There was a small restaurant that we went into and Nam took care of the ordering (It’s so nice to travel with people who speak the language… not everything is such a struggle). When our food came out, it was a HUGE platter of chicken, veggies, potatoes and sauce all eaten with rice and small side dishes. There was more than enough and it definitely hit the spot!

As we were dining on the floor, Amy was the first one to sprawl out after overeating… the food was delicious, but we were all rather full by the end. We decided a nice walk would be nice. Goechang has a large river that runs through it and it’s the perfect place to walk or play in the water. We went for a stroll and got our feet wet… it was so nice to be back in nature!

There were many things going on in the area. Huge groups of people were camping and the smell of a campfire made me extremely nostalgic for my family’s annual ‘cousin camp’. it was great to see so many children outdoors interacting with their families and having a great time.

We had planned to go back to our room, get our swimming gear and head down to the river to swim but there was an announcement saying that heavy rain was approaching. This sped up the process a bit and we decided to go into the water immediately.

Now, the thing about Korea is that people are very conservative. At the beach, it’s rare that you’ll see a Korean in a bathing suit; usually they’ll go swimming in shorts and a t-shirt or even jeans! The river was no different, people were swimming in full, outfits. This posed a slight problem for me because I didn’t want to be walking around with wet clothes for the next two days SO I decided that I would go in the river in my underwear and tank top.

When I mentioned this idea, Nam was slightly horrified and told me that people would stare at me. This is not new news for me though, because people always stare, so what’s the difference?!? In the end Amy, Migon and I went in slightly scantily clad while Nam sported her capris and t-shirt.

It was really enjoyable being in the water. Although it was slightly cold, we had fun splashing around and floating on the tube Nam bought. It was a beautiful evening and we were surrounded by nature and laughter.

After we came out, we grabbed some munchies and headed back to our room. There was a little girl talk, a lot of chocolate and then everyone drifted off.

The next morning we got up bright and early. Migon took a bus back but Nam, Amy and I decided to keep on exploring for the day. It was forecasted to be strong rain and a possible storm but by mid-morning the sun was shining and it was beautiful! We took a walk around the town to see all of the beautiful historic hanoks. The landscape was SO different from Busan. In Busan, it’s rare to see grass or a tree; here there was vegetation everywhere—so refreshing! I didn’t realize how much I’d miss nature, but when you’re in a city crammed with 4 million people, there not a lot of room for gardens and lawns.

After our walk we packed up and took a taxi. During our taxi ride, Nam was talking with the driver and he told her about this beautiful park about 30 minutes away. Instead of going to our original plans, we decided to take the driver’s advice and he took us to Namwon.

This area was also a beautiful camping spot with a river. The day had cleared up beautiful and it was the perfect weather. We hiked up this big hill and came to a Buddhist temple at the top. There weren’t many people around so we freely explored the grounds and even rang the bell.

The temples here are so intricate and beautiful. You can see the immense work and dedication that goes into building them. I’m always interested when I see someone bowing down and saying their prayers in front of a Buddha. Although it’s not something I believe, it’s interesting to witness it.

After the temple we walked around and came across this big, beautiful waterfall. It looked so natural and powerful. We kept exploring and eventually walked out to the water’s edge where we put our feet in. I walked out a little but could barely take two steps because the current was so strong, I’d get washed away.

We kept wandering and soon came to an area where there were many people playing in the water. Again, Amy and I had our suits on while everyone else was fully clothed. This area was great because the current wasn’t too strong but it was still fun.

The most interesting thing was that the constant stream of water had eroded a water slide out of a large rock. Beneath it, the water was very deep so you could ride down this water slide and then plunge into the water below… very thrilling!

I was slightly nervous to do it at first but then I saw an older lady go in and have a blast and I thought if she can do it, so can I. Nam isn’t a strong swimmer and she was nervous about going in so she put her tube around herself, Amy helped her at the top and I was waiting for her at the bottom. When she did it, she loved it!

We spent hours playing and lounging in the water… a great way to spend time together and to relax. When we got hungry we ordered some food at a nearby restaurant and discussed how wonderful the past couple of days had been.

Eventually, we took a bus back to the larger area of town and then boarded a bus back to Busan. The bus was supposed to take 3 1/2 hours but it ended up taking almost 5 due to traffic and I have recently realized that I’ve inherited my mother’s poor ability to travel. I was feeling very carsick on the ride home and Nam was so great and tried to find things to help me… she was being such an awesome ‘mother’.

I was happy when we got back to Busan but even more pleased about the past couple of days. What an awesome way to spend summer vacation!

Jeju Love

Saturday July 23 I was up bright and early and made my way to a bus stop for the Airport Limousine that would take me to Gimhae Airport for my flight to Jeju. I had never taken the shuttle service before, so I made sure to give myself plenty of time. It was actually quite easy and I arrived with lots of time to spare.

The flight to Jeju was 45minutes long, and I arrived by 10:00. Mariana and Amanda were there to meet me and we promptly rented a car and started our adventure. Luckily, Mariana has her international drivers license so there were no issues with the car rental. It was the first time renting a car for all of us, so it was a monumental experience… hence the need to take a photo in front of our ride for the next two days.

The driving was still a bit chaotic, but much less severe than on the mainland. Mariana did a great job weaving in and out of traffic and we soon arrived to our first destination: Loveland.

Loveland is an erotic theme park and is one of the most popular sites in Jeju, It has over 140 exhibits and attractions. Upon arrival, we weren’t quite sure what to expect, but were soon bombarded with figures, statues, paintings etc.

It was surprising to me that there was such explicit art there, because Korean culture is very sexually reserved. Furthermore, while we were touring around, we noticed that most of the other visitors were middle aged Koreans… not what I had expected at all. The tour book that had recommended Loveland had said that it’s a hot spot for Korean Honeymooners “looking for inspiration and education”. It surely would educate!

After Loveland, we headed to a nearby hedge maze called Kimyoung Maze. While we were there, we met a couple of American travelers who challenged us to a race, to see who would finish first. It was on! The winner would go to a platform and ring a bell signaling that they had arrived first. Well our opponents split up and one arrived before us, but he didn’t have his partner with him, so we claimed victory!

The maze was followed by a trip to the Manjanggul Lava Tubes which is claimed as being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tubes were formed by hot lava rushing through during the volcanic eruption on the island. Some areas are 23m high! The area accessible to the public was about 1km long, and we walked there and back. It was surprising how much cooler it was down there… a very nice refresher from the overwhelming heat on ground level.

As a reward for our strenuous efforts walking through the lava tubes, we decided to indulge in a Korean treat called Pot Bing Sue. It’s basically shaved ice with red bean, condensed milk, fruit and corn flakes—surprisingly delicious!

A little while later we were on our way to a garden filled with Dol Hareubangs, also known as Jeju’s Grandfather Statues. The Dol Hareubangs are said to said to be gods that offer fertility as well as protection against evil demons that travel throughout the island. Directly translated, their name means stone grandfather. They are carved out of porous volcanic rock and have distinctive facial features. The mushroom head is often said to me a phallic symbol. These are the top symbol of Jeju and are sold in almost every store on the island.

Later, we decided to go for a scenic drive. We stopped on a beach and had a wonderful view as the sun was setting. It would be dinner time soon, and we found this restaurant in our travel book that boasted about Frisbee sized hamburgers. We decided this would be the perfect dinner, so we set it into our GPS and off we went.

About an hour later we were still driving around and becoming increasingly hungry and irritable. The sky was now dark and we weren’t sure where we were going as we could not find the restaurant. We ended up stopping and I asked for directions. It was then that I was told that the restaurant was no longer open… apparently it had closed down some time ago. AHHH!

Hungry and tired, we decided to opt for the next culinary thing on the list…. black pork. We arrived to the restaurant the Lonely Planet: Korea book advised only to discover that they no longer served black pork. By this point, we were quite on edge. We travelled on foot until we finally found what we were looking for…. Hallelujah!

The meal was fabulous. Jeju is known for black pork galbi (where you get raw pork and cook it yourself on a hot grill at the table). It is said to have a very distinct flavor… I didn’t notice the difference in taste so much, but it was divine! The galbi was served with many little dishes including kimchi, mushrooms, onions, lettuce, pumpkin, garlic and several sauces.

It wasn’t until the end of the meal (after I had thoroughly stuffed my face) that Mariana pointed out to me that if you looked closely, you could see little black hairs in the meat….DISGUSTING! I was not impressed!

We had a bit of a difficult time finding accommodation that night. We had decided not to pre-book a room because that would mean that we’d actually have to find it, instead of just stopping wherever when we were tired and finding a random place to crash. The thing we hadn’t really banked on was the fact that this was high season and things were quite filled up. We found a few rooms available but they looked quite dodgy and several of them had cockroaches… something that we were not prepared to deal with, since one of us would be sleeping on the floor.

Eventually we found a place that was reasonably priced, clean and had many blankets to build a makeshift bed on the floor. I was the one who slept there and it wasn’t too horrible.

The next morning we woke up bright and early. There were no grocery stores around and so breakfast consisted of milk, cookies and chocolate from a nearby convenience store… very healthy! We drove Amanda to Mt Hallasan which is the tallest mountain in Korea. She was inspired to try to climb to the top… I was not, so Mariana and I went Scuba diving.

Yet again, our Lonely Planet Korea guidebook was no help in finding the SCUBA shop, but after some searching, we found another SCUBA instructor who personally guided us to where we were supposed to be.

Our instructor was a German man named Ralf. He was very friendly and spoke good English. He was about 50 years old and reminded me so much of my Onkel Heinz from home… I felt a strange sense of familiarity with him, which I had to keep reminding myself wasn’t actually real.

After all of the legalities were finalized, we got all of our equipment and headed for the ocean. A boat took us to “little moon” island and we were joined by quite a few other SCUBA groups.

Our instructor taught us how to use all of the various equipment and then we each went into the water one at a time. The dive only lasted for about 25 minutes but apparently that’s standard.

We went to a depth of about ten meters and it was amazing. Certified divers can go much deeper for longer amounts of time, but that’s an incentive to get certified I guess. Nevertheless, the dive was amazing. I was surrounded by hundreds of different fish that would swim right up to me. I saw a blowfish and tons of other aquatic life. It’s amazing underwater… it feels like you’re on a completely different planet. I loved it!

We got back from the dive trip at around 3pm and went to pick up Amanda from the mountain. From there we went to the Chocolate Museum.

The Chocolate museum was said to be one of the top ten in the world so we were all expecting a fabulous establishment. The reality wasn’t so impressive. It was nice and educational, but we drove an hour each way to see it, which in my opinion wasn’t really worth it at all. It was interesting to see the chocolates being made… it reminded me of my mom (not that she makes chocolates, but the chocolateers were in a very impressive kitchen being meticulously careful about the products they were crafting).

In the gift shop, I thought to buy some chocolates as souvenirs and possibly to send home, but the prices were astronomical and they weren’t sold individually, so that plan didn’t go through.

Once we left the chocolate museum, we decided to keep on with our museum phase and go to the Teddy Bear Museum. This was actually a cute and delightful experience.

Due to the fact that we’d eaten junk all day, I was really craving something remotely healthy. Jeju island is known for their home grown tangerines. I made Mariana pull over at the side of the highway so that I could buy some. They were expensive but worth every penny. So sweet and delicious; they definitely hit the spot!

A short while later we arrived at the museum. It was three floors and was filled with different types of teddy bears. Some were very historical and most were just scenes throughout history portrayed by bears. It was very cute and charming. We didn’t stay too long because we wanted to see the volcanic rocks before sunset.

(yes, this is the scene from the Titanic)

The volcanic rocks are said to be quite a sight. They are known to have very obscure shapes and rounded edges, unlike regular rocks. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, the sun had set and it was quite dark, but it was enjoyable to be in a nice park overlooking the ocean.

The last thing we did for the evening was to head back to the north of the island. We all had flights leaving early the next morning so we thought it would be good to crash close to the airport. This worked out very well because our good friends Ross and Nicole (the couple I met one my flight to Korea) had just arrived in Jeju for their belated honeymoon. We decided to meet up and have dinner together (very romantic for them, I know!)

We found a cute little Korean restaurant and blindly chose two dishes off the menu not knowing what to expect. The food was surprising good and was made even better by the great company. It was very nice to meet up with friends especially since we were far from the mainland.

After a crazy day packed with activities, we were all pretty tired, so after dinner we found a love motel and crashed for the night.

The next morning came way too soon and soon I was on my flight back to Busan. After landing, I went to find the Airport Limousine to take me home, but one was leaving just as I bought my ticket. A bus driver saw that I missed the bus and asked where I was going. I told him and he said that I should just get in his bus. My area wasn’t one of his stops, but he seemed to say that it didn’t matter. I was the only person on this huge bus and he dropped me off right in front of my street… so helpful…And very surprising.

My boss was kind enough to give me the morning off because due to a scheduling miscommunication, I was actually supposed to start work at 9am on Monday. I quickly went home and showered and got to work for 1pm… it was a long day but a very rewarding weekend!

I LOVE JEJU!

Boryeong Mud Festival

Saturday morning bright and early we boarded the bus for the five hour ride to Boryeong (a town 200km south of Seoul) for the 8^th annual mud festival.

I was really looking forward to the weekend because it would be a new experience and also because many of my friends were going, so I knew it would be enjoyable.

Originally, the festival was intended to publicize the healing qualities of the Boryeong mud, which was the basis in many cosmetics. However over the past few years, it has become more of a tourist hot spot and a chance to let loose. Apparently in 2007, there were 2.2 million tourists that came in the two week period of the festival, so it draws a lot of tourism to the little town.

When the bus finally arrived, we were hugely disappointed to see large clouds in the sky. Just as we stepped onto the pavement there was a huge downpour that caught everyone by surprise, because the forecast said that it would be sunny all weekend. As we made it to our accommodation, everyone’s backpacks were soaking and the mood was slightly depressed.

Our accommodation was a pension—which is a common thing in Korea: it’s basically a room that gives you pillows and blankets and you sleep on the floor. I didn’t know what I expected when I signed up for this, but looking at the room, I was not overly impressed. The room was about the size of my family room back home and eleven people were supposed to cram into it. On top of that, there were only 8 blankets (which were supposed to be used as a bottom sheet and a top cover…. figure that math out!).

Nevertheless, after about 20 minutes of getting settled, we headed back outside to go to the beach. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the sun was beaming and it had turned into a beautiful day! Eric, Dorrial, Amy, Diana, Mariana and I headed to the beach where we were bombarded with mud plastered people.

The day was just starting but people were all into the festivities. The first thing we did was go to this station where you can cover yourself with mud… it was more liquid than I expected. It had the consistency of heavy whipping cream and actually felt nice on the skin.

Next we went to the local 7-eleven and bought some drinks and headed into the park where there were numerous mud slides, mud races, mud wrestling, mud prisons etc. My favourite experience of the weekend was the mud wrestling. There was a large inflatable pool filled about 3 inches deep with mud. People just went in and splashed around and got COVERED. It was great and I thororoughly enjoyed it (it reminded me a lot of the play fighting in my childhood). The fun stopped, when I got a mouthful of the stuff, but it was good while it lasted.

Walking around, a bit later we noticed that the lines were slightly long, so Amy and I decided to go to the beach after a while… we sipped some soju and drifted in water tubes.

On the beach was a large stage where they had performers and live music all day…. it created a very strong ‘spring break’ feel. This was probably the first time I’ve seen so many foreigners in Korea. Everywhere you looked there were people speaking English… it was very surreal and felt like I was out of Asia for the weekend.

Later that evening after we went back and showered and cleaned up (much more difficult than I would have expected, with all of that mud) we went out for dinner. The area was packed with people so it was slightly difficult to navigate around and find somewhere to eat… it ended up being bibimbap, a regular favourite.

After dinner, we took a stroll on the beach which was very nice. The crowds had moved to the main stage area and the beach was much less populated. The tide had gone way out and you could see many sea creatures crawling around in the sand.

At around 11:30, there was an amazing fireworks show. it was so beautiful to watch it on the beach because it was also reflected in the ocean. Amy told me that Gwangan (where I live) has an extraordinary fireworks show in October, so I’m excited for that.

A little while later Amy, Mariana and I decided to head back to our pension to try to get some sleep… this was not easily achieved on a floor that felt like concrete. The night was pretty rough…. the only way I was comfortable was sleeping on my back with my knees bent in the air. I was up pretty much every hour, on the hour, waiting for an appropriate time to start my day.

By 7am, I got up (with a very sore body) and left all of my friends still sleeping. I went for a long walk and got to observe how different the area looked without all of the people in it. The main attractions area was pretty creepy that early in the morning. All of the inflatable slides etc had been deflated and it looked very abandoned. By the time I made my way back around 9am, things were beginning to go up again, and life was returning.

Sunday was spent mainly on the beach. It was a beautiful day and the water was so nice (minus a bit of garbage floating around from all of the visitors… yum!). Some people decided to go back to the mud, but I didn’t want to be on a bus for 5 hours with mud crustys on my body.

As some of my friends went to soak up some mud, I stayed with our stuff on the beach and overheard people talking German… random! I started talking with them (testing out my Deutsch) and found that they were here from Austria on a 5 week learning exchange. It was great to meet new people and hear a foreign language that I actually could understand (unlike all of the Korean I’m surrounded by).

By 3pm we were back on the bus and arrived back in Busan by about 8:45… I was so ready to get off the bus! As I got back into my apartment, I knew I had a lot of dirty laundry to do, but the weekend was well worth it!