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Published: February 23rd 2008
well well well... six months later Hello everyone! Greetings from the other side of the world! I have found a new way to communicate with you all through this website and creating my own blog! This is really one of the coolest websites for providing and obtaining first hand info about every corner of the world.
I had a fantastic going away party in Halifax at the Split Crow Pub with so many of my friends and family! It was a great send off and maybe I had too much fun because packing the next day was next to impossible! I don't think I would have made it on the plane if it wasn't for Shelby helping me pack. I won't forget when I found one STILETTO in my carry-on, ha!
I spent 5 days in
Banff, AB (probably my favourite place in Canada) with my friends. We had days at the lake, and drinks in the night. Of course there were tonnes of laughs and we even got to go camping. About 25 of us headed over to British Columbia to
Lake Enid in Invermere. The weather was absolutely gorgeous the whole time!
I will
admit I haven't been the best about sending update emails, so..... here it is (with a few blogs on the side to highlight more details!)
AUGUST 07 I began to settle into life in Seoul, after all- this isn't anything like Halifax! My life was a whirlwind of trying new foods, trying to learn Korean, buying things for my apartment, exploring my way around the city and learning the ropes of teaching English as a second Language. It was as hot as anything here for the month of August- just walking to the bus stop would leave me in a sweat.
After about five days on the job, we had summer holidays for four days. Another Canadian Teacher, Lacy and I went to
Daecheonon the west coast of Korea. We hoped on a bus (I recall a very tiny dog peeing in the isle way of the bus) and made the hour and a half journey to the beach.
It was an interesting place we chose for vacay! I have never seen a beach quite like this one, it was absolutely jam packed with people, and their piles of stuff.
do we stand out?
it was really hot, we needed protection from the sun!!Every family had a tent or umbrella (god forbid a ray of sunshine would bronze them) and a flotation device for each person.
I think I counted the foreigners there on one hand, including Lacy and I. The Mud Festival had been the week prior which is a very popular event for Westerners to go to. So needless to say I was a little overwhelmed still being in my first two weeks of arriving in Korea.
We got ripped off on accommodation, 100 000won (100$) per night for this tiny, tiny, not particularly clean room. Because practically every person in Korea had the exact same summer vacation they wanted to charge more.
It was just a really dirty beach, and dirty town- not my idea of an ideal vacation spot! I don't expect to be going back there again!
Back in Seoul, I was off to the Horse Races at
Seoul Grand Racecourse with about 25 Kiwis celebrating a friends birthday. We wore our finest dresses and the men in their suits, only to be surrounded by stinky Korean men spitting and smoking all around! I didn't realize what a serious event it is for them.
Namdaemun Market
busy selling ginseng They sit on the ground with their papers spread around working out probabilities on bets hoping for a big return! During one of the races a horse went down and stepped on his jockey and we read in the news that he had died the next day. This weekly event is definitely a must see in Seoul!
I've spent quite a lot of time wandering around Markets all over the city, it's impossible to choose a favourite market since they are all so different.
Dongdaemun Stadium is a great night market, well it is there in the day too, but considerably different. At night there are tonnes of knock-off items like Louis Vuitton, Channel, Coach, Addidas, Polo and many more. It is pretty cheap too, but you should try and barter.
Yongsan Techno-Mart is where I bought my new camera! It is floor upon floor of electronics, if you know what you are looking for and want then it is perfect... but can be very overwhelming! Be sure to have in mind the price that you want to pay and YES you must barter!
The best place to buy gifts is
Insadong. There are many art boutiques, souvenir and trinket shops lining the streets. If you happen to be lucky enough to catch Insadong on a weekend, you might get to see a parade or a performance in traditional
hanbok.
Right next to the
Myongdong shopping area is another market,
Namdaemun. This has everything from kitchen supplies to ginseng to Christmas wreaths! I love this one, because every shop is selling something so different!
SEPTEMBER 07 It was still hot and humid in Seoul, and we had a few changes at Lass Academy! A few teachers left, and we gained three more! Sam Teacher and I became fast friends and have been joined at the hip ever since. We have traveled to Japan and China together so far, and are planning our travels in South East Asia for the fall.
In the middle of September, three other teachers and I ventured off to the
De-Militarized Zone between North and South Korea. This was definitely a highlight of my time in Korea, and an absolute must do for anyone traveling here. We went with the USO, an American Organization, and left bright
Say Cheese!
North Korean Soldiers take advantage of a photo opp inf front of 50 Westerners. and early on a Saturday morning for the border.
We were warned to wear plain clothes, and closed in shoes (just in case we needed to run... yes that's right). Our first stop was the American Military base next to the border where we were debriefed on the situation at the border and it's history over the last fifty years or so. This is the most heavily guarded border in the world, and quoted to be one of the most dangerous regions as well.
We went to the building where one day it is hopeful that the North and the South can have peace talks. Once you go through the building there is a row of small blue buildings and straddle the border (the 38th parallel). We went into the building where they have had political discussions, and both countries have use of the building since there are doors on either side of the border.
I could see a North Korean solider looking at us through binoculars in the other building. We then see a few North Koreans come right down to the border, turn around and pose to have their picture taken! The background
of this photo is about 50 westerners taking pictures of them taking a picture! And there ended up being about 8 soldiers that came down to have their photo taken. It was unbelievable.
Late in September, Shelby came to visit me from Kuala Lumpor to stay with me for about 10 days. We had Korean Thanksgiving,
Chuseok, so a few days off to get to explore the city even more! We went to the
Korean War Memorial Museum which was one of the coolest museums I've ever been to. We were allowed to climb into and onto a lot of the old equipment making for some cool pictures!
We had many dinners out with friends while she was here, watched tonnes of movies and Gilmore Girls, consumed a few alcoholic beverages and many sights were seen! Overall, Shelby's visit to Korea was the best birthday present ever and we had a fantastic time!
OCTOBER After Shelby left I was so "ronery"!! But a few days later it was my 23rd birthday and I received more messages than I could count, and phone calls and birthday cards in the mail!
Happy Birthday to ME
Sweet Potato cake anyone? It was so nice that people at home were thinking of me on my birthday. We had a cake at work and everyone sang happy birthday in korean to me!
sangil chuka hapnida!!! It was so nice! Then after work, the foreign teachers and I went to have some
galbi (the korean BBQ) and then of course we had to go to Beer O'Clock, the infamous foreigner bar in Mokdong.
One of the legendary teachers at our school, Lindsey, left us to go back to England in October! It was very sad to have another friend leave. We miss her a lot!
Halloween at the school was really cute, some of the kids got dressed up. I think they have a bit of an aversion to dressing up for Halloween, when I even suggested that they dressed up, they thought I was crazy! But we had the rooms decorated, and candy to give them, so needless to say they were pretty excited.
NOVEMBER This is going to sound a little silly, but I don't really recall anything exciting happening in November! There were no vacation days or holidays, so I
am going to assume we put our noses to the grindstone and went to work! I'm sure that there were many dinners out and lots of movies watched. Perhaps a little bit of trolling at the bars in Hongdae. Guaranteed there were many coffees drunk.
DECEMBER Also, December held no vacation for us until the very end when we had Christmas vacation! It was well deserved when I finally game around! A friend Courtney Henderson, and her friend Jenn came up from Daejeon for a show called
B-Boy Korea, they had free tickets so we all went to see the Koreans break it down. It was a good show for the break dancing aspect (because I am a huge expert right?!) but the acting was awful! I don't think I would have paid the 40$ to see it, but for free, it was great entertainment!
A few friends and I went to the
Co-EX Aquarium! It was a really cool aquarium with lots of different fish. The Co-Ex Mall is completely underground, and it includes this aquarium. We brought a couple beer in to enjoy in front of the shark tank, we
are so classy!
We got busy planning our trip to Japan over the Christmas holidays! It crept up on us so fast and we were on our way to Tokyo before we knew it! ( Check out my Tokyo blog.... coming soon!!!)
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Uncle Bob
non-member comment
Very Proud Uncle!
Wow, great job on your blog De ....... you have no idea how much I miss you and the envy I hold for the great experiences you are enjoying. XOXO