Month 16: Update

I feel like a slacker. I apologize that I haven't updated this in a few months.. I guess nothing extra special has happened, but little things are worth mentioning. So here's a quick update as to what I've been up to...

Cherry Blossoms:

The Spring Cherry blossoms have come and gone yet again. They're only in bloom for about two weeks and then they sadly disappear. It's one of my favorite times in Korea. The weather starts to change and the streets become a winter wonderland full these beautiful flowers. We attended the festival and ate some necessary fried street food.

Andong Orphange:

I started volunteering at the local orphange here in my city, where I teach five middle and high school students. They are an absolute joy to teach. All of them are full of life and very eager to learn. There are six foreign teachers and a few lovely Korean university students who pair up with us. It was my turn two weeks ago, and the students were great! My friend Scott was grand and accompanied me on Monday, because there were no Koreans available. Then on Thursday I headed there by my lonesome, and had a great old time with them. I brought along LCR (greatest gambling game ever. If you don't know what it is, you need to get on that. It often comes out at many of my family functions.. Yes, I was introduced to gambling by my family at the age of 8.) Anyway, I use it a lot in the classroom. Instead of gambling with money, I use it to study  English expressions in unique ways. These kids are great, and it's very comforting and satisfying to know I'm helping to build their English language skills. This will aid them tremendously.

10K:

I ran my third 10K last month. Cut time off my last race. And didn't stop ONCE! EXCITING! A bunch of my friends ran the 5K. Saw some of my students and my school's vice principal. An all-around great day =)

Suzanne, Lisa, and me

Bull-Fighting:

Last month I headed down to Cheongdo, a small city, outside of Daegu- famous for two things and two things only. Bulls and Persimmon. So, two friends and I headed to the famous Bull-fighting festival to see what it was all about. Personally, I've never been to any kind of bull-fight so all I had to go on was what I've seen and heard about Spanish bull fights. It was definitely not as exciting as all that. I admit that it was actually quite boring. The worst part was probably how much time draggggged on between fights. It took them forever to bring out the next pair of bulls. To top it off it was actually frigid that day, so we didn't stay too late. My friend Angel bet on a bull and won- that part was exciting! haha After that, we headed on over to the famous Wine Tunnel where we bought ourselves a bottle of Persimmon wine (the only wine for sale.) Leave it to the foreigners to not think twice about buying an entire bottle. (Every Korean had gotten themselves a single tiny glass for themselves.) We also bought a thing of Brie.. which was delicious. I always forget how much I miss cheese. I practically NEVER get cheese in this country. The good cheese is off the charts expensive, so it's a true treat.

Field Trip:

I recently went on a field trip with my fourth graders to Gumi, a city about 90 minutes away. I was  very surprised that it was not a hike. Every field trip I've been on so far involved a hike (which is great and active but noticeably a bit boring for the students after a while.) This trip was a nice change. They started out at a gorgeous park where they had a tour guide who lead them through fields of flowers and pointed out the various species of trees. Students each had a small notebook where they had to jot down notes on each leaf and flower. After, we had a picnic and then headed to Gumo Land (a small amusement park.) Yes, I went on one of the rides.. pictured below. It was actually a bit eerie. No one else was there except for our school, so it was like a set-up for a creepy horror movie. Ghost town.

Cheongryangsan Part II:

Probably the most difficult hike in Andong is the famous Sky Bridge hike. I hiked it last year so I decided to give it another go.

Me, Jay, Natascha, and Lisa

Decorated for Buddha's Birthday

Me, Lisa, and Natascha

Principal's Art Exhibit:

A few weeks ago I was asked to help my principal write the English translation to his resume/professional background which was going in the back of his new published art book. I had no idea this man was such a talented artist.

My principal is the one in the blue tie to the woman's left.

Last Friday evening he had the opening ceremony of his art exhibit, which I gladly attended. A good amount of the staff from school were there as well as other admirers and fans. They had food and a ribbon cutting ceremony- It was a nice hour of Korean culture and conversing.

Gangnam, Seoul:

Simon, Emer, Conor, Ariel, me and Marc

I made it to Seoul last weekend. Boy did I miss that city. This is the first time I actually spent time in Gangnam and didn't stop by. I once had breakfast there at Butterfingers, but I don't count that. It was literally just to get our western-breakfast fix on and then we were out. I met up with a few friends I haven't seen since February. Relaxed at Rainbow Bar, a fun, laid back hookah bar, where we listened to some great live music (video below). We then made our way around the streets of Gangnam where I gave in and indulged in the greasiest, most delicious burger I've had thus far in Korea. Complete with rice cakes in the meat? Why of course! Don't act surprised.. this is still Korea haha. Somehow we made it to Itaewon where we finished our night.

Met up with Tom the next day, with our new 8,000won rip off Ray Bans, and had...

Greek food!!! I've missed it sooo much! This was at Santorini in Itaewon

Here, we met two Finnish guys who were not our favorite people. Let's just say they were rippping America and Americans apart. My fiend Ariel and I did not hold back when it came to defending our country and our people. Now when it comes to American expats... I have no doubt that everyone of us has gotten some sort of criticism, vulgar smart-ass comment, and/or stereotype. What you choose to do with these situations says a lot about you and what you stand for. 

I mean let's face it. We don't have a lot of fans. A lot of the world does hates us. We credit this to movies, bad television, and our government's need to butt into everyone else's business. Having spent a month in New Zealand, traveled to Japan, Taiwan, and called Korea a home for 16 months, I am automatically a victim of this... just because I'm American. Even if it's as little as, "Where are you from?" "The States." "Hmmm American huh?" *the judgy look*. I can't count how many times that has happened to me. Whether it's followed by a laugh and a "just kidding." or a full on conversation as to why the guy doesn't like America and/or Americans. It's not a fun feeling. It's not comfortable.

I am stubborn as hell.. thank you mom. hehe. I stand my ground and I will make my voice be heard if I feel I am being judged or attacked. However, living abroad has taught me that as much as we travelers are all very tolerant, approachable people, you will still come across ones who have their opinions and won't open their mind to anyone who differs. These are the times I stop talking and walk away. And that's exactly what I eventually did to the Finnish in Itaewon.. We agreed on two things: First of all, yes, our government needs to back off other countries and let them try to work things out on their own. Many of them are fully capable. End of story. Secondly yes there are some Americans out there who give us a bad name. They are obnoxious, arrogant, and unable to judge a situation and act appropriately. I have seen this time and time again living here. Everyone knows the types of people I'm talking about. The ones you are embarrassed to be standing in the same room with. The ones you actually take pity on. I am blessed to know and be friends with people from various countries and backgrounds as well as Americans who are pleasant, open-minded, and can absolutely take a situation and adapt to it. As we explained to these two guys... yes, there are Americans like this out there, but that's not where it ends.
It doesn't have to become your problem. You don't enjoy someones company, you walk away.  Simple. These guys were so set on, "America this, Americans that..." You could see our words literally going in one ear and out through the other. It was a waste of time. The shaking of their heads and the dirty looks, and vulgar comments were enough to make us get the hell out of there.

This upcoming weekend is good old Buddha's Birthday.. which means a 3-day weekend for Korea. I have a Culture Trip organized through EPIK on the following Monday-Wednesday. So I have 6 day weekend coming up and I couldn't be more excited. Busan, Geoje-do, and Dok-do. I'll be posting an entry on that soon after. =)

주석 Chuseok Vacation

Last Monday, Koreans celebrated Chuseok (their Thanksgiving equivalent.) Most Korean families travel to their hometowns during this time, so all of the big cities eerily empty out. For foreigners however, it means a five-day weekend and taking over those cities or neighboring countries, like Japan or Taiwan.

I had left school early the previous Friday to pick up Kate from the airport. Talk about Chuseok traffic. It was hell. It reminded me of the traffic on the GW in New York, which made made me homesick/slightly pissed off. Though I had no other way of getting there, so I kind of just had to put in my music and deal with it. We spent our time in Seoul for the next two days doing touristy things. We went on a Seoul City bus Tour, which I absolutely recommend. You can choose from three different routes. The one we chose was two hours long in duration, but you can get off wherever you want and buses come through in 30-minute intervals to pick you up. It's really nice because it's up to you which sites you get off at and how long you stay at each one. It no doubt kept us on a schedule. We saw Deoksugung Palace, The National Museum of Korea, and stopped in Insadong- a must for any tourist traveling through Seoul who is looking to buy traditional gifts and souveniers. There, we tried some green tea made fresh in front of us from ingredients grown in Jeju. Delicious. We also witnessed a man making traditional Korean rice cakes. These things are at almost every teacher's meeting and given out at special events as part favors, so I've had my fair share. It was cool to finally see how they come together. The sticky rice mixture was in a large wooden stand, and he was literally wacking the thing from over his head as hard as he could with a wooden hammer. This was now my third time in Insadong; I can't get enough. Strolling down the streets, window shopping and people-watching with coffee or tea in hand, is probably one of my favorite past-times.  I showed Kate the night life of Hongdae and Itaewon, which is always a good time. We stayed at an awesome hostel called Jin's Paradise. Jin is now one of my coolest Korean friends. His hostel is about a 7-minute walk from exit 1 and 2 of Itaewon Station. Perfect location. Great rooms, safe, clean, affordable, and really popular with young travelers. It has a real homey, hippy kind of vibe. To top it off, the roof has a breathtaking view of Seoul and Namsan Tower. 

Kate experiencing Hongdae

Jin's view from the roof

Amazing

Awesome lounging room in the palace. This kid was loving it.

Cutie in her hanbok (traditional Korean dresses)

Outside of the museum

Always find Buddhas so interesting and serene

Gorgeous paintings

Making green tea from Jeju 

Making rice cakes

Guards in front of the Palace

Showing different Asian Buddhas.

We took a subway ride to Myeongdong to visit the four-story Forever 21. Yes, I said four-story. We didn't even make it to H&M. Foreigners love this place, because if you're anything like me, I'm not into the huge frills and lace that is Korean fashion. Of course they still have simple clothes, but you need to search, especially for your size. So going to Myeongdong is an exciting, thrilling adventure, that doesn't happen so often. I actually spent a good amount of money (way to go me.) While walking back from Myeongdong, we came across a beautiful Catholic Church. Myeongdong Cathedral. It was the very first parish built in South Korea. Let's not forget to bring up The Flying Pan- my favorite breakfast joint in Seoul thus far. I don't think I've made a Seoul trip yet without getting there. Below is their avocado chicken sandwich, along with a seasonal pumpkin cheesecake. We could NOT pass that up, especially being disappointed after finding that even the Seoul Starbucks' weren't selling their pumpkin lattes. We headed back to Andong on Sunday, avoiding all the traffic of the holiday since most families had started their travels at the start of the weekend. Thank goodness.

Chicken avocado

Pumpkin cheesecake 

Out in Itaewon 

We left early the next morning for Busan. We met up with my friends from Andong, who had been there on vacation since Saturday. That afternoon we took a beyond crowded bus to  Haedong Yongung Temple. Since it was the actual day of Chuseok, we didn't think it would be crazy busy, but we quickly found the opposite to be true. I guess visiting temples is a popular thing to do on this holiday. We stood on line for about 15 minutes before we hit the cliffs overlooking the water and the temple, then got back on line to walk over to the actual temple. The sight was absolutely breathtaking. I can say it's the most beautiful temple site I've seen thus far, and my temple count is getting up there. I'll let the pictures try and explain, but we all know they can only do some much justice. We hung out on Haeundae beach for a while after that until we figured we should go eat something. We were all still ridiculously full from lunch, so we ventured into the market for some small street food before the bars.  For lunch, we all had burgers at Wolfhound. I got a delicious veggie burger, but the size of the thing was enormous. I'm sure I wouldn't think that if I got it back in the States, but the fact that we're not used to eating greasy, huge helpings of food anymore affects you. My stomach actually felt a little upset afterwards. It's amazing the difference in portion size between the States and Korea. Kate got her street food experience, but opted out of the spicy tteokbokki, which I gladly ordered. Mmm soo good. I'm sure I've explained it before, but tteokbokki is Korean's most famous street food and you can find it at almost every vendor. It's consists of rice cakes, scallions, imitation fish cakes, and a really spicy red pepper sauce. It's so creamy and kind of perfect. It fills you up, and is usually only around 3,000 won.

On line for the temple 

Rubbing Buddha's belly supposedly brings wealth and good luck, and some think pregnancy. (When we were walking back, an ahjumma was rubbing this guy like crazy, and all her friends were hysterical with laughter. Their laughs are always contagious.)

LOVE this shot. This boy was very much in his own world. 

ahhhhh I can't get over these Korean children.

Busan was absolutely beautiful the next day. It's always a treat to sit on that beach with no worries, not even that you just paid an obnoxious amount for a tall Starbucks coffee. If I close my eyes, and ignore all the Korean being spoken, I can feel like I'm back home on our beaches. Very comforting.

Busan Market

This went on for 20 minutes. Down to the water, up the sand. Down to the water, up the sand. OH how life was so simple as a child.

 We traveled back the next day being that I had to go back to work on Thursday. I introduced Kate to all that is Andong and she finally got a sense of what the real Korea is all about. She saw a clear difference between Seoul and Busan and my city. I'm overly grateful that she was able to make this trip, and that she got back safe and sound. I love my visitors and am thankful I have such wonderful people in my life that make a huge trips to come see me (Yes, mom, you and Dennis.)

So our tiny vacation finally came to an end, and I was back off to work.. but only for two days, and then I finally made it to our city's International Maskdance Festival.. I'll get on that post in the next few days..