Teacher's Day Green Tea Farm

In Korea, during the month of May, there are a lot of celebrations for people.  There is Children's Day, Parent's Day, and even Teacher's Day.

On Children's Day, parents honor their children usually with a present of some sort, kinda like Christmas.  In one of my sixth grade classes, we asked the students what they hoped to get, my favorite answer came from a boy who always sits in the left corner, who said "My parent's love is all I need."

Parent's Day is kinda like Mother's Day and Father's Day all in one.

Teacher's Day is kinda the same.  Most teacher's get the day off, so there is no school.  So I had a cool opportunity to go out to a tea farm and make my own green tea from the very beginning.  We (Beatrice, Kjirsten, Jiwon, and I)  got in a car to Iksan, a town close to Gunsan, where I live.  It was gorgeous there.

First we donned our lovely hats and then we went out to pick the tea leaves off the plants.

Kjirsten

Beatrice

Next we had to go inside and heat the leaves and mush them and pick out the stems. Except, there was no more gas... so we ended up eating lunch and going on a mini hike to see more of the tea fields.  It was actually quite beautiful.   

This sign is funny... The bathroom is only 150m to the left. ㅋㅋㅋ but it looks so picturesque. 

White tea farm. 

Finally, the gas came in and it was back to making the green tea.  We had to mush it and heat it and pick it apart and repeat 3 or 4 times.  It was tiring but fun.  

We actually, had to leave early, so I still don't have my tea... but it's all good.  I was exhausted so I went home and napped real hard.  Then for dinner Kjirsten and I ate bingsu which is pretty much one of the best desserts you will ever eat.

Adventure Korea - Seoraksan Buddha's Birthday Trip.

Catch up post #1.

Once again, I'm terrible at maintaining a blog.  So I thought maybe this week I could just make a blog post every couple of days that are a little bit shorter.  Probably heavily loaded with pictures that I've already posted to facebook.  Hahaha.

Anyways, this happened back in May.  Being in Asia, Buddha is a lot bigger of a deal than back home.  So, we got a long weekend.  During this weekend my best friend in all of Asia, Andrea, and I decided to go on a trip.  We ended up bringing along Mieke, Andrea's friend from her home back in South Africa.  Mieke is a real trouper.  She came on this trip with us maybe 2 days after she landed in Korea.  That's what I call adventure!

We went with a group here in Korea called Adventure Korea which is a really cool organization that plans trips for you and all you have to do is pay and show up ready to go.  The people are super nice and friendly too.

Anyways, we left for Seoul that Friday night and stayed in a hostel.  We ended up being placed in a room with some other girls going on the trip.  Side note: reason I love hostels is meeting random people you've never met before in your life and ending up sharing a room with them.  Well, a room and stories.  I love getting to know why people do what they do.  Call it weird. It's what I do.  I love talking to people about their lives and what they do.

The next morning we get up really early and get ready for the day.  Most of which was spent on a bus heading into Gangwon-do.  The first day we climb to the top of one of Korea's highest mountains.  It took a few hours and was totally exhausting.  The view at the top was beautiful, and totally worth feeling like total death while climbing what felt like a million stairs.

Before the hike

Our whole Adventure Korea group. 

At the bottom there is a huge Buddha guy.  

Half way up! 

Look at those stairs... 

Seriously endless stairs... 

View from the top - that's the East Sea

Another view from the top

Proof shot! We made it!! Also, it was super windy. 

A Temple place at the bottom of the mountain. 

I also love the hike back down.  I get a boost of energy at the top so I feel like I can practically fly down the mountain. Also... gravity helps you out going down.

One funny thing happened.  Not surprisingly, I fell.  Let me set the scene for you.

I'm on the way back down the mountain hopping from rock to rock on the path.  Things are no longer super vertical, but more horizontal.  We are almost at the very end.  It was cold at the top, but now warmer, so I have removed my jacket and tied it around my waist.  Then it happens, my feet betray me and slip out from under me.  There are a lot of Koreans around who have all turned to look at me with gasps.  I think to myself: it's okay, you can play this cool.  Just quickly get back up and go on like nothing happened. So I get up like nothing's wrong, and my feet betray me again, this time they step on the jacket that has been tied around my waist and I fall again.  I think: just get up and run away now, there is no smooth move anymore. So I literally jump up, my hand bleeding, say "I'm okay" and run away.  I still have a slight scar on my hand.

That night we eat dinner and turn in for bed fairly early.  The next morning we get up.  That day we go to a place to zipline on the beach.  It wasn't anything like what I had expected.  It wasn't scary in the slightest... but then again, after you've been skydiving, what is? I even used to be scared of roller coasters, but I got on one just last week and wasn't even a tiny bit nervous until we started going.  Then we had a whole day just to chill at this beautiful beach.  I got to dip my toes in the East Sea, which was actually really cold.  We even went on a little boat ride.

with Mieke after ziplining

At the beach

With beautiful Mieke at the beach

That Sunday was the last day, we went another hike up a beautiful mountain.

Just one shot from Sunday's hike. 

Some things I've noticed about Koreans and hiking.  First, they love it. Second, they are really good at it.  I'm not kidding when I say there are little old ladies out there (we call them Ajummahs here) that can out hike me and probably you... all while drinking 막걸리 (rice wine) and eating 김밥 (kimbap).  Seriously, I wish I can be that cool when I get old.  

Then, after lunch, we got on our bus and had a long bus ride back.  Seriously, traffic was rotten.  We almost missed our bus, but as always people are super helpful.  Some friends we made on the bus let us know that we could switch to the next bus.  We ended up having one of those moments where you run through a busy place to catch your bus/plane whatever in order to make it.  Luckily we made it just in time.  Yay us!! 

We then went home and slept... a lot.  

As a bonus... One of my absolute favorite things is finding English written on things soo... here is some English.. please tell me what this mean

So Many Things In So Little Time!

Don't say I didn't warn you guys that I was horrible at this whole blogging thing!

I guess I should fill you in on the past 2 months.  It is crazy for me to think that it has been two months.  Time seems to be moving by much more quickly here than it did back home.  I decided that is because I have done so much more with my time here than I would have back home.  Even little things, like going to Lotte Mart (think department store plus grocery store) to get a kettle turns into an adventure.

So today I thought that I could do a quick overview of some of the things I've done in my time spent here so far.  Hopefully it won't get too lengthy...

As a quick side note: most of you are friends on facebook... but if you want more day to day type things I tend to post more on twitter and instagram, so follow me there if you want more random day to day type updates.

Okay... here are 3 big adventures that I've done:

1. First trip to Seoul

In March I took my first trip to Seoul with a new friend I made (Hey Wendy!).  She wanted to go for her birthday, so we took a day trip there.  We got on the bus that morning and it took about 2 1/2 hours to get there, which in my opinion, isn't too shabby! There we met up with another friend (Hey Emily!).  They introduced me to the glorious wonder that is Kyobo and their fantastic English book section! YAY BOOKS!

Most of our day was spent at one of the old palaces.  Changdeokgung, and it's hidden back garden.  It was really cool, but would have been a billion times prettier if we went in spring.

Then we went to Insadong, which, as I was told, is the traditional arts market area of Seoul.  You could find some really cool things there, like traditional looking fans and masks.  We also went into this super cool tea shop.

Then we went to Myeongdong, which is shopping galore.  The street was covered with people selling things in their booths.  This is when my love for socks started.  Whoa, all of the adorable socks.  I may or may not have bought like 15 pairs of socks that day, but don't worry, not all are for me.  In addition, I haven't worn a pair of socks from home since that day.

Emily and Wendy 

Palace! 

Taking a break! 

Palace! 

2. EPIK Orientation

The end of March I went to Seoul for the EPIK orientation.  EPIK is English Program in Korea, for those that don't know, and it's the program I went through to get here.  We, meaning me and a ton of other English teachers, spent a week there taking workshops and classes to make us better teachers.  We even took a Taekwondo class, and I broke a board with my bare hand on the first try! We also went to a really cool traditional type musical. I met so many people from so many places! It was so interesting to see how the same language can be vastly different from one person to the other! It was pretty much like heaven to my social butterfly self.  At the end I even gave a speech, so that was pretty cool.

Taekwondo Class

Taekwondo Class

During our night out to see Miso! 

Our Korean class! 

Me giving a thank you speech.

Just Garfield outside a makeup store...

3. Seoul/Korvia Party

At the beginning of April I went back to Seoul with Andrea (a friend I made at the orientation) and we met Emily there.  That Saturday we went to Yeouido Park in Seoul to see pretty things.  We also went to Hongdae and checked it out.  We went to the Coffee Prince coffee shop there and to the Hongdae local market.  Then we went to Itaewon where that night we went to the Korvia party and again met a bunch of English teachers there.  I absolutely LOVE meeting new people.  Its a personal favorite of mine.  

Korvia is the consulting company that I went through to get here.  They are the best in every way possible! They have been so incredibly helpful and supportive every step of the way and if I had to go back and do it all over again, I would go through Korvia again.  The best.  One hundred percent.

Those are just some highlights of the big things I've done.  Now I'll do a list of the smaller things that I've done.  In my opinion, the smaller things have been what has added up and made everything so much more exciting.  I mean it when I say that everyday is a new adventure.  I'm in a totally new country, with a totally different language, in a totally different culture.  So these are some of my favorite things that have happened in my day to day adventures.

At the park

At the park

At the park

Street food is amazingly delicious! 

1.  Singing in the Shoe Store

One night I went to a local shoe store to buy a pair of black flats.  The guy that was in the store was really helpful.  There was also loud music playing in the store.  Then the next thing I know "Love is an Open Door" from Frozen comes on.  Now, everyone else seems to be over the whole Frozen thing, but I still love the soundtrack.  So, I start singing along, and he starts singing along, and the next thing you know we are having a sing along to Frozen while he helps me find a pair of black flats.  It was one of the greatest moments of my life.

2. Taxi Drivers

Before I got to Korea, I had never been in a taxi before, but taking a taxi is fun! Now, I don't have stories that I have heard other people having.  In general taxi's seem to have an "I do what I want cause I'm a taxi" kind of feel, but clinging for dear life while trying to talk to a driver in Korean about how you like the tulips in the road or where you are from just has a sense of fun and adventure to it.  Not to mention, sometimes they are really funny.  One taxi driver, driving a pink taxi, told us that he was the best taxi driver and best gagman in Korea; he then proceeded to turn up his jamming jazz music and rock out to it.  It was the best.

3. English Practice

It seems that because I am foreign here, there are some Koreans that are brave enough to strike up a conversation in English.  I love it.  I love talking to and meeting new people. I love hearing about what people are doing and where they come from.  And I am more than happy to spend 30 minutes on a subway talking to you in English so you have a chance to actually speak it.  It's one of my favorite things.

4. Communication

It is amazing how much you can communicate without knowing the language.  For example, almost every time I walk into Lotte Mart.  Once using cellphones and gestures I managed to figure out how to set up wifi in my apartment.  I also was taught how to make a little rice dish thing.  I love it.  It's fascinating.

5. My Students

Seriously, I love my students.  They are so much fun.  I have students from Preschool through 6th grade.  I love playing games with them and watching them learn English.  For example, in third grade one day they learned the expression "What's this?" and after that all they wanted to do was ask "TEACHER! what's this?" I love it.  They love it.  It's just fun all around.

6. The People

I've made some really awesome friends here! Seriously, I laugh all the time!

Overall, I'd have to say this has been one of the greatest things of my life so far.  It's only been two months, but I love it.

Anyways, hope you guys have a great day wherever you are.  I'll update again whenever it happens. Maybe next week since I'm making a weekend trip to Daegu... or not... we'll see... Hahaha.