Our first Korean Adventure!

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Hello all! It's taken some time to get this together what with leaving for China right after it happened and then coming back and planning for summer camp plus the 2nd and 6th grade curriculums but better late than never, right? This is really just a run down of the teacher's union trip we took the two days before we left for Beijing. It was a great opportunity for us to get to know some of the other teachers in our school (as well as the principle and vice principle) and see a LOT of Korea in a short period of time. The events leading up to the trip made us question whether or not it would be worth it but now we wonder when the next one will be held!
*We decided to write this together:

Day 1:

We had to 'work' for about three hours before we could start our trip. It made life interesting as we had to wear school-appropriate clothing and take everything with us to our classroom in the morning. We also got a bit of a chastising before we could leave. The principle wasn't too happy with us going to China as we aren't to work in the school for a week after leaving the country right now. (This is a government issued quarantine for school teachers & children who leave the country due to H1N1.) BUT, we had no idea, and as far as we could tell, they told us to take a holiday on those specific dates and it was all we could do to get something booked in the first place on such short notice never mind doing background work as to whether or not the school would be ok with it.

Anyway, it was finally time to go. In the parking lot we all stopped to observe the solar eclipse which was just beginning - the real viewing spot for the eclipse was Beijing of all places, but we missed it by just a few days. I tried to take pictures w/o looking into the camera but you couldn't actually see what was happening. Then I tried to use the special paper the other teachers were using to try and view the eclipse but you can't really see it on camera then either. Next it was onto the bus!

The bus was like none we'd ever seen. The 'curtains' over the windows were purple and ruffled. The entire ceiling was strewn with rainbow-colored lights and in the back (which is where we were sat) was a 'chandelier' of sorts. After we were all seated our snack packs were distributed, and an itinerary (all in Korean) was handed out. This was followed by a speech from the organizer (in Korean). We know he mentioned something about everybody getting along & enjoying each other's company. He also spoke of the highway we were to be driving on which had just been opened. It crosses the section of the country we live in from East to West. We mention this because it was a very scenic and a big deal to the Koreans who would actually use it more than just the once (like us). And we also know the itinerary mentioned something about not going off on your own but rather staying with the group.

We rode for a few hours before stopping for lunch. It was a "famous" place for pork bulgogi with chili pepper paste marinade. There was loads of food. We toasted with soju. Fran and the principle swapped glasses & poured for each other as a showing of friendship. We also discovered that a way to show your friendship with others is by feeding them. To be honest, I think some of the feeding bit was more to do with the shock value of stuffing a lettuce leaf full of who-knows-what into a foreigner's mouth & knowing they won't say not as it would appear rude. We weren't complaining though as the galbi we were eating was the best pork galbi we'd had so far & it was also a lot of fun.

Just before we left to get back on the bus, everyone went to use the toilets as people tend to do when on a road trip. The restaurant happened to be at a Korean rest stop and so many others were doing the same and there was a line for the women's bathroom. Jess had quite the experience. A woman knocked on the door while she was in there. Jess, not knowing how or what to say in Korean just said "yes?" And the person tried to open the door still. Luckily it was locked. But then, through a small hole in the door, Jess saw an eye. Her only response was to quick use her palm to cover the hole and prevent the odd Korean woman from watching a Westerner in the toilets. It has become quite the joke for us and our co-teachers think it would have been better to poke the woman in the eye than just cover the hole. Maybe next time.

Next it was back on the bus to the mini-golf place. Boy were we in for a surprise when we got there. The 'mini golf course' was concrete and incredibly challenging! When handed a club we had another shock. This wasn't the normal club you would expect to get... Sometimes with different colored grips on the handle depending on the height of the club. These were short fat metal poles with a bit of a thick flat end attached. None of them even went up to Jess' hip (and we all know she's short) and they were a bit on the rusty side. Fortunately the balls were the same (although everyone on your team uses the same ball, rather than having a different colored ball for each member). You got 2-3 turns at each hole. If you hit the ball past a certain point you got points. If you hit it past some points & then further you might lose points. But regardless of where your ball landed, when you took your next shot it was right from the beginning again. So much for a par. Oh and the scoring was like +10, +15 sometimes even +40! We also made some friends there in the form of two dogs, one of them being the tiniest dog we'd ever seen. After the golf we walked around the lake just outside which was part of a temple, though we did not get to visit the temple. From there it was off to Sokcho beach on the East Sea.

While we were still on the bus we were asked to choose the activity we would participate in when we got to the beach. Fran chose the Banana Boats. They sounded fun but it also sounded like a sure-fire way to get wet so Jess decided to do the speed boat as she only had the one pair of contacts she was already wearing. The banana boats turned out to not be as intense as they originally seemed. Fran got wet and it was hilarious when another Korean teacher ran up to Jess to point him out - so easy to see that curly blonde hair bobbing along out on the water! Fran was the only blonde person in the whole beach! The speed boat on the other hand was adventure, Korean-style. The drivers take advantage of the speed bit and the bring out out (very very quickly) and start driving in circles creating a whirlpool of sorts in the ocean. Its fast, a bit frightening but overall fun.

I think the rush from our adventures made us a bit mad because the next thing you know, Jess was asking Fran if he wanted to try the 'Flying fish'. The flying fish is a raft of sorts. Its connected to a speed boat. You each lay down, hold onto the handles and keep your feet against the bottom. The boat takes off with you in tow and picks up speed. Once it hits a certain speed you are lifted into the air looking down at the water below you. Its absolutely mad. Good fun, but mad. We're not sure about the UK but it is illegal in the US because although you are wearing a life vest there is nothing keeping you on there but your own strength and if you let go you hit the water face-first at over 60mph. We had fun, but probably won't be trying it again.

The trip to the beach finished with the teachers picking each other up and throwing each other in the water - to make sure everyone got drenched. Fran helped throw in a few guys - whom he hadn't even really been introduced to yet! And then we were told that we were going from the beach to dinner, rather than to the hotel as we'd originally been informed. A bit funny had you seen the state of us. So we changed rather quickly and got back on the bus.

The restaurant we ate dinner at was across the street from the ocean. And our meal came from it! It consisted of roe fish, raw eel, fried sweet potato (tempura), mushrooms, sea cucumber (tastes like salt-watery cardboard & is considered a delicacy in Korea), ballon, acorn squash, flat fish, squid, shrimp, mussle with a yellow sauce, kimchi rolled in wheat flour, a few shell things, some fish eggs, and this very very odd looking sea creature which lives in the mud - it was still moving when it arrived at the table. Fran tried absolutely everything & Jess (believe it or not!) tried everything except the thing that was moving. After eating, everyone continued with their drinking - of course. And then we were served maeuntang - fish soup. As the other teachers began to dish it out we discovered the head.... and then later a huge tail, were included at no extra cost! We were made to eat the fish 'cheek'. Yes, you read that correctly.

We went outside to check out the sea and soon everyone else followed. A few of the teachers were absolutely hammered on soju and other Korean liquors. Apparently it is their way of relieving stress. We walked from the restaurant to a Norebang (Korean Karaoke). Here, some of the group quickly went into one room whilst the principle kept trying to get us and a couple of the other teachers to come into a smaller other room. It was a bit awkward. Eventually we all ended up in the same big room and it was interesting to say the least. The lights were crazy, the alcohol was never ending and it came with more snacks and fruit. We were told we must sing & so we decided to do it together. We pored over the books but couldn't decide what to sing. Unfortunately for us someone misunderstood Fran & selected John Mayer's 'Bigger Than my Body' for us to sing. We still owe John a letter of apology for what we did to his song!

After the torture of the norebang we went to our 'condo' in a resort area to sleep. These condos were well - equipped hotel rooms. (With kitchens basically.) But from the outside it just looks like a HUGE hotel. Our manager was supposed to stay in the same room as us but she was drunk & said she wanted to stay in another room. So it was just our two co-teachers and us. There were two "bed"rooms. They were actually completely empty. In one of the closets we found the mats/blankets/pillows and rolled them out onto the floor. It was actually quite comfy aside from the pillows which had something resembling corn cobs inside. We went for a bit of a walk to get some water (which we weren't allowed to buy as we ran into some of the other teachers and they insisted our boss pay for it) and to find the pc room to check on our flights to China.

In the morning we headed to Seoraksan mountain. Probably one of the most famous in Korea. We took the cable car part way up and climbed the rest. Fran made it to the very very top barefoot - aka Korean-style - and was rewarded on the bus later with some very interesting Korean wine. Jackie & Jess had some fun doing what they nicknamed "gollum-style" climbing. Because when you use your hands and (bare) feet, he is kind of what you resemble. Katie had climbed the mountain many times before & wasn't wearing appropriate footwear so she stayed behind & indulged in a cappuccino & some gelato (Jess was pretty jealous when she heard this back on the bus).

From there we went to lunch at a famous bimpeimbop place. (Pronounced beebimbop). It consists of egg, veg, rice, chili sauce and with that you get about a million side dishes (it wouldn't be Korea without those. We also got to try some really good makkeoli (Korean rice wine). Some of this was drunk with the principle who wanted us to stay behind and drink with him rather than go to the Buddhist temple. Fortunately we required interpreters who got us out of that.

The temple was gorgeous. It was a shame that we didn't get to stay very long but just the path through the forest to the temple made the stop worthwhile.

So as you can see we managed to pack a LOT into two days and see so many things that we may never have without the aid of Koreans. We also learned a lot as we were able to ask questions about what things where and how to say them as well as learning Korean traditions and how things are done. Again, we're sorry this was months in the making... More blogs to follow shortly!
xxFran & Jess

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Photos

Fran & co-teachers
Fran, Jackie & Katie at the back of the bus with their complementary snack packs - ready to GO!

The bus
Complete with purple ruffles and fake chandelier

Trying to show some of the
gorgeous Korean scenery

Comments

[Tricia]

Fun
Sounds like a lot of fun :-) Kate did banana boats in Turkey too

[jan and georgia]

WOW
Amazing adventures...glad to hear you survived.....actually sounds like lots of fun.