Summer So Far

Wow- I’m a little behind. I’ve been running non stop since my last post. I just remembered that I’m keeping this blog and should probably update it. =)

So about a month ago Claire, Reuel, and I took a tour to the DMZ (North and South Korean border). It was pretty intense needless to say. We saw the third tunnel, propaganda city, and the coolest part was the JSA (joint security area). Before going to the JSA we were briefed by US soldiers (who served as our guides and guards) and signed a waiver that said "The visit to the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom will entail entry into a hostile area and possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action." =)

At the JSA we were able to cross into N.Korea and go in the conference rooms where meetings between the 2 countries are held. The whole time North Korean soldiers were taking our pictures and looking through their binoculars. 

 

We also were taken to a viewpoint to see the bridge of no return. It was used at the end of the Korean war where prisoners of war were brought and they had to decide where they wanted to go to live North or South and there was no turning back.

We also got to see the propaganda city. This is a fake city with fake buildings that just was built to try to make the world think North Korea is a thriving country.  No one actually lives there.

It was a great tour overall and it kinda made it hit home a little that I’ve been living so close to such a crazy country full of injustice.

I have a feeling that in the next 20 years there will be no DMZ and it will be really cool to have been there.


We also took a weekend trip to Anmyeondo. It’s an island off the west coast. Six of the girls from my neighborhood took a total of 4 busses to get there. It was a long journey but worth it. Once we arrived we found a pension. dropped our bags and headed to the beach.

The beach was great. We spent the whole afternoon doing nothing. My perfect Saturday.

This also turned out to be the cheapest weekend ever.

We put 6 girls in a 4 person room to get the price down (we only paid 13,000 each). We were staying by the beach so the restaurants were all really expensive. But fear not, there is always a convenience store and ramen.

After our gourmet dinner of ramen we hung out on the beach where we made friends with some Koreans. We played with fireworks and sang songs. Simple and perfect.

Sunday we headed home but first we we to the forest on the island and did some very light hiking and more just hanging out. 

The last weekend of the month all 8 of the girls from the neighborhood went to Busan. We took the KTX (fast train) and we got there in about 3 hours. We dropped our bags at the hostel and head straight to.... you guessed it- the BEACH. Haeundae Beach (also where we were staying) is one of the most popular beaches in Korea and I’ve only seen pictures of it PACKED, but we lucked out. They forecasted it to monsoon all weekend, but it really didn’t do much, so the beach was not very busy. 

Korea is not known for big waves, but Haeundae has a few and they actually were having a surfing competition that weekend.

Saturday night we went out for Aoife's birthday. We ended up at a Nori Bong (Singing room). Let me explain.

We rented this small room with a table and booth. In this room there is a TV and 3 mics. Also a HUGE library of songs. So basically it’s a private room to do karaoke with only your own friends. We sang our little hearts out. It was great. Somewhere between Katy Perry, Backstreet boys, and Kesha we all lost our voices. This was my first Nori Bong and I hope it’s not my last.

Sunday we went to- YEP the beach! =) I just love it. We played in the waves laid out and just lived it up. After lunch the girls all headed back to Seoul. I stayed on Monday and Tuesday on my own. I had 2 vacation days burning a hole in my pocket so I figured I should use them. 


I need to practice being cheap from when I travel in SE Asia in September, so I decided I would stay at a jimjabong (korean spa). Basically you can shower and sleep there for 9,000 (about 8$) can’t beat that. Granted you sleep on the floor- but hey, thats korea for you.

Monday I took a really long walk. This seems to happen when I travel on my own. It was really nice though. I ended up at the largest department store in the world. My budget did not allow me to get anything from Tiffany or Prada, but I did get a journal from the book store. 


Also I went to the aquarium for a bit. 

Tuesday was a beach day once again. There was hardly anyone there. I could hear nothing but the waves. I did a lot of reading and relaxing before catching the train back to Seoul.

I almost forgot- Wednesday was the 4th of July! What great holiday, but when you're not in the States it could end up being depressing, so we went to the cowboy bar, so it felt just like home for me. A friend of mine even picked up some Landshark for me from the base (I had not had one in 10 months). It’s my favorite florida beer and as soon as I tasted it I felt like I really was home. After a little two stepping and singing the National Anthem at midnight we headed home on the last bus.

To keep up the patriotic feelings we went to a baseball game on Saturday. It was the biggest game of the season, LG vs Doosan. Cherish and I got there 3 hours before the game to wait in line for tickets. Thankfully there were still some for sale.

It was HOT at the game. We were all melting. But the game was so good, like it went to 12 innings and my team DOOOSAAANNN won! It was nearly 5 hours long. Crazy but fun.

Well thats the end of my novel for today.

I have less than 8 weeks left now- crazy.

Life Lately

The past 2 weeks have been super busy in my life. Here’s a little update from my side of the world.

Saturday, June 2nd was jam-packed for me. I started early going to the other side of the city to the Olympic Park (where the 1988 Summer Olympics were held) with my friend Claire to help with the orphanage outreach that my church does. What a rewarding experience. 





We spent the afternoon playing with about 15 kids ages 2-15. They were so full of life and fun. The joy just spilled out of them. Spending time with them was such a blessing. 
 


Right after Claire and I jumped on the subway to meet our friends for dinner before seeing Wicked. The original broadway cast (yes, all the way from NYC) brought their tour to Seoul for just one month, so we decided opening weekend was the best time to go. It was fun to get all dressed up and see the show. It was wonderful. It had been maybe 2 years since I last went to see a broadway show and I had forgotten just how impressive they are. 

When the show was over I realized we were nearby to Korea’s finest Cowboy bar, Grand Ole Opry, so we stopped in for a little two steppin and line dancing. I was happy girl =)

This past weekend I went to Seoraksan (the rockies of Korea) with Claire, Emily, and Reuel. We grabbed an early morning bus to the east coast and the adventure began.
 
 
Saturday we just hung out around the park and took some pictures. We went to bed early because we woke up at 5:30am on Sunday morning so we could start hiking at 6am. It might sound crazy but it was worth it.

The hike was the most intense thing I have ever experienced. The last .8 km was like climbing a ladder. We were up above the clouds, the air was thin, and our hearts were pounding.

By 9am we made it to the top.

     

Victory felt great =)

We hiked back down (so much easier) and when we reached the bottom we rewarded ourselves with some korean pancakes (pajeon). So yummy!
 

We hiked a little more to a waterfall. It was a much easier hike- thank goodness.
 

Our day ended with a cable car ride into the clouds. It was nice to relax at the top.

I love weekends and I love exploring Korea. I’m so thankful I’m able to travel on the weekends

The first was the start of a new semester at my school. So during the past 2 weeks I have been meeting all my new students. This is my 4th and last semester. Crazy. This semester I’m teaching 4 different levels from the lowest and youngest to the highest level, nearly fluent 6th graders. It will be a challenge but I’m sure it will be super rewarding. It so nice to have students who want to learn and work hard and I love singing and watching the little ones learn so quickly. I only have 3 more months left to fill the pages of the Korea chapter of my life. I’m going to live it up this summer and enjoy this fabulous life I’ve been blessed with.  

I decided that my asian adventure is NOT going to end in August. All that is really set in stone is that I’m leaving HONG KONG on October 7th and getting home on October 8th in DC. What will I do until then? Soon I will buy a ticket to somewhere in SE Asia, probably Malaysia and spend the month of September traveling solo in Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, and HK.

Yep.

I’ve lost it.

I’m calling it my “nearly mid twenties” life crisis.

Since I impulsively bought the ticket a few weeks ago I’ve had a few few moments where I just asked myself, “Why?” I feel like I might just be trying to rebel against myself, prove something to myself. That I am independent, that I can do things on my own and be happy. Most of all I think I really want to authentically travel, not vacation. I want to see how people live their lives and see the beautiful and historical places in SE Asia. Anyways. That’s that. It’s gonna be great and I’m getting really excited.

Namhae Island

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.