Pyeongchang: Weekend Getaway

I spent this past weekend reconnecting with Korea and the kindness and beauty it has to offer. My five friends and I, thanks to Angel's amazing planning, decided to travel up to Pyeongchang for the weekend. I think we all needed some time away from Andong and this was the perfect place for it. Pyeongchang is a rural town in the northeastern part of Korea. It is high up in the beautiful mountains and will be the site of the 2018 Winter Olympics. This was the constant joke all weekend.. because this town is so underdeveloped and not very exposed to foreigners, that it was hard for us to imagine the mass amounts of people coming to this town in five years. One thing is for sure, these Pyeongchang residents are in for one hell of a culture shock.

We left on Saturday morning, bright and early to make a 2.5 hour train ride to Wonju. That was followed by a 1.5 hour bus ride to Pyeongchang where we were met by one of our pension owners, who then drove us about 30 minutes up to our pension. As we packed our six bodies and all of our bags into the small van, we made our way through the gorgeous mountains on some of the narrowest one-way roads I've ever seen. The question of what would happen if we ran into a car coming in the opposite direction clearly crossed our minds. Not sure if I wanted to know the answer to that one. By the time we reached the top of the mountain and saw our hostel all thoughts of being traded were out of our heads. I know- not funny. But some of us (meaning me) were contemplating the scenarios and escapes.- (This may or may not have to do with me recently becoming addicted to the new show, 'The Following.') Our pension was perfect. Huge kitchen, dining room, two bathrooms, and two large bedrooms.. one with a view that was absolutely breathtaking.

View from our pension!

As we made our way back outside, we met the owners' beautiful huskies used for dog sledding. I should mention we were supposed to do this, but the weather proved to be against us. Damn you Korea for finally having a warm day! How dare you! Yes it was an absolutely gorgeous day.. no coats for us! Hallelujah. Instead we went ATV riding through the snow-capped mountainside, through mud, ice, and rough terrain. Riding quads has got to be one of my favorite activities. Unfortunately there's not a lot of opportunity for it back home. You know the person who deliberately rides full speed into the muddy ass puddles? That would be me. Later on that day we geared up for a few games of paintball. Now, this was my first time playing and I was admittedly scared. I don't do well with impending pain. The first game I actually did pretty well- shooting my friend Lisa smack between the eyes (mask-protected of course). But the second game did not end well for me. I went home with three very large, very painful battle wounds on my legs and arm. Thanks friends! Despite this, it was still a bunch of fun! By the end of the day we were exhausted, so we headed back and showered the cow shit and the good old outdoors off of our bodies and cooked ourselves up a fantastic dinner. On our stop in Wonju, a  few of us ran into Home Plus to pick up the goods, and thanks to Angel's cooler- we were able to cook up some delicious meat, a salad, and South African's famous braaibroodjies. The next morning we made traditional Korean rice cakes called 떡 "deok" and practiced archery. I strutted up to that field thinking I was Katniss herself, but damn is that sport hard!

    

 

I can't say enough about this place. The owners were sincere and so accommodating. Typical of a cute elderly Korean couple. The pension itself was clean and spacious. Perfect conditions. I'd recommend this place to anyone here in Korea. We've already talked about going back next winter for dog sledding. That's a must! Pension --->: 700 Village 

This weekend proved to be a productive, action-packed two days. Not a typical "girl's weekend" what so ever. Quite the memories =)

Made my homemade protein bars for the trip! DELISH. Find out how to make them here!

  

Slow Comeback

Tomorrow I start my second year teaching here in Korea. I will officially meet my new students Tuesday, but tomorrow will begin the actual school year. The students have been off for the past two weeks, while I have had to desk-warm during this time. It was admittedly painful. I was bored, miserable, cold, and pissed. Some of my friends had off during this time. Their schools said they simply didn't need to show up until March 4th (tomorrow). Not mine. We continue to try to find the reasoning behind this thinking but fail every time. It's just one of those things you have to accept. So the last few days as I was getting increasingly annoyed at the fact that I hadn't seen a single soul walk down my hallway all day, I started leaving early. Whether that was the right or wrong choice, I did it. There's only so much you can take with being put up in a room on the top floor of a building with no communication all day. (Not to mention 7 cars in the parking lot at any given point.)

On more positive news, I've gotten back into my gym routine. I've been going 3-4 times a week straight from school. Training for a 10k in mid-April at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Gyeongju. This will be my third 10k here in Korea. Pretty pumped!

I'm just waiting for my life to get back to schedule. I've always been one who needs a schedule. I need to start teaching. I need the weather to get warmer. I need to get back to the happiness I felt last year at this time. Of course this year will be different. Quite a few of my friends left Korea, moved up to Seoul, etc. I'm working on saving money to start my life back in the States. Things are different. There's no doubt about that. I had an amazing time while I was home and I'm still holding onto that. But I feel like I'm forgetting the person I came here as. I need to get back to her. I know I'm not completely lost.. and this became apparent a few weeks ago while I was researching Vietnam for my vacation in September. I remembered half the reason I'm here. To travel. I was so pumped, so excited, jotting down all this research I found. I felt like myself again. Traveling is a part of me. It always has been. Teaching is another part of me. I am here living out my dreams, and I need to hold on to that. Bottom line: I need to start teaching, because I've been going a little crazy. So this next week should be the start of me getting back to normal.

I've talked to some friends who are in their third year in Korea now. Almost all of them had similar experiences coming back for their second year. It was hard without a doubt. One friend in particular told me that her second year brought on more extreme highs and lows. For example, annoyances about Korea will get to you on a whole new level, but go away pretty fast. I'm used to the culture here. I know what to expect. I'm going to lose patience on a different kind of level, but learn how to deal with it so much faster. I have such a deep respect for this country. I see the beauty in it. The kind people. It's all there. This thing that's going on with me, is my problem alone.

I feel myself slowly coming around, and I'm excited for this next year- don't get me wrong. There's a lot I want to accomplish, so I'm trying not to speed up my time here. I know how fast one year went, so I can only imagine how fast this year will go. There's so many places I still want to see in this country. I feel guilty that I'm in this slump. But I've been reassured that this is normal, and it'll take some time to get back into the swing of things. I'm focusing on the fact that I am anxious and excited to meet my new students, planning festival trips, vacations, still have that feeling of home when I walk around this city. That girl who came here last year is still here, but I'm growing up and this year will be different whether I want it to be or not. It's life. Change happens.

I met a ton of people who are new to Andong this past weekend. Unknown to them, they're a big reason why I feel myself coming back around. The anxiousness, nervousness, excitement, positiveness, coming out of their mouths was so inspiring. They are me one year ago. New to this country. Scared shitless. Not knowing what's in store for them. It's such a cool, scary feeling. But they are SO pumped to be here. I love that.

On that note: I am grateful I am here. It's where I want to be. This country continues to surprise me, touch me, and give me experiences I can get no where else. I know how lucky I am to be here, and will never lose that