Usually we don’t have the day off on US national holidays, so normally we all just go to work wishing we had the day off to relax. But, we got lucky this time. Monday was Buddha's birthday here in Korea so we got American Memorial Day off. 3 days weekends are few and far between so 8 of the Uiwang women decided to make the trek to the south to Namhae Island. This by far was the best weekend I’ve had in Korea.Saturday morning we meet at 6:15 to catch the bus to go to the express bus terminal in Seoul. 4 of the girls overslept and barely made it in time. We were so thankful they did though =). There was really bad traffic leaving the city because everyone was doing the same as us and heading south. We did not arrive until about 4pm to the Island and that’s when the adventure really started.
The Island was BEAUTIFUL and so quaint. The island is mainly a farming island (rice and garlic)It really showed us the authentic way of Korean rural living.
Right when we got off the bus we went straight to the rice paddy, took our shoes off, and stepped into the mud to learn to plant rice the good ol’ fashion way. We all lined up to plant the rows. And ended up getting covered in mud. It was gross but exciting.
We needed to wash off all that mud so we went for a swim in the sea. It was ice cold but so fun. Check out our homestay dad/ raft driver.
That night we stayed with a korean family in a home stay. What a cool experience. I will never forget this. They we so sweet and did not have a word of English. So needless to say we did not always understand each other. Like when we all got back from the beach and needed to take showers. They only had one bathroom and from her body language we figured out that she was not happy with us each taking our own shower. We needed to shower Korean style...together. Hahaha. We are Irish and American that is way outside our level of comfort. So we did 4 at a time in our bathing suits. It was funny and we all had a good laugh after.
Dinner was cooked by our homestay Mom. It was so fresh and so Korean. It was wonderful, but the next morning when she served us the exact same thing again (*kimchi soup) and it lost it’s luster a bit.
Saturday night we had a bonfire and afterward we hung out on the roof of our house enjoying the stars and country living.
Sunday started with a hike to one of the highest points on the mountain. It was incredibly beautiful. We had fun playing at the peak and enjoying the views.
Later on Sunday we moved to a different village on the other side of the island. After lunch we got into our sea kayaks and spent about 3 hours paddling around the island. The weather was wonderful and we all we happy to get tan. We also tried out paddle boarding. So FUN! and relaxing. We finished off the day with some rooftop sunbathing. After a wonderful Korean BBQ dinner we had another bonfire on the beach. It was my perfect day.
On monday before we headed back to Seoul we went deep sea fishing. The boat took us out and we started casting away. I remembered how much I love fishing. Something about catching your lunch makes one feel so accomplished.
The villagers grilled our catch and made some korean sushi out of some of the fish.
I loved getting to experience the real Korea and work on my tan at the same time. I’m so thankful for amazing friends that all really love each other. I really feel like theses girls are my sisters. Living life here with other people on the same adventure is so special.
