Jeju Island: The Beach

Beautiful beach by our hotel.

me at the beach

John and I

the view from the Beach Blue restaurant where we had lunch

blue-green water

The prettiest darn water you could ask for, but sadly it was too cold to swim (even though John still did).

John climbed down here to get us all beautiful seashells.

lava stones

John and I with the water

Jeju, so cute

sun setting over the water

Wednesdays

Apparently Wednesdays are now the days where I forget to blog.

I had probably the best teaching day of my time in Korea today. The kids made gingerbread houses and we played a very simplified role playing game. But they had so much fun! It was great. So great.

Here's a new goal: finish blogging about my in-Korea trips before I leave Korea in 27 days. Since I'll be traveling for 10 of those days, and still have to write two more posts about Jeju, then about Gyeongju, Jecheon, Gangneung, Seosan, another trip to Seoul, and this weekend's trip to Ulsan... it's a noble goal indeed.

Some Updates

I've formally accepted the position in San Jose, sent off all my paperwork and all that stuff. So the only thing that remains to be done is to be fingerprinted, which I can't do here anyway. I'll arrive at 11:30 am, local time, on Friday September 5th to start my new adventure in the States. Whoo!

I've also found a probable flatmate, another girl in the program who is looking for someone with whom to share a two-bedroom apartment. Her name is Anna, and she seems cool. The positive thing is that she's in the area already, which helps with the whole actually-finding-a-place part of life. She's also open to the thought of living with a cool couple, so if John finds a job in San Jose he can move right in with me. That, of course, takes a lot of pressure off of us, because we no longer have to decide between living together RIGHT NOW or in over an year. Since that pressure's been off, I've felt so much better about... life in general, really.

Small things are coming together. I have, for instance, bought a phone. Pretty much the only thing I'll have to do when I'm at home is activate the thing and buy a few pairs of khakis, which is good since I'll only be home nine full days before I have to head to California.

Here in Korea, things are plugging along. I still need to set up a doctor and a dentist appointment, but I think I've found a way to get my money home, which would take even more weight off my chest. I'm halfway done with my first camp, now, and the end is in sight: two weeks from now I'll be heading on my grand holiday, and two weeks after that I'll be heading to the States! It's actually sort of crazy to think about how soon it's all going to come to pass.

Stolen Photos from Throughout the Year

So, John is rather picky about the photos he puts on Facebook, and I eventually basically demanded that I be given the photos of me, so that I can see myself on our trips throughout the year. So he kindly put together a dropbox folder, and I've stolen some of the best ones for you, little blog.

in Jecheon in December

in Seoul in January

in Coex Aquarium in January

at O-World Zoo in March

on Jeju Island in May

on Jeju Island in May

wet and silly with Jenny

Making Up for Wednesday

Well, I was a bad blogger this week and didn't write much at all. So I should catch up.

I had a really good weekend, actually. It was the perfect combination of fun and relaxation. Friday night I went for a long walk. There was a thunderstorm brewing, and it felt good to be out in the cool air and under all that electricity. Saturday I talked to John for a long time, and then met the girls at Weizenhaus where we took advantage of their all you can drink beer offer. We ended the night attempting to get Subway, but arriving just after closing, and being full of lamentation. I think the dude working there was scared. Today I woke up, feeling kind of slow and dumb after last night's festivities, so I relaxed for a bit. Then I managed to talk to Lyla. In the afternoon I went to see How to Train Your Dragon 2, which was great and inflicted a lot of feels. Then we finally got that Subway sandwich, which was disturbingly satisfying after so long without a proper sandwich.

A lot of time this weekend was also spent just sort of laying about, playing games and reading a bit. Which is good decompression to have.

Camp starts tomorrow. I really hope it goes well!

Last Day

Today was my last normal day of work. It was deskwarming, but at least everyone left in the afternoon and I had some time to myself. Which was for the best, because I also spent most of the afternoon crying. It was a weird day, and not a great one, but it's over now. Eight days of camp and two days of deskwarming left, and I'll never have to darken that doorway again.

I also bought my flight to San Jose. I'm only going to be home nine days.

I'm very excited for the next big thing. I'm very nervous that I'm making a horrible mistake. It's all so scary, to be so alone in this big world.

Stuff that Happens in Korea: Plastic Food.

It's in the window of every restaurant and coffee shop, life-sized, shiny, and looking better than any food you're going to receive. It definitely makes ordering easier, too!

Job Offer

I woke up this morning to a formalized job offer from Our City Forest in San Jose, California. So it looks like I'll probably be heading back to the greater Bay area.

I like how things are winding up cyclical,  but just different enough.

F-grawlix It

Hey co-workers? I don't care.

Landlady? Nope, I don't care either.

Stuff I have to sell? Meh, I'll get to you.

Coursera courses? I can scan the lecture notes and still get a B.

Job applications? Don't you realise I'm awesome? Nope? Your loss.

IRS? I'll get to you once I'm stateside.

State of California? So demanding, psh. You aren't all that special.

Mental psychoses? I probably do care about you a bit, but I'm gonna tell you I don't.

Jeju Island: Excursions, Part Two

After lunch we headed to the so-called Super-man rocks, which do somewhat resemble the stones in the Fortress of Solitude. There was also a cute little park nearby, so we got a chance to walk around and be silly with the statues for a bit.

After that it was off to a beach for a quick stop, but it was raining so we only stopped for a second before heading to the dragon rock, so called for how it looks from atop a nearby mountain. The rocks were certainly dramatic, full of striations and little tide pools. It was really pouring down by then, but in a way that sort of added to the atmosphere. I also discovered that my rain jacket was only water-resistant, not water-proof!

After exploring dragon rock, we then headed up the nearby mountain. After climbing a million slippery stone stairs, we arrived at the temple overlooking the coast. There was a giant golden Buddha, which you can see from the bottom of the mountain, and even further up there was a small temple with blessed spring water that you could drink as an offering. It was very beautiful and peaceful, which helped prepare us for the hair-raising trip back down the slippery mountain side!

After all this excursioning, we were pretty beat. Our bus dropped us off in Jeju city, where we ate some dinner before heading back to the hotel to crash exhausted, excited to have no plans the next day beyond relaxing and enjoying the beautiful beach nearby.

Jeju Island: Excursions, Part One

On the Sunday of our trip to Jeju, we had a full day of excursions. After waking up bright and early, we piled onto a bus and headed across the island. Our first stop would be a Jeju Olle, or walking path, where we could see beautiful tide pools, vegetation, and an apparently famous penis-shaped rock. It was a bit misty and chilly, but the water was so beautiful and blue, crashing up against the rocks and cliffs of the volcanic coast.

 

After that we headed to a famous bridge over some waterfalls. There was an old fountain (refurbished, of course) there that granted you specific wishes depending upon which of the guardians you tossed a coin at: wealth, longevity, love, or male children.

Our next stop was a beautiful spring-fed pond. The hexagonal stones reflected perfectly in the still blue water. It was like a mirror. We got to hang out there for awhile and relax before heading to lunch.

To be continued...

Grade Pressure

Today the sweet kid I give private lessons to met me with his head hanging. When I asked him how he was, he burst into hysterical sobs. It turns out that he'd gotten three Bs and eight As on his midterms. He's in his first year of middle school and is now convinced he won't get into a good high school and, thus, won't go to college.

Oh, man. This place is rough.

Loneliness

I just want somebody to give me a big hug and tell me that I'll make it through these next six weeks.

I'm forgetting that I'm smart and capable here.

Jeju Island: Loveland (NSFW, like, really)

On the island of Jeju, there is a sex-themed park. It's a doozy. The photos are under the jump, because they are assuredly NSFW.

Stuff that Happens in Korea: Tae Bae Bo

During my time here in Korea, I've been called racist a lot. This was a little bit shocking to me, because I really don't consider myself to be racist at all. I am not, however, a cultural relativist. I don't think, for example, sexual harassment is okay just because it happens to be more prevalent in some countries/cultures than others. There are a bunch of big, heavy things that I have resisted writing about because I just don't want to be called racist any more for making remarks like, "Huh. That is strange. Many countries have codes that make sure fire extinguishers are replaced at least every decade." Beyond that, though, there are a bunch of tiny, strange things that happen here that I've also resisted writing about because of my perceived disrespect for Korean "culture."

I'm leaving, though, so screw it. I want to remember some of these things. So I'm going to start a series entitled "Stuff that Happens in Korea." I hope to be objective and just describe them. If I'm not, I apologize. Some of the things I hope to write about are good! Some are neutral, and some are *in my mind* weird or unpleasant.

*Phew.*

So. Koreans are obsessed with the game Rock Paper Scissors. They call it Tae Bae Bo. It's really incredible how quickly they can play it in multiple directions. There's a whole song about it, and I hear it probably the entire time I'm at school.

Kids use it to decide who plays first. Adults use it to decide who pays for dinner. Waiters regularly use it to choose which one has to deal with the foreigner: I've walked into shops and restaurants and had to endure a whole minute-long tournament before someone would respond to my greeting. I've even witnessed my coteacher settle an argument between two students by having them play it: whoever won was right, and was owed an apology.

Yeah, it's a bit whack-a-doo at times, but it is efficient and fun.

Jeju Island: Getting There

To go to Jeju Island for the four day weekend at the start of May, we were picked up Friday night at 1 AM. At first it seemed like a pretty normal trip: the bus was crowded and hot, and we were stuffed in the back, but pretty much everything else was fine. Then about ten minutes into our trip, our bus was in an accident. Basically the driver was a lunatic and slammed the right side of the bus into a truck. A bunch of the windows broke out, but somehow nobody was injured. So we sat on the side of the highway for two hours until a new bus came and drove us at breakneck speed to the ferry terminal. Somehow we still made our ferry, but it was an inauspicious start to be sure.

the slow ferry

a small island we passed on the ferry

The ferry ride was, well, exactly that. I have no problems with boats, but poor John and Jenny were not super psyched about it. Once we finally managed to find seats together, we snuggled up for a nap, had some snacks, looked out the window, and so on. It was over three hours on the boat, so by the time we finally arrived we were pretty tired. First, though, it was time to stop at Loveland, which will be the subject of its own post. We finally made it to the hotel around dinner time and had enough time to change and rest a bit before heading to our group dinner.

sunset

John and I

Jenny and I

This is the famous Jeju Island black pig. It was pretty tasty, once you trimmed it down a bit.

After dinner we wandered along the beach for awhile and drank a bit of the famous local soju, which is much better than mainland soju. Then it was early to bed, because we were beat, and we had to be up early the next day for our full Sunday of excursions.