JEJU!!!!!!

JEJU!!!!

  

Friday was the big day. I was able to get a day off school so I could make sure I made it to the Airport in time. I think it was an airport. It looked like one but it didn’t feel like one. No lines, security was shockingly weak. Being used to airports in America where you have to take off your shoes and can’t carry liquids on the plane and you get asked at least a question of where you are going. This airport had none of that. It was the most relaxed environment. It was very different from the security in American airports. When we arrived our friend John from the TALK program was waiting for us and took us back to his place so we could drop our bags off and get some dinner. We went to an Indian restaurant called Bagdad. It was delicious, authentic Indian food served by Korean waiters whom speak great English. Then we went to a karaoke room and met up with other JeJu people whom we haven’t seen since September. It was great to see them.

A little cold

only a sweatshirt. Bad idea

The crew!

Fun way down

We woke up the next morning at 530am after getting to bed late. But that is what we had to do in order to maximize our time on the island. Our first destination was the base of Mt. Hallasan, the tallest mountain in South Korea. It was raining and cold and windy, we all bought a poncho at the bottom to stay a little dry. The trail was soaked; at times it was like walking up a running stream. We jumped from rock to rock in order to not get our boots/shoes soaked. Almost the whole hike up we were stepping from rock to rock. When it started to get somewhat dry it became just rock stairway and very steep. Hallasan is a dormant volcano. There were no switchbacks it was just straight up. At a stop about ¾ the way up there was a tv with the weather information. The wind was 0 Celsius or 32 Fahrenheit. The wind was about 22mph. That was only ¾ the way up we still had about 500 meters in elevation to climb. So I can only imagine what it was at the top.

random cute fat cat

old lava

Can't see across the bridge

The top, wow freezing cold, winds gusting, and snow flurries flying. It was so cloudy that we could not see more than 20 feet in front of us. So we were 1950 meters (6398ft) up and the view was non-existent. It was still worth every second and every bit of ice growing on our faces. Once you’re up you must come down. And that was very dangerous. Every step was like walking on black ice. We had to be extra cautious about each and every step. It was scary because my thought was if I fell I am just going to roll down the mt. which would not have been good. But after about an hour on the ice it finally started to clear up. But that slowed us down drastically. On the way down we crossed a bridge that we could not even see half way across. All this fog was creepy to start with but the fact that there were ravens everywhere increased the creepy factor.

cave diving

Hallasan!

As we descended the fog started to clear and we heard a meow meow and out came a cute cat that we played with for a few minutes. Becca was the bravest to pick it up and just love on it. Then we stumbled upon a cave. On the side, there were ropes that said to stay on the trail but we didn’t listen. We had to get in the cave. It was huge and beautiful with holes from the top giving light it just kept going and so did we until there were no more holes and we would not have been able to see anything. Knowing that animals live in caves we decided it was the safest decision to leave. The rest of the way down was easy and we completed the 19km(12mile) hike in 8 hours.

Then we got in a taxi and he took us to the mysterious hill. Turned the car off put it in neutral and we coasted up hill. I am not kidding you it was crazy. It looked as if we were going uphill. There is something with the magnetic poles I think that cause it to happen. Then back to the main city and time to eat. We found an all you can eat place for 7.50$. It was amazing but we didn’t have long to eat we had to get our stuff from Johns place and get moving out to the next destination.

great morning

decent picture of sunrise. 

We got bus tickets for our bus and we look and it’s pulling out. So there are four foreigners running at this bus. Luckily the bus stopped and picked us up. Did I mention it was the last bus to our destination for the night? We’re going to a jimjalbong. It’s like a bath house with a sleeping area. The bathing areas are separated and you have a small locker room and then showers and a hot and cold tub and a sauna. Which is perfect after a 12 mile hike it was great for my legs. Then when you are done there you go into a big common room grab a mat and hopefully a pillow and find a spot to sleep on the floor. Sound bad but I like it. Just bring your Ipod and something to cover your eyes and you will be out all night.

Next morning was another 530 wake up in order to see sunrise peak. We got and taxi and boom we were there. Looking at wondering what we were thinking. It was about 500 meters up and it was basically and straight flight of stairs and after yesterday our legs felt dead. But we all pushed forward and eventually all made it up. And the view was totally worth it. We watched from no sun visible to a full sun above the horizon. A great way to end a great trip, next stop was the airport. I am glad I went with three new and good friends Becca, Hannie, and Krissy. 

Sobaeksan

Sobeaksan!!!!
Well Saturday started early, Me Kelsea and Leah took a train at 830am to near the Mt. and from there we took a cab. The cab driver was awesome. He literally took us as far up the Mt. as a car could go. Which I was ok with because I don’t like walking u paved paths. Not only did he shave an hour off the hike he was trying to speak English and it was cute. After we got out he asked for a picture with him and told us to call him personally when we got done.  The hike was about 2 hours to the top and it was really steep. But it was very beautiful. You could see how high you were progressing thought the trees and every now and then we would just stop in amazement. The paths are never simple paths. There always make up of rock turned into stairs, or sometimes steep stairs. But there is no easy hike path. That would take days. The top was nothing short of spectacular. 1439 meters which is 4721 feet. The view was 360 degrees. We were on what seemed to be just a grassy hill that high up. There was not a tree to obstruct the view. The way down was to say the least steep. Your toes become pressed to the front of your shoes and they start to hurt but its worth it. On the way down we noticed a cave on the side of the mt. I was about to lower myself in when I realized how big it was. And I think I saw bats. Without anyone there to be like hey lets go. I decided that it probably wasn’t he smartest. When we reached the bottom there was nice campsite area which I hope to use before I leave this beautiful land and that is where we called our taxi guy. He was happy to come pick us up. It was a great adventure that I will be doing again. Hopefully sooner than later, cold and snow can’t stop me.

Extension
For those don’t know I have decided to extend. What does that mean??? Well I was originally going to come home in late December. The 31^st to be exact. I decided that I haven’t done nearly enough and to come home to a rushed environment and not get to experience chirstmas would be hard. So I will be here until July. I will be able to do a lot more of everything, including hiking. I will be teaching as the same school with the same kids. Which I am looking forward to. But I will be home in July don’t worry. There are some great people back home I have to get back to.
 

Gumi
The weekend after Sobeaksan I want to Gumi. It is a little bigger than Andong with better shopping and nightlife. It was a lot of fun. I got a new sweater, it was cold and I needed it. I will be able to use it for school and stay warm and it looks good. It stretched out a little which is good. But there is nothing wrong with this guy looking good. I know people aren’t used to it.






 Then there was a night hike with the climbing crew that was awesome. We left at 7pm which is already dark out and went to a mt. called Gallasan. Its small only about 530 meters and took around 2 hours to complete.  We were all geared up in headlamps and winter gear because it went below freezing. But we will now be doing this every Wednesday. It was a lot of fun and great exercise.
 

One of the coolest things of this week though was I went to Ddols my favorite coffee shop. The owners were walking out the door as I arrived because they were closing early. It was her dad’s birthday party. So they were like come along. So I went with them and experienced a Korean Birthday party. Lots of food, singing and cake. Similar to ours but we sat on the floor. It was in a real Korean house that the Grandpa built with his own hands. It was beautiful.  

Next is Jeju!!!!

 




I will start off with rock climbing Wednesday. I was told to come at 6 because it is a meeting. So I show up and am immediately put in the car with Oma and her Husband. We go to a restaurant in a part of Andong I have never seen. The meeting was a short presentation that I am not sure what it was about. Then there was dinner. But there was a very special guest. The Andong Mayor, which is seems in Korea is a bigger deal than in America. He was respected like I have never seen before. After we finish eating one of the club members approaches me and says that the mayor wants to meet me.  So I go over and am very cautious about what I do, trying not to disrespect him. I talk to him as the member does a little translation. After the hello, where do you work, and a few other questions he hands me a shot glass and pours me a shot of soju. I am instructed to take it to so I do. Then someone hands  a glass and me a bottle of cider(sprite) and he points at the soju and I am given that instead.  I don’t think he normally drinks but made an exception this time which I thought was pretty cool. I pour him the shot and he takes it. I felt honored. It was something that not many people get to do. But after that I had to leave for our cultural trip.
  The TALK program provides all the scholars with a short 2 day trip learning about Korean culture. For us it is a chance to see friends that we have not seen since orientation. Its 2 days of a lot of bus riding, staying in a nice resort, and trying to do as much as possible. We went to a folk village where we made Korean paper which was a really nice picture frame, and we taught about traditional Korean tea ceremonies, which was really cool. Our group didn’t really worry much about the traditional way to do it we just tried to drink as much tea as we could in the allotted time. We stayed at a 5 star resort on the beach with a mini water park and screen golf and a full arcade and spa. But we got there so late we were unable to do any of it. But we were all able to hang out and at like 2 in the morning a group of us went to the beach. Even at night it was beautiful. Then we went to the waterpark that was empty of water and sat in a wave pool and watched the stars. It was an incredibly clear night and we were amazed at the number of shooting stars that we saw. But later found out it was a meteor shower.  In the morning we went to the same beach and were able to go on rock that are underwater when the tide is high, Adam found a pretty purple start fish, and I caught a great picture of him passing it to Ellen. Time there was short because we had to rush to a temple. Which the time there was even less, we get there and it takes 10 minutes to walk back to it than we had 5 minutes to look around and had to come back. All of this was because some people were over 40 min late for the morning bus. The first time I didn’t not agree with what Korea was doing was during this trip. We drove on the world’s largest sea wall, which is basically and 33km elevated road and wall blocking the sea off, where basically they are letting the sea dry up and going to use the land to their advantage. I think it is stupid they must be killing a lot of sea life doing this. It was crazy to watch and the fact that it is going to be a tourist attraction is shocking. We did a little bit of reading on it and I am just in full disagreement with it. That was the last part then It was just more driving back home. Probably about 15 hours in a bus those 2 days. But it was still fun to see people I hadn’t seen in a while. That Sunday I found a screen golf place in Andong. It is 15$ for like 20 minutes of warm up and 18 holes. I only go through 9 till I couldn't do it anymore. There is a stroke limit and I ever once made it through a hole. I hit the stroke limit each time. It was very very frustrating. But nice to be able to play golf.
 






 OPEN CLASS!!!!! It is a class where everyone is invited to watch, parents, teachers, and anyone else who wants to see me teach. I was excited for the lesson, it was on the 5 senses and I was going to be very interactive with the kids and even show a magic trick in the beginning. I was promised the kids would be angels. My kids didn’t get the memo. It started with no one in the classroom so I was not sure if I was supposed to start. No parents or teachers means the kids don’t care and they would not listen at all. They were worse than normal. When I parent did come is they acted a little better but they were not angels. The lesson went ok but the kids were just going crazy. Then I ended at the time I was instructed to end. But as I was ending the Principal walks in, looks and her watch and u can just see she is not happy. Well I guess I was supposed to go 10 minutes longer cause everything was delayed 10 minutes but no one decided to tell me. So the whole thing felt like an epic fail. But it’s over with and I don’t care. I did my best and can’t change anything now.








 BUSAN!!!! Wow can someone say beautiful. I went with Kelsea and Jake (her fiancé who is visiting her from back home, a great guy I am glad he was able to come). We met up with Katie it was a fun group. It was raining Saturday but we tried not to let that stop us from seeing some sights. We went to this temple on the sea side. Wow I can’t describe it you will just have to see the pictures. It was amazing but the rain was intense. It was like a monsoon, my water proof boots don’t work when puddles are so deep that it can get in through the tongue and at times over the top of the boots. So needless to say even with the umbrella we are soaked. After the Temple we find a motel to stay at, the nice thing is a lot of motels are just pretty much rooms without beds and just heated floors with pads and blankets. I really like that. Its comfy and warm. After we get our room we adventure back out into the rain to get food. We find this place called Fuzzy Navel and they had good Mexican food. It was delicious. Then we all just hung out in the room watching the movie channel with English movies with Korean subtitles.





Sunday was a beautiful day, we got u and went to the beach. Had the waves crashing at our feet and watched surfers. The pictures don’t go anything here justice.  Jake and I could not wear our boots because they were still dripping wet. It would eventually take 4 days for them to dry out. But those were the only shoes we had so we ended up buy cheap plastic sandals that were too small but they were only 2.50. Let the blisters and skin rubbing raw start. We went to this park and were able to climb on rock on the sea side and once again watched the wave’s crash in and watch Koreans fish. I feel like this was s secret spot. There were no tourists just fisherman here. Then we walked on the bride thing along the rock side back to the beach. It was just a great relaxing weekend. I will let the pictures do most the talking. This Saturday I will be hiking 1400 meters high.