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!