Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Well ... can you?

For those of us Americans whose geography education left something to be desired (to put it gently) I shall provide a brief introduction to the "Land of the Morning Calm." South Korea is roughly 95,000 square kilometers (59,030 square miles), making it about the size of Indiana. On this small nugget of earth, we have managed to cram an astonishing 49 million people. Yes, I said 49 MILLION, that's one sixth of the population of the US chilling in Indiana.  This is not such an easy feet, seeing as the country is also 70% mountainous and Koreans have made a glorious habit of preserving the majority of the mountains, and building instead in valleys or in the few flatter regions.

Fun Fact: "Pyeong," as in Pyeongtaek" actually comes from the Chinese character meaning plane. So, lucky for me, I live in one of the few areas of Korea where you are not surrounding by lush green mountains at all times. Awesome. 

To say parts of Korea are crowded would be an understatement. Seoul itself is home to over 10 million people. 10 MILLION! And that doesn't even include the millions of people in the surrounding province that flood into the city for work, or in my case, to play on the weekends. Gary's got nothin' on that. When you combine those two facts (the crowding in large cities and residential areas, and the mountainous terrain) along with the horrible air quality in many heavily populated areas, it is easy to understand many Koreans' desires to escape the crowds for a nice relaxing hike, alongside thousands of their closest friends and countrymen.

Misty Mornings and Burnt Sienna: Juwongsan National Park

This past weekend I had my first real Korean hiking experience. I had taken a short, but enjoyable, hike to the top of Muui-do and, last weekend, went on a full on adventure weekend, including another short hike, rail bikes, and "mountain bikes," which turned out to be ATVs. (pause to imagine Emily learning to drive an ATV. I will allow you to laugh if you must...)  In the last few weeks, however, I decided I wanted to go on a legit mountain hike, before the cold weather and snow us mid-westerners love so much descends. I signed up for a organized (or so it appeared) trip to 주왕산국립공원 (Juwongsan National Park) with my friend Alex and her boyfriend Brandon, and managed to pull five other GEPIK friends on board.
 
It is important to pause here and explain that Koreans don't go for any of this throw on an old pair of sneakers and shorts, grab a granola bar and a a water bottle and go for a nice walk through the forest preserve business.  In Korea, hiking is an activity enjoyed by everyone from infants being hauled up the mountain strapped to the back of a determined parent, to ancient ajummas dominating everyone as they jog up near vertical inclines. This ridiculously popular pastime (apparently) requires nothing less than head-to-toe top of the line hiking gear (worn in colors such as flamingo pink, blaze orange, royal purple, and street-sign-reflective yellow) as well as ski pole-esque walking sticks and a 40 pound pack containing a full Korean feast. While were at it, if you plan to go hiking in Korea or, for that matter, step out your front door, forget everything you know about sunscreen. It's just not enough. According to my friend Mike's co-teacher "most Korean women... they think the sun is enemy number one." She is not kidding. It is perfectly normal  to be sitting outside in a t-shirt and shorts, soaking in every last drop of vitamin D your skin can absorb,  and to look up to see a Korean woman (or man) power walking past your apartment in a full wind suit zipped to the brim, not a speck of skin showing, with their entire face blocked by a three sided, 8 inch visor.  This is not a joke, I'm talking Darth Vader style.

With this knowledge in hand, I made my way home from school on Friday, and promptly packed a t-shirt, shorts, leggings, and my ratty old running shoes, before jumping on the train to Seoul. The park was a 5 or 6 hour bus ride from Seoul; so, the plan was to leave Apgujeong station at midnight and sleep on the bus. This was a pretty good plan, but became slightly less ideal thanks to some interesting temperature regulation of the bus and few select people who thought that 1 am the night before 40 people were going to wake up at 6am and hike up a mountain was the appropriate time to loudly discuss their thoughts on life with their neighbor. Not cool. Not cool.

Anyyywayyyy... a bit groggy, we pulled up to our first stop, 주산지 (Jusanji) Lake, at about 6:30 am. We piled off the bus, tied up our shoes, and trudged off towards the lake where we were told there would be some lovely scenery. Well Korea, now I know where you've been hiding all that beauty. I knew it must be around here somewhere.  I will allow the photos to do most of the talking; but, after two months in apartment wasteland, the crystal clear water reflecting a collideascope of changing leaves, gentle mountain ridges, and the early morning mist on the lake, was simply breadthtaking. It is easy to forget that places like this actually exist untouched and undisturbed  by modern construction, and that one can find little bits of heaven in even the busiest and ugliest places. It was brain exploding bliss to watch the light change across the sky, earth and water, even if I had to enjoy the experiences with a hoard of Korean mountain lovers. I guess I can share.

 

After drinking in our share of the reflections, we headed back towards the bus, making a quick pit stop to fill our bellies with some mountain nom-noms. Said breakfast came in the form of numerous road-side stands and piles of fruit alongside the path back to the bus. Now, if I could have the next 5 min on film, life would be oh so wonderful. Ali and I stopped to check out some apples being sold by the cutest fricken Ajumma ever (and a very smiley one at that!). After catching us eying some mystery fruit, which Ali though she had eaten at school, she happily gave us two to try. Obviously, we had to give her our business. So, Take 1: I muster up everything I've got and attempt to string together, "I would like 6 apples please. How much is it?" in Korean. Fail. Result: Ajumma tries to give us a giant sack of 16 apples. Take 2: I attempt repeat the words for "6 items" a few times. Mind you, I am using the wrong counting system on the first two attempts (Korea has 2). Then, I point and count out 6 apples. Fail. Result: Ajumma gives me 6 apples and tries to give Ali the aforementioned sack. Take 3: Ali hugs me and smiles. Result: Ajumma puts 3 more apples in my sack (I now have 9) and smiles as I hand her 5,000 won. Success? I think so. The apples were delish.

Bellies fully of apples and coffee that was really more like liquid-crack-coffee-syrup, we jumped back on the bus for a short ride to Juwongsan National Park. Again, pictures can handle the rest. All I will add is that what followed was an extremely enjoyable 6 hours meandering through vibrant valleys, exploring hidden temples, conquering natures version of the stair master extreme, and breathing in lungs full of the freshest air I have gulped since August.

 

mountain domination

 

These rock piles are good luck in the Buddhist faith.

Brandon was the official photographer of the day, but we managed to get him in one at the top.

Whewww... deep breadth. I'm sorry, I know this is long, It's the pictures, I swear. Feel free to take a break, go grab some water, rehydrate, take a potty break if necessary. Perhaps go back to the work you should be doing, since I know half of you are sitting in the office right now. 

I will be here waiting when you return...

Another day, another adventure: Hohae Folk Village

Fast forward six hours. I have just finished an amazing hike, had the most satisfying stretching session of my life, and inhaled a Korean pancake. The group is gathering back at the bus, dead tired, but generally in good spirits. Last nights loud talker is still gabbing away, so most of us are putting in some headphones to block the less than enlightning chatter. Wheels up (kinda) were off and away. We make a quick pit stop at a convenience store before heading of to our hostel.

Wait, what am I talking about. We make that quick pit stop, I snap a few photos of the beautiful rice paddies on the side of the highway, and we head off to the traditional Korean folk village where we will spend the night. I think staying in the Hohae Village, in Andong, is the Korean equivalent of spending a night in Colonial Williamsberg. Kinda kitchy, kinda touristy, but super cool none the less. The village was mostly dark when we arrived, so we put off most of the exploring for the next day. Instead we dropped our bags of in the small rooms where we would sleep, and sat down to wait for our turn in to take a shower. Realizing there were far to many of us to cycle through the single shower, Amanda, Geri , Mike, Matt and I came up with a far better solution after Matt noticed a water spigot and hose around the side of our house. For the next ten minutes we all gathered around the hose, rinsed our faces, brushed our teeth, and washed our (and each others) hair in the Korean moonlight ... I'd say it was a bonding moment. 

The whole group gathered together for some amazing bbq and Jim Dak (soy ginger chicken stew deliciousness) and then spent the rest of the night enjoying each others company and some village wanderings. The 8 people I was with eventually retired to our room, to relax on the heated floor, play some banana grams, and pass out. 

Sunday morning, after enjoying some eggs, toast, and spicy noodle bowls (duh..) we had a bit of time to explore the village. Later in the day we saw a reinactment of a traditional Korean wedding, and 6 of 10 acts of a Andong mask dance (Andong is famous for its hand carved masks). The masks are definitely impressive, and the performance was interesting to say the least.

 

I love rice paddies. 

 

Amanda is Ajoshi's new favorite person

 

harvest

After the mask dance we piled back on the bus for the ride home. We stopped in an area famous for beef (literally the amount of meat consumed in Korea is borderline disgusting) and wrapped up an amazing weekend with a rapid but delish dinner. Now, if you're not sure that's not enough excitement crammed into one weekend, don't you fret. Due to some heavy traffic, our bus arrived outside the bus terminal at approximately 10:25 pm (note: last bus to Pyeongtaek is at 10:30). Alas, someone must have been looking out for us because, after sprinting through the terminal, Brandon, Alex, and I collapsed into our bus seats a few precious minutes before it rolled out of the station. I even made it back to Pyeongtaek in time to jump on the subway back to my neck of the rice paddies.

Another weekend. Another adventure. Another confirmation that I made one hell of a decision, when I signed my name on that GEPIK contract. 

Mazel. You made it to the end. If you're reading this, you must really love me. 

Just you so know, I love you just as much!

How did I get here? part 3

Yes, yes, yes, I know I skipped part two; but, part three in my "How did I get here" series took place just this afternoon [actually, yesterday at the time this was posted] and I need to document the experience in all its glory, while it is still fresh in my mind (and belly).

So, my friends, I will ask you to imagine...(cue dream sequence music)
It's 3:30 in the afternoon, you are sitting cross-legged on a wooden floor, with 30 co-workers. Everyone is speaking rapidly and shouting across the table in a language in which you are lucky to comprehend one word in every fifty or so. To your right sits your co-teacher, your one English speaking ally, in a sea of excited Koreans who, 50% of the time, seem to be talking about you. The later is confirmed by the occasional "Emilyyy," "ohhhh...Chi-cago," "미국" or "영어 산상님" that float in your direction. Beyond your co-teacher, you gaze through a window looking out over the West Sea, although you swear you were informed hours earlier that you were going to "the lake." Glancing down you are still shocked by the feast before you. Course number three has come and gone, but the ajumma from the restaurant has just deposited a beautiful tray of raw fish in front of you, as well as as well as a few smaller dishes. You nearly melt from happiness after eating a few pieces of the freshest sashimi you have ever tasted and then begin to eye the smaller dishes. If you are not mistaken, one dish is still alive. Double take; yes, definitely a very alive and wriggling tray of almost iridescent, chopped tentacles. It's Korea, and your table-mates are eying you with the same curiosity you are directing towards the 낙지. So, naturally, you take a deep breath, even out the thin metal chopsticks in your hands, and attempt to snatch one. To your surprise it holds on for dear life, attaching one of it's many suckers to the bottom of the dish. After an encouraging "use your spoon" from the other teachers, you've finally got it and, after remembering to dip it in oil to prevent the suckers from sticking to your esophagus, you pop it in your mouth ...... and..... its delicious! What exactly is going through your head at this moment ... bingo... How did I get here?

Live octo and "Disco Papa" a.k.a Emily's first teacher dinner

We will stop with the guided imagery for now; but, what you have just witnessed was a small fraction of my first "teacher dinner." In Korea it is common practice for the schools to host "teacher dinners" in celebration of school breaks, graduations,  new/old staff arrivals and departures etc. These are no kimbap and ramyeon causal affairs. While they are casual in nature, the event usually entails the entire staff boarding a tour bus, and driving to a previously determined restaurant for nothing short of a full Korean feast. Thursday was exam day at Banji (yes elementary school students take full on exams) so in celebration of not needing to prepare a days worth of lessons, it was time for a teacher dinner. Many of my friends in Korea have raved, laughed, grimmiced, and been generally very confused after their first teacher dinner expereince; so, when my teacher informed me after lunch that we would be leaving school at 2:30 to "go to the lake and eat big shrimp" I was pretty pumped.

The experience did not disappoint. After a 40 min bus ride through the country, and a short stroll along the coast, we arrived at the restaurant and tucked into some 바찬 (bachan=the generic name for the many small side dishes which accompany a traditional Korean meal). The meal consisted of about five courses including bachan and clam soup, live prawns steamed right at your table, sashimi sticky rice and live octo, spring roles with rice sesame leaves and other veggies, and melt-your-face-off-spicy red pepper and fish soup.  Everything was delicious, and I am definitely proud of my departure from the eating habits of my childhood, which is to say not eating anything brown, green, or weird.

After two hours of eating, attempting to chat and apparently being impressive for trying all the different foods (Korean's tend to judge foreigners based on their willingness/ability to eat Korean food) we departed with full bellies. I giggled internally, reflecting on the entire afternoon, and thought "at this very moment, I could not be happier"

Oh, how wrong I was....
After boarding the bus, and accepting a handful of chupa-chups forced on me by an unknown teacher (Koreans LOVE Chupa-chups!) I was all set to sink into my seat and nap the next 40 min away. I almost didn't notice one of the middle-aged-ish teachers walking through the rows saying "disco papa" "disco papa" over and over again. I'm pretty sure there were a few other words squeezed in there, but all I heard was "disco papa." Juha was not yet on the bus, so I absolutely had know idea what was going on. Before I knew it, it seemed I had agreed to "disco papa," whatever that was. Sitting down, and perhaps taking in the glazed-eyed confusion I was projecting, Juha guided my eyes towards a small fair in the distance. Sort of like Buffalo Grove Day's runt, Korean sister. At first I was terrified to that I had agreed to ride what looked like a very rickety, miniature version of the giant drop. But after getting off the bus again, I was guided to the "dico papa" which is apparently really called "Disco Taga' or "Taga Disco."

My best description of Disco Taga would combine a giant tilt-a-whirl, sanz individual cars, and a popcorn machine. Instead of attempting further description, I spent about an hour of my desk warming day googleing "disco papa." As you watch this clip, please do your best to invision yours truly on the ride with 15 Koreans. Also, if you can handle it, imagine the ride opporator pausing while I'm at the top of the tilt screaming "HELLO, WHERE ARE YOU FROM?" into the PA and then continuously jostling the entire ride to the beat of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" for a full 2 minutes.

Again... arms ripping out of the sockets, belly full of ocean attempting to force its way up and out, head banging repeatedly against  my co-teacher's... REALLY! HOW DID I GET HERE?!?!

Apparently I am now not only very impressive, but also "very strong" and "have excellent body language," although I am sure there must be some lost in translation action on that last one.
Disco Papa continues to baffle me and, at the end of the day, I may not know how I got here, but I know I am in exactly the right place at the right time.

I couldn't be happier.  

Due to the last min nature of this dinner invitation, my camera was unfortunately no where to be found. That'll teach me to go anywhere with out it..

How did I get here? part 1

Do you ever find yourself having a moment, when you just can't believe your life is real. One where you are amazed to find yourself in a place you least expected; where you have to stop yourself and think, what chain of events and decisions could have possibly led me to this place? 

That's how I feel here, just about all the time. 

Rewind to October 9th...

Global Gathering 2010
Now, I'm not usually the craycray dance/dj/laser/light show/glowsticks kind of girl (weird right?) But, after listening to one friend become so excited I'm slightly shocked he didn't pee himself and checking out past global gatherings on youtube, I decided joining in on such festivities was probably for the best. So, I bought a ticket, booked a hostel, and streamed Fatboy Slim and Justice (the headliners) for a week, in preparation.

Thinking I would take it easy the night before dancing my face off with 10,000 of my closest Korean friends, I met up a few girls for a low key Friday dinner in Pyeongtaek. Alas, it was not meant to be. We ended up meeting up with a few more Pyeongtaek-ers, then running into some new Canadian friends outside the train station (literally a passing, "Hey, where are you guys going??") and norebang-ing the night away. To be fair, Alex had not been to a norebang yet; so, we HAD to go. A few solid hours of karaoke, Cass, and soju later... Na had missed her bus and I, the last train back to Seojeong-ri station. What can you do? Well, you can pile in a cab and head to Alex's and Brandon's apartment, scarf some real cheese, turkey, and brownies courtesy of the U.S. Army, and drift off into a peaceful sleep filled with dreams of Alex and Brandon's 10 hamsters. Correction: 9 ( r.i.p Alex's fav critter).

The next morning came far too soon; but, determined to shower and change my clothes before heading off to Seoul, Na and I rolled out of bed and headed back towards Pyeongtaek station.  Living the typical Seoul life, Na decided last min to hop on the GG2010 train. So, after stopping briefly at AK Plaza to purchase a clean outfit, we both scampered back to my place to pull ourselves together. Two quick showers and a Korean cheese toast later, we were off.

We met up with 4 other UW Gepik-ers at Mr Kim's hostel in Hongdae(note: the only place in Seoul that has no check out time...asssaa!) and stopped to eat excessive amounts of 라면, 김밥, and 만두, before parking outside GS 25 and relaxing before the show. It is important to note that the actual event lasted from 1:30 pm until 5 am; but, these newbies to the non-stop lifestyle of Seoul chose to arrive at around 7:30, insuring that we wouldn't miss Fatboy or Justice, nor would we die, or end up on blackoutkorea.com. At 7:30 or so we split into two groups and jumped into cabs bound for the concert. About one min later we realized that communicating it's location to the cab driver was not as easy a task as expected. Ali, Geri, and I eventually settled on riding to the subway station, from which we knew there was a free shuttle to the park. In theory, great plan. In reality, no so much. There were about 700 people (both foreigners and Koreans) in line for said shuttle; which, mind you, was nowhere in sight. Clearly we decided this was not an option; so, the three of us trudged past the seemingly endless line in search of another taxi. Then... something miraculous happened. Nothing short of divine intervention. About 100 feet past the end of the afermentioned line, while flailing my arms at passing taxis, I spotted the GG shuttle. Simultenously Geri, Ali , and I began waving our arms wildly at the drivers, attempting a sort of interpretive dance symbolizing "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET US ON THE BUS!"  Well, whatever we were doing, it worked! The bus slowed down and happily let the three of us board, before contiuning on to pick up the first fraction of the waiting concert goers, who had probably been standing there for about 2 hours at this point. Apparently all it takes to bypass 700 people in line is a good flail and a big ole' American smile... life is good.

inefficency at its finest...

 It is difficult to put into words the next  8 hours, but I will give you a brief overview.  Upon arriving at the venue, Nanji Park, we picked up our tickets and free glow sticks... yeah I said it. We grabbed a beer from one of the tents, a ridiculously long precess in itself, seeing as Korea is the only place in the world where it is appropriate to serve an enormous concert venue by opening and pouring one can of beer at a time. Whatevs. We reconnected with Na, Pat, and Mike, dove headfirst into the crowd of dancing, glow-stick-waving, Koreans and proceeded to dance our faces off until nearly sunrise. At some point, we stumbled upon two other groups of UW kids, and at two points (once during Justice and again during Fatboy Slim) I squished my way right up to the stage and was completely engulfed by the music, lights, dancing, singing, and pure joy of it all. During one such moment, I turned around to check out the crowd and what did I see? Of course, Amanda (Madison Roomie) is on top of a Korean man's shoulders, rocking away, and loving life more than most people probably ever will. Once again I am reminded that the universe helped us find one an other. I am also reminded that it's a good thing I like her, because it would be really annoying to continuously find myself with someone annoying. It was during this particular moment, when Amanda and I caught each others eye and realized we were having the exact same ridiculous wonderful experience, 3 feet from each other, in a crowd of thousands of people and glow sticks, in the middle of Korea, that I had to stop for a moment and think "How did I get here?"



Overall Justice was pretty fab, Fatboy was amazing, and the night was an excellent adventure. There was even a guest appearance from some sort of kimchi tacos. I will leave you to ponder that one...

If my rich and detailed account wasn't enough to give you the full picture, check this out, to see Justice and Fatboy Slim's sets at Global Gathering Seoul 2010.

Note: Seeing as my new baby wasn't going anywhere near this many jumping and screaming people, photo credit from this post goes to Ali Werd and Geri Witthuhn.

A look inside my brain

In honor of my recent decision to participate in the Art House Coop's Sketchbook Project 2010

[http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject]

I decided to let you all have a little peak inside my brain...

Bubbie Rose = Best Person Ever.

No explanation needed.

Korean oven/transformer donimation

Everyone please pause to appreciate the total domination over my Korean oven/grill/range/steamer/combo contraption, which came in the form of apple pie/tart.

Basically, I am one of the few teachers over here who was graced with the presence of an oven in her/his apartment. I have thus far been terrified to turn it on [not because I don't know how to use an oven thank you...] but rather, beacuse all of the settings are labeled in Korean, and that my oven knowledge becomes complicated by the "range/grill/steamer" options. I tested my fears yesterday, because I had some apples that needed to be used, and finally took the time to figure out what all those knobs and settings do. I had to use the bottom of the steamer as a make-shift pan and, yes, I did use a beer can as a rolling pin. After scoping out every type of bottle and can at the grocery store, this tall Cass seemed like the best replacement. 

Classy Emily, classy.
Needless to say, it worked like a charm.  Overall, I'd say the experience was a success and now I have something to share with the teacher who gifted me a loaf of bread a few days ago...

"You're not Korean if you don't eat kimchi three times a day."

Bonus post only because this article SO perfectly articulates how seriously Korean take their 김치 (kimchi). Kimchi is the national dish of Korea, and is served with everything from Korean BBQ to pizza. After about five weeks, I am not quite in a place where I need to scarf spicy fermented cabbage with my morning coffee, but I do eat a substantial amount everyday.

For those not keeping track at home, the situation in Korea is as follows: weather goes bananas, cabbage dies, full on panic ensues. Luckily, my favorite kind of kimchi is 오이소박이 (cucumber kimchi), so I think I am in the clear...

Check out the following link,
for a look at the current Kimchi Crisis!

http://www.wxow.com/Global/story.asp?S=13268375

Not enough to spark your interest? What about this?
"I don't know how long I can keep ignoring my grandkids' and my husband's demands for kimchi at every meal," said Kim Hyung-sook, who lives in northern Seoul. "You're not Korean if you don't eat kimchi three times a day."

추석 Revisited: Adventures in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do

Apologies in advance for writing way too much in this post. I'm still trying to play catch up from Chuseok (better late than never, right??), but will make it my future goal to restrain myself.

Determined to make good use of my precious moments of freedom, I spent the latter half of Chuseok break with some friends gallivanting around Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do, seeing what each had to offer. The following represent our findings. 

Indian food and Kimchi-Cheese Pancakes
And that's about all she wrote. The night before Chuseok, I met up with some friends living in Ansan, a city about halfway between Pyeongtaek and Seoul. We scarfed delicious Indian food and headed out for a night in Ansan. I was once again amazed by Korea's determination to cover every mountable space with neon signs. It's amazing that some (many) areas are actually quite ugly on the surface, but come to life under the dazzling glow of a neon norebang, or two, or forty. The night was pretty low key by Korea standards, but enjoyable nonetheless. It eventually ended with some sort of kimchi-cheese pancake, at a restaurant, which Pat mistook for a bar. This was probably the better decision anyways and the pancake concoction could give a fatty slice of Ian's or PDR a run for it's money, in terms of effective late-night cuisine.

Tourists-Shmourists 
On Chuseok day I went with a handful of English teachers, to Gyeongbuk Palace, the oldest and largest Joseon dynasty compound. Gyeongbuk was my first palace experience, as well as my first super touristy activity since my arrival in the land of the morning clam. There was a traditional changing of the guards ceremony, as well as a small festival featuring traditional Korean "Samul Nori" dancers and acrobats. The child acrobats where amazing, and simple adorable. The palace complex itself was pretty fantastic. The ceilings of each building are supported by hundreds of wooden beams, painted in vibrant  greens, reds, yellows and blues, the only thing more extravagant than the ceilings are the interior spaces,
which add brilliant gold to the effect. I did my best not to hold everyone up, but at times felt the need to camp out on a bench (or the ground) and take everything in. I started a few sketches, and hope to do many more this year. I am definitely realizing how lucky I was to travel Italy and Europe, with 30 other people whose hearts desire it was to sink into a corner and draw/ or write. In the last week or so, I have started to connect with some other arsty-fartsy UW Gepik-ers and we are going to try to check out some artist events, with like-minded people, in the future. The palace group also attempted to go to Changdeok Palace, which is renowned for its beautiful gardens; however, after realizing we would have to pay for a guided tour, wait around an hour, and possibly listen to said guided tour in Japanese, we all decided to save Changdeok for another day.

Seoul Mates: An interesting cultural side note
Once a Korean couple reaches a certain level of serious-ness (cue Bubbie: "Is it serious??"), say 200 days, they often (or always) go out and buy matching outfits. These can range from matching or connecting t-shirts, to full on head to toe twinkies.

After getting our fill of the palaces, Ali, Pat, Brent, Lauren, and I, headed over to Myeongdong in search of some needed electronics, bags, and other such things. Myeongdong is a large shopping district in Seoul and has the potential to be a dangerous place if you have Won burring a hole in your pocket. Sadly/Luckily,  I am approximately eight times the size of the average Korean, and thus will be limited to the glories of Forever 21 and H+M. Although, it is nice to know I don't have to worry about wearing my clothes to rags in a year. After searching around and obvi eating some street food (something that resembled an egg on one side and a pancake on the other), Ali and I happened on the best Korean couples shirts I have see so far; so, naturally, we bought them. Best 10,000 W (8 bucks) I have spent so far. See above right to view the full effect of the connecting heart, cup-phone glory! The crew eventually went our separate ways, with vague ideas of hiking in the next few days.




"You should have seen that sunrise, with your own eyes..."
Ok, it was not a sunrise, it was two sunsets. Kill me, I couldn't help it.
Seeing as I am not living in what you may call a bustling metropolis, my few nights spent at home during Chuseok week were most often spent planning which adventure/activity to do next. After arriving home from an exhausting day of palace hopping, and filling my belly with something delicious, I flopped down on my couch and tried to figure out what to do next. At this point I still did not have a cell phone, so the planning process involved sitting in my glorious corner of wifi, guidebook in lap, and facebook, my only form of contact to those in Korea, on the screen. At around midnight, Ali and I struck gold, with possibly the best idea EVER. After realizing the weather would be absolutely perfect the next few days, we decided to head to Muui-do, or Muui Island, early the next morning. 9 am Seojeong-ri station departure, 6 hours of trains, buses, ferries, and the help of 2 friendly, but slightly confused Koreans later, we arrived. (sidenote: the return trip took a third of the time once we knew what we were doing!) Ali and I played a quick game of charades with the man renting huts, eventually reserving a small hut on the beach for the next two nights. Now, when I say small hut on the beach, I mean exactly that. Ali, Pat, Sam, Brent and I squished ourselves into a 7 foot by 7 foot hut, which was perched on stilts about 50 feet from the Yellow Sea (with the tide in), and equipped with a heated floor, five pillows and five blankets. This ritz-carlton-esque lodging cost us 60,000 won ($52.00) total for both nights, and was worth every fricken penny.

Muui-do is a small Island off the West coast of Korea, and is home to one of the most bizarre natural phenomenon I have ever seen. At around 9 pm the tied starts to go out and then ... it keeps going out.. forever. By midnight it is out over a half a mile, and by the next morning you have to walk 45 min to reach the shoreline. It is totally bizarre, but very cool to walk out on the mud flats, dodging crabs and weird tubers (possibly sea cucumbers?) and watching people dig for clams. At around 3 pm, the tide rolls back in and you can swim in water above your head, a short 50 feet from your hut.

The next 2 days were spent laying on the beach, walking out on the mud flats and eating the freshest sea food I have ever had (grilled clams and seafood pa-jeon [pancakes] right out of the ocean). The second day, Brent and I hiked up to the top of the island and took in a spectacular 270 degree view of green islands and sea, while ignoring the 90 degrees pointing us towards the airport.

There were about 5 other huts or tents of English teachers there at the time; so, after watching two spectacular sunsets, with nothing but the sea and more Islands to the West, both nights were spent relaxing and drinking around communal bonfires. On the second night, the smallness of the world came crashing down on me, when a Korean family joined our festivities. Somewhere in the course of the evening I learned that the patriarch of this family lived in Buffalo Grove for four years! His children even attended Daniel Wright Middle School, while I was learning Algebra over at Twin Groves. Words cannot explain the level of insane shock and coincidence both of us felt at this moment. The man then proceeded to introduce me to every member of his family and, I'm pretty sure, tried to set me up with his far too young, and totally mortified, nephew. Needless to say, my brain exploded; but this, combined with an 8:30 am make-your-eyes-water spicy noodle bowl, was the perfect end to a wonderful week in 한국!


Unfortunately, during this last stretch, my camera fell victim to soju, a lifeguard stand, and the yellow sea. ( I know, I know... stupid, stupid, stupid!!) I have not yet stolen Ali's Muui-do photos, or purchased a new camera. Both issues will be resolved soon; however, now I must simply say "C'est la vie" and appreciate every moment as it happens.  (**All Muui-do photos in the post were jacked from Brent's Blog "Way from Wisconsin"**)

I hope you're either enjoying or ignoring my adventures! I love hearing updates from home and I swear one day I will be on top of the whole more frequent, shorter blog post thing.  As my co-teacher Julie says. , "Ok-Bye-Bye, See you next time!"