Jeju Island

Again, I was forced to quickly unpack, do laundry and repack for another great adventure. This time, I would be heading to the lovely Korean island of Jeju. Jeju is famous among Koreans, it is said to be the Korea’s Hawaii. And I do have to admit, it was quite beautiful.

After 1.5 days back in Daegu, Adrienne and I set off for the Daegu airport and hopped on our quick 1 hour flight to Jeju. We arrived, grabbed our bags, and jumped on the shuttle bus that would take us to our first destination- the city of Seogwipo. When we arrived, we wandered around trying to find our hostel. Luckily, we were traveling with phones, so we could use our GPS (a great perk of traveling in your own country). After we found the hostel, checked in, were invited for drinks in the lounge area, we decided to head back out for a quick bite to eat before turning in early. We were both really tired.

Lets go!

Our first night in Jeju

The next few days we spent walking around and looking at rocks and water. Literally. That’s what we did. Looked at rocks and water. But they were beautiful rocks and it was amazingly beautiful water. HAHA. We went to see many waterfalls and to see many cliffs. The waterfalls were all so beautiful. Well, most of them.

Oedolgae Rock

Jusangjeolli Cliffs

Yakcheonsa Temple

Jeongbang Falls

Cheonjiyeon Falls

On a random walking trail

One day, we spent nearly 30 minutes getting to a particular waterfall. One that you had to walk down many steps and then finally climb back up them after you got your token pictures and looked at its beauty. Except, when we got down to the “waterfall”, there was no water. WTF. Apparently, if there hasn’t been much rainfall, then there isn’t enough water to make the water run over the barrier at the top of the fall. But the water that was stagnant at the bottom was a beautiful turquoise, so it made up for it.

Cheonjeyeon Falls

Probably one of my favorite memories of the entire trip was going to Jungmun beach, which is the tourist area of Jeju. Everyone there had rented tubes to float on, so Adrienne and I decided to rent one between the two of us. We definitely earned several odd looks because we were the only two people in bikinis. Well, rather the only two people that were in bikinis that weren’t wearing outfits over the swimsuits. Note to self, Koreans swim in clothes. Boys and girls. Except us (we were also sporting some really sexy sunburn lines from our shorts and shirts from the previous day). Strike one. Then, we decided to try to get into the water . We quickly realized, however, that if one of us got in without our own tubes, we would most definitely die. Literally, we would drown. The waves were the roughest that I’d ever seen. So I sulked back over to the bag, grabbed some money, and rented my own tube.

Jungmun Beach

Intense waves

Once I joined Adrienne, we headed out to sea. It was a roped off area, and there were lifeguards not only on the beach, but also on jet skis. You had to get past the initial 30 feet or so, where the waves were crashing down on the sand, but once you passed them up, it wasn’t nearly as rough. The waves would come in and you had to swim against them to stay out in the water, but it became quite fun. A workout, but fun. When I started swimming around without the tube around my waist, however, the lifeguards starting paying more attention to me. I noticed every time a wave would come my way, they stared, hoping that the Waygook wouldn’t die on their watch.

At some point, we weren’t paying a lot of attention and we let the waves bring us into shore. Big mistake. All of a sudden the wave slammed us into the shore, sand was going everywhere. The waves came in sets, so right after the first threw us into the sand, the second came and tried to wash us around a bit. Next thing I knew, my tube was floating away and there was sand in my bathing suit. Dense, rocky sand. The waves were tugging at my top and bottom. I literally had to lie in the fetal position and hang on to my bathing suit for dear life. I really didn’t want to flash any Koreans. Somewhere in the distance, Adrienne was yelling for me to grab my tube, since it was floating away, but it wasn’t my biggest concern. I was still trying to stay decently clad. Adrienne had regained control of herself and her tube, so she ran after mine, but as she passed me, a third wave hit and it swooped me right into her legs, entangling us and causing her to fall again. Strike 2. We continued to flail about for what seemed like eternity before we both regained balance and were able to chase down my tube. When we got a chance to catch our breath, we realized that the lifeguard was literally standing not 2 feet from me, waiting to see if I would actually need help. Looking back, I’m sure we were providing great entertainment for everyone watching. I really wish I had it on video.

The waves...

After a few minutes of catching our breath, we headed back out, prepared to swim our hearts out to get past the initial waves hitting the shore. You had to time it just right, so you could jump over one and swim under the second. We played around out in the water for a while, enjoying the break from the heat. But we were enjoying ourselves a little too much, and got thrown back onto the shore, though not as hard as the first time. Strike 3. I was done.

After turning our tubes back in and rinsing off as much sand from our bodies and bathing suits as possible, we headed back to the hostel, but not before enjoying a partial sunset and watching the surfers on the water.

After a few days in the southern city of Seogwipo, we headed north to the main city of the island, Jeju City. In route, we stopped at Hallim Park, where there were beautiful gardens and caves to enjoy. But it was so hot that they literally had huge blocks of ice on the tables for people to rub their arms and cloths on to cool down.

Jeju is known for their black pig bbq

We decided that we could cool down at the beach across the street, so we headed over, placed our bag near a rock that was quite a ways away from the water, and headed in. The water was really shallow for at least the length of a football field, if not more. It was a nice change from the water that we encountered at the previous beach. This water was calm and allowed us to relax. But after about an hour we decided to head back in to get our things and continue on our way to Jeju City. But as we headed back to the shore, I noticed a clump of rocks that most definitely weren’t anywhere near the water when we first entered the sea, but now they were completely underwater. Oh no. The tide had quickly come in. We rushed to our bag, hoping that it was far enough up the shore to have been already washed away. We were really lucky. When we got to the bag (that contained our phones, wallets, cameras and locker keys for our other luggage), the water was only a few feet from it. And within another 20 minutes it was underwater. We relocated our bag, grabbed a few pictures, then headed out.

Before the tide came in

After the tide came in

Kumnung Beach

Sunset with surfers

Lets cool off in Hallim Park

The next day we decided to travel to the east side of the island to some of the tourist landmarks. We saw Seongsan Ilchulbong, or “sunrise peak”, along with some lava caves and a hedge maze. It was a really fun day, the caves provided a great break from the heat, though it did rain a little.

Kimnyong Maze Park

Manjanggul Lava Cave

Seongsan Ilchulbong- Sunrise Peak

The last day in Jeju was spent just walking around. I had to leave that night, so we ventured to another famous rock and tried to find a good seafood place, but ended up at a really good pizza place before I had to pack up and head out. Adrienne was staying behind for the night because she was flying to Japan the next day and all of the flights back to the mainland were sold out. I actually had to ride “first class”, which didn’t even include wine. What a disappointment. When I landed in Busan, I quickly grabbed my bag and headed for the bus. I was lucky enough to get the last one to Daegu for the night, so I settled in for the 3 hour ride and finally got home around 2am before having to turn around and go to work the next morning.

Ansan Valley Rock Festival

After my quick trip to America, I didn’t have much time to recuperate before jumping into another trip. I got home on Tuesday night (well more like Wednesday morning) and had to go to work within hours. Luckily, the students were on “vacation”, so I didn’t have to teach… But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have rather had been in my own bed. Though I did catch some shut eye on my desk.

I didn’t have much time before I had to be unpacked, do the laundry, then repack because I was taking the day off Friday to go to my first ever music festival. So that Friday morning, I met up with Papa Ninja, aka Adam, and headed for Seoul where we would transfer to a shuttle bus that would take us directly to Ansan. 

Ready to roll!

Since we would be camping at this music festival, and it would be hot, and it would be raining, it didn’t take much to pack. Looking back though, there would be things I would definitely do differently. Like not camp. HAHA. When we got there, Adam and I had to grab 2 lanterns, 4 sleeping mats and 6 sleeping bags. Luckily, the site had some sort of mix up and gave us pre-pitched tents, so we didn’t have to deal with setting them up on our own, which we definitely would’ve had trouble doing. We got lucky.

Our tent and supplies

Then we headed into the festival site where Roy Kim, a new Korean singer that has the sound of Jason Mraz and John Mayer (to me), was scheduled to begin. He was the entire reason for coming earlier than everyone else, and it was totally worth it. I love his sound, though Adam said he needed much more alcohol to get through his set. We then walked around the grounds, bought some food and some souvenirs. The festivals here are so much different than in America (well, not that I’ve ever been to any festivals in America, but I can only imagine). The food is decent priced, the beer was cheap, and the souvenirs weren’t that bad either.

Roy Kim

Adam and I

One HUGE difference was the way the entire festival was set up. In Korea, things seem to really focus on electronics. Girls would be waiting in the bathroom with their phones plugged in. There were 2 types of charging stations, where you had to fill out an entry form for a contest or something, then you would leave your phone with them for hours to be charged for 15-30 minutes. Though I do have to say, I got sucked into the “I need my phone charged” craze several times.

Another thing that astounded me was the fact that these Korean girls were wearing entirely too short of skirts, and tons of them had heels on! High heels! IN THE MUD! Crazy Korean girls and their image. One of the great things about this festival though were the bathrooms. They had these little trailers that had 2 doors each, then inside each door there were 4 stalls and a vanity. The most amazing thing, they pretty much always had toilet paper, were well kept, AND they had multiple trailers that were female only restrooms. Multiple times I laughed to myself because the girls’ rooms usually only had a wait of 1-2 people, but the men’s rooms always had lines of 10-15 people. It was a great change. Though, the line for the (cold) showers in the mornings weren’t always the most fun thing (though you learn to wake up extra early), at least there WERE showers.

But the great part was the music. There was honestly GREAT music at this festival. And I had forgotten how much I love live music. And the fact that I got to see Vampire Weekend, FUN., Stereophonics, Roy Kim, and Yellowcard was great. And I have to say, the one headliner, Skrillex, that I didn’t anticipate enjoying at all was probably one of my favorite sets of the entire weekend. He is a great entertainer and looks like he is just having a ton of fun.

Stereophonics

Skrillex

FUN.

The festival was supposed to be great fun, which it was. But it would’ve been a lot more fun if we had gone on a weekend that it wasn’t pouring down rain the entire time. The music was great, though I did realize that some music just isn’t for me. The Ansan Valley Rock Festival was my first ever music festival, but I have to say it might be my last. It was great fun, don’t get me wrong, but just not my scene. Maybe I’m getting old. 

Last day- a complete mess

 After another long, and grueling trip home from Ansan I finally arrived home at 5:30 in the morning. Just enough time to shower, take a quick nap and head to work! Next stop- JEJU!

A (very) Quick Jump Across the Pond

My first trip was a (way too quick) trip home to America for my best friend's wedding. I shared my schedule with her as soon as I got to Korea and luckily my schedule lined up with hers, so I was able to attend. Unfortunately, I was only able to stay for 3 days. But a great 3 days.

It all began on Wednesday night when Kaleena and I went to the Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil in Daegu... meaning I couldn't leave for the airport that night... it was an OK show, though I think we spent a little much on our seats, but you live you learn right? The performance wasn't the best in the world, but it was still fun so that's all that mattered...

Comfortable night express bus

Then I went home and finished packing and wasted a few hours before beginning the long journey home. It began with a taxi ride at 3 AM, then a 4 hour bus ride, waiting in Incheon airport, a flight to Tokyo (where I met some really nice Koreans that were visiting America for vacation), a layover in Tokyo, a flight to Houston, another layover, and my last flight to Nashville.

The awesome people I met on the plane

Once in Nashville, I got off the plane and was greeted by my wonderful mom who had taken a few days off from work to come to the wedding with me... I miss my mommy so much! We then went and got my luggage (which was nearly destroyed by the airline), got our rental car, and set off to Murray, with a quick pit stop in Clarksville for Buffalo Wild Wings (YUM) and shopping.

Buffalo Wild Wings!

When we got to Murray, Mom and I stayed up for a bit chit chatting and catching up. I showed her some pictures and talked about life in Korea, then we headed to bed.

The next day I got to spend time with Jen! I missed her so much and was so happy that we got to spend a little time together, even if it was just a few hours. We headed for breakfast and some shopping, and just hung out. Then we met up with Courtney for lunch at Matt B's (YUM AGAIN) then headed out to the lake to help out with the decorations and such. That evening we headed over to Patti's for the rehearsal dinner, then Courtney and I stayed with Jen :)

Matt B's

At the rehearsal dinner

The next day was the day of the wedding. It all went by so fast! Us girls headed to get our hair done and ate lunch at Dumplin's, then headed back to get ready for the wedding. The weather was beautiful (though a little hot) which made for an absolutely beautiful outdoor wedding. After, I got to see my friends, which was tons of fun. I missed them all so much, so we danced the night away.

Lunch at Dumplin's

Beautiful wedding 

My best friend

My favorite picture of the newlyweds 

Always having a good time

Murray Crew

Me and the Burzynskis

Fun times dancing

Sunday, Mom and I packed up and headed back to Nasvhille. We met up with my uncle and Papaw for lunch. It was great getting to see them again, and I know it made my Mom happy to see her dad and brother too. After lunch, we headed to shop for a bit, then ended up hanging out in the hotel room before getting a few hours of rest before our flights.

Lunch at Cracker Barrel with Papaw and Uncle Davey

The trip home was pretty much the same. I got home pretty late and had to work at 8:30 the next day. But surprisingly I didn't really have jet lag. Yeah I was a little tired, but it was the same type of tired that I have any other day in the Daegu heat.

Though some of my friends here would call me crazy for going home for 3 just days, I wouldn't change it for the world. Some people asked me why I didn't stay longer, which makes sense. But my mom had to go back to work and Jen was leaving for her honeymoon. Plus, it left me with some vacation time to spend during the rest of my vacation! I will always remember spending my best friend's big day with her. I love her so much and would do it again in a heart beat (but hopefully that won't be needed because I think David is pretty awesome).

But to all of my friends and family: I love you all and miss you all.

For more pictures from the wedding, click here.

One Semester Down

Well the end of the semester has come and gone. Looking back, I can't believe it went so quickly. 

I finished the second grade speaking tests and they were amazing. Next semester I lose 7 second grade classes, but this also means I'll be teaching 5 new ones. I got to meet the new classes just briefly for their speaking tests and let me tell you, I am pumped! They apparently are the "science majors" of the school- I was told this means they are more driven and smarter. Well, their English levels sure are higher! I was shocked by the difference between my current second grade students and my incoming ones. Given, some of the second grade students in the first 7 classes have wonderful English, and some of the students in the last 5 classes have not so great English, but the overall level is much higher- so I'm excited about that.

Then came the desk warming while my students had self study and their finals. In Korea, they don't have tests in each class multiple times a year like we do in America. They have 2 per semester, a midterm and a final. They also take speaking, listening, reading and writing tests in English (I think just those four) once a semester. The three grades are added together for their overall grade. Then the same is done for the next semester. So essentially, they have grades based on 4 tests (with a few extra things thrown in for English) per year. So I can imagine how stressed they are, so I give them all self study time in my class (which apparently happens in a LOT of the classes) the week before mid terms or finals. Then I got to desk warm the week of finals. Did I get anything done? Actual work? Um, no. 

I can't believe that the semester is over. I can't believe that, for those people staying only 1 year, it is half over. I can't imagine having only 6 more months in this amazing country with my wonderful students. I actually really miss seeing them. I'm also going to REALLY miss some of my second grade classes that I won't have next semester, several students in particular. Hopefully they still drop by to say hello. 

Once the semester was coming to an end, I had a lot to prepare for. I had several big trips planned out, which was going to take a lot out of me. 

My summer vacation schedule was like this:

Wednesday: Cirque du Soleil show with Kaleena at 8pm 

Thursday: Leave at 3am for America, arrive at 7pm local time (taxi, 4 hour bus, 2.5 hour flight to Tokyo, 13 hour flight to Houston, 2 hour flight to Nashville, 2 hour drive to Murray, 6.5 hours worth of layovers)

Friday-Sunday: In America

Monday: Leave at 4am for Korea, arrive to my apartment Wednesday morning at 2am (2 hour flight to Houston, 13.5 hour flight to Tokyo, 2.5 hour flight to Seoul, 4 hour bus to Daegu, taxi home)

School at 8:30 Wednesday and Thursday

Friday: leave for Ansan Valley Rock Festival (7am)

Sunday: leave for Daegu (1 am, arrive at 5:30am)

School at 8:30 Monday and Tuesday

Tuesday: leave for airport right after school and fly to Jeju (1 hour flight, 1.5 hour bus to our hostel)

Sunday: leave for Daegu 7pm, arrive at midnight (1 hour flight to Busan, 3 hour bus to Daegu, taxi)

Monday-Friday: deskwarming at school 8:30 to 4:30

Friday: Leave for Seoul

Saturday: Infinite concert

Sunday: Return to Daegu

Monday: Semester 2 begins

It was a crazy schedule. I definitely learned how to sleep on planes and buses. I don't really know how I was moving, but looking back I really honestly don't think I had much jet lag (there was only one night were I was tired, but it was hot out and it was late, so I think that was just a normal tiredness). But I wouldn't change it for the world. Yes it was go go go go go for a while. Yes I had 3 trips to unpack from once I got back from Jeju, but it was worth it.... 

Now for semester 2!