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Published: April 12th 2009
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crab
get in my belly! After a couple of weeks of neglect I thought I would update everyone on my Crab Festival weekend. Actually, I just finished mopping my floor and i mopped myself right onto my bed so while it dries I have some time...
Crab Fest was a may-jah BUST! It was a beautiful sunny weekend and we spent 12 hours of the 48 hours on a bus with a group of very cliquey very lame (mostly American) foreigners. Thankfully Pamela and my co-worker Stephanie were there to entertain as well as Stephanie's friend from home and her friend. The day started by meeting the tour bus at a nearby subway station at 7 am. Pretty early considering I was out until past midnight celebrating a fellow teachers last day of work! We all met and took the long trip to Uljin which is on the far East coast of Korea. Although it was nice to get out of Seoul and see some ocean, I can't say that the town was actually refreshing and clean like I had hoped. Instead it was very dirty and quite behind on modernity with things such as restrooms - there appeared to be only one and proper
medical care. I can't be sure of that but it seemed as though many of the older people (and some children) had some leg problems and other issues.
Once we got there we had free time so Pamela and I of course headed straight to a beer tent to take it all in. There was plenty of crab however we thought we'd wait on the one we had been promised from the tour since the ones sitting in direct sunlight in dirty buckets didn't quite meet our North American health codes. While we were sitting we saw some dancers which was kind of funny since they were all over the age of 60 but definitely had some sweet moves. Pam was even invited to drum and partake in said dancing but I think she needed a few more Cass to get into it and she politely declined. We bought matching visors which are a staple accessory for any older woman in South Korea (Nanny you can have mine when I come home!) Younger people don't wear them, since I've been here I've only seen 1 girl wear one and she was on this trip). Anyway, it made for interesting
kid
there was a pool with fish and kids took turns trying to catch the fish. once they caught them they put their 'prize' in a grocery bag and off they went. bathroom conversation with other ajummas (term for an older Korean woman) and by conversation I mean pointing and giggling.
This free time was followed by breaking the world record for the longest gimbap - kind of like a poor man's sushi that Koreans love and defend as delicious. It costs about $3 to make it and although I love a bargin I still refuse to eat it. The breaking of the record sounds kind of cool however it's ridiculous since every year they just break their own record by 5 cm. So I guess I'm part of history until next year.
After the free time we were herded onto a boat and given a net of little flat fish to throw into the ocean and make a wish. My wish was that the day was over so we could go back to Seoul and eat crab at a fancy restaurant in the city but it did not come true. Instead, we got off the boat and were herded into a dining room and each given a crab. After a brief lesson from a girl sitting next to me we dug in. The crab was very good, I don't
couple wear
pam and I in our hot visors think I've ever eaten a crab this way so it was a good experience however as Pam and I said a few times through the trip we wished it had been crab with butter and warm bread and a couple of glasses of nice wine. On the other hand, sitting on the floor cross legged with strangers eating crab we just saw swimming around an hour before is a better story. Once we were done eating we were once again herded into the stage area and told to sit in 2 rows of chairs that had been 'reserved' for our group. Once again it was all foreigners, mainly english speaking teachers. After a short and very weird play by a few English speaking Korean children there were introductions of all the businessmen in the front rows. There were about 40 of them and most of them got up to say a speech. All of the speeches were in Korean and it was about 90 minutes long. After about 15 mins Pam and I couldn't stand it and went to walk around again. Not only was it cold out (we were right next to the water and it was past 8pm)
it was also clear that the purpose of driving all the foreigners to Uljin was not to show them a great little town but to convince others to visit.
Finally we got back on the bus and drove another 20 mins to our Korean hotel and got a bbq dinner that was included in our tour ticket. We met a woman from England who had come on the tour alone and invited her to stay with us since it was 6 to a room. Yes, 6. We all ate and all of us were feeling lousy from the day, some of us were getting sick, I was losing my voice and just overall cranky. We went up to our tiny room and layed our mats on the floor and all of us fell asleep pretyt much instantly.
The next morning it was again just a beautiful day outside and we got to go on a 'trek'. The website called it hiking, then the tour guide called it trekking no one really knew what to expect. Thankfully I bought new running shoes just before leaving on this trip otherwise I think I would have died. It was not hiking
stephanie and pamela
I made stephanie try it on too at ALL, it was scaling rocks over rushing water. Actually, it ended up being my favourite part of the trip. It was nice to be outside on such a glorious day and be around nature doing something active. The sight of cherry blossoms and smooth rocks and water was just what I needed not to lose my mind. It was a difficult trek at some points but I'm glad that I stuck it out and did it. Although the next day my thighs were mad at me.
Once we got back to Seoul at the end of another 6 hr drive I can say that I was actually happy to see the made up faces and clicking high heels of the young girls in my neighbourhood. Being in crab country really made me appreciate the little things, like the neon lights of the 7-11 on my street or the nicely dressed ajummas who smiled at me as I walked to my building. I scrubbed the crabby ocean dirt smell off of me and ate pizza hut in my bed. At least I had a comfortable Sunday!
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Amanda Pierce
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Ok 1) I will never tire of your lifestyle summaries 2) I thought FORSURE you were an old Korean woman under that visor. That's one heck of a disguise! 3) I'm ultimately jealous of your trek. It all looked so beautiful and outdoorsy 4) I am NOT jealous of your accommodations, on a mat, on a floor, in a hotel, with 6 people. miss you my shining star xo