Middle of October was the fall Korea On the Rocks Meet and Greet. Climbers from all over Korea get together, climb, drink, and have wild shenanigans.
I opted to not bring Luna because it was supposed to rain and rain with a dog in a small tent...not so much fun. Boy am I glad I didn't bring her.
I got in Friday night and set up my sweet 10,000 won two-man tent. I kinda had a ground mat/beach mat but it didn't cover the entire bottom of the tent, oh well right. Haha, I don't think it would have made much of a difference. So we were told a huge storm was going to be coming through at midnight. At 12:30 am it was still clear skies. Everyone decided on bed time. I don't sleep well outside anyways but the tent was a bit to short for me, even laying cross corner I touched both walls. Rule number one of tents, if you want it dry don't let it touch the walls. Fetal position it was. That's when the wind picked up, the lightning started and the rain fell. Ok so that kinda stunk, but my tent was holding up against the gail force winds. I then realized it was brighter in my tent then it was a second ago... I looked out my screen window (with the rain fly on I can not see outside) and saw everything. The wind had undone my steaks and my fly was hanging on by one steak. Choices: 1)wait it out and hope that it (rain/wind) stops soon 2) get out and put my fly back on and re-steak it so that everything in my tent stays dry 3)wait what will hold my tent down if i'm not in it and there is only one steak still in the ground....my pack (everything went back in my pack and the rain fly for my pack went on and went to the corner of the tent being dominated by the wind) 4) should i put my pants back on, it's cold but then they will be wet?
Whatever... the pants went on but didn't get buttoned so were falling down as I was running around my tent trying to steak the tent down again and untangle the fly to put it back on. Another guy was running around in his underwear ( i should have done that, i would have dry pants) steaking his tent down better and putting rocks on the steaks. Another guy got out and helped me get my fly straightened out and steaked back down. Great times!!!
Woke up in a lake...if you didn't know, down sleeping bags do nothing if wet...no worries, after i wrung it out I got up and had some coffee. It rained most of the morning off and on so everytime it would be blue skies everyone would put all their stuff on the line to dry...as soon as everything was out it would start raining again. My bag ended up in a minbak with heated floors so it dried nicely.
The climbing was amazing, the view amazing, the people amazing, and everything else also. Ganhyeon has been by far my favorite place. After/before dinner the drinking began. We soon moved to a bonfire by the river with a ukulele, singers, and apparently football player wannabes. I was tackled 7 or 8 times by a friend. Got up early the next morning to make sure everyone had followed through on their leave no trace. Nope...you could probably imagine how much waste (bottles, cans, cigarette butts, and other randomness) 25-30 some people can produce.
Finished off Sunday's climbing with some great leads (I don't like lead climbing but the leads here were so much fun and just overall great climbs). Then a large group of us headed out. Jan and I were heading to Busan together. Got some lunch in the station and some dang coffee that just turned out to be a bigger pain that it was worth. Got on the bus just in time.
About 30 minutes down the road...WHAT WAS THAT?!?! (Jan and I looking at each other) I'm going to laugh if it was a tire...haha, sure was but no worries we weren't going to lose any time...the bus driver is going to continue at the same speed (passing people) Korean passenger "ㅣㅏㅓㄴㅇ먀ㅏㄷ김츠ㅜㅊ능롸" Bus driver : " ㅓ추ㅕㅑ랴ㅓㅜ주쳧녀챠ㅕㅑㅊ녀ㅛ쳐" Korean passenger: " ㄷ추ㅡㅜㄷ유운듀ㅜㅠㄴ유ㅏ" I'm pretty sure that it translate to something along the lines of KP "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" BD "DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT...ONLY 3 MORE HOURS" KP: "YOU BETTER PULL THIS BUS OVER NOW OR ELSE..." the bus pulled over and three men got off the bus to look at the damage... got back on and continued...WHAT WAS THAT?!?! (Jan and I looking at eachother laughing from fear) Me: "English? Little English?" Korean woman: "Flat tire"...duh, but why are we still driving
Finally (10 mintues after the first stop and 5 minutes after the second stop) we got to a rest area. Korean woman "We wait for engineer to fix tire" Jan and I "Engineer? Really?" I guess they don't have the word mechanic.
Back on the bus 2 hours later. Offered an older korean woman (adjumma) sitting behind us some crackers. I was expecting her to take like 5 or 6 and then hand the rest back to me, so I waited. After she continued to consume my crackers I turned back around with a straight face. Jan look at me and asked if she took any. I said yeah... she asked me how many...i said "ALL" with a straight face and even tone...Jan looked back at the woman who was still so joyfully eating my crackers, looked at me and we both started laughing.
The people who had left on the a different bus and hour or so later than us got back before us...doesn't always pay to get the earlier bus...haha, still a great weekend
Sorry no pictures, I'll have to get some from people because I left my camera at home :(
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wow
Okay, so I just figured out that I had comments on some of my posts. I never knew how to see if I had any. Now I know and I'll try and reply back. Thanks for the comments!!!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Thailand Part II:4 months later
So the first day back to the mainland was spent traveling from the pier back to Krabi. I got another room at the AoNang Grand Inn, it was a fan room, for a whopping 750 TBH (30 TBH=$1). I booked my next two days adventure: Elephant Trekking and a Speedboat Islands tour.
I honestly could have done without the Elephant Trekking. I must be either really hopeful or didn't ask enough questions. They picked me up and I actually ended up in a van traveling for much more of the day than I would have thought. We went to the Hot Springs first. It was pretty much like a natural hot tub.
Next we went to Emerald pools. I was asked to take a picture with some kids(??) and did some swimming.
This next picture is from the actual elephant trekking that was very short and kinda sad the way they treated the elephants. Take a look at the kid that was riding with me. 12 year-old-boy form China. Check out his shirt...gotta love it!!!
This is where we had an awesome lunch. It's a fishery.
The last place on our tour we went was a Tiger Temple (no tiger) that had a bunch of greedy, thieving monkeys. They were so cute but would only get close if you were offering them food.On this tour I met a couple from New Zealand. They are also teaching here in South Korea. I met up with them for dinner and some wandering about the beach area.
My second to last day in Thailand I went on an 8 stops powerboat Islands tour. Growing up on a boat made this a blast for me. Fun in the sun on a boat with stops here and there to do some snorkling, shopping, sun-bathing, and some history/stories. I saw so many amazing things that I can't even describe it. I'm just going to let the pictures speak for themselves (even though they don't do the beauty justice).
After a day on a powerboat...a little wind-blown.
The crew and I
Bamboo Island
Have you seen the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio...well this is it.
The last stop on our Island tour we stopped at Bamboo Island. I took a nap on the beach in the sun, did some snorkling, and met an amazing older couple. It was a Hungarian couple that had lived in Australia for the last 50 years. Larry was almost 90 years-old and his wife Kuki (nickname) was early-mid 80s. For about an hour and a half Larry was telling myself and a woman from France (her and I were the only non-coupled/non-family people on the tour) about his life and the war. Wow, he had lived. He got the last train out of Buddapest before the city was taken, made it to another station just for them to say it was going to be destroyed the next day. They ended up pretty much in the middle of no where... the Americans then ended up shooting up the small staion he was at. He was mad because all of his stuff was destroyed in the train. His stories were so amazing. To think that a person could live through all of that. Even though he had lived in Australia for the last 50 years he still had a much stronger Hungarian accent.
When I got back from the tour I did the usual walking around but decided that I wanted to try a scooter. Now, I have never ridden one before and the last time I rode a bicyle was ??? It was something like $15/24 hours. It was perfect, I would have it that evening and all day the next day till it was time to go. He gave me a quick run down on how to turn it on/off, gas, and break. "Have fun!!" ummmm...... ok?!?! In the first 30 minutes I almost hit 3 cars (steering was quite strange) almost ran into the back of parked cars, jumped a curb trying to turn around, forgot to put the kick stand up... oh man, this was too stressful for a vacation...I decided I would try this whole scooter thing when I got back to Korea and bought one. So after 30 minutes I took it back...they laughed, I laughed but then he just took my payment as a taxi to the airport the next evening...he was going to pick me up at 9pm for my flight at 11:55pm...better to be early than late, right?
The last day I was there I spent the day slack-lining on the beach,
laying in the sun, and doing some last minute shopping. I ran into Larry and Kuki again and made dinner arrangements with them at 7 at this open air resturaunt. (I was never disappointed by the food in Thailand or the atmosphere). To kill time till then, I did some more sunbathing to get nice a crispy before my aloe vera massage I was going to get. Went back to the hostel, took a shower, got my massage, went to dinner, got my bag, and got in the taxi.45 minutes later we arrive at Krabi airport, extremely small, which was completely shut down. I was freaking out knowing there was no way I missed my flight because it wasn't leaving till 11:55 so I pulled out my itenerary to show the security guard... as I was passing it up I noticed that my flight from Bangkok was at 11:55 pm and my flight from Krabi was at 7:15pm... ooops. Luckily the taxi driver was super nice and took care of me. He drove me around to 3 different hotels about 30 minutes away (closet area with cheaper hotels) until we found a cheap one. On the way he stopped off at his cousins taxi service and made arrangement for him to pick me up in the morning and take me to the airport at 6am. I ended up at a concrete bungalow that was a little...um, yeah but it was a cheap place to stay and i had arrangements for the morning so all was good. I had no alarm or anything so I slept in my clothes(I would have anyways...no need to unpack and pack again) but woke up to a knocking at my door at 5:30 am. It was my taxi, I threw my shoes on, my pack on, and grabbed my purse. When I came out I realized I got to ride on the back of a motorbike with my pack (round two). The driver had already gotten my passport from the owner and we were on our way. 30 minutes later I arrive back at the airport that was supposed to be open at 6:30 (it was 6 now). We went through the gate and got dropped off at the front door to wait for it to open... 2 hours later people started showing up for work... apparently it doesn't open until 9:00am. Made arrangements to leave Krabi and spend the day in Bangkok and arrive into Seoul instead of Busan.
In Bangkok I bought some books, ate some food, ate some more food, drank some drinks, met some people, and just had a great day wandering the airport. The first lady and I were sharing snacks and taking turns watching eachothers things while the other went to the restroom. When she left 2 hours later her place was taken by this Swedish guy that had decided he hated dark winters and was moving to Australia. We hung out the rest of the time I was there (the last 8 hours anyways). Barely made my flight to Seoul...they had told me the time on my ticket was the boarding time but it was the departure time...after I got on the plane they shut the doors...whew almost was stuck there again!!!
Thailand was amazing and I will be there again!!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.
Ok so for now the rest of the Thailand trip will have to wait to be posted. I know I am falling horribly behind, but...sorry.
For those that didn't know I visited home for a wedding. I left Busan, South Korea at 2:15 pm on Sept. 12th and got into Kansas City, MO at 6:30 pm on Sept. 12th (same day). I had two lay-overs that were 1.5 hours each, one in Tokyo and the other in Chicago. I am lacking (once again) all creativity in writing so here is the run down of my trip home A.K.A. "The Blur". ( I'm going to keep a running total of time awake to time there just so you can see why I was unable to form sentences when you saw me in the states or when I got back to ROK)
Woke up at 6:30 am on Friday the 11th and went to school. Came home, got the dog and the bags, got in a car-for-hire and headed to Jangsan (15 minutes by car 1 hour by bus away). This is where I stayed up all night except for a 1.5 hours nap around 5 am saturday.
22.5 awake-24 total hours (th)
Did some last minute shopping for some friends and finished the packing. 11 am got in a cab and headed to the airport shuttle bus. Made sure I was going to get to the airport in plenty of time to check in and get through immigration. Got to the airport around 12:15 and was checked in and through immigration by 12:30. Now what?? No internet (alien number wasn't working), girl sitting next to me talking as if she was in the club trying to make sure her friend could hear her (Americans, geez). Got on the plane and peace out ROK.
No napping on plane #1 and left for Chicago at 5 pm local time.
33-34.5
Watch a few of movies (The Proposal, Yes Man, Easy Virtue, and the Hangover), read some of the Alchemist, ate 1 of 2 meals(too turbulent for the second one), drank 3 pops, and took a couple 30 minute naps.
Landed at Chicago around 4pm (CST) 6am on Sunday for Korea time
44.5-47.5
Got into MCI in Kansas City at 6:30 pm CST and no napping on the plane. I was talking to a guy that is from KC but is living in London for work and was coming back for a work visit. He was maybe late 20s' and it was a nice conversation...the other flights I talked to no one (mostly bc they were asleep or didn't speak English)
47-50
A friend from my days at NCCC in Chanute, KS (TJ) picked me up at the airport, went to dinner, visited an old coach, tried some Soju, and Omegled (google Omegle) for a couple of hours before I finally went to bed at midnight.
52.5-55.5
I was wide awake 2 hours later and sayed awake
52.5-57.5
Had Sonic for breakfast and headed back to the airport to head to Dallas, Texas. No sleep on the plane and got in at 10:30am.
61- 66
Jane (friend from school in Texas that I played volleyball with) picked me up, we got some taquitos and met up with some other friends from school that I climbed with. Freebirds (google it)...enough said. Said by to Jane and left for Commerce, TX with Kat and Brian. Took a 30 minute nap before the dinner and sea shell drilling. Woke up at 6 pm ready to go.
68-73.5
We headed out to Cameron and Emily (a couple that is a bit older than us that have a house just outside of Commerce with a slackline, fire pit, and bouldering wall in their garage) where Kat, Brian, Cameron, Emily, Steven, John, Mike, Bradley, and I spent the evening eating hotdogs, cheese (me), drilling sea shells (we all slayed atleast one sea shell), drinking soju and black berry wine, and watching climbing videos. Headed home around10 or so.
72-77.5
We watched a movie and talked a bit before I fell asleep around midnight or so.
74-79.5
Woke up around 4:30am and stayed awake till 7:30am or so, saw Kat leave for school.
77-87
I then slept till about 1pm...finally some sleep.
82.5-92.5
10 hours of sleep in 3.85 days...crazy
Watched a crazy movie with Kat (Jesus Camp), went back to the Rec to visit Tony, ate lunch with John Hill, visited the training room at the college, visited my Education Instructor Jency, visited with the John Hill replacement(who gave me some Orikaso(google it)), climbed with Cameron and Emily at the wall and realized how weak I am on climbing overhangs, had chicken fried steak with mashed potatos and gravy and green beans, had Einstein Bagels with Kat, coffee at the library where I saw Grace, and got a ride back to the DFW airport from Steven on Tuesday afternoon. Left Dallas at 6:55 and got into Tulsa around 8.
No more sleep counting bc from here on out it was pretty steady on CST.
I was met at the gate by my Uncle Kent (dad's brother) and my cousin Tyler. My parents weren't too far behind them. It was so good to see Kent and Tyler, I was not expecting it and I hadn't seen Tyler for quite a while. Mom had packed me a bunch of food and we had a picnic in the airport parking lot. Great food...much needed!!!
Didn't do anything Tuesday night because I new that Wednesday was going to kick my butt. Woke up Wednesday to a call from Cody (friend from HS) who was leaving for music festival Wednesday afternoon. I asked if he would help me out. He was my driver to and from and back to the DMV (lack of sleep was lack of brain thinking that I needed ID to get my DL). Lacking a car he then took me to get my phone changed over to my mom's cell phone number so I would have a phone with all my friends numbers in it while I was home. Got to eat Mall Deli (thanks Cody).
Wednesday afternoon I got in the car and headed up to Kansas City (not before stopping by and seeing my good buddy Daniel at work) for my now cousin's bachelorette party. I couldn't find her house and ended up at my aunt and uncle's house. Got a ride with my aunt to dinner. When I walked in I saw Lacey (girl from NCCC that I played volleyball with and hadn't seen since she left there). Dinner was at a Japanese Steak house where they cook in front of you. I caught 5 shrimp in a row in my mouth sitting about 6 or 7 feet back from the table.
(Activity deleted) :)
Off to the bars in the Power and Lights district in Downtown KC. We were pretty much the only people in the bars to start off. There were some dance offs, some game playing, and some dares (card game...so much fun). Then we went to the next bar and continued having fun. There were some guys that kept buying rounds of drinks for everyone ($90 a round).
Across the room I saw this guy that was incredibly tall. And I don't mean compared to Korean height...he was quite a bit taller than all the guys that were walking by him to go to the restroom. I had to see him up close. I walk around the room and stood next to him, almost breaking my neck to look up (jk), my head was right at his chest. I said, " I'm sure you get this alot...but excatly how tall are you?" he told me he was 6'11 bu that 7' sounds better!!!! He also said that no one ever asks ( i don't believe that). We talked for a bit but I need to get back to the party so I headed back over to the girls. Turns out he(Sean) is from Hays, KS (he said it's better than Pittsburg...don't think so). The thing that surprised me was that he was not only extremely tall, but was well built, coordinated, and pretty darn good lookin'. We danced for a while which pretty much made my nigth because we both dance Kansas Freestyle (idiots) and even were able to have a small dance off (he killed me). Sean helped me out of a sticky situation like it was nothing...on the long trip back to ROK I had tons of time to think and looking back at the time in that bar... he makes me laugh...good guy
Slept not so great sitting up in a chair and then on the floor before getting in a car and heading back to my aunts house (6:30 am). Got back to the car and headed back to Pittsburg to have lunch with a friend from Church (Shirley Hawkins). After lunch I took a 4 hour nap. After my nap I don't remember exactly what I did but I got to hang out with Bethany for a good time. It was really good to see her. Made it an early night.
Friday went to Wal-mart, saw the Smith family, saw Daniel again. Went to dinner with my parents...Del Rio has nothing on Senora Taco or Taco's Family, but the company was really good...miss dinner with my parents, the familiarity of dad lounged out across the booth across from mom and I where mom is telling dad to talk at me and not at her...his voice hurts her ears when he is talking in close areas...lol, gotta love 'em.
Friday night went out for Tamara's (friend from school/church) birthday. It was fun...a little drama, but what is Pittsburg bar night out without drama...it doesn't exsist. Saw Mel, Lauren, Jason, Cassie, Chris, Tamara, Matt, and I'm sure some others (sorry I didn't include you). Funny thing, got to use my passport to get into the bars bc most don't except the paper liscense without the old liscense.
WEDDING DAY
Saturday got up and headed to the lake to put up signs directing everyone to the wedding ceremony. Then mom took dad and I back down the the south end of the lake to get the boat. Dad and I drove the boat up to the north end of the lake while sipping on some beverages...nothing beats a day at the lake on a boat with a cold beer/margarita in hand, and even a little rain.
When we got there we were informed the wedding had been moved up and it was starting in 30 minutes and not in 1.5 hours. Lots of hussle and bussle but everyone got around and the ceremony started just as the sprinkles began falling (God's kisses/blessings). Beautiful ceremony with a BEAUTIFUL bride (Mal) and a good looking groom (Zach). Brown and pink, beautiful flowers and a great area. The only thing that would have made it better would have been no rain but everyone held up and the rain held back.
YOU MAY KISS THE BRIDE
The Zalarey wedding party left on the boat, in the rain, with umbrellas.
Great reception too, cake was amazing, and the best punch I have ever had.
Breakfast the next morning (sunday) and then goodbyes to all and a short boat ride with my cousin Matt and his wife Jill, his mom Christi, my cousin Quinlynn, Andrew and Christina. After dad and I dropped them back off on the dock we headed back to the south end of the lake for mom to pick us up.
Subway...yum, yum!!!
Once home, packing, packing and more packing. Daniel came by and hung out with me while I packed. Bethany came back by. Stopped by and saw the Brown family for short time before heading to see Megan and getting some Tropical Snow (the best ever). Then movie with Cody (Inglorious Bastards...good but very gorey). Almost made it all night again...3 am.
Watched the last Kansas sunrise I would see for a long time. Dad dropped me off at the airport and got a parking ticked for leaving his car in the loading only zone for 2 minutes.
Plane broke down in Chicago and left 3 hours later. Overnight layover in Tokyo and back to Busan Wednesday evening...first class from Tokyo to Busan...very nicea (korean for nice).
Had coffee with Nikki before getting Luna, getting a cab and heading home.
Great 2 days of nothing but resting...took Luna to the lake, got really muddy.
Great weekend with some Northern South Korean folk staying in my apartment.
Ready for the 4 day weekend of Cheusok and the roadtrip with Mack, William, Drew (?), and possibly Luna...I get to drive this weekend!!!! can't wait.
Whew...that was a lot, now my hands hurt...Thailand part II coming soon!!!
For those that didn't know I visited home for a wedding. I left Busan, South Korea at 2:15 pm on Sept. 12th and got into Kansas City, MO at 6:30 pm on Sept. 12th (same day). I had two lay-overs that were 1.5 hours each, one in Tokyo and the other in Chicago. I am lacking (once again) all creativity in writing so here is the run down of my trip home A.K.A. "The Blur". ( I'm going to keep a running total of time awake to time there just so you can see why I was unable to form sentences when you saw me in the states or when I got back to ROK)
Woke up at 6:30 am on Friday the 11th and went to school. Came home, got the dog and the bags, got in a car-for-hire and headed to Jangsan (15 minutes by car 1 hour by bus away). This is where I stayed up all night except for a 1.5 hours nap around 5 am saturday.
22.5 awake-24 total hours (th)
Did some last minute shopping for some friends and finished the packing. 11 am got in a cab and headed to the airport shuttle bus. Made sure I was going to get to the airport in plenty of time to check in and get through immigration. Got to the airport around 12:15 and was checked in and through immigration by 12:30. Now what?? No internet (alien number wasn't working), girl sitting next to me talking as if she was in the club trying to make sure her friend could hear her (Americans, geez). Got on the plane and peace out ROK.
No napping on plane #1 and left for Chicago at 5 pm local time.
33-34.5
Watch a few of movies (The Proposal, Yes Man, Easy Virtue, and the Hangover), read some of the Alchemist, ate 1 of 2 meals(too turbulent for the second one), drank 3 pops, and took a couple 30 minute naps.
Landed at Chicago around 4pm (CST) 6am on Sunday for Korea time
44.5-47.5
Got into MCI in Kansas City at 6:30 pm CST and no napping on the plane. I was talking to a guy that is from KC but is living in London for work and was coming back for a work visit. He was maybe late 20s' and it was a nice conversation...the other flights I talked to no one (mostly bc they were asleep or didn't speak English)
47-50
A friend from my days at NCCC in Chanute, KS (TJ) picked me up at the airport, went to dinner, visited an old coach, tried some Soju, and Omegled (google Omegle) for a couple of hours before I finally went to bed at midnight.
52.5-55.5
I was wide awake 2 hours later and sayed awake
52.5-57.5
Had Sonic for breakfast and headed back to the airport to head to Dallas, Texas. No sleep on the plane and got in at 10:30am.
61- 66
Jane (friend from school in Texas that I played volleyball with) picked me up, we got some taquitos and met up with some other friends from school that I climbed with. Freebirds (google it)...enough said. Said by to Jane and left for Commerce, TX with Kat and Brian. Took a 30 minute nap before the dinner and sea shell drilling. Woke up at 6 pm ready to go.
68-73.5
We headed out to Cameron and Emily (a couple that is a bit older than us that have a house just outside of Commerce with a slackline, fire pit, and bouldering wall in their garage) where Kat, Brian, Cameron, Emily, Steven, John, Mike, Bradley, and I spent the evening eating hotdogs, cheese (me), drilling sea shells (we all slayed atleast one sea shell), drinking soju and black berry wine, and watching climbing videos. Headed home around10 or so.
72-77.5
We watched a movie and talked a bit before I fell asleep around midnight or so.
74-79.5
Woke up around 4:30am and stayed awake till 7:30am or so, saw Kat leave for school.
77-87
I then slept till about 1pm...finally some sleep.
82.5-92.5
10 hours of sleep in 3.85 days...crazy
Watched a crazy movie with Kat (Jesus Camp), went back to the Rec to visit Tony, ate lunch with John Hill, visited the training room at the college, visited my Education Instructor Jency, visited with the John Hill replacement(who gave me some Orikaso(google it)), climbed with Cameron and Emily at the wall and realized how weak I am on climbing overhangs, had chicken fried steak with mashed potatos and gravy and green beans, had Einstein Bagels with Kat, coffee at the library where I saw Grace, and got a ride back to the DFW airport from Steven on Tuesday afternoon. Left Dallas at 6:55 and got into Tulsa around 8.
No more sleep counting bc from here on out it was pretty steady on CST.
I was met at the gate by my Uncle Kent (dad's brother) and my cousin Tyler. My parents weren't too far behind them. It was so good to see Kent and Tyler, I was not expecting it and I hadn't seen Tyler for quite a while. Mom had packed me a bunch of food and we had a picnic in the airport parking lot. Great food...much needed!!!
Didn't do anything Tuesday night because I new that Wednesday was going to kick my butt. Woke up Wednesday to a call from Cody (friend from HS) who was leaving for music festival Wednesday afternoon. I asked if he would help me out. He was my driver to and from and back to the DMV (lack of sleep was lack of brain thinking that I needed ID to get my DL). Lacking a car he then took me to get my phone changed over to my mom's cell phone number so I would have a phone with all my friends numbers in it while I was home. Got to eat Mall Deli (thanks Cody).
Wednesday afternoon I got in the car and headed up to Kansas City (not before stopping by and seeing my good buddy Daniel at work) for my now cousin's bachelorette party. I couldn't find her house and ended up at my aunt and uncle's house. Got a ride with my aunt to dinner. When I walked in I saw Lacey (girl from NCCC that I played volleyball with and hadn't seen since she left there). Dinner was at a Japanese Steak house where they cook in front of you. I caught 5 shrimp in a row in my mouth sitting about 6 or 7 feet back from the table.
(Activity deleted) :)
Off to the bars in the Power and Lights district in Downtown KC. We were pretty much the only people in the bars to start off. There were some dance offs, some game playing, and some dares (card game...so much fun). Then we went to the next bar and continued having fun. There were some guys that kept buying rounds of drinks for everyone ($90 a round).
Across the room I saw this guy that was incredibly tall. And I don't mean compared to Korean height...he was quite a bit taller than all the guys that were walking by him to go to the restroom. I had to see him up close. I walk around the room and stood next to him, almost breaking my neck to look up (jk), my head was right at his chest. I said, " I'm sure you get this alot...but excatly how tall are you?" he told me he was 6'11 bu that 7' sounds better!!!! He also said that no one ever asks ( i don't believe that). We talked for a bit but I need to get back to the party so I headed back over to the girls. Turns out he(Sean) is from Hays, KS (he said it's better than Pittsburg...don't think so). The thing that surprised me was that he was not only extremely tall, but was well built, coordinated, and pretty darn good lookin'. We danced for a while which pretty much made my nigth because we both dance Kansas Freestyle (idiots) and even were able to have a small dance off (he killed me). Sean helped me out of a sticky situation like it was nothing...on the long trip back to ROK I had tons of time to think and looking back at the time in that bar... he makes me laugh...good guy
Slept not so great sitting up in a chair and then on the floor before getting in a car and heading back to my aunts house (6:30 am). Got back to the car and headed back to Pittsburg to have lunch with a friend from Church (Shirley Hawkins). After lunch I took a 4 hour nap. After my nap I don't remember exactly what I did but I got to hang out with Bethany for a good time. It was really good to see her. Made it an early night.
Friday went to Wal-mart, saw the Smith family, saw Daniel again. Went to dinner with my parents...Del Rio has nothing on Senora Taco or Taco's Family, but the company was really good...miss dinner with my parents, the familiarity of dad lounged out across the booth across from mom and I where mom is telling dad to talk at me and not at her...his voice hurts her ears when he is talking in close areas...lol, gotta love 'em.
Friday night went out for Tamara's (friend from school/church) birthday. It was fun...a little drama, but what is Pittsburg bar night out without drama...it doesn't exsist. Saw Mel, Lauren, Jason, Cassie, Chris, Tamara, Matt, and I'm sure some others (sorry I didn't include you). Funny thing, got to use my passport to get into the bars bc most don't except the paper liscense without the old liscense.
WEDDING DAY
Saturday got up and headed to the lake to put up signs directing everyone to the wedding ceremony. Then mom took dad and I back down the the south end of the lake to get the boat. Dad and I drove the boat up to the north end of the lake while sipping on some beverages...nothing beats a day at the lake on a boat with a cold beer/margarita in hand, and even a little rain.
When we got there we were informed the wedding had been moved up and it was starting in 30 minutes and not in 1.5 hours. Lots of hussle and bussle but everyone got around and the ceremony started just as the sprinkles began falling (God's kisses/blessings). Beautiful ceremony with a BEAUTIFUL bride (Mal) and a good looking groom (Zach). Brown and pink, beautiful flowers and a great area. The only thing that would have made it better would have been no rain but everyone held up and the rain held back.
YOU MAY KISS THE BRIDE
The Zalarey wedding party left on the boat, in the rain, with umbrellas.
Great reception too, cake was amazing, and the best punch I have ever had.
Breakfast the next morning (sunday) and then goodbyes to all and a short boat ride with my cousin Matt and his wife Jill, his mom Christi, my cousin Quinlynn, Andrew and Christina. After dad and I dropped them back off on the dock we headed back to the south end of the lake for mom to pick us up.
Subway...yum, yum!!!
Once home, packing, packing and more packing. Daniel came by and hung out with me while I packed. Bethany came back by. Stopped by and saw the Brown family for short time before heading to see Megan and getting some Tropical Snow (the best ever). Then movie with Cody (Inglorious Bastards...good but very gorey). Almost made it all night again...3 am.
Watched the last Kansas sunrise I would see for a long time. Dad dropped me off at the airport and got a parking ticked for leaving his car in the loading only zone for 2 minutes.
Plane broke down in Chicago and left 3 hours later. Overnight layover in Tokyo and back to Busan Wednesday evening...first class from Tokyo to Busan...very nicea (korean for nice).
Had coffee with Nikki before getting Luna, getting a cab and heading home.
Great 2 days of nothing but resting...took Luna to the lake, got really muddy.
Great weekend with some Northern South Korean folk staying in my apartment.
Ready for the 4 day weekend of Cheusok and the roadtrip with Mack, William, Drew (?), and possibly Luna...I get to drive this weekend!!!! can't wait.
Whew...that was a lot, now my hands hurt...Thailand part II coming soon!!!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thailand...at last
So I'm not feeling much into telling a story so what I'm going to do is make a list of everything I experienced in the order that it happened and add pictures where words just won't do it justice. 
My bungalow.
Swing over the water just down the beach.
One of the bends on the Kradan Island.
Me in my hammock.
Sunrise.
Sunrise with the coral wind-chime.
Sunrise from my bungalow window.
The beach just around the first bend next to the one that Kalume is on.
The light at the end of the tunnel.
Inside looking at the entrance to the cave/tunnel.
In the middle of the picture you can see a white speck. That is a rope signifying the entrance to the cave.
The long-tail boat.
This is only part one but I'm tired of typing so this is it for now... maybe I'll have the rest up in a couple of days.
- Left Jess's apartment at 6am so I could arrive to the airport 1.5 hours early to make it through customs and baggage check... I waited at the airport for an hour. Busan Gimhae airport is super quick and small. Even with it being very busy the lines were moving quickly.
- Went to Bangkok first and had about a 2 hour layover there. Met a couple from South Dakota that were both teachers. They were going to Krabi to go climbing. If only I would have brought my climbing gear with me. We talked the whole layover and continued talking when we realized the 3 of us were sitting next to each-other.
- Krabi airport is so small. If you live in Pittburg, KS it's about half the size of the mall. I caught a airport shuttle to the hostel at AoNang Beach. Air conditioning, shower, bathroom, and a 5 minute walk from the beach:400baht ($12.50) the view from the balcony outside my room: priceless
First night dinner at an open air restaurant with a thatched roof. Red curry was amazing and so was my banana drink of some sort with a Thai Orchid in it.
- Took a walk by the beach, got a massage, walked around in the rain, and got a good nights sleep.
- In the morning I got on a bus to go to the bus station to get on a bus to Trang to get to Koh Kradan. Took a scooter taxi from the bus station to the mini bus station (with my pack on). Mini bus station to Koh Mook Pier to catch a long tail out to the island.
- I spent the next couple of days laying in the sun during low tide on a beach by myself and laying in a hammock with water under me reading during high tide.
- The last day I was there we (Me, three Italian guys: Fabrizio, Luigie, and Vittorio, and Deah) we took a short walk to another beach on the other side of the island. To get there you have to walk down the beach during low tide in the late afternoon and up over a hill. When you get to the other side there are waves and it is so secluded. I got to see my first sunset in 6 months that sunk under a flat horizon and not mountains.
- On the way back from the other side of the island there was a low tide so there were tons of tide pools. We saw sea urchins, sea cucumbers, starfish, and tons of crabs. Deah, the other girl, loves crabbing. She would just sneak up on them and grab their claws and put them in a sarong. She caught tons so we had grab as part of our dinner.
- Some pictures from Kalume Kradan.
My bungalow.
Swing over the water just down the beach.
One of the bends on the Kradan Island.
Me in my hammock.
Sunrise from the hammock.
Sunrise.
Sunrise with the coral wind-chime.
Sunrise from my bungalow window.
The beach just around the first bend next to the one that Kalume is on.
- On the way back to the mainland we stopped at Koh Mook (the next island over) and went to Emerald Cave (Morakot Cave). This is a cave that has an opening about a meter and a half tall on the sea side that opens up into a cave before turning into an 80 meter tunnel that is completely dark. Just on the inside the cave has waves that crash into the back that sends and echo of thunder through the cave. When it opens up words can't describe. I didn't take most of these pictures because I don't have a underwater camera. Even then these pictures don't do it justice.
The light at the end of the tunnel.
Inside looking at the entrance to the cave/tunnel.
In the middle of the picture you can see a white speck. That is a rope signifying the entrance to the cave.
The boat ride back to the mainland.
The long-tail boat.
This is only part one but I'm tired of typing so this is it for now... maybe I'll have the rest up in a couple of days.Friday, July 3, 2009
Icis: Natural Mineral Water by LOTTE
Watched a guy climb with a broken hand and removable cast...that is until mid-climb took his cast off.
Went climbing at the sea cliffs again.
Went climbing up a mountain again. There is this place that is pretty remote in Busan. You can catch a bus just in front of Home Plus Shopping Center and the subway. The bus takes 10-15 minutes or so and you are at the top of a mountain in the trees. You can only see the city if you make it to the top of the climb.
Went surfing again...got up a few times. Saw a jellyfish.
Played sand volleyball a few times. Was in a tournament and got second place =( Was told that our team wasn't fair because it was stacked (took that as a compliment)
Had a french couch surfer name Jean that was making a visa run for Japan. Had two couch surfing girls (Anna and Anh) from Missouri that had just finished their foreign exchange semester up in Seoul.
Thought about getting car, thought about getting a scooter, thought about getting a car, now I'm back to thinking about getting a scooter. Probably buy one when I get back from Thailand.
Oh yeah, bought a plane ticket to Thailand for my summer vacation.
Played a Korean version of the claw game where you get stuffed animals. Korea puts worth while things in their games though. I won a watch and a plane ticket to Jeju Island and a 24 car rental when I get there. (~$0.50 game...not too bad)
Stood in the rain twice waiting for my ride. Once without an umbrella, the other with an umbrella that leaked...still beautiful.
Found a gym in my town that is 20,000 won/month to use. ($15 give or take)
Waited 14 days to write on my blog and tried to put things in order but probably did a really terrible job at it.
I guess that is if for now...hopefully I won't wait so long next time.
Went climbing at the sea cliffs again.
Went climbing up a mountain again. There is this place that is pretty remote in Busan. You can catch a bus just in front of Home Plus Shopping Center and the subway. The bus takes 10-15 minutes or so and you are at the top of a mountain in the trees. You can only see the city if you make it to the top of the climb.
Went surfing again...got up a few times. Saw a jellyfish.
Played sand volleyball a few times. Was in a tournament and got second place =( Was told that our team wasn't fair because it was stacked (took that as a compliment)
Had a french couch surfer name Jean that was making a visa run for Japan. Had two couch surfing girls (Anna and Anh) from Missouri that had just finished their foreign exchange semester up in Seoul.
Thought about getting car, thought about getting a scooter, thought about getting a car, now I'm back to thinking about getting a scooter. Probably buy one when I get back from Thailand.
Oh yeah, bought a plane ticket to Thailand for my summer vacation.
Played a Korean version of the claw game where you get stuffed animals. Korea puts worth while things in their games though. I won a watch and a plane ticket to Jeju Island and a 24 car rental when I get there. (~$0.50 game...not too bad)
Stood in the rain twice waiting for my ride. Once without an umbrella, the other with an umbrella that leaked...still beautiful.
Found a gym in my town that is 20,000 won/month to use. ($15 give or take)
Waited 14 days to write on my blog and tried to put things in order but probably did a really terrible job at it.
I guess that is if for now...hopefully I won't wait so long next time.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Court Yard BBQ
Tuesday after school (4:00) my principle and vice principle along with the administrators started up the grill. They had pork and lettuce with BBQ sauce and garlic. The grill was set up in the school court yard and kids were still playing on the play ground equipment. Sure enough, they busted out the Soju (watery vodka) and rice wine. They were drinking in front of the kids AT the school.
Korea cracks me up...I was trying to keep a straight face as one of the teachers handed me a shot glass and poured me a shot of soju (the polite thing to do is take the shot and pass the cup to someone else and then you pour them a shot). I stayed just long enough to have the cup passed to me twice then I decided that it was time to head for the bus!!
I Love Korea...some things are just _________!
Korea cracks me up...I was trying to keep a straight face as one of the teachers handed me a shot glass and poured me a shot of soju (the polite thing to do is take the shot and pass the cup to someone else and then you pour them a shot). I stayed just long enough to have the cup passed to me twice then I decided that it was time to head for the bus!!
I Love Korea...some things are just _________!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
WE ARE ALL FROM THE EARTH
A friend sent me the link to this video...love it!
We have a common destiny with the treehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61BCB2-OmRY
Move _________, Get out the way!!!
Starting off...I was run over by an adjamma (middle age to old stay-at-home mom that cleans our cities, run us over, and push us around). She was toting around a little two wheel cart for groceries. There was plenty of room between me and other people around me but she decided to invade the space and run over the feet. She hit me with her shoulder and I kind of laughed to myself but before I was finished laughing her cart (not big or heavy) ran over both my feet (not toes, feet). Nothing was said, nothing was gestured, but I was laughing on the inside happy that it wasn't a heavier cart.
Yesterday, Charlie and I went in search of the closest beach to our place. We took a bus, got off in some town with a sign for the beach, and started walking. We were walking on a two lane road with little to no shoulder. The walk took about 20 minutes (just like the adjamma we asked said). Imnang or Imrang beach. We walked the beach and the first thing we saw was a dead dog mostly buried in the sand. We kept walking noticing that the beach wasn't too clean but the water looked better than we both expected. The rest of the walk was pretty uneventful other than the cockroach paradise in front of the cool looking Korean style bungalows. Down by the water on and around the rocks were tons of huge cockroaches, so many that I didn't even want to go look at the cool looking tide pool.
After leaving the beach I found a ceramics place. They give lessons (I think) and I got their number so that I can have my co-teacher call and ask how much...should be interesting. The bus we took home we caught in town and it dropped us off in our town (20 minute from getting on the bus to getting off the bus). Pretty close beach, not too nice but close.
Yesterday, Charlie and I went in search of the closest beach to our place. We took a bus, got off in some town with a sign for the beach, and started walking. We were walking on a two lane road with little to no shoulder. The walk took about 20 minutes (just like the adjamma we asked said). Imnang or Imrang beach. We walked the beach and the first thing we saw was a dead dog mostly buried in the sand. We kept walking noticing that the beach wasn't too clean but the water looked better than we both expected. The rest of the walk was pretty uneventful other than the cockroach paradise in front of the cool looking Korean style bungalows. Down by the water on and around the rocks were tons of huge cockroaches, so many that I didn't even want to go look at the cool looking tide pool.
After leaving the beach I found a ceramics place. They give lessons (I think) and I got their number so that I can have my co-teacher call and ask how much...should be interesting. The bus we took home we caught in town and it dropped us off in our town (20 minute from getting on the bus to getting off the bus). Pretty close beach, not too nice but close.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Break a leg!
So over the last couple of weeks but especially the last couple of days I have noticed that there is a large number of kids with "broken" bones. In almost every class I teach there is one or more kids with a splint of some kind: hand, arm, ankle, leg.
What I don't understand is why there are so many more kids here that are broken than in the States? Someone explained the Koreans are hypochondriacs and that they just splint and cast everything that is hurting.
Are there more kids hurt here than the States because they are left unsupervised during their break outside/at home?
What I don't understand is why there are so many more kids here that are broken than in the States? Someone explained the Koreans are hypochondriacs and that they just splint and cast everything that is hurting.
Are there more kids hurt here than the States because they are left unsupervised during their break outside/at home?
Monday, June 15, 2009
Thown under the bus
It amazes me how the Korean kids have no problem throwing eachother under the bus and also how honest they are. Today in class my co-teacher asked who talked on the way to class, some pointed out some kids and others volunteered themselves up. These kids spent the rest of the class on the their knees at the back of the class with their eyes shut and head down.
Funny thing the class was about head, shoulders, knees and toes; eyes and ears and mouth and nose.
The tattling is not like the tattling in the States, thats for sure.
Funny thing the class was about head, shoulders, knees and toes; eyes and ears and mouth and nose.
The tattling is not like the tattling in the States, thats for sure.
The Rundown
The board I bought is super short. The Koreans at the board shop laughed when I said I had never surfed before and that I was going to learn on that one. I ended up renting a long board. I was able to get up 6 times or so during the 2 hours I was there. It was a pretty good time, super tiring though.
I played more sand volleyball.
Met a guy that was going to buy the surf board, when he called Barley back he had already sold it (to me), climbing with another girl that I met at someones birthday party.
Met another guy from orientation, climbing.
Got eaten alive by second graders (twice).
Saw a girl on the subway with a huge marijuana plant on her shirt (doubt she knows what it is)
Went to a Lotte Giants baseball game, did a little dancing in the stands, put a plastic bag on my head, drank some soju (not by choice but in honor), laugh the entire game! Tons of fun :)
Went to the sea cliffs climbing. First time there were 6 of us the second time there were 20+of us. Vietnamese food and Stone Cold Creamery (both times).
I played more sand volleyball.
Met a guy that was going to buy the surf board, when he called Barley back he had already sold it (to me), climbing with another girl that I met at someones birthday party.
Met another guy from orientation, climbing.
Got eaten alive by second graders (twice).
Saw a girl on the subway with a huge marijuana plant on her shirt (doubt she knows what it is)
Went to a Lotte Giants baseball game, did a little dancing in the stands, put a plastic bag on my head, drank some soju (not by choice but in honor), laugh the entire game! Tons of fun :)
Went to the sea cliffs climbing. First time there were 6 of us the second time there were 20+of us. Vietnamese food and Stone Cold Creamery (both times).
Friday, May 29, 2009
Um...Yeah?!?
So I decided that along with reading I am going to take up surfing. I bought a 7' surfboard for 100,000 won that I leave at the surf shop on the beach for 17,000 a month. I guess it's time for me to learn to surf (not behind a boat). From what I've been told, the length of board I bought is a pretty ambitious...probably so, but should be fun and frustrating all at the same time.
Did I mention I bought it from a guy named Barley from New Zealand? We were on the same bus and he got off the bus when I did. We talked for a bit and some how surfing came up and then that he is selling his board. About 2 hours later, I decided I wanted a surf board. We'll see what happeneds!
Did I mention I bought it from a guy named Barley from New Zealand? We were on the same bus and he got off the bus when I did. We talked for a bit and some how surfing came up and then that he is selling his board. About 2 hours later, I decided I wanted a surf board. We'll see what happeneds!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Ketchup
So it's been almost a whole month since my last post...woops! Thanks for the reminder Stephanie!
So I got to celebrate my birthday in South Korea. It was pretty low-key. The best part about my birthday and the day after celebration was the fireworks on Haeundae Beach. On my birthday a security guard chased us with a whistle to tell us that we can't shoot off fireworks... luckily for us we don't speak Korean and just agreed. We then walked down the beach and shot them off. Nothing like Roman Candles to end the evening (twice).
Weeks are still pretty uneventful. I did go to the doctor though for the second and third time because I am still sick. On the 6th I went and was told that I still have tonsillitis. I asked if I should have them removed and after some cheraids he understood and informed me that after medicine and a shot in the butt that I would make a full recovery, no surgery. So I got another round of medicine that didn't work. On the 20th I went to a hospital in Busan that speaks English but my co-teacher went anyways. She informed me that it sounded like asthma or bronchitis. She treated me for bronchitis and told me that if it didn't go away to come back in a week and she would test me for asthma. I'm feeling better so I guess that it was bronchitis. So happy to be feeling better.
The weekend of the 9th and 10th I went to Daegu to visit some friends from orientation. Daegu is the 3rd largest city in South Korea. I got in a little later than I would have like to on friday but in time for dinner and that's all I was caring about. Saturday I went with the girl that I was staying with (Heather) to her Gaelic Football practice. Gaelic football is a combination of soccer, basketball, and volleyball. You have to see it to understand. Then we just walked around Daegu the rest of the day and did some shopping. We found this really cool shop that had stuff from all over the world in it. They had Southwestern jewerly like Hopi and Navajo jewelry. They also had bags from Nepal and India. Everything was so pretty but pretty pricey. Heather said, "Hey they pierce ears here!" Being the person I am I asked how much and it was only 20,000 won. Love getting new holes in my ears!!! (Sorry mom and dad). Saturday night we met up with a couple from orientation and the people that I was going to stay with. Had dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Then we made the trip to their place which was about 45 minutes by two buses. Their apartment was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment on the 17th floor. It was pretty cool but a bigger place means more to clean and things get dusty hear so quickly.
The weekend of the 16th and 17th I went to Seoul. I left school a little early on friday to make it into Busan so I could get on the KTX (speed train) and be in Seoul in 2.5 hours. The ride was so smooth and quick. When I got into Seoul, a friend said where I was going to go and what line it was on. Well I don't now Seoul and didn't know which direction to go. I found a map and almost had a heart attack.
Needless to say I was on line 4 (the light blue that goes from the SW to the NE) and the place I needed to go was Nowon on the the transfer station of line 4 and 7. I finally found it after following line 4 through Seoul on the map. I got there and we met up with some other people for dinner. At this point in time I was not feeling the best because of my tonsillitis/bronchitis/sinus infection but I still wanted to have fun because it was Patty's birthday (one of the climbers). Later some others met up with us and we went to a couple of bars. One was called the Face Bar. The interior was just tons of different faces everywhere. After the bars we headed to Noraebong (karaoke) and we were there till about 3 am butchering every song we sang. At one point in time Gabe and I (the only non-couple people) decided that we would like some people to join us, especially some Koreans (they love Noraebong). Him and I went outside in the cold rain and tried to talk people into joining us for free. We almost had some takers but then they changed their mind. After we decided that being in the rain wasn't worth it we headed back in to rock the mic!
Saturday morning we all kinda got up slowly but surely and started getting ready for the concert. I had really never heard of this band till earlier in the week when I was trying to decide weather it was worth 40,000 won. It was later proven to be worth that much and more (I bought all the CDs on iTunes when I got home). So the band is called The Swell Season and they did all the music and were the stars of the movie "Once". Every single song gave me chills and when I left someone had mentioned that the look on everyone elses face was the same...everyone was grinning ear to ear. The first song of the guy that opened, Liam Ó Maonlaí, was a very deep note that you could feel. It was an Irish song that he sung almost acapella. The rest of his songs were just as good as the first. He had amazing range and perfect tone (I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about...must be American Idol). The first song that The Swell Season performed was Glen Hansford singing and playing unplugged the opening song of "Once", Leave. This was a 3 story concert hall with tons of people and all you could see was him standing front and center, toes almost to the edge of the stage singing this song. The song is about a girl that broke his heart. The emotion in the song was so amazing. He was singing and then screaming (still sounding great) and stomping his foot to the beat...Listening to the song now that is all I can see. The rest of the songs, like wise, were amazing. This is a link to their Myspace page so you can listen if you have never heard of them before. I'm pretty sure they won an Oscar for their work in "Once".
Saturday night a larger group of people went to diner at a place called "The Place" not far from where the concert was. We all had some dinner and some laughs and then headed back to the bars. After about an hour or so I headed home to go to bed, I was pretty tired and still not feeling the best. Sunday morning, Claire (Irish girl from orientation that is a little bit taller than me but a little bit smaller than me) and I went shopping at some stores we found the night before. One of them was called Big Zone... they had clothes that fit us!!! woo hoo!!! I was so excited. We bought some clothes and then headed to the train station to get back on the KTX.
When I got back to Busan, Mack (my Kansas friend) met me at the Taco Family for our weekly Mexican food fix. Then I headed home to finish my book.
Yes that last sentence said book. For those of you that know me well, know that I don't read, nor have I ever read. What you will be surprised to know is that I have read 4 books in less than 2 weeks... most in 2 or 3 sittings. Nikki gave me some books she thought I might like and sure enough, I couldn't put them down. I have found myself saying one more chapter numerous times and not following through. I keep reading and reading. I get home from school and read. I get on the bus and read. I get on the subway and read. The train, I read. Wake up and can't sleep, read. It is a great thing but now instead of working on stuff I need to (like lesson plans or studying Korean) I read. I'm going to see if I can try and learn some Korean with as much enthusiasm as I have had the last 2 weeks reading. If you are looking for some good books to read here are the ones the non-reader loved: The Choice, The Guardian, and Dear John by Nicolas Sparks (mom don't read them unless you want to cry your eyes out) and Lance Armstrong: It's not about the bike, My journey back to life. All of these were page turners for me!!!
Last weekend I had some friends come out. Nothing exciting, weather wasn't that great. I did go to the Jagalchi Fish Market though and saw some dead things.
We also went to Texas Street and weren't impressed though slightly uneasy.
This week I had an open class where I was evaluated on my teaching. How they do that here is they rehearse with the other class in that grade and then explain everything before class to make sure they understand. Asking questions in Korea about how to do things says that you didn't explain it well. My co-teacher explained both activities to them in Korean to make things go smoothly. My class went really well, I think and my co-teacher thinks. My students did really well.
Earlier this week was by far the most interesting after school class. One of the classes that pretty much tries to eat me for lunch has 3 or 4 boys that act up constantly. After moving them to sit at desks on the four corners of the class they started singing with and to eachother while there was class work going on and I wasn't teaching. They are 3rd graders in the lower 3rd grade after school English class. They were singing " We will rock you" with a slight twist...they traded the "R" for a "F" and the "O" for a "U"...that is all I'm going to say about what they were saying. I corrected them of course saying...they don't know what they are saying. Later I started to think twice because out of the corner of my eye while they were singing their version of the son a caught some birds flying...I explained that that finger was not okay and that if they kept it up they would not be allowed to come back to class. They seemed to understand and I haven't seen it yet.
No climbing the past couple of weeks which is kinda sad :( but this weekend should involve climbing, either at Yongseo Pokpo or some Busan Sea-side bouldering. I'm excited for either one!!
So I got to celebrate my birthday in South Korea. It was pretty low-key. The best part about my birthday and the day after celebration was the fireworks on Haeundae Beach. On my birthday a security guard chased us with a whistle to tell us that we can't shoot off fireworks... luckily for us we don't speak Korean and just agreed. We then walked down the beach and shot them off. Nothing like Roman Candles to end the evening (twice).
Weeks are still pretty uneventful. I did go to the doctor though for the second and third time because I am still sick. On the 6th I went and was told that I still have tonsillitis. I asked if I should have them removed and after some cheraids he understood and informed me that after medicine and a shot in the butt that I would make a full recovery, no surgery. So I got another round of medicine that didn't work. On the 20th I went to a hospital in Busan that speaks English but my co-teacher went anyways. She informed me that it sounded like asthma or bronchitis. She treated me for bronchitis and told me that if it didn't go away to come back in a week and she would test me for asthma. I'm feeling better so I guess that it was bronchitis. So happy to be feeling better.
The weekend of the 9th and 10th I went to Daegu to visit some friends from orientation. Daegu is the 3rd largest city in South Korea. I got in a little later than I would have like to on friday but in time for dinner and that's all I was caring about. Saturday I went with the girl that I was staying with (Heather) to her Gaelic Football practice. Gaelic football is a combination of soccer, basketball, and volleyball. You have to see it to understand. Then we just walked around Daegu the rest of the day and did some shopping. We found this really cool shop that had stuff from all over the world in it. They had Southwestern jewerly like Hopi and Navajo jewelry. They also had bags from Nepal and India. Everything was so pretty but pretty pricey. Heather said, "Hey they pierce ears here!" Being the person I am I asked how much and it was only 20,000 won. Love getting new holes in my ears!!! (Sorry mom and dad). Saturday night we met up with a couple from orientation and the people that I was going to stay with. Had dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Then we made the trip to their place which was about 45 minutes by two buses. Their apartment was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment on the 17th floor. It was pretty cool but a bigger place means more to clean and things get dusty hear so quickly.
The weekend of the 16th and 17th I went to Seoul. I left school a little early on friday to make it into Busan so I could get on the KTX (speed train) and be in Seoul in 2.5 hours. The ride was so smooth and quick. When I got into Seoul, a friend said where I was going to go and what line it was on. Well I don't now Seoul and didn't know which direction to go. I found a map and almost had a heart attack.
Needless to say I was on line 4 (the light blue that goes from the SW to the NE) and the place I needed to go was Nowon on the the transfer station of line 4 and 7. I finally found it after following line 4 through Seoul on the map. I got there and we met up with some other people for dinner. At this point in time I was not feeling the best because of my tonsillitis/bronchitis/sinus infection but I still wanted to have fun because it was Patty's birthday (one of the climbers). Later some others met up with us and we went to a couple of bars. One was called the Face Bar. The interior was just tons of different faces everywhere. After the bars we headed to Noraebong (karaoke) and we were there till about 3 am butchering every song we sang. At one point in time Gabe and I (the only non-couple people) decided that we would like some people to join us, especially some Koreans (they love Noraebong). Him and I went outside in the cold rain and tried to talk people into joining us for free. We almost had some takers but then they changed their mind. After we decided that being in the rain wasn't worth it we headed back in to rock the mic!
Saturday morning we all kinda got up slowly but surely and started getting ready for the concert. I had really never heard of this band till earlier in the week when I was trying to decide weather it was worth 40,000 won. It was later proven to be worth that much and more (I bought all the CDs on iTunes when I got home). So the band is called The Swell Season and they did all the music and were the stars of the movie "Once". Every single song gave me chills and when I left someone had mentioned that the look on everyone elses face was the same...everyone was grinning ear to ear. The first song of the guy that opened, Liam Ó Maonlaí, was a very deep note that you could feel. It was an Irish song that he sung almost acapella. The rest of his songs were just as good as the first. He had amazing range and perfect tone (I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about...must be American Idol). The first song that The Swell Season performed was Glen Hansford singing and playing unplugged the opening song of "Once", Leave. This was a 3 story concert hall with tons of people and all you could see was him standing front and center, toes almost to the edge of the stage singing this song. The song is about a girl that broke his heart. The emotion in the song was so amazing. He was singing and then screaming (still sounding great) and stomping his foot to the beat...Listening to the song now that is all I can see. The rest of the songs, like wise, were amazing. This is a link to their Myspace page so you can listen if you have never heard of them before. I'm pretty sure they won an Oscar for their work in "Once".
Saturday night a larger group of people went to diner at a place called "The Place" not far from where the concert was. We all had some dinner and some laughs and then headed back to the bars. After about an hour or so I headed home to go to bed, I was pretty tired and still not feeling the best. Sunday morning, Claire (Irish girl from orientation that is a little bit taller than me but a little bit smaller than me) and I went shopping at some stores we found the night before. One of them was called Big Zone... they had clothes that fit us!!! woo hoo!!! I was so excited. We bought some clothes and then headed to the train station to get back on the KTX.
When I got back to Busan, Mack (my Kansas friend) met me at the Taco Family for our weekly Mexican food fix. Then I headed home to finish my book.
Yes that last sentence said book. For those of you that know me well, know that I don't read, nor have I ever read. What you will be surprised to know is that I have read 4 books in less than 2 weeks... most in 2 or 3 sittings. Nikki gave me some books she thought I might like and sure enough, I couldn't put them down. I have found myself saying one more chapter numerous times and not following through. I keep reading and reading. I get home from school and read. I get on the bus and read. I get on the subway and read. The train, I read. Wake up and can't sleep, read. It is a great thing but now instead of working on stuff I need to (like lesson plans or studying Korean) I read. I'm going to see if I can try and learn some Korean with as much enthusiasm as I have had the last 2 weeks reading. If you are looking for some good books to read here are the ones the non-reader loved: The Choice, The Guardian, and Dear John by Nicolas Sparks (mom don't read them unless you want to cry your eyes out) and Lance Armstrong: It's not about the bike, My journey back to life. All of these were page turners for me!!!
Last weekend I had some friends come out. Nothing exciting, weather wasn't that great. I did go to the Jagalchi Fish Market though and saw some dead things.
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We also went to Texas Street and weren't impressed though slightly uneasy.
This week I had an open class where I was evaluated on my teaching. How they do that here is they rehearse with the other class in that grade and then explain everything before class to make sure they understand. Asking questions in Korea about how to do things says that you didn't explain it well. My co-teacher explained both activities to them in Korean to make things go smoothly. My class went really well, I think and my co-teacher thinks. My students did really well.
Earlier this week was by far the most interesting after school class. One of the classes that pretty much tries to eat me for lunch has 3 or 4 boys that act up constantly. After moving them to sit at desks on the four corners of the class they started singing with and to eachother while there was class work going on and I wasn't teaching. They are 3rd graders in the lower 3rd grade after school English class. They were singing " We will rock you" with a slight twist...they traded the "R" for a "F" and the "O" for a "U"...that is all I'm going to say about what they were saying. I corrected them of course saying...they don't know what they are saying. Later I started to think twice because out of the corner of my eye while they were singing their version of the son a caught some birds flying...I explained that that finger was not okay and that if they kept it up they would not be allowed to come back to class. They seemed to understand and I haven't seen it yet.
No climbing the past couple of weeks which is kinda sad :( but this weekend should involve climbing, either at Yongseo Pokpo or some Busan Sea-side bouldering. I'm excited for either one!!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Catch-up
So it has been a while since I last wrote. The weeks have still been pretty uneventful, I wake up, teach, go home, have dinner, and go to bed. There hasn't been too many crazy things happening in my classes so nothing really to write about. Two weekends ago, Nikki (climbing friend that hurt her ankle and couldn't climb) and I decided to take things easy. We got up and made sure the people that were meeting up found each other and then we went in search for something to do. We found a theater where we watched "Knowing." I suggest that if you go see this movie that you are prepared for seeing things in the first person. The movie is pretty devastating and graphic, so heads up. Then we headed to the beach where I played so beach ball and Nikki caught some rays. A friend met us up there and we just took in all the glory that is Haeundae Beach. Later on we met up with our climbers and had dinner at an amazing Mexican restaurant at PNU. I had to leave pretty early bc i had to take a subway to the bus station and then a bus home. The bus stops running at 10.
Saturday the 19th I spent all day interviewing kids for a free trip to study abroad in Canada. I had some kids that spoke English okay and others that just sat there and stared at me. It was definitely an experience. Later I met up with Jin and Nikki and we watched another movie. Movies are much cheaper her than back home and the concessions as well.
This past weekend was the Korea on the Rocks (KOTR) Spring Meet and Greet. It was held at Seonunsan where I got to watch Chris Sharma climb and meet him. I almost didn't go because the weather was supposed to be bad all weekend. After some talking with some other people we decided it would be fun regardless so I made the long trip again. It was cold as can be but didn't really rain on us, it thought about it a couple of times but didn't. I got to climb a couple of routes but it was so cold that it was painful and you couldn't tell what your fingers where touching. I did though, the last day I was there led for the first time outdoors. Scared me to death but it was a pretty easy route and I felt pretty good about it. I got lucky and got to ride back in a car (for free, they wouldn't take gas money) with one of the older Korean climbers that is amazing and speaks English pretty well. I got home late and was super tired to I allowed myself to take a taxi home. Funny thing, it was the same cab driver that drove me home the weekend or so before!!
Wednesday I only had two classes so I left early to meet up with a Korean friend that was going to help me get me Korean Driver's license. It was a pretty funny process to get my DL. First I walked in and handed them my passport and DL from the states. They handed me a sheet of paper and told us to go across to the next building for the medical check. The medical check consisted of an eye test, opening and shutting my fingers into a fist, and squatting down and standing back up. Then I paid my money for the tests and they stamped my application (that is in Korean) about 30 times. Then, we went back to the other building where I paid for some money stamps and decided I wanted to take the written test instead of the driving test. I almost didn't pass the test because it was in Konglish (Korean translated directly over to English with sentence structure completely wrong and word usage being way sub-par) and a lot of the questions were very hard to understand. I did pass and I do have my Korean DL so that's really all that matters, right?
Today we had the Children's Day track meet. All the kids and their parents participated in a track-meet-type thing with activities that were pretty funny to watch. I watched a middle-aged business man in full suit and dress shoes run a relay, face plant on gravel/dirt, and get up and finish the race. I'll post pictures and video probably later this weekend.
Saturday the 19th I spent all day interviewing kids for a free trip to study abroad in Canada. I had some kids that spoke English okay and others that just sat there and stared at me. It was definitely an experience. Later I met up with Jin and Nikki and we watched another movie. Movies are much cheaper her than back home and the concessions as well.
This past weekend was the Korea on the Rocks (KOTR) Spring Meet and Greet. It was held at Seonunsan where I got to watch Chris Sharma climb and meet him. I almost didn't go because the weather was supposed to be bad all weekend. After some talking with some other people we decided it would be fun regardless so I made the long trip again. It was cold as can be but didn't really rain on us, it thought about it a couple of times but didn't. I got to climb a couple of routes but it was so cold that it was painful and you couldn't tell what your fingers where touching. I did though, the last day I was there led for the first time outdoors. Scared me to death but it was a pretty easy route and I felt pretty good about it. I got lucky and got to ride back in a car (for free, they wouldn't take gas money) with one of the older Korean climbers that is amazing and speaks English pretty well. I got home late and was super tired to I allowed myself to take a taxi home. Funny thing, it was the same cab driver that drove me home the weekend or so before!!
Wednesday I only had two classes so I left early to meet up with a Korean friend that was going to help me get me Korean Driver's license. It was a pretty funny process to get my DL. First I walked in and handed them my passport and DL from the states. They handed me a sheet of paper and told us to go across to the next building for the medical check. The medical check consisted of an eye test, opening and shutting my fingers into a fist, and squatting down and standing back up. Then I paid my money for the tests and they stamped my application (that is in Korean) about 30 times. Then, we went back to the other building where I paid for some money stamps and decided I wanted to take the written test instead of the driving test. I almost didn't pass the test because it was in Konglish (Korean translated directly over to English with sentence structure completely wrong and word usage being way sub-par) and a lot of the questions were very hard to understand. I did pass and I do have my Korean DL so that's really all that matters, right?
Today we had the Children's Day track meet. All the kids and their parents participated in a track-meet-type thing with activities that were pretty funny to watch. I watched a middle-aged business man in full suit and dress shoes run a relay, face plant on gravel/dirt, and get up and finish the race. I'll post pictures and video probably later this weekend.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Most amazing place I've seen thus far!!
My week days continue to be pretty uneventful and the weekends amazing!!! This past weekend that I had, I went to Yongseo Pokpo. Pokpo is waterfall in Korean (i was told that anyways). We got up there about 11 pm friday night and hiked up to the crag (rock face). It was really dark and all we could see was what was in front of us bc of our lamps. Later the moon came out and we could see much better. Everyone was drinking a bit except me because I was planning on going to bed fairly early. That didn't happen. Around mid-night the guys decided they wanted to climb and since I was sober I belayed. It was funny to watch someone climb with a headlamp. Around 2:30 we all went to bed. Two guys in one tent, one in another tent, and me under a blanket of stars and almost full moon.
What I woke up to the next morning was amazing!!
These were taken from sitting on my sleeping bag.
As you can see where we were was small but very tall and colorful. We were the only people up there and it was pretty quite for the most part. We climbed all day saturday until about 5 or so. There was a route that two of the boys had tried and got a ways up and so one of the girls gave it a go. She got up to where the boys had stopped and kept climbing up. When she took a lead fall she hit the wall just right and rolled her ankle really bad. We called the mountain rescue team and they came up, splinted her ankle, put her on a stretcher, carried her out, and gave her and 2 of her friends a ride in the ambulance to the hospital and myself and another guy a ride in the mountain rescue SUV to the hospital. She was there less than 5 minutes before they took her for x-rays. 10 minutes later they came out saying she was almost ready to leave and that it was time to pay. We all looked at each other trying to figure out how much this would be and if we had the cash to pay for it. While that was going on Mack was asking for directions to a hotel for us to stay in. After giving us some bogus directions they just insisted taking us all in the ambulance. So now we were back to, "How much and how are we going to pay?" After some looking at documents, the one rescuer that spoke English looked at us and said 58,620. We all kinda dropped our jaws to the floor. That means that the mountain rescue, the ambulance ride to the hospital and to the hotel, the x-rays, and the emergency room visit was about $45-$50. We could not believe that we weren't selling our kidneys.
The next day the boys and I got up and went back to the crag. I went on a hike up to the top of the falls to see an amazing view.
We did a little more climbing after we got back down before I had to leave. I climbed up and clipped into the anchor and sent the rope back down. I stayed up there and got some cool pictures of people climbing. A new girl I met had to leave at 1 so I decided to leave with her. We decided to walk back to town, to the train station (30 minute walk). We took a wrong direction and had to back track. Her train was supposed to leave at 2:04 so we were running low on time. I said lets hitch-hike. So we walked with our thumbs out and back packs on. 10 cars later this man picks us up in an SUV and took us to the train station. We both looked at each other because we had never done that before. At the train station we tried to figure out where the bus station was so I could catch my bus. We asked around and no one knew. So I took off in the dirrection I thought the bus station might be. I walked past a bus and I asked him. He said some stuff to me about it being 4 km away and some other things. I asked if he was going there and he said, "ahslkfoi" so I said thank you and walked back to the train station. I decided forget it and take a taxi. After the taxi dropped me off this old man in a bus drove by, while pulling up to the station with his door open, and yelled, "lkajsdflj." I just smiled and did the I don't know arms and kept walking. I ended up on the same bus as 2 of our other people that left an hour after me... whoops. The ride was long and crowded but always interesting.
This past week I was sick and had my first run in with a Korean Hospital. I was in and out in less than 30 minutes and it only cost me 8,000 won ($6.50). That included the shot in my buttocks, my pills, cough syrup, and doctors visit. Man I love Korea!!! It turns out I had tonsillitis probably from Yellow-dust. The doctor suggested I buy a mask. That is the 3rd person suggesting that... maybe I should?!?!
What I woke up to the next morning was amazing!!
These were taken from sitting on my sleeping bag.As you can see where we were was small but very tall and colorful. We were the only people up there and it was pretty quite for the most part. We climbed all day saturday until about 5 or so. There was a route that two of the boys had tried and got a ways up and so one of the girls gave it a go. She got up to where the boys had stopped and kept climbing up. When she took a lead fall she hit the wall just right and rolled her ankle really bad. We called the mountain rescue team and they came up, splinted her ankle, put her on a stretcher, carried her out, and gave her and 2 of her friends a ride in the ambulance to the hospital and myself and another guy a ride in the mountain rescue SUV to the hospital. She was there less than 5 minutes before they took her for x-rays. 10 minutes later they came out saying she was almost ready to leave and that it was time to pay. We all looked at each other trying to figure out how much this would be and if we had the cash to pay for it. While that was going on Mack was asking for directions to a hotel for us to stay in. After giving us some bogus directions they just insisted taking us all in the ambulance. So now we were back to, "How much and how are we going to pay?" After some looking at documents, the one rescuer that spoke English looked at us and said 58,620. We all kinda dropped our jaws to the floor. That means that the mountain rescue, the ambulance ride to the hospital and to the hotel, the x-rays, and the emergency room visit was about $45-$50. We could not believe that we weren't selling our kidneys.
The next day the boys and I got up and went back to the crag. I went on a hike up to the top of the falls to see an amazing view.
We did a little more climbing after we got back down before I had to leave. I climbed up and clipped into the anchor and sent the rope back down. I stayed up there and got some cool pictures of people climbing. A new girl I met had to leave at 1 so I decided to leave with her. We decided to walk back to town, to the train station (30 minute walk). We took a wrong direction and had to back track. Her train was supposed to leave at 2:04 so we were running low on time. I said lets hitch-hike. So we walked with our thumbs out and back packs on. 10 cars later this man picks us up in an SUV and took us to the train station. We both looked at each other because we had never done that before. At the train station we tried to figure out where the bus station was so I could catch my bus. We asked around and no one knew. So I took off in the dirrection I thought the bus station might be. I walked past a bus and I asked him. He said some stuff to me about it being 4 km away and some other things. I asked if he was going there and he said, "ahslkfoi" so I said thank you and walked back to the train station. I decided forget it and take a taxi. After the taxi dropped me off this old man in a bus drove by, while pulling up to the station with his door open, and yelled, "lkajsdflj." I just smiled and did the I don't know arms and kept walking. I ended up on the same bus as 2 of our other people that left an hour after me... whoops. The ride was long and crowded but always interesting.
This past week I was sick and had my first run in with a Korean Hospital. I was in and out in less than 30 minutes and it only cost me 8,000 won ($6.50). That included the shot in my buttocks, my pills, cough syrup, and doctors visit. Man I love Korea!!! It turns out I had tonsillitis probably from Yellow-dust. The doctor suggested I buy a mask. That is the 3rd person suggesting that... maybe I should?!?!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
More eventful than I would have liked.
Again, last week was pretty boring but I found out that I was going to start teaching after school class this week by myself. That means no more lazy afternoons.
Friday I got to go with my co-teacher to Haeundae and go shopping for some furniture with the schools credit card. I bout a couch, coffee table, and a bedside table. What I found out is that Koreans love leather furniture. They had a total of 3 couches that were not leather. I wasn't crazy about the color (black and grey) because everything in my apartment was brown with some black in it. I got it Tuesday and it doesn't look to bad, now I just have to figure out where to put everything.
Saturday I was thinking of going bouldering with some friends in Busan but after reading that they were 20 foot or so boulders (no ropes). Didn't feel like getting hurt so I went to Haeundae beach and played beach volleyball all day with some foreigners. The weather was perfect and the view was amazing!!! This was taken right after I dove... why not strike a pose?!?!
After sand volleyball we headed to Dr. Fish. For those that have never heard of that, it's where you stick your feet in a bath
with tons of fish that eat the dead skin off your feet. That was by far the weirdest feeling in the world. The fish went to town on my feet. It was so funny to watch them because they would almost swim upside down to eat the top of your feet. Jin freaked out the whole time. I did at first but some Korean women said that that is how everyone is their first time, it takes time to get used to it.
Sunday I met up with Mack about 1.5 hours from where I live. I got there around 8:30 and met the owners of the gym he climbs at by his house. They were taking us what we thought was climbing and later found out it was mountaineering (climbing the ridge of a mountain top)
We climbed up to two different landings tied into a rope for safety. Then we repelled down to another landing before climbing up a next. Not sure I'm a fan of this climbing up then repelling down just to climb up again (with a back pack on). The third landing we were climbing up to, I was the 3rd one up. I slipped and fell. The person that was my belay (protection from falling) was not clipped in to the rock, so when I fell, I fell to the ground and he followed me. In a matter of seconds I fell 15 feet and rolled a bit down a hill and the person on the other end of the rope fell 25 feet and landed next to me. We were both fine for the most part, we were both able to hike out but he did go to the hospital to make sure everything was okay. God was definitely watching over me and I guess Buddha was doing the same in his case.
After that, I headed home but missed the bus because it was early. After the day I had I did not want to wait another 20 minutes for one so I took a 20,000 won taxi ride home. We passed the bus on the way and it was packed with people (like usual) so I would have been standing the whole ride home. At that point I was completely satisfied that I took the taxi (and it dropped me off at my door instead of me walking for 10 minutes home after the bus)
I started my after school classes this week. I have two second grade classes, one with 23 kids and another with 8. Neither class really understands anything I say and I don't understand anything they say. What do you do with 23 kids that you can't talk to and that can't talk to you?? Like a friend put it,"an adorable bunch of kids who look at you like Mr. Snuffleupagus on Sesame Street!" That about sums it up.
This weekend I'm super excited because I'm going climbing at Yongseo Pokpo...a friend said that is the most beautiful place he has climbed in korea and also the most quite. "You stand in an ampitheatre around a very high falls (50m?), surrounded by steep bluffs on 3 sides."
I'll let you know how that is!!! That is all for now
Friday I got to go with my co-teacher to Haeundae and go shopping for some furniture with the schools credit card. I bout a couch, coffee table, and a bedside table. What I found out is that Koreans love leather furniture. They had a total of 3 couches that were not leather. I wasn't crazy about the color (black and grey) because everything in my apartment was brown with some black in it. I got it Tuesday and it doesn't look to bad, now I just have to figure out where to put everything.
Saturday I was thinking of going bouldering with some friends in Busan but after reading that they were 20 foot or so boulders (no ropes). Didn't feel like getting hurt so I went to Haeundae beach and played beach volleyball all day with some foreigners. The weather was perfect and the view was amazing!!! This was taken right after I dove... why not strike a pose?!?!
After sand volleyball we headed to Dr. Fish. For those that have never heard of that, it's where you stick your feet in a bath
with tons of fish that eat the dead skin off your feet. That was by far the weirdest feeling in the world. The fish went to town on my feet. It was so funny to watch them because they would almost swim upside down to eat the top of your feet. Jin freaked out the whole time. I did at first but some Korean women said that that is how everyone is their first time, it takes time to get used to it.
Sunday I met up with Mack about 1.5 hours from where I live. I got there around 8:30 and met the owners of the gym he climbs at by his house. They were taking us what we thought was climbing and later found out it was mountaineering (climbing the ridge of a mountain top)
We climbed up to two different landings tied into a rope for safety. Then we repelled down to another landing before climbing up a next. Not sure I'm a fan of this climbing up then repelling down just to climb up again (with a back pack on). The third landing we were climbing up to, I was the 3rd one up. I slipped and fell. The person that was my belay (protection from falling) was not clipped in to the rock, so when I fell, I fell to the ground and he followed me. In a matter of seconds I fell 15 feet and rolled a bit down a hill and the person on the other end of the rope fell 25 feet and landed next to me. We were both fine for the most part, we were both able to hike out but he did go to the hospital to make sure everything was okay. God was definitely watching over me and I guess Buddha was doing the same in his case.
After that, I headed home but missed the bus because it was early. After the day I had I did not want to wait another 20 minutes for one so I took a 20,000 won taxi ride home. We passed the bus on the way and it was packed with people (like usual) so I would have been standing the whole ride home. At that point I was completely satisfied that I took the taxi (and it dropped me off at my door instead of me walking for 10 minutes home after the bus)
I started my after school classes this week. I have two second grade classes, one with 23 kids and another with 8. Neither class really understands anything I say and I don't understand anything they say. What do you do with 23 kids that you can't talk to and that can't talk to you?? Like a friend put it,"an adorable bunch of kids who look at you like Mr. Snuffleupagus on Sesame Street!" That about sums it up.
This weekend I'm super excited because I'm going climbing at Yongseo Pokpo...a friend said that is the most beautiful place he has climbed in korea and also the most quite. "You stand in an ampitheatre around a very high falls (50m?), surrounded by steep bluffs on 3 sides."
I'll let you know how that is!!! That is all for now
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