무의도 Muuido

This past weekend, about 20 of us traveled north to 무의도 (Muuido Island) for a couple of Irish birthdays. Aka Conor and Clodagh. Muuido is located southwest of Incheon and was quite a journey getting there. We first all hopped on our respective buses from our cities to the airport. Most cities throughout Korea have a direct bus to and from Incheon Airport. Andong, however, only has one departure.. which is 6:45 am. That was fun! I was the first to arrive at the airport, so as I sat there reading my book, I got this odd feeling of, "wow, I could go home right now if I really wanted to." Of course, I would never, but it was fun to think about. Everywhere I looked there were foreigners, and as usual when you people watch, you wonder what their stories are. Why are they here? How long are they here for? Are they arriving or are they going home? Do some of the younger ones actually live here and are just passing through like myself? I stopped for a Dunkin Donuts coffee and the cashier spoke perfect English to me, even though everything that came out of my mouth was Korean from start to finish haha. I think they're just so used to speaking English to foreign customers there.

Eventually I met a up with a few others, I met my friends' Korean friend Pexu, who is a great time and with his help we were able to get a large cab big enough to fit five of us. (We would meet the rest of the group at the island, as they were all on different time schedules.) The taxi only took about ten-fifteen minutes. From there, we got on the ferry to take us to the island. Now I was thinking this would be about an hour long ferry ride. And I was super stoked because the ferry rides my family and I used to take from Port Jeff (on Long Island) to Connecticut, as a break from our 8 hour drive to Maine, were filled with such great memories. However, this ferry was no longer than 4 minutes. Only enough time to dodge the crazy seagulls who get way too close to your face, and take a few pictures of the scenery. When we arrived on the island, we had to board a bus up through the hills to get to the actual beach.

Crazy seagulls 

It was then, that we finally made it! We bought a few beach huts, put our stuff down, stocked up on some cold Cass and got down to playing some serious volleyball. A couple games later, a group of Korean middle school boys wanted to challenge us. We kicked their butts. Sorry boys. Another fun fact. The tide on this beach was sooo far out that we were able to walk out about 20 minutes out until we hit the actual water. However around 3pm the next day, it came all the way back in. Very strange.

So a majority of the Korean families were in tents set back behind the huts, while most of the foreign families, and young Koreans and foreigners stayed in the huts. There was actually quite a few foreign families there, which was a nice change. You don't see them around a lot, especially with young children. The bathrooms- another fun fact. They had western toilets, which I was not expecting, however the sink was not working- but don't you worry. Outside, behind the bathrooms, there was a long 25-30 foot sink with about 20 faucets. To wash our feet, which got covered in mud from walking out to the ocean, we had to stand in the faucet which meant taking a huge leap into them. Wish I got a picture of that. The huts were comfortable. They had traditional Korean beds (a fold up type futon mattress), blankets, and pillows.

huts

digging for clams? 

We were all sad to leave, for this weekend made for a relaxing getaway from everything. It also made us realize how lucky our group is for finding each other at orientation. We have grown into a little family away from home, which I've realized is so important in a foreign country. Yes I skype with my mom often, but it's not the same. Living by yourself gets lonely during the week. We need each other to feel included in something, we need each other to vent, to cry, to laugh, to communicate.. in English.

Conor and Clodagh's Birthday celebrations

The cake face picture

Me and Dan

So when we got back to the airport, the taxi let us off at the International Arrivals Terminal, which is where we came in 4 months prior. It's crazy that's it's been that long. We were all joking saying things like, "I remember my first Korean purchase. It was a Vitamin water and it was all in Hangul but I still knew that it was Vitamin Water." bahaha. We were sleep deprived, jet lagged, anxious, nervous, excited, and had NO idea what we were in for. It's kind of cool to look back at that now. I stood there for a second, picturing myself walking through that gate and at the time thinking, Wow. I'm in Korea. And now I've been here for over 4 months. This terminal is also where I'll be in 32 days to pick up my mom and Dennis. Ahhhh! It's all I talk about, so much anticipation and excitement for that!!

Great weekend with great friends, once again!

Let's Talk Reality

This weekend, a few of us had what I would call one of the most interesting, real conversations I've had thus far in my life.. about what happens when you arrive back in your home country after traveling. It's worth mentioning for people who are considering traveling for the first time as well as people who are currently on their first adventures. My friend Dan had traveled across Europe for a few months at the age of eighteen. He met a man along the way who gave him the best, most useful piece of advice he would use in life. Now I don't remember his exact words he used, but it went along the lines of this:

You are going to experience and learn amazing things during your time here, and  the first thing you'll want to do is go home and tell all the people who are important to you about those things. They will of course be interested in what you say, nodding, ooohing and ahhing, asking questions... but they won't really be able to take it all in. Not fully. They won't really be completely immersed in what you're saying, because how could they possibly be? They weren't there. And especially if this person you're speaking to has never traveled outside of their country, have never been exposed firsthand to a culture other than the one they were raised in and have been living in, they really won't fully get it. Of course they will be excited for you and say things like, "That's so cool! or "Wow, that sounds amazing!" or "That's awesome that you got this chance!" But there will be a kind of emptiness you feel when you try to explain the culture and the different people you've met. And how you've actually changed as a person. Because you will. Only if a little, traveling changes you.

Now this conversation was especially relative to me because I had a similar experience when I arrived back home from New Zealand. So everything Dan was talking about, everything this man he met in Europe told him, was clicking right away. I was only in NZ for one month, but the amount that I accomplished while I was there was abundant, and the amount of people I met, the information I learned about the Maori people, the ways in which I changed in four short weeks, the new outlook I had on life, the way that I started to change my everyday routine, the ways in which I now saw myself, the way I now viewed the States, were all there. And I did the exact same thing.. I remember the second I got in the car to drive home from the aiport, I talked my family's ear off. Why would you not? You just lived in a foreign country for four weeks. The people I lived with during that time did the exact same things I did, so the anticipation of getting home and releasing all of this information in your head to those you love who could not be there with you is exciting and a big deal. Before I knew it, we were home from the airport in what seemed like ten minutes time (JFK is an hour and 15 minute drive.) And even then, I wasn't satisfied because there was still so much more information I had to get out. When I first saw my friends and my boyfriend, again, I did the same thing. Eventually I started to realize that yes they had questions and we had conversations about my trip, but it was missing something. It was missing something deeper, something that I was craving, and at the time I didn't quite know what that was or what that meant. It was like I was desperately trying to make them understand this place and they couldn't. And by place, I mean NZ and everything in it as well as the place I was now in. And now I realize that that's okay. It's normal. And it happens.

Dan's friend's most important piece of advice was, You can't be angry or upset with them when you don't get the reaction you're looking for. You can't get disappointed. It's the major difference in people who travel and people who don't.

I don't even think you're looking for a specific reaction. It's not like you tell people stories and expect them to be crazed about it. It's not like that at all. But the reaction you do get makes you only realize after the fact, is off, and maybe you were subconciously looking for something else.

Of course the traveled person is not better than the other. That's ridiculous. The way I see it is that the second someone travels outside of their community and experiences other places, their mindset and outlook immediately start to drift from that of the individual who has never traveled. People crave travel, they want to get out of whatever situation they're in and hit the road. But if for some reason they can't, be it financially, family, etc. they read, they watch videos, they research these cultures, these countries, these people, the way they live, eat, speak, interact, think. These are the people I look up to. These are the people who I consider intellectual, culture-hungry, engaged, culturally-aware, motivated, curious, human beings. I am SO incredibly thankful that I got the chance to get on a plane twice and go halfway across the world. My grandmother helped me get to New Zealand, for I would never in a million years be able to afford that trip. And I worked and saved a crap ton of money for this trip to Korea. I'm thankful for EPIK whos treats their English teachers wonderfully and to my mom who will always be who she is and insists on helping me in any way that she can, even when I try to deny her. I wish I had the financial means to travel until I was ready to actually settle down somewhere. But that's not in the works for me, so for right now, I'm grateful and I'm living this experience up.

During your travels, everything you see, everything you do, every person you meet, you want the people you love most to be there at that moment with you, experiencing it too. But the fact is is that no one person travels with every single friend and their entire immediate and extended family, so I believe that most travelers have this feeling. I've got to say, it's great seeing these gorgeous mountain tops in Andong, the mysterious caves in Danyang, the beautifully sculpted temples across Korea, the chaos and excitement of Seoul, the beautiful rivers and beaches, tasting endless delicious new foods, watching the adorable Korean children play Kai Bai Bo all day long. Even dealing with feeling like a celebrity/checking that you're not showing too much cleavage/there has to be something on my face.. but no I'm just a foreigner, ignore the stares. Going through communication struggles and the stress of culture shock. It's wonderful getting to share all of these things with my friends here. But I'm sure I can speak for most of them, if not all, that we all have a feeling, even if it's a quick one that comes and goes... we all want to turn to our side and have someone from home right there looking at the same thing we are.

I decided to write about this because despite the difficulty in the reality of it, I need to accept it this time around. And like I said before, I want people who are first time travelers or people who are thinking about it to be prepared. The reality is that this will happen to most of them, but it's not a bad thing. And it shouldn't be looked at as such. It's just, for lack of better words, just kind of what happens and it's one of those things that you need to deal with as a traveler when you finally make that journey back home.

Four months looks a little something like this..

"You are exactly who and what and WHERE you are supposed to be. And you are lovely. Anything else would be just plain ridiculous."

In nine days, I will have been living in Korea for four months. The Korean "skirts" have made their debut and the Korean humidity is owning up to its name. It also means I'm one-third of my way done with my contract here. Crazy! I feel like it was yesterday that my mom and Pat said goodbye at JFK. I have accomplished a ton in four months, but still not enough. I have visited eight different cities, including, Seoul, Andong, Daegu, Danyang, Pohang, Gimcheon, Gyeongju and Andong. I've consumed octopus, twigs, squid, and so much more. I actually enjoy kimchi at every meal. I came here open-minded and ready for anything that would be thrown my way. I had three reasons to come here. First was to gain more cross-cultural teaching experience, second of course was the crappy US economy, and third was to travel and gain more cultural awareness, while I'm still young. I have made a great group of friends here in Korea, including South Africans, Irish, British, Canadian, American, Japanese, and Korean. Our personalities are so different and are walks of life differ immensely, but in the end, we are all here for the same thing. We are here to teach these students a universal language, and to gain new experiences that no one can take away from us. Because of that, we all get a long extremely well. Some of the friends I've met quit a career that they've had for years, in order to come here. They weren't happy in whatever situation they were in, and Korea offered a new type of experience that they were looking for.

Everyday, I learn more and more about their different countries and ways of life. That's what this is all about isn't it? To learn, to become more aware, and to break out of that bubble you call your life back home. Downstate New York is full of different cultures and ethnicities, so it wasn't like I was tucked away in some little town that doesn't exist on a map, where I've never met a Black person before. However, the only places I really traveled to were New Zealand and Ireland. After New Zealand I realized that there is SO much to this world. SO many different people living in it. I was craving to meet them and I made it a point at some towards the end of that trip to see as much as the world as my wallet and my time would permit. As I stated before in a previous post, I applied to grad schools and got into three of them. I had interviews for teaching positions down South. But for some reason when it came down to having to make a decision, I ignored the grad school thing, and towards the end of the summer, I secretly hoped that I wouldn't get one of the teaching jobs, because there was something else on my mind. Traveling. I had a hard time with that for a while, because I always played my life by the book (at least the important things.. like education.) I was going to graduate from Oswego, get my Masters, then get a teaching position in North Carolina. But I started to realize, especially when I looked at my own family, that that''s not always the way it goes, and that's okay. You have to make decisions that are right for you, and that will make you satisfied. I was scared and kind of confused at why I threw away three perfectly good masters programs to travel. At that point, I didn't know exactly where I was going yet, but I knew I wanted to teach while doing it. When I came across EPIK and Korea, I knew that this was the choice I needed to make for myself. And despite the hardships it has thrown me, despite the rocky start it gave me (with no bed, no apartment), I do not regret this decision. If I were to get a job, I would have been stuck in North Carolina (probably with a great job that I'd love, but this great big world would be in the back of my mind.) Once you settle somewhere, it's twice as hard to leave it. So four months in.. I can honestly say that I was meant to be here at this time in my life.

However now there's a new mindset that has been creeping up. Now that it has been four months, I am thinking about what lies ahead. Friends have been talking about renewing their contract for another year. Of course we don't need to decide this for months, but you can't help but think. I've stopped comparing myself to what everyone else is thinking, because all of our situations are completely different. I for instance have my Masters to think about, since my major only gives you six years from the time you graduate undergrad. After this year, I'll be down to five and the timer will just keep ticking. There's only a few accredited online schools that offer the Masters I need. That's a big possibility if I spent another year here. The thought of going home to no teaching positions makes me uneasy. The thought of taking a Masters while working a part-time job, knowing that I had a perfectly good job here, kind of makes me sick. The thing is, my family means the world to me, and we are all very close. I miss them terribly, and its killing me that my niece is going to be talking by the time I get back in February. If I stay another year, she's going to be so grown up and I will have missed all those important steps in her life. My mom and I are extremely close and come August, she will be living by herself. Five kids all out of the house. These are things that I can't help but think about. But I change my mind on staying another year every day. So as one of my friends said last night, just worry about it until you have to. When there's all the pressure on you to decide. haha. 

So enough about my worrying personality. There's some awesome stuff coming up in the next two months..

Busan Booze Cruise on June 30th

Boryeong Mud Festival on July 14th

My mom and Dennis' visit on July 25th!!! (Absolutely cannot wait! The anticipation is too much)

And my summer vacation in Japan on August 1st!! 

So thanks to my lovely mac which is slowly creeping to its death. Poor thing. 

Four months looks a little something like this..

Buddha's Day of Birth..means we take Seoul by storm!

Last Monday, we all had off for Buddha's Birthday.. and that meant a 3-day weekend in Seoul! Three days to forget about being a teacher, and live out our 20's. We fit 12 people into Joe and Alex's gorgeous apartment in Itaewon... and made it work. Of course it was a plus that they really do have a magnificent apartment with a huge living room, 2 couches, and 2 bedrooms. On Friday we ventured to a new rooftop bar in downtown Itaewon, right above Sam Ryans. We stayed there for most of the night and then wandered down to Homo Hill. Being in Korea is sometimes like a time warp back to the 50's in terms of racism and closed-minds. So being around so many outwardly gay Koreans was great! It's really one of the few places they have to be open and honest about who they are.

Me and Haelim

Delicious brunch at The Flying Pan

Rooftop bar

Me and Alex (1 of 2 of the most fabulous hosts)

Me and Ariel

On board the Taxi-limo

On Saturday morning we ate at The Flying Pan. It's a small western-style brunch restaurant, tucked away down these stairs. Thanks to Joe and Alex, we  probably would have passed right by it. I got a pesto chicken sandwich with sweet potato soup. Their food was absolutely amazing and we were all talking about it all weekend. The best part- their menu was a legit newspaper. Very creative. Later on we left for World DJ Music Festival in Yangpyeong, Narukke Park. We had bought these tickets a while ago, so the anticipation had been rising for this day. Personally, I'm not into DJ Music or techno at all, but the environment was more of what I wanted to get out of it. We had bought day passes, but our little rooftop bar kept us from it until about 8pm. Our friend, Damien, was able to pull some strings and get us taxi limos instead of taking the subway 2 hours. Now I was expecting actual limos, because that's what comes to mind when I think limo.. haha no way. They were basically just oversized taxi vans. However, they came fully equipped with tv's where we watched K-Pop music videos the entire ride. When we finally arrived, it was quite a scene. Food and drink tents everywhere, silent disco, the main DJ fest stage, and a 3rd concert going on in another tent. Dayna and I bought the wrong kind of chicken and almost went into some kind of heat shock because the spice level was out of CONTROL. I think she agrees it was an experience we never want to repeat. Of course we started our own dance party near the food and drink tents, before going into the actual concert. I think some of those Koreans were quite scared from our moves. bahaha. The concert itself was insane. Those Koreans loveeee their DJ Music. And LOVE to watch all the foreigners crowd surf and to not grasp the importance of catching us. Once most of our eyes were shutting on their own, and we were speaking in circles... we left for the subway. This was around 5:30am. Now, the subways don't re-open until 6:30am, so as we followed the mass of determined concert-goers back to the train, we ended up walking onto a platform with a floor made of people. The sight was just hysterical. SO for about a half an hour, we either stared out into a distance or started our sleep cycle on the platform until we heard the train. Here was where Simon and Marc got to the front and made sure we all got seats, since the mass amount of people were now like a herd of cows waiting to get onto this 2-hour train ride. Kind sirs. I'm pretty sure every car was like ours. Packed in like sardines. Every seat taken, Every corner stood in. Every square foot of the floor had people sitting, sprawled out, one eye-open trying to hold on to the handles. The best part- the ahjussis (elderly Korean men) shoving their way onto the train at around 7:30/8am all ready to start their day.. and their faces quickly turning confused at the sight of this. Let's just say when we finally got back to the apartment, we had a GREAT morning/afternoon sleep.

Me and Dan with our buckets

On Sunday, we had an easy-going day to say the least. Ariel, Marc, Simon, and I went for Thai.. which was AMAZING. I've got to say, Itaewon is known for being dirty and filled with foreigners, but the restaurants are out of this world, and so many options. So it's definitely the place to go when you're craving some good western or international food. We ran into a few EPIK friends that day which was great but not really surprising since Itaewon and Hongdae are where most of us wind up being while in Seoul. We went to Sam Ryans that night where my friend Adam showed up from Canada. He flew in that morning for a 3-week vacation in Korea. I went to New Zealand with him, and hadn't seen him in three years, so that was a great reunion.

Rooftop with Dayna and Dan

New friends.. thanks to Adam

Adam.. 3 years later!!

Its hard not to make friends with Koreans at clubs when they have the coolest moves IN the place

Ran into Warren, Kate, and Glen

Lazy Sunday

On Monday, Dayna and I had a lovely lunch at Buddha's Belly, a popular Thai/Indian restaurant in Itaewon and finally, in increments, the nine of us went our separate ways home, back to reality.

One thing about this weekend: I finally can say I feel very comfortable traveling around Seoul. The first time we went, as I wrote in a past post, we arrived late at night, it was raining, and the subway was completely different than NYC's so it was stressful to say the least. But now, I see the ease in it, and know my way around Itaewon pretty well, so that's very helpful since that's where we end up most nights. However I'm excited to explore Insadong again with my mom and Dennis. That will be a whole new experience in itself. I was only there once, and it was for a very short time.

I think we all needed this weekend in some way or another. Thank you Buddha for this wonderful opportunity to celebrate being young and forget about my cares for three days.

10K's- Korean style!

So I recently completed my first two 10K's. Both under 1 hour and 10 mins. Thanks to my gymnastics injuries that still continue to inflict long-term pain (torn ligament in my knee, and two fragile ankles), I was a little nervous about them. However I am proud that I accomplished them both; it felt great.

The first was a Breast Cancer run, so prior to the race, the eight of us received a package including a pink t-shirt, and sweatband. It was held in Daejeon, where our orientation was. It also happened to be our 3 month-anniversary, so it was kind of nice how we ended up where we started.. 3 months later. We were planning on going to a 찜질방 "jimjilbang" (Korean Sauna/Public bathhouse) after, however we were all just so exhausted and basically had one thing on our minds.. food. We ended up at Ashley's (a buffet chain). They serve Korean as well as Western food. But GOOD western food. Not your typical, cheap buffet food. They had amazing fruit and soups, cold pasta salads, pumpkin, grilled chicken dishes, sweet potato, cheesecake, etc. Delicious and satisfying after a huge run.

Clodagh, Dara, Angela, me, and Dayna

Conor, Alex, Angela, Joe, Dara, me, Dayna, and Clodagh

Dayna and I and are fabulous pink shoelaces. We fit right in with the Koreans and their love for bright neon colored shoe wear

The second run was in Andong, which I ran with a bunch of my Andong friends. I hadn't been training a lot for this one, since it was raining most days before and my knee was not cooperating, but everything went well nonetheless. After, we spotted a long line of certified Korean massage therapists with mats sprawled out on the grass. Of course we decided to get in on the fun! The second they noticed there were a bunch of foreigners on line, they started giggling and talking. I guess it's not every day a bunch of foreigners show up at a marathon in Andong, wanting massages. "Just roll with it." Me and my friend had a joke going between us that they were going to take one look at us and back-away because we were so sweaty and disgusting. (Koreans are known to not sweat as much, because they don't drink as much water as we do.) It's very interesting to me, because I am constantly drinking water, and I almost never see my Korean co-teachers with water close by.  Even at lunch, they don't have  water until after you throw out your tray. And even then, it's hot water and they fill the tiny cup halfway.

The lovely massage station

Me, Tom, and Jiro before the race

After-- Tom, me, and Jiro looking really attractive

My landlord found me!! He did the Half. Fighting!!

So a little something about Korean marathons..
You HAVE to witness the warm-up exercises. They are basically small dance moves, that do absolutely nothing to stretch your muscles. (We've come to the conclusion it's probably geared to the elderly... however people of all ages LOVE this stuff.) There are dance numbers being performed by young girls, impersonating female K-Pop groups. The short skirts and all. There are awesome fireworks right before the race. And there is always an MC type guy who pumps you up till no end. I give them props. They're really good at getting people excited for the pain they're about to endure haha

Anyway, all in all- great experience, and I'm planning on signing up for more. However, I think I'll stick to 10K's. My knee keeps me from doing extreme anything.. unfortunately, so I need to make  somewhat responsible decisions so that I don't ruin my body in my mid-20's.