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So here I am, almost done another week in the land of the morning calm and I am working on the fourth month of my contract. I still feel like I am catching my breath from when I landed, but it is all starting to make a bit more sense these days and I am starting to feel very at home.
As everyone knows, each weekend so far has been an adventure in itself and this past one was no exception. For the past month we 've been working extra hours and doing a ton of planning for our open classes, basically the parents come in and observe our classes to make sure we are worth the money they are paying us. Despite our directors concerns, we all pulled off this task with flying colors. As a reward for our extra efforts, all of Wonderland and Reading town (our sister school upstairs) was invited on a weekend vacation to the coast. No one was really quite sure what we were getting into but most of us jumped on the chance to get out of Chilgok and spend sometime getting to know our coworkers - and by getting to know
At the temple Gates
Myself and my coworker Jason I mean downing soju and eating some damn good food.
Saturday morning at 10am we all piled on bus, well actually that was the plan, I ended up sleeping through my alarm (surprise surprise) and barely made it in time to catch them leaving. We started off on an hour drive through the city to pick up some meat that Jason had bought on post (beef on post is like .99 cents a pound versus $11 a pound anywhere else in the country). Fate decided that this trip had started off too smoothly and as soon as we were all set with the beef our director got a phone call from the Duncan Donuts next to our school, apparently she had left her bag all the way back in Chilgok. So of course we had to turn around and back track an hour. Fortunately was to be the only real hitch to the weekend.
Three hours after our initial departure we were finally almost to our first destination, Gyeong-ju. We stopped off at a traditional Korean restaurant that specialized in a type of rice soup. Essentially they bring out the bop (rice) in piping hot stone bowls
and you pour water into the rice and then mix in a bunch of vegetables and meat, then you cover the bowl and let it steep while you eat the various side dishes on the table. By the time you are done eating, the soup is done and ready to be devoured.
After lunch we finally arrived at Gyeong-ju and discovered that we had a nice long walk up a "hill" , I use the term hill lightly, it was actually more of a mountain. The trek was worth it though.
The temple we were visiting is one of the oldest in Korea and its set among a backdrop of waterfalls, forests and bamboo. The whole experience was pretty breath taking and I began to feel alright with the world again. This whole inner peace feeling however, was a little put off by the staple overpriced gift shop at the end of the tour. Fortunately if you were patient there were plenty of street vendors will to undersell this shop on the way back down the mountain.
Once we reached the bottom of the hill we discovered there was a wicked go-kart track just waiting to be
Golden Buddhas
At the temple in Gyeong-ju raced on. 12,000 won later I was strapped in a go-kart, helmet in place and foot on the ignition. I was a little shaky at first, it's been years since I've ridden on of these things but it came back to me quick enough and in no time I was tearing up the asphalt around the track, not doing half bad in the race I might add. Unfortunately I ran out of gas which gave me a definite disadvantage.
Then we were off again, heading toward the seaside town of Gampo, which is literally the only place I' ve seen in Korea that isn't laiden with high-rises and looks like a proper town. Our bus driver proved his worth getting us to the 'pension' which was up a ridiculous steep hill full of twists and turns and cliffsides. We all felt a sense of impending doom, but alas we survived.
As a quick fyi a pension is a like a hostel, except you rent a room that you share with other people and everyone sleeps on Yo's (Korean floor beds). The view was amazing, we could see the whole city, the beach, and even the underwater tomb
of a king. That night we bbq' d, went to a Nora Bong, drank a ton, and really got to know our Korean coworkers through out the night. It was really good to see everyone cut loose.
Sunday was spent on a mission to find some famous raw fish. After a few wrong turns, and many miles along the coast we finally found a suitable restaurant. The service took forever! But it was well worth it. We were bombarded with a plethora of seafood, all of which I found absolutely delicious.
After lunch we all hit up the beach... Pretty standard fun the sun. The weather was windy and the water was cold. But it was beautiful as all hell.
And then that was that, we headed on back to Chilgok and went our separate ways, exhausted to no end and definitely not ready to return to work on Monday.
My first day back was a blur, truth be told I hadn't slept well so I kind of just dozed through school. But Tuesday, I had forgotten that my Korean friend Taylor was going to take me for acupuncture on my break. I had never gone
before and let me tell you it 's quite an experience. I don't know how well it worked in the long term but I do feel much less tense in both my back and knee, so I am thinking maybe it worked.
Sorry for the length of the letter but a lot has happened and I felt like sharing. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and if you are bored or so inclined please check out the albums I 've attached. As always be well, and let me know if you want a postcard! I love to send them - I also love getting them… I hope to hear from everyone soon!
Much love,
Matt
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