Spring Break

Ah yes, back in Busan... Friday the 5th marked my first day back with my students and it was a little rough for two reasons: 1. They had come from a 35 day vacation so they were all still locked in vacay mode and 2. They knew there would two short days of school before their three week spring vacation! I think teachers and students alike saw school as a bit of a joke and no one seemed all that committed to being there.

This of course wouldn't have been a problem except that I actually bothered to create a lesson plan and after seeing the following fly across my classroom:

I realized it was a pretty big waste of time. I'll give the boy some credit, at least my lesson went towards a nicely crafted airplane (it flies remarkably well!)

Apart from their fine paper airplane skills, my third grade students certainly demonstrated their creativity with a short movie they made in their film class (which Vice Principal Hwang broadcasted for the school). Basically, the entire film was about a gun fight between two groups in the halls and classrooms of the schools (yes a GUN FIGHT with extremely realistic guns at that!) Ha! Considering a 12 year-old girl in New York was just arrested for doodling on her desk, I don't think this would fly in the US. Once I gave it some thought, I realized that this is probably a pretty common movie theme amongst the boy filmography students. Basically when these most kids aren't studying, down-time goes to their computer games with guns and killing being the central plot. This movie was just a live version of what they love to play at home. I'm sure they had a blast (and at least they were getting some exercise while filming it!)

Though Thailand was an amazing experience, I needed that first weekend to decompress from all the activity, people and of course, the travel. I did some solo exploring of the city on Saturday and on Sunday, was invited on a hike with a new friend named Seung Chul. Seung Chul, interestingly, is my banker at a local Korean Bank here. After many meetings of signing up for an account, online banking and rewiring my debit card so it could work internationally, we basically became friends and discovered that both he and I enjoy hiking! Seung Chul grew up in Busan, so his knowledge of the trails here is quite extensive.

It ended up being a great experience! We met at the Subway before heading up a trail on Geomjeong Mountain (the same place that Jer and I had our goat-eating experience.) On our way to the trail head, we passed Busan’s baseball stadium. We started chatting about how popular baseball games are in Korea and he told me a story of visiting Boston and attending a game there. Not knowing much about the Baseball scene in the US, he casually showed up to Fenway minutes before a game with pitcher Edgar Martinez. A couple on the street offered to sell him a ticket and he talked them down to a mere $10 for it. Seung Chul explained it wasn’t until later that found out about Fenway and Martinez’s fame, but even knowing how this, he still prefers baseball in Korea because “the fans are crazy here!”

We navigated a number of trails on Geomjeong, all the while battling throngs of weekend hikers (its unavoidable). Though it can be frustrating at times, hiking in Busan is always an entertaining experience! I have to paint a picture of a typical Busanite hiker. First of all, MANY are ojimas (middle/upper aged women) who wear coordinated hiking get-ups, backpacks, hiking poles and a fair number even opt for the face visor:

(The ojimas don't quite look as stylish as this model.) There are of course men as well, with the grandfatherly types typically listening to radios. The men also usually sport equally fashionable hiking outfits with large backpacks as well. Initially, I was baffled by their packs wondering what they could be filling them with, but I soon realized they're mainly for picnicking purposes. Groups will gather on rocks with spreads of food in front of them complete with little burners for hot dishes and of course, cups of Soju and Makali!

Knowing the picnicking part of the hiking culture, I came prepared with apples, green tea and cookies but my little spread paled in comparison to the hull that Seung Chul brought. He generously shared Gimbop (a Korean sushi roll of sorts), clementines, power bars, chocolate and Yang gang (a red-bean jelly bar of sorts).

We had a good time swapping stories and I certainly learned a great deal more about Korean culture. For instance, I told Seung Chul an experience I had had crossing a street a couple weeks prior. I was on my way to Tori's house and decided to cross an intersection though there was a no walk sign flashing (its SO hard for me to wait when there are absolutely NO cars on the road!) There were two ojimas on the other side however and when I passed them, one smacked me in the arm saying something in Korean! I was so stunned it took me a couple of steps past her to realize what had happened and by that point, it was too late to react (though I'm not sure what I would have done or said to her anyway.) Seung Chul observed that its a hard business being a foreigner in Korea. In this particular case, he said that these women probably saw this act as a sheer disregard for Korean law. But on the other hand, it's just as likely that if I had not crossed, another Korean might look at me and scoff thinking “silly foreigner, she is so strict, she doesn't know that she can cross when there are no cars on the street.” So according to Seung Chul, it's a bit of a lose lose situation!

Finally, I lamented to Seung Chul that when walking down the street, I can never tell which side to walk on. Some signs in the subways will specify that all traffic should be on the right side (like in the US) but, it doesn't seem to matter as I still end up playing chicken with oncoming traffic. “It doesn't matter” he said, “really, I'm not lying, everyone feels this way!” So, that answers that question! I guess I'm doomed to battle the crowds for the rest of the year (it really is quite confusing at times!) We said our good-byes on the subway and I'll look forward to exploring some more hiking trails with my new friend!

Considering my school is poor (I just barely talked them into giving me $40 for a pizza party the last day of English camp), they certainly wine and dine the teachers quite well! I enjoyed three lunch outings with all of the teachers and staff the last week of school, one of which was another sushi/raw fish meal at a nice Japanese restaurant. After so many meals with my school, I was feeling like a bit of an expert and didn't expect any surprises at this lunch... that is, until, the live sea worms came out! One of the women delicately picked one up with her chopsticks and smiling at me exclaimed “mashisoyo” (delicious)! As it wriggled its last stand, she swiftly put it in her mouth, chewed and swallowed. “Ohhhh,” I said, “wooow, uh, maybe later...” I think live sea worms will have to be added to the list of Korean inedibles which is as follows:

1. Dog (I don't care that my students categorized this as a “meat” when we were studying food, I just can't...)

2. live octopus (its just seems pretty inhumane)

and now,

3. live worms.

Because school for the students ended on Tuesday, the teachers were able to leave after lunch on Wednesday through Friday. I used my afternoons for some more exploring of the city. The first order of business was to pick up the latest copy of “Dynamic Busan,” Busan's local English paper. I wanted this particular edition because they published a little article I wrote in their “Opinion” section! It was mostly a fun project (and something to fill my time at school) but I was happy to see it published none-the-less. Here's the link for anyone interested:

http://dynamic.busan.go.kr/sub/news_list.jsp (page 2)

On Thursday afternoon, I arranged to meet some people for climbing at a gym 15 minutes from my school. Well, of course my luck takes me to the wrong gym (I learned later there are two in the same area). Using directions from Koreaontherocks.com I navigated my way to a nondescript building, down the stairs to a basement flat walled room with colorful (and some home-carved) climbing holds. I was met by a 4 ft. nothing Korean woman who spoke absolutely no English. After five minutes and the help of a white board, I discovered they didn't really let people climb by the hour (rather, people were expected to get a 50/mo. membership). But, because I had my own shoes, she decided I could climb for free!

I was the only one there, so this woman (named Jom ok Kim) could focus all of her attention on me! She followed me out to the floor and using a bamboo stick (simular to the ones my fellow teachers use to discipline their students) she began to point out the holds for various routes. She would point to one hold saying “orun-son” (right hand) and then another “oen-son” (left hand) or “orun-ball” (right foot) and “oen-ball” (left foot). Once I was on the wall, there was lots of laughing from both of us as I desperately searched for the little colored pieces of tape telling me where to go next. Still using the stick she would point to a hold, yelling “yogi, yogi!” (here) and then we would both laugh some more. Speaking in rapid Korean, she would correct my form but after realizing this was pointless, ran to the back and emerged a minute later wearing her own (mini) climbing shoes. Jom ok ended up being a beautiful and, because of her height, creative climber. I enjoyed a solid hour of climbing with her where a common language wasn't necessary to curse particularly difficult holds or, once again, laugh when someone (mostly me) fell off the wall. It was a memorable experience to be sure!

The following night, Tori and I decided to be cultured and attended a Flamenco guitar performance by a Spaniard named Marco Socias. Here's a Youtube link of him in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC4gbldnC90&feature=related

He was fantastic but the performance was long! Two funny twists to the evening. First, we showed up expecting to pay $30 but ended up paying, um, nothing. I guess they decided to let the public in for free (perhaps they didn't quite get the turnout they were hoping for) and second, the performance wasn't just Socias. Intermixed were various Korean performers doing anything from singing Italian opera to playing traditional Korean instruments. Because we had been there since 7:30, Tori and I finally slipped out of the concert hall at 10:30 though Socias was still in in the full swing of things.

On Saturday, Tori, Olivia, Kayla and I braved a Korean bath house and Ginga-bong (not sure on the spelling with this one). I say braved because for the bath house, one is completely naked! I should explain first that the public baths are HUGELY popular in Korea... and so is not shaving/trimming. But because we were the minority, it was us and our western ways that were stared at.

The first order of business at the bath house is to find a free shower head and stool to sit on (naked) and give yourself a good scrub. They provide a little plastic bowl and towel (used soap is even readily available though I opted to use my own) which you use hunkered under one of these shower heads... which, I forgot to mention, only come up to about belly-button height. The low set-up makes sense I guess because it gives you easy access to your plastic bowl and scrubbing towel. Once cleaned, everyone migrates over to the baths which range from freezing cold to nearly 110 degrees. Again, because this is so popular, the locals have figured out how to do it up right. You'll see women chatting casually, sipping an iced beverage brought from home, enjoying the high powered jets or herbal soak available.

After the girls and I had had our fill of the baths, we put on the pajamas provided by the spa and headed up to the Ginga-bong which is separate from the baths. I guess I should specify that because the baths are done naked, the men and women are separate, but the ginga-bong is totally co-ed and actually, seemed to be a popular place for families and young couples. Here's a decent picture of what you might see at a Ginga-bong:

All ginga-bongs are different but the one we went to had various rooms meant to be “good for health.” So, the first room we enjoyed was a warm wooden room filled with salt rocks that you're meant to lay on. Next door was another hot room with plain rocks (which we skipped), followed by a refrigerated room (also skipped that one), and finally decided on a sand-box type area filled with marble sized beads to lay on. They were surprisingly confortable, so we chilled there for quite a while. (Next to the young high school couple totally entwined with one another... for such a conservative country, I see an awful lot of PDA.) Though there were many shocking parts to my first public Korean bath house experience, I knew that it wouldn't be my last visit to the spa!

Tori made a last minute decision to visit Taiwan, so the following week was mostly spent with Olivia and Kayla. I went on a couple of solo hikes around my apartment, another spa trip for a little soaking and a painful but needed “Sport massage” by a VERY strong Korean Ojima, and finally met up with the climbers I had tried to meet the previous week. We arranged to climb outside which I was VERY happy about! It felt good to be in that scene again and hopefully once things warm up a bit, I'll be doing a lot more of that!

Well, thats basically it, this weekend I've planned a little trip to a town three hours away called Uljin where they host an annual Snow crab festival. It will be myself and my long lost friend Julia for a weekend of eating delicious crab meat and fresh sea food! Monday is a holiday here, but on Tuesday its back to the grind-stone as the new term starts. I'll be saying hello to my first year students and saying goodbye to any days off for a looooong time (sniff, sniff).

Thailand!

Thailand, an 11 days to remember! Alas, the flight getting there was as well (which is never a good thing when flying). We chose China Air for their cheep prices… and ended up paying for it in the end.

Due to a delayed flight in Beijing, we missed our connecting flight in Hong Kong and spent the next 3 hours with a representative trying to get on another airline en route to Bangkok. He finally found a flight for us… but not our luggage.

We arrived at 12:30PM with the clothes on our backs and immediately called our hotel to apologize for the four hour delay, begging for another transport. To our surprise, Mr. Smit from the Heritage Sathorne Hotel, already stood waiting at the designated meeting spot, with a name-sign reading “Mr. Alison Lewis” (Ha! I guess that’s me). Apparently, he had been there the entire time!

Once in our room, we wasted no time crawling into bed only to crawl back out promptly at 7 AM for a cooking class at the Silom Thai Cooking School. When we arrived, there were 14 other eager westerners ready to learn the art of flavorful Thai cooking. Our ultra feminine and ultra sarcastic instructor Nusi (he was what the Thai's call a Lady-man), gathered us together and commanded that we follow him to the market to buy fresh ingredients. Each person was handed a basket which Nusi soon filled with lemon grass, fresh fish, Thai Basil, Kaffir Lime leaves, Finger Ginger, freshly grated coconut, peppers etc… the shopping list felt endless!

At the school (which was nothing more than a three roomed apartment that Nusi and cleverly converted) we clad ourselves in brightly colored aprons and got to work preparing the ingredients for cooking. The dishes we prepared were as follows:

Fried Noodles Thai Style (Pad- Thai- Sai -Kai)

Spicy Shrimp Soup (Tom- Yum- Gung)

Green Curry Paste (Nam- Phrik -Kang- Khiao- Wan)

Green Curry with Chicken (Kang- Khiao- Wan- Gai)

Northern Chicken Salad (Laab- Gai)

And for dessert:

Rubies in Coconut Milk (Tub -Tim- Grob)

(If anyone wants the recipe for any one of these dishes, just let me know!)

Nusi proved himself to be quite a character! His favorite phrase was “Cooking’s fun!” in the middle of shelling shrimp, laboring over a mortar and pestle or any other task he clearly didn’t enjoy. Another favorite activity of his was to make snide little comments about our incompetence (though, I think this is a pretty common habit of many chefs… his feminine hand gestures and lisp simply made it all the more entertaining!)

After our class, we headed back to the hotel where we hoped our bags would be waiting... unfortunately they were not. The good word from Dodi, our go-to hotel attendant was that they would arrive by 2PM that day. To kill a couple of hours we decided to sign our selves up for a famous Thai massage. Finding a brochure at the hotel, we had Dodi call for us. Once he was off the phone, he explained that the masseuses would arrive at the hotel in 45 minutes. Tori and I decided to use the time research train tickets on the lobby's computer while Andrew headed up to the room to shower.

Two Thai men and one woman arrived in 20 minutes not 45 (the one and only time I experienced locals operating on anything other than Thai time, i.e. 15+ minutes late). Realizing Andrew wasn't ready, Tori headed for the elevators... aaaand the three masseuses followed her. She tried to explain that she was just getting her friend. They smiled politely and proceeded to follow her into the elevator. At the room, Tori yelled to Andrew and ran back down to wait in the lobby. The masseuses however, stayed waiting at the door. Andrew emerged, gave the three a smile and a Sowadeeka (hello) before he too headed down to the lobby. We all stood in a circle looking at each other wondering what to do about our masseuses still upstairs. Dodi came over and finally explained that the massages would be done in our room. “Ohhhhhh,” we all said “wiiiieeeerd” we all thought.

Heading back up to the room the six of us gave a nervous laugh before opening our door at which time they handed us a baggy pair of Thai pants and shirt to change into. Laying down on our beds, each masseuse began working us. For those of you who have ever received a Thai massage, you'll know that this is an appropriate description. You really get worked! There is much pulling and twisting where limbs will be stepped on and backs clapped (a famous audio experience always included in a Thai massage). All in all, I would say, although a little odd (and painful at times) it felt good especially after our long day of travel.

After our bags arrived, we set off for the famous Chatuchak (Saturday) Market which covers 35 acres with over 5000 stalls (thanks Wikipedia for that). After hours of looking at goods and battling with crowds of people, we took a Tuk-tuk (a motorized rickshaw of sorts) to Kosan Rd., yet another famous attraction where backpackers LOVE to hang. Tori and Andrew decided to start their Thailand trip out right with a mouth-full of scorpion… yes a SCORPION! I decided against trying any myself, but not to be left out of the fun, opted for an ant salad instead. I kid you not, it wasn’t bad! Honestly! Tori and Andrew said the same about their crunchy scorpion but I’m skeptical as both seemed mighty excited for a beer afterwards.

Sunday marked our second full day in Thailand! Though most people opt for a quick breeze through Bangkok on their way to other, less congested areas of the country, we were waiting for Kayla who was scheduled to arrive at 1AM Monday morning. To escape the city’s congestion ourselves, we decided on a day trip to a small town called Ayathaya two hours (by train) North/East of Bangkok. Ayathaya is known for its ruins and temples. Everything is so spread out however, it was necessary to hire a Tuk-tuk driver to shuttle us around. Returning to Bangkok, we grabbed dinner before heading to a Moi Thai fight.

Before Andrew proposed this idea, I had never heard of Muay Thai fighting. In order to make an educated decision, I decided to read-up on the sport before committing to a three hour fight. The article I read described the rhythmic live drums that accompany the fighters who use the music to time their hits creating a dance-like quality to the fight. Because common moves are kicks with the shins to their opponent’s torso, training for a Muay Thai fighter often includes kicking a tree trunk in order to deaden their nerves (which I CANNOT imagine). Other common moves are jabs with the elbows and knees. There are typically 5 rounds that last no longer than 3 minutes, though the ultimate goal of the fight is to knock your opponent out. Finally, the article described the manic fans in the audience and the pulsing energy. So, though I have never been one to watch fighting of any kind, this article painted a dynamic picture and I decided to go. Weeeell, the Muay Thai fight I experienced was slightly different for two main reasons: 1. I think there were about 30 spectators… total and 2. I’m pretty sure some of the Muay Thai fighters were no older than 10 years old weighing 80 lbs. soaking wet. It was still interesting to watch this “hard martial art” that is so popular amongst the Thai people!

We visited a Night Market and finally met Kayla (who didn’t arrive until nearly 2:30 AM on Monday). The next day we really embraced the tourist scene with a river tour of the city. One of two highlights was the Wat Pho Temple with a massive reclining Buddha spanning 150 ft. long and 52 inches high! So beautiful! Walking around the Wat, visitors are met with the echoing sound of metal on metal. Finally, when I rounded the corner at the foot of the Buddha, I discovered the source of the sound came from from people dropping 'satang' coins into 108 brass buckets lining the wall facing the back-side of the Buddha. The number 108 is sacred with many Eastern traditions and my understanding it that with Buddhism, it represents the 108 afflictions a person is considered to have. Therefore, this number can be found many places. Besides the 108 buckets, there were also 108 images of the Buddha around the temple.

The second highlight was the Grand Palace which is a large compound of buildings with Gold encrusted towers, ornate tile murals and sculptures and royal guards on every corner. We hired an old Thai man to tour us around. He was very sweet but I'm pretty sure he made up most of the tour. For instance, there was a series of figures looking like:

When I asked what they were, he explained that they were deer-women. When I told him the bottom half looked more like a lion, he simply said “no, it is a deer.” I of course had to look it up and sure enough, its a lion. He was still an entertaining old man, even if some of his facts were clearly wrong.

After our tour of the River, we headed to the train station where we caught a night train down to Surat Thani. It was an ooolllldd rickety rusty thing, but it did the trick (and only got as to our destination an hour late... a good thing considering we were operating on Thai time). From Surat Thani, we then bused and boated over to an island called Phi Phi Don, finally arriving close to 5PM. Though it was nearing sunset, we all be-lined it for the beach and after much floating in the water, Andrew and I played an awesome game of frisbee with two locals! (Haha, probably the highlight of my day!) Later that night, we enjoyed performances by some talented fire-dancers. Tori, Kayla and myself even tried our hand at jump roping a massive rope on fire. I only had to get a little singed once before deciding it should probably should be left to the professionals.

The following day, we rented a long boat to explore Phi Phi Ley, Phi Phi Don's smaller sister where no one lives but MANY people visit. (It also happens to be the place where Leo Dicaprio's 'The Beach' was filmed.) We stopped for an amazing snorkel in crystal clear water before moving on to the well known Maya Bay. Enroute to the bay, I noticed seemingly random bamboo scaffolding against the rocky cliffs. Asking our guide, he explained that Thai men harvest swallow nests to sell to China where they turn it into a nest soup! I had never heard of this but here's wikipedia's link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird's_nest_soup unbelievable what some cultures consider a delicacy (or even edible for that matter!)

I should add that while the whole island was gorgeous, the throngs of people kind of detracted from its beauty and the bay was no exception. Its waters were completely congested with long boats, sail boats, speed boats of every kind, not to mention the hundreds of people wading, walking, and sun bathing. In Thailand, if you see a tourist, you can bet there's a tour guide not far behind. During a quick snack break at a hut there, Tori met one of these guides who introduced himself as Soon. Soon soon LOVED Tori (or at least her boobs) and even began singing to her with his rolled palm-leaf cigarette dangling from his mouth in a Raoul Duke fashion. Luckily Tori is one to find entertainment in any situation so she patiently let him carry on in this ridiculous fashion solely for her own amusement (and by default, the amusement of everyone else close enough to watch!) He finally had to get back to his guests, so in one final (and long) embrace, Soon left us.

Once back on Phi Phi Don, we grabbed our bags and carried on to Raleigh Beach which although it's a peninsula, is only accessible by boat. Raleigh East is known for its limestone and consequently, its amazing rock climbing! My bags barely touched the wooden floor in the bungalow before I was singing the four of us up for a guided climb the next morning. The four of us went to bed early that night and awoke promptly at 6AM to watch the sunrise. It was quite beautiful, but what made it most worthwhile was the quiet peace that hung over the beach. Tourists were still sleeping and even the hotel personel hadn't quite emerged for their morning chores yet. It was one of the few quiet moments I had there, which unfortunately had more to do with the areas we chose to travel, than anything else.

After breakfast, we met our guide Sue (“how do you do!”) who ended up being great! Although neither Kayla, Andrew or Tori had ever climbed, they all did an awesome job! Kayla and Tori especially took to it and really impressed me with their mad climbing skills! After our four hour climb, followed by a much needed lunch, we decided to work our legs a little with a hike through the jungle. At one point we took a wrong turn and stumbled on a dilapidated hotel with six Thai men sitting in the midst of the rubble with tools spread around them. (From what I could tell, it looked like they may have been hired to rebuild the place.) They smiled broadly when they saw us and called us over to smoke with them which we kindly declined. Ha! It didn't look like their employer was really getting his money's worth with this crew! We finally found Tonsai, the beach we were searching for. It was a much less congested but equally beautiful version of our beach but again, only accessible by boat, or in our case, after a long hike up and over the mountain. It is also possible to access it from the the main beach Raleigh West when the tide is low enough, allowing for a scramble over its rocky shore.

The following day we again supported Thailand's transportation companies and via speed boat, bus, and ferry moved onto our next and final destination, the island Ko Pha Ngan. We arrived quite late and got to our hotel even later. It took our truck 45 minutes to even pull out of port's parking lot while it waited to fill every available seat. This is a pretty standard practice, as most public transports in Thailand will wait until they are filled to the gills before going anywhere (which accounts for much of the Thai time delays). We finally rolled into the Village Green where we meet the owner Ben, a Brit who fell in love with Thailand 20 years ago and has stayed ever since. We shared beer and pleasantries with Ben before heading off to bed. The following morning we rented scooters (my first time driving a vespa alone!) and begin to explore the island. I almost hate to say it, but this was one of my highlights from the island! Because of the lush and hilly terrain (not to mention the insane drivers and poor road conditions) it makes driving there quite exciting!

Later that evening, rain started to poor in a monsoon-like fashion. This only posed a problem because we were attending the infamous Full Moon Party that night. I have to explain this a little. The Full Moon party's conception was in 1985 when a disco club on the beech arranged a small party for 30 or so travelers staying in the area. Word spread and more people started showing up to the island with each full moon. Present day the beach plays host to nearly 30,000 tourists a month which is an amazing feet considering the size of the island. Some come for the dancing, others for the drugs and others (like myself) come our of sheer curiosity (and because their friend Andrew just HAS to go). Tori, Kayla and I did a good job of sticking together and even amidst the insanity, I had a fun time of dancing and people watching.

Andrew and I watched the sun rise together and to see the beach in broad day-light was an experience in and of itself. People hung everywhere; on steps, benches, towels, etc... some clothed, others not, some bandaged, and other still, wandering about in a daze still tripping on, whatever they were tripping on. Trash (mainly straws and discarded buckets once filled with red-bull, alcoholic mixtures) lay strewn everywhere, but even with the sun marking a new day, the music still pounded and people still danced on podiums seemingly unaware that the party was over.

We finally arrived back at the Village Green and took a solid nap before meeting up with some other friends from Busan we had met at the party.

The following day, I finally enjoyed the beach with much swimming, reading and relaxing. My trip in Thailand has been such a whirl-wind journey thus far, it felt good to do nothing but enjoy the ocean and sun.

The following day we said our good bye's to Ben and via truck, ferry, bus and plane finally landed in Bangkok's airport only to find our 1AM flight delayed until 6AM. Long story short, Air China is officially the devil and our flight pains getting to Thailand paled in comparison to the ones getting home. Luckily I had many good memories from our trip to sustain me though the misery of traveling home. Thailand, like I said, will certainly be a trip I'll remember forever for the good, the bad, and the characteristically Thai I experienced there.

Unfortunately I had no time to decompress from our trip. Landing in Busan at nearly 6 PM, the night of the 3^rd, (after nearly 36 hours of travel and delays), I had obligations to go to school the morning of the 4^th and plan lessons for the following day. The school system has an awkward schedule because though the students were just off for over a month for winter vacation, they only had three short days of school and graduation ceremonies before another three week Spring Vacation. To keep this entry solely dedicated to Thailand, more to come later on that first weekend back on Korea's soil and the following two weeks of Graduation, lunches with teachers and new Korean friends.

As usual, thanks for reading!

Holidays, house guests and travel!

I know it's a stupid cliché, but where has the time gone!!! I honestly CANNOT believe two months have passed since my last blog entry! And now I must write about all that has happened, which is admittedly a little daunting! At least this way, only the truly noteworthy things will make the cut!

December marked my 2^nd month in Korea and as promised in my contract, I spent 5 days at a training retreat in a historic town called Gyeongju. Initially I saw very little of the town because for the first two days, all 300 teachers were on lock-down in the hotel. We were specifically asked to “not leave unless given special permission.” I honestly felt like I was at summer camp again with the rebellious kids [adults in their 20s-40s] sneaking out while the rest of us made our own fun running about the hotel. Finally on the third day, EPIK (English Program in Korea) took us on a tour of the city. Geongju is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South Korea because for nearly 1000 years it had the distinguished title of capital city during the ancient (and most prosperous) Silla Kingdom. It still holds quite a few historic buildings and artifacts from the period and for this reason, Geongju is often referred to as “the museum without walls.”

The training itself was far more intense than I thought it would be! There were lectures from about 9AM until nearly 9PM, which is probably why all of the teachers made sure to enjoy their time outside of the classroom to the fullest capacity... Simply put, before my week in Geongju, I didn’t know 40 people could fit in one hotel room!

One nice aspect to the hotel arrangement was that everyone was paired with a teacher from a different area so as a result, many new friendships were formed… I had the interesting opportunity of making friends with two roommates! After signing in, I went over to the list of roommate pairings only to discover I would be with someone named Tyrone… “Hmmmm” I though “but, isn’t that a guy’s name?” Yep, sure enough, Tyrone the man sits next to me and we both bust out laughing! It was decided that because Koreans put their family name first, looking at my name they must have had a moment of confusion thinking that Lewis was my first name. When we went to sort it out with a Korean lady in charge, she became horribly embarrassed apologizing over and over again, exclaiming “Big mistake, big mistake!” Ha! We assured her it was no big deal! After things were straightened, I met my new roommate Olivia who ended up being awesome! Olivia I discovered, had lived in Busan two years earlier and had coincidentally taught at my same school! We had fun swapping tales of teaching Busan Jungang’s Middle School boys!

The Sunday following training, Kayla, Tori, and our new friend Olivia signed up for a class at the Hongbeopsa Buddhist Temple teaching the fine art of making Kimchi. The class ended up being a great experience! In the middle of the session, we were joined by a dapper, older Korean man who exclaimed that we were “an EXCELLENT Kimchi factory” and that he would call his wife immediately to tell her four foreigners were making Kimchi better than many locals! Amazingly, the whole class was free AND it included lunch. We decided to sit next to our new friend and during the meal he explained that was a principal in the area. We exchanged information deciding that a principal at another school in Busan (who speaks excellent English, an unusual trait for older Koreans) would be a good friend to have.

Christmas Eve was the Thursday following our most excellent Kimchi experience and proved to be a very eventful day for me! The day started with two classes where I had my students discuss (and by discuss, I mean shout out one word answers… always just happy to get participation!) the difference between New Years and Christmas in Korea verse the United States! Interestingly, the two holidays are opposite as Christmas in Korea is considered to be for friends and lovers while New Years is very much about the family. The school day ended early and all teachers and staff members were invited to an expensive Japanese restaurant for hue (raw fish). Though I had hardly said more than Anyong Haseyo to the Vice Principal, Mr. Hwang, he approached my desk as we all packed to leave for the restaurant and through charades, indicated that he wanted to drive me. I was surprised but happily accepted! Now, a little side story is that the night before, I had used Tori's toaster oven to bake chocolate chip cookies as a Christmas gift for my fellow English teachers. I had a very long pause as I decided whether or not to give any to the principal and vice.

Alison: “Tori, should I bother?”

Tori: “Have you ever really talked to them?”

Alison: “No, not really.”

Tori: “Well, then why would you?”

Alison: “Huh, yea, you're probably right.”

Well, once in Mr. Hwang's car, with a huge smile, he hands me my Christmas present, a box of rice pastries called 'Chanke'.

Alison says: “Thank you Mr. Hwang, what a nice present!”

Alison's thoughts “Daaaaaaaamn!”

The lunch was awesome and my education on food continued as I learned the names of many fish items. To name a just a few, I ate ga-ribi (clams), susato (rice pancakes), gul (oysters) and mawke (another sea oyster of sorts). All fish came in a rainbow of colors on huge platters in beautiful designs. After lunch, Mr. Hwang, who proved himself to speak much more English than I had originally thought, invited Mrs. Kim and I on a tour of the area. I gladly accepted (and Mrs. Kim a little less enthusiastically... though understandable so as I think she knew her role would be that of the translator). We loaded into his car and set off for Ulsan, a coastal city to Busan's north-east.

Mr. Hwang explained that he used to hold a political job so his understanding of Busan and its neighboring towns is extensive. The tour began at the Meogwanumsa Buddhist Temple where we took a quiet tour of the grounds. We came across two tenants who upon seeing us, motioned us over. The adults exchanged a few words before one of the attendants pulled from his pocket a handful of wild mushrooms. Mrs. Kim explained that he had just harvested them from the massive pines surrounding the temple and that “they are good for health.” We all happily took a couple, said our “Kamsahamnidas” and continued on our way. After the temple, Mr. Hwang drove us to a very large and tradition Korean home (called a Ki-wa-chi) This particular Ki wa chi (not sure on the spelling of this one) was built clear back in 1765 and still stood in remarkably good condition. We sat for a moment on the steps in the deserted courtyard taking in the relatively remote scenery. In his broken English, Mr. Hwang commented on the “peace” and “harmony” felt there. He observed that the man who built the home must have been very wise for choosing such a perfect location.

Continuing on, we visited the eastern most point of South Korea called Gonjulgot (again, not sure of the spelling on this), a traditional school along a river, and finally began the journey back to Busan. I should interject that Mr. Hwang had originally told me the tour would take an hour and a half… at this point we were pushing three hours!

But, I certainly wasn’t complaining! The route home followed a winding road which Mr. Hwang accurately observed as a “country road.” I agreed and told him the singer John Denver has a song about that. He gave me a sideways glance before, “Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River… Country Road, take me home,” singing the entire song! He literally knew every word and what’s more, proved himself to have an amazing voice! This started a wave of singing (don’t worry, I just listened) where he moved from Denver to Simon and Garfunkel (his favorite band) before ending with a Joan Baez cassette tape. Near the school, he and Mrs. Kim began a conversation which Mrs. Kim finally translated. She explained that Mr. Hwang decided to give us both 6 days off from Christmas until English Camp. I honestly was so thrilled, there was a moment where I literally had to fight back tears! I think that the accumulation of the afternoon’s events had finally caught up to me in a wave of emotion! It was definitely an experience to be remembered.

After the lunch, I immediately headed to Tori's where we began to prepare things for a “tacky sweater” party we had planned. Basically, guests were instructed to wear the tackiest sweater they could find (Busan has a plethora... though most are worn quite seriously by the locals) as well as a white elephant gift. The whole evening was a huge success! Kayla won the “most amazing white elephant gift award” by wrapping up the kim chi she had made at the temple the weekend before!

Four days later, my friend Brian arrived from Hawaii! It was very much a surprise visit but ended up being quite fun!

The first day of his stay, we went to lunch at one of Tori's co-teachers house named Kim. We were joined by Tori (of course), Kim's friend (another of Tori's co workers and Kim's best friend) Mia, and Mia's boyfriend Carson. Carson interestingly is a German Engineer living in Busan during a two year contract during which time he builds ships.

Kim planned a GREAT Gim-bop (which is Korea's version of a sushi roll) making session where we learned how to properly fill and roll this hugely popular Korean side. What distinguishes Gim-bop from other rolls is a pickled radish called a danmuji. There is also usually a protein (either an egg, synthetic meat, or fake crab), cucumber, yellow radish, carrot, and any other delectable you might like. We all became master rollers by the end and enjoyed a massive spread of food! It was such a cool first experience for Brian I think because it showed him a typical Korean home and a very traditional Korean meal!

After lunch, we headed to the water and explored the International market, saw a birds eye view of the city from the Busan Tower and finally ended at the Jagalchi Fish Market. The following two days were dedicated to visiting temples and we even managed to go for a small hike behind my apartment before Brian, the O-towns and myself headed up to Seoul for New Years! We welcomed 2010 in style with Chinese food and a room PACKED with “waygooks” (foreigners).

The first day of 2010 was pretty much spent in recovery mode, but we did rally in the afternoon for a boat tour of the Han river. On the second, the four of us (sans Andrew) took a tour of the DMZ. It was unfortunately, somewhat disappointing but we were able to take a train (of sorts) down into the 3^rd Tunnel. The 3^rd Tunnel is one of four tunnels built by North Korea in the hopes of sneaking soldiers past the border (though they were never successful with their plan). We also visited the Freedom Bridge and a train station that runs a train between the two countries (there's even a picture of the Late President Bush endorsing the station as an attempt at unifying the two countries.) The tour ended with a great lunch and then it was back to Seoul. Brian was able to hang for an hour or so before he had to gather his things and catch the next subway for the airport. It was great having an old friend see and experience a bit of my new life in Korea! Thanks for visiting Brian!

The rest of us stayed another day before heading back on the 3^rd. Monday the 4^th was day one of English camp. I had 15 students who spoke decent (but by no means good) English which made my job easier. The set-up was a tag team effort between Mrs. Kim and I where we would alternate teaching the lessons. It gave me a taste of what my co-teachers go through during my lessons (i.e. complete boredom!) All in all, the week went smoothly. There was one student who was at the camp very much against his will and posed a problem when it came to participation. I tried my best to explain that he was “wasting his life” sitting there pouting, but that line of approach doesn't really work with 15 year old boys I discovered.

That Saturday, Jeremy arrived! His visit went so fast and was so jam packed with activity, even now as I write this, I still marvel at all we did and saw! He needed a day to recover from jet-lag so that Sunday was pretty mellow with a trip to a street market near my house for some essentials and then Korean BBQ that night with Olivia, Kayla, and Tori. Unfortunately that whole first week was English Camp, but luckily it ended at 11:30 which allowed me to get back to my apartment around 12:30. This in turn, allowed Jer to do some solo exploring around the city while I was at school. It must be said that even though he was on the move in the morning, Jer always had lunch prepared by the time I got back to the apartment! (Such a thoughtful house guest)!

On Monday after our lunch, Jer and I visited Haedong Yonggungsa (the seaside cliff I mentioned earlier in my blog). We were somewhat limited on time however because Mi Sook (the teacher who had me over for pizza and chicken back in December) invited Jer and I over for traditional Korean food with her family at 5PM giving us little time at the temple.

The dinner ended up being amazing! The entire family really took to Jer and were all VERY impressed when they learned he was a pilot. After a brief discussion with themselves, Mi Sook's kids (her daughter Seung hee and son Seung O) both wanted to know if he had flown himself to Korea! At the end of the meal, Mi Sook's husband ran to his study and brought back a baseball which he instructed everyone to sign. At first I was a little confused, but soon realized that the ball was for Jer and I as a sort of remembrance gift. An interesting but very thoughtful gift ... one that probably wont ever be duplicated!

Tuesday after school, I ran into Mi Sook on my way to the bus stop. She INSISTED that she drive me home. I was happy for the invite as it was uncharacteristically cold that day. In the car Mi Sook got quite serious turning to me saying “You should catch Jeremy, Alison.” I couldn't help but to laugh! “I'm serious!” she exclaimed, “He has a good character, a handsome face, and a good body!” Ha! Oh Mi Sook... I am glad she approves though! Once at my apartment, Jer greeted us with a great spread and the three of us had a nice time sharing tea, finger snack and stories.

After our meal we visited the Gukje (international) Market which has an insane array of every imaginable item from oreos to pig's heads. After loosing ourselves in its maze of booths and carts, we headed for a tea shop en route to the Busan Tower. The tower is a perfect introduction as it offeres a birds eye view of the city and is especially great to visit at night when the buildings are ablaze with neon color.

The final stop for the evening was the Jagalchi Market which is a massive warehouse (though very modern and beautiful from the outside) which houses row upon row of 50 gallon tanks holding layers of fish, sea worms, urchines, sea cucumbers etc. (You'll even find a shark head from time to time thrown haphazardly on the cement floor.) After taking a thorough gander at our fish choices, Jer and I chose two fine looking specimens to be our dinner (a flounder and an unknown). After we payed the fisherman for his catch, we were led upstairs and seated at a table to wait for a Korean woman to cook our fish. The building was PACKED with people doing just the same however, as I wondered about, I noticed that most chose to eat their fish raw... makes sense considering the fish is just about as fresh as you could ever hope it to be. We were happy with our choice however, and enjoyed an amazing meal!

The following day (Thursday), Jer and I set off for the Geomjeong Fortress where little villages outside its walls serve fresh goat meat. We indeed found a restaurant where a goat was tied up (seemed like a good sign) so after a brief charade exchange with a server, found ourselves seated in a private room with BBQd goat sizzling in front of us. After our succulent meal, we continued on to Beomeo-sa (a very large and famous Buddhist temple just to the north of Geomjeong Fortress). It had taken some time to navigate the many trails inside the fortress walls, so we didn't get to Beomeo-sa until 5:30 or so. Because most visitors had gone home for the day, there was a tranquil calm at the temple not easy to find in Busan. After touring the grounds, we turned to head home.

An old Korean man started gesturing to us, indicating that we were NOT to walk through the main courtyard. This confused me until I noticed two men standing at a large brass gong at the courtyard's entrance with sticks in hand. Jer and I decided to wait it out to see what might come of it. Precisely at 6, in alternating fashion, they started playing the gong and didn't stop until exactly 6:10. It really was SUCH a cool experience! After the performance (of sorts) Jer and I turned to leave, but before heading down a long flight of stairs to the exit, I noticed a large group of monks coming up behind us so we stepped aside to let them pass. As they filed past, the thought occurred to me that we might be trespassing past visiting hours and could therefore not be welcome. However, just as I was thinking this, one of the monks turned to us saying in a friendly manner, “hey, where are you from?!” Ha! This was certainly not expected, but relieving just the same! I've since talked to a Korean friend about this and he assured me visitors are always welcome and there was nothing to worry about in being at Beomeo-sa as late as we were.

Friday marked the last full day of Jer's visit (or so I thought... more to come on this later) as his flight was scheduled to leave from Seoul Saturday afternoon. After camp, we set off for the Taejongde Cliffs. Unfortunately we weren't able to walk down on the cliffs themselves because a camera crew was filming a scene there. It was pretty entertaining to watch however, as a young couple dramatically held each other with the camera making a 360 degree circle around them as they kissed! Ha! I would LOVE to see which Korean movie/soap opera this scene ends up in! On our way down, Jer and I suddenly found ourselves in a throng of adoring fans. We quickly realized that we just happened to be leaving at the same time as the film crew and the Korean spectators (mainly girls) were all using this opportunity to get close to the actors!

On the walk down from the cliffs, the sky was ablaze with an orange glow from the setting sun. Because the cliffs are on a wooded hill, we had to wait for an opening in the trees to get a proper view of the sunset. Initially, we were both left a little dumbfounded for a moment... the sun was indeed setting, but in a crescent form. We finally realized that we were witnessing what couldn't be anything but a solar eclipse! Sure enough, back at my apartment, we did a quick google search and found the confirmation we needed on NASA's website. It was a great ending to a great week!

Long story short, after seeing Jer off at the KTX speed train to Seoul on Saturday, I got an e mail later that afternoon saying because he had flown with a buddy pass, he wasn't able to make the booked flight. After trying again on Sunday (with no luck), Jer decided the best (and most cost effective) option was to return to Busan and wait for the next available flight the following Friday. Though it was an unfortunate delay, I certainly wasn't complaining!

The following week was equally busy but considering the length of this blog already, I'm going to gloss over it a bit. One noteworthy event happened that Tuesday with a trip to the famous Haeundae Beach (the Waikiki of Korea). From a sea-side trail we were exploring, Jer noticed three little turtles swimming in the water near the rocky shore. I (of course) got incredibly excited as wild life, like serene temples, is hard to come by in this city. Making a quick scramble down to the water and after closer inspection, Jer concluded that they couldn't possibly be sea turtles. I know nothing about turtles however, but had to trust his judgment and after watching them get hammered on the rocks decided that regardless, they certainly didn't belong at Haeundae.

On two occasions, I attempted to grab the turtles from the water, but no sooner than I had a turtle in hand,one of two middle aged Korean women (both missing a few teeth if that paints any sort of picture) would snatch the turtle away from me. They would then walk back to the waters edge, do a little dance of sorts and then chuck the creature back in. There was a man standing near-by and seeing my confusion, approached with his cell phone with “the release of captive animals into the wild,” typed on its screen. Instead of this persuading me to leave well enough alone (which I'm sure was the man's hope), it only fueled my resolve to relocate the turtles.

Luckily, the women finally decided to leave and I was able to grab two of the three turtles (by this point, one had already been swept too far from the shore). I had the grand idea that an aquarium nearby would HAVE to want the turtles. I mean, we had saved them from a terrible death and any marine animal lover would have to appreciate the gesture and want to help right... no, not really. The employees looked at Jer and I like we were crazy and although there was some discussion, in the end, we were given a firm no. The next move was a visit to the Information Center next door. The thought was, if they have information about hotels, restaurants and activities in the area... they MUST know what to do with lost pond turtles. The woman staffing the facility was actually incredibly helpful explaining that they were indeed freshwater animals but, many locals see the turtles as a nuisance as they eat small fish and fish eggs in the rivers. When we asked her what to do, she told us simply to “put them back in the ocean.” We thanked her for her help (knowing that that simply was not an option) and after inspecting the center's wall-sized map of Busan, found a river nearby. The happy ending to this story is that one short cab ride later, we were gently placing the turtles in a large, reasonably healthy looking river. Success!

That Friday, Jer and I woke early and after once again dropping him at the KTX train station, I met Tori and Andrew and the three of us set of for Busan's airport. We were flying to Thailand! A quick side note, Jer amazingly made his flight getting the last seat on the plane. An account of his 13 day stay in Korea can also be found on his website www.vwviaje.com if anyone is interested in a slightly different perspective (or if any part of my version of events doesn't make sense!)

Thailand will have to wait for the next blog entry... if nothing else, this is already waaaaay too long. Anyway, thanks for reading!