Last Week in Busan

The last week in Busan has been very relaxing. Tuesday we had class and then we took a field trip to the fish market at Nampodong. After a quick tour through it most of us wanted to do more shopping at Seomyeon. All of us went and split off. I split off with my normal group; Daniel, Robbie and other people in and out at times. After we were finished shopping we took the subway back and some of us went for porridge. Ziv had wanted to try it so we finally broke down and agreed to with him. It wasn’t as I thought it would be. It was very filling.

Wednesday we woke u to a terrible rainstorm. It was pouring. Seoul got the worst of the storm though. Around 40 people died because of landslides there. Luckily we all were safe other than getting soaked. After class was finished we all came back to the dorms for a nap. That night I went out with a few of the Koreans and boys to eat raw beef and have a few drinks in Nampo. Raw beef is a specialty here. It is delicious, it is actually raw beef with an egg yoke on the top. We also had raw beef bibimbap (rice and raw beef mixed together).

Thursday was out final day of class. We had our final test. It was all oral. We had to introduce ourselves and order at a restaurant. Also with buying clothes and counting money. I was very worried about this test. But luckily I made a 93/100. I was super excited to learn that. After the test we watched a Korean movie about the Korean War. It was very good although it had English subtitles it was still a good film. After the movie a few of the girls and I went back to Nampo to do some last minute shopping. I found a cute dress and shoes for this evenings going away dinner. I got a great deal on shoes, 2 pair for 10,000 Won, the dress was normal price but still I’m happy I got a cute dress here.

Our final morning in Busan was spent doing our final presentations. My groups project was about Korean food. After everyone did their presentations we got certificates of completion and watched a video of pictures of our 4 weeks. Afterwards we passed around sheets to write down memories for everyone.

Tonight at 5:30 we have our farewell dinner. I am nowhere near ready to say good-bye to this country. The memories and friendships I have made are very special. I can’t imagine myself not visiting this country again. The friends I have made will be life log friends. I never thought when I boarded the plane in Greenville that I would come back a whole new person. This trip has changed me forever. It has opened my mind to a whole new world. I am now more accepting of people that are not like me. Different cultures have amazing things to offer if you meet the right people. I could not have asked for a better group of Korean students or international students to spend the past month with. Tonight is going to be very hard but I know this is not a good-bye it is a see you later, or as I would say “see yall later”.

Best Weekend of My Life!!!

This weekend was one of the best weekends I have ever had. Friday we left at 9 am to go to Geoje Island. It is the 2^nd largest island in Korea. After an hour and a half bus ride that took us on very curvy roads through mountains and valleys we made it to our first stop. It was a sight-seeing spot that many visit to take picture over looking the ocean. We then went to Lotteria for lunch. After not having hamburgers or the option of hamburgers for so many weeks when I do have one it is not good to me. But still we were all starving so we were thankful for a meal.

After lunch we went to the POW camp. To me it was not a somber place. the times I have visited somewhere that is rich in war history I leave wit a heavy heart. Hiroshima, Pearl Harbor and Normandy all had the same feeling. This place did not. I don’t know if Korea just didn’t preserve it or didn’t want the pain to be relived by the visitors. Some of us were upset that we felt like this but still it was a good place to say that I have visited. After this we went to the DSME to over look the shipbuilding yard. Due to it being the largest in the world we could not tour because of such secretive stuff that goes on there for the Navy. After the small view we had of the yard we left and went to the house that was rented for us for the night.

When we got there the boys unloaded all of the groceries that were bought for us, mainly meat to grille. After everyone got situated in rooms the feast started. Kanghoon, Bond and Phil did the grilling. It was delicious. Korean bar-b-que is so good. The way you get to roll it up in a piece of lettuce with kimchi sauce. I’m going to miss Korean food so much when I got home. Bulgolgi, cold noodles and even kimchi.

After we finished eating the party got started. Robbie brought his computer so we could have music. Luckily we had wireless internet so we could play what ever songs we wanted. We all played games, danced and hung out until the early hours of the morning. I had many heart to heart talks with everyone. I think I was about the last girl to go to sleep. The boys said I gave up around 5:30 AM. I woke up around 9 to an alarm going off. We all struggled to make it Saturday. After stuffing ourselves with rice to feel better we went to get on a ferry to take us to another small island to walk around gardens. The ferry ride was beautiful though; we got some great views of cliffs. After touring around the gardens we got back on the ferry and made it to the bus. Everyone was so exhausted but starving. We had lunch at a squid place. I didn’t care for it at all. Cow intestines were served in the meal too. It grossed me out.

When we got back to the dorms everyone showered and decided they had recovered so it was time for round 2 of our amazing weekend. Noreen, Melissa, Lane, Jens, Ziv Robbie, Daniel and I met Kanghoon, Sujin and HeeJong at the Seomyeon station to go to a club. It is the most popular club in the area. We got there around midnight and stayed until 5:30 AM. Robbie, Mel and I danced the night away while other took break and watched. There was a good mix of rap, hip-hop and Korean music. It was one of the best nights out I’ve ever had. I felt like it was a scene out of a movie because there is nothing like this in Greenwood. At times it was like we were part of the movie Step-Up or Stomp the Yard. After we left the club (it was day light) we got to the dorms around 6:30 AM and all crashed until noon.

As exhausted, as we all were the same group minus 2 went back to the same area to do some under ground shopping. I didn’t find much but I did get some Korean face cleanser, thanks to Daniel talking me into with all of his clear skin Korean knowledge. This has been by far the coolest experience of my life. At this point I do not want to even think about having to leave all of my new friends. I am spending every waking moment with these people this week so if my blog is short please forgive me. I hope one day in the near future we will all be able to meet back up (in Korean or even London) and make more memories.

Monday--- Today we had class and then were dismissed for lunch. I went with my same group from the weekend for Japanese food. After lunch we met out buddies and went to Taejongdae for a tour. It was basically a cliff looking over the ocean. When we returned back to campus we all had dinner in the cafeteria. As normal we went for coffee/ice cream. Today was very calm and relaxing. The next few days will be spent working on our final project and free time with the group. 

class. kimchi. karaoke.

Tuesday night most of us went out for pork and drinks. Not having meat for 24 hours seemed to make us all crazy. The meal was delicious; 6 plates of pork to grille, 3 beers and 3 soju all for only 48 Won. Made a cheap meal for everyone. And it was so worth it.

Wednesday

Due to all of us be drained physically and mentally class didn’t start until 10:30 Wednesday. It was so nice to sleep in a little. After class Ziv, Lane, Rachel, Allie, Lauren and I went to have dinner at a pork house. We were still trying to get our meat craving fixed. After lunch we all had to meet back up and go across campus to learn how to make kimchi. It seemed pretty easy but time consuming but I think I will try to make some when I get home. It takes about 3 days at least to make sure the flavor is soaked in. we also made battered egg plant and zucchini. And then were served a great watermelon punch that I will make for sure and rice cakes.

After our cooking time we all got the subway across town to the movie theatre. We saw Happy Potter 7 part 2. I took a good nap because I never really liked Harry Potter. But everyone else loved it. On the way back the boys asked if I wanted to join them and go out, I was exhausted so I turned them down.

Thursday

Class was pretty calm; only about half the people showed up, some took person days. So we got out early.  After lunch at Lotteria (hamburgers, that are not good at all) we met with out groups to work on our last mission. My group (Allie, Lauren and Jens) is doing Korean food. After discussing who would do what we all got released for the day. When we got back to the dorm Noreena and Melissa were headed out to Napodong with the boy and some buddies so Lauren and I joined. We walked around the Lotte mall, but didn’t shop because we are going back next week. We met up with Lee, Young and Vinson for a Vietnamese dinner. It was good but bland compared to the spicy Korean food I have earned to love.

After dinner we went to a park at the top of the Napo area. The other group called and asked if we want to join them for drinks at a restaurant so we couldn’t turn them down. After a finishing up we all decided it was time to do some karaoke. We got a room for an hour and belted out crazy songs and danced to Korean songs. Kanghoon danced the entire time and so did Robbie. It was so much fun getting to bond with that group of people outside of structured time. Today we are leaving for one night to go to Geoje Island. 

Surviving the PyoChoongSa Temple Stay ...

Spending time at a Buddhist temple is nothing like we had all expected. We were told stories from our buddies but nothing could compare to what we experienced. We got to the temple around 1 o’clock. After finishing up our kimbap lunch we played in the river before entering the temple gates. Once we entered the temple grounds we were given the clothes we had to wear for the 24 hours. The boys had a bluish color vest and pants. The girls were an orange tan color three quarter length shirt and pants. Thankfully the fabric was very lightweight and surprisingly pretty cool. Or so we thought at this point.

After touring the temple we rested, I napped, and then went to learn how to bow. After another rest break we had dinner and then went to the temple to bow even more.  T dinner we had to eat everything that we served ourselves. We had 4 bowls, water, soup, veggies and rice. It was an experience to say the least. We spotted a cute little white bunny outside after bowing. A lot of the group feed it. We were served rice cakes, watermelon and tea before our 9pm bedtime.

My room, Lauren, Lane, Allie and I, didn’t know there was some padding so we only had a blanket to sleep on and a pillow. But it didn’t matter all that much considering we had to wake up at 3am to go bow and meditate. After a break we were served breakfast, rice and veggies, naturally.

After breakfast we started our long journey. Of course we were not informed to take tennis shoes so I just wore my rainbows. So I had to wear the terrible rubber ballerina type shoes with socks to hike. It was terrible I could feel every little rock I stepped on. The hike didn’t seem so bad to begin with. 30 minutes into the hike we started complaining because of the rocky path we had to go up. Little did we know this was basically a pre-game warm up. The path was very hard, full of rocks and roots and not traveled much you could tell. I now know why the path is not traveled much. Two-thirds of the way George fell about 6 feet of a cliff, he can’t see well as it is, he got to close to the edge and loss his footing and fell. The rest of the way the boys took turns carrying him because he kept blacking out from pain and dehydration.

I sweat a lot, but never have I ever sweated like I did on this hike. Thank goodness it was in the woods and we had a nice breeze. My clothes, that we were given the day before and still wearing, were soaked. We got split up into two groups because some stayed back to help George while the other went ahead to get the help in to get George. Lauren and myself got caught up in the middle and were alone for about 15 minutes. I got very frustrated. Robbie finally came through running to get help because George was in more pain. Once we found our way to the rest of the group I let everyone know how I felt about getting split up and then had a good little cry. But then felt bad for saying everything I did, so I apologized because I could have Daniel (one of my closest friends here) and the rest of the guys being mad at me. George and the ones helping him finally made it to the rest of the group about 30 minutes later.

 

The monks were taking turns at the pint carrying him on their backs. All the boys were exhausted and took time to play in the waterfall. Robbie looked like Molgi out of the Jungle Book. It was then time for the vans to come pick us up because we were all too tired to hike back down. We packed 11 people into one van, Daniel sitting on my feet the whole time. The road was rocky and narrow, but we knew it was well worth it because we were one step closer to getting back.

After lunch, which was the same as all of the other meals, we packed up and headed home. We picked up Ms. Kim and George on the way. He had a bright green cast on his leg. The doctors said he sprained his ankle. He may go to the hospital here though for a 2^nd opinion. After the 5-6 mile hike for 3 hours all up hill the 93 steps into the dorm was easy as pie.

Tonight we are all rewarding ourselves and going out for a nice bugolgi meal and everything it includes. We are all craving meat. Oh yeah, monks don’t eat meat, they are missing out on so much!

This trip taught me so much. I learned how not to complain. And if you do just get it all out, have a good cry and then make up. 

Wednesday, Thursday and Seoul weekend

Wednesday was a very relaxing day. We had Korean class and then a few of us went to lunch. Daniel did the ordering as always. We had a ton of food it was all very tasty. After lunch we headed back to campus for the economic lecture. It was educational learning about the chaebols that control the South Korean economy. Basically Kia, Samsung and Hyaudai keep Korea going. After we were dismissed from the lecture we got to meet 2 of the 3 students that will be coming to Lander in the fall. It was then time for a much needed nap. We all then had dinner in the cafeteria and went to town for donuts later on.

Thursday we went to a famous kings tomb and a folk village, there we made tie-died bandanas out of died from leaves and other natural things. But the highlight of the day was getting to go to the Lotte Giants Baseball game. It was many of the British student very first baseball game. I could not believe it. It was the first real American thing I have done in 3 weeks… baseball, fried chicken and beer. During the game a foul ball came towards our section. Ziv did not see the ball and it hit him in the head and bounced away. It was caught on camera and on tv. All of our buddies phones started ringing with people asking if he was ok. The Giants won. It was a really fun experience. During the 7^th inning orange plastic bags were passed out to the stands and we wore them on our heads like a balloon it was really crazy. We had to ride the subway for 40 minutes to get back to our bus stop and then get a taxi because buses had stopped running. It was a definite adventure being packed in a tight subway with tons of baseball fans.

Friday morning started way too early for us. We had to meet the bus a 7:10 to get to the sub way to make it to the train station in time for our 8:30 train. It was a miracle that everyone got there on time, or close to it, and we got on the train in time. We were divided up on the train so we could have the good seats that face one another. Lane, Jens, Rachel, SuJin, JiHyun, KangHoon, Daniel and I were all in the same car. We mainly all slept on the 2.5 hour ride to Seoul. When we got to Seoul we had lunch in the train station. We then all got to go to Lotte World and go ice skating. We all got the hang of it really quickly surprisingly. After having a little fun and acting like kids we went to the hostel we were staying at. I got lucky and got the room with the beds. All of the other rooms had mats on the floor. A few people did there own things while most of us bonded over chicken wings and more Korean food. Eating together is a very big thing in Korea. It is a bonding experience that seems to be treasured.

Saturday morning we started the day off by eating breakfast in Ms. Kim’s room. After getting everyone together we made our way to the British Council. They invited the UK students and we were lucky and got to tag along. A few of the UK students were interviewed by the council while we got to mingle and chat with other students. After the visit we met up with the Korean students and we to the famous palace. It was pouring down rain so the tour was very hard to enjoy but it was very pretty. We all have learned to enjoy the rain because the other option is blistering heat. After the palace visit we went to the Seoul Tower. There we rode a cable car to the top of a mountain that had an incredible view. But of course it rained to we had to take cover a few times so we wouldn’t get soaked. At his tower they have the tradition that couple put a lock on a fence. The picture are very artsy from it, I plan on printing some for my apartment. After we rode the cable car back down we went to a traditional restaurant and had a big feast. Saturday evening we all just hung out at the hostel. Ms. Kim, Noreen, Melissa, the boys and I went to Time Square, a huge mall, and got groceries for Sunday breakfast. After we got back a few of us sat around and played fun Korean games until 2 AM.

Sunday we went to the Korean War memorial. I loved it, I wish we could have had more time but we had to catch the train. The memorial was very nice. The train ride back was with the same group as going, thankfully. But this time around we played cards games and the games we learned the night before. We are all getting so close and making great memories. It is going to be so hard to leave these people in 2 weeks. But I know we will all get back together one day!!

Monday… we will be doing a temple stay. I hear it is very hard and grueling. So my next post will be very emotional I predict. 

Quick Update

We have had a very busy couple of days.

Wednesday we had Korean class and a lecture. The rest of the day was devoted to doing laundry and napping.

Thursday (today) we went to a temple and then to see a famous king's tomb. This evening we went to the Lotte Giants baseball game.

I will write in more detail in a few days.

We leave bright an early in the morning (friday) for Seoul. WE will stay all weekend.

Sunday evening's blog will be extra long with all the details of the previous two day and the weekend.

Samsung tour, Kindergarten and Haeundae Beach

The 2^nd week in Busan started off with our 4^th language class. It is getting a little easier because the alphabet is finally becoming easier to read. But I still can’t remember phrases, but can read for the most part. It’s so crazy. After class was over with the 4 Lander girls got to go into the President’s office and have tea and visit with him. After discussing the KSS program with him we were treated to lunch at a really nice restaurant. We had the best bulgolgi that we’ve had so far. And the kimchi was great too because it wasn’t too spicy.

We had to hurry through our meal because we had to meet the bus to take us on the Samsung tour. At the Samsung plant we were shown a few cars and how it looks with out the full body on it. Then we got to go through the plant where they were making them. To be honest I didn’t even know Samsung made cars, I thought it was just electronics like TVs and phones. It was pretty cool watching a car be built from start to the process before it is painted and stocked with all of the gadgets. Unfortunately we could not take pictures in the plant. Today KangHoon, Daniel and I were wearing the same type clothes. Navy and white stripes.  It looked like we were ready for a family photo.

After the tour was finished we went back to the school to meet with our groups to finalize the plans for the kindergarten project. Thankfully we were surprised with dinner, everyone voted for Chinese, I wanted pizza. But the Chinese delivery was pretty good, and the method of delivery was mind blowing. It was brought on a moped in these metal containers. Our noddle dish was in it, all 30 something.  After dinner there was more rehearsing.

After a long day of class and rehearsing we all needed to have a little fun. A few turned in for the night and went to sleep, another group gathered at the soccer field. Myself and 6 of the UK kids went on a mission to find more food. We came up on a nice looking grill on your table type restaurant. Only a few were hungry but there is no way only a few can eat at this type place. Ziv and I didn’t eat while the other shared pork and beef. As always at these style restaurants soju and beer is served. There was a promotion team coming around to all of the tables to promote a new light soju, we did a cheer with them and got 2 free bottles of this.

After everyone decided they were finished eating we decided it was time to head back to campus. 2 people wanted to take the bus and 5 wanted to walk… I couldn’t make up my mind so I decided I’d feel better about myself if I walked. I knew our school is on the side of a mountain but had no clue how many steps and inclines it would take to reach my dorm. I was drenched in sweat by the time we got back.

Tuesday, the day finally came, that we could show off our project to the kindergarten class. My group was with the older group. I think they were around 5 or 6 years old. They were really cute and very smart. They knew so many of the things we taught to them in English. We all dressed up as characters. The did know who Snow White was but didn’t pick me when they got a chance to pick their favorite on to draw. We also taught ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’ which they knew the words in English. And then we ended with go over the English alphabet.

The 2^nd mission was finally complete. We were treated to Outback!! So excited, even though I cold get Alice Springs Chicken I had a great hamburger. I was just glad to have a napkin at a meal for once. The napkins are very tiny and thin here. I miss having a cloth napkin at a restaurant. After a great and huge meal we got to go to Haeundae beach. This is the most famous beach in Korea. There were skyscrapers all around the area behind the beach. The water was very cold but felt amazing after walking so far to get to it from the bus. On the walk to the beach we walked through the building that the 2005 APEC meeting was held at. The water was so cold at the beach that everyone would just dip in, or be pushed by the guys, and then stand around on the shore line. But it was nice to have a little fun for an afternoon with everyone.

After changing clothes we went separate ways for dinner. Rachel, Nareen, Tom, Robbie, Daniel and I along with our buddies went to a noodle restaurant. The noodle dish I had was way too hot for me. So I didn’t eat much. It was so hot I found a convenience store to get a pop sickle to cool my mouth off after finishing dinner.  Everyone finally returned from dinner and we loaded back up in the bus to go watch the water light show. This show was incredible. It had music with water and lights going to go along with the music. On the bus rides everyone either falls asleep or takes pictures of the ones that have fallen sleep. I’m very scared because I usually fall asleep on the rides. During part of the day on a bus ride We all were passed the microphone to sing a song. When it came to me I chose to sing non other that "Wagon Wheel", I figured everyone that knows we well would be pretty excited to hear that.