Travel, Travel, Travel in South Korea

Time flies by when you’re having fun!  I didn’t even realize I missed a month of blogging!  So what have I been up to?  Well, almost every weekend has been a little getaway to a new corner of Korea.  And for the holiday weekend in May, I went with a few friends to Tokyo, Japan, to Disneyland and DisneySea.  And when I say we did Disney, we DID Disney!  We all bought matching t-shirts and hats, and planned our day efficiently so that we were able to ride every ride we wanted to.  DisneySea is one of the best Disney parks I have been too.  It caters more to adults in that they serve alcohol, and the atmosphere is created by the details in the decor of the park so that you feel like you are in another world, but not necessarily Mickey’s world.  I was surprised by how different Japan felt from Korea.  I felt more at home because Japan is a more developed nation, but I felt out of place because I couldn’t read ANYTHING!  I learned that Japanese has 3 alphabets and that even Japanese people find it hard to read.  It’s funny how quickly Hangul (the Korean alphabet) has become comfortable for me to see and read.  We really only went to the Disney parks while we were there, so I am definitely going to have to go back to experience more of Japan.

Me at Tokyo Disneyland

In Agrabah at DisneySea (yes, my hair is in the shape of Minnie Mouse ears. :p)

Bike lane in Tokyo

I also did a solo trip to Seoul last month, which is now one of my favorite cities that I have ever visited! I got to see Seoul Tower, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Cheonggyecheon stream that runs through the middle of the city, and Namdaemun Market.  But the highlight of the trip was the tour to the DMZ.  What an eerily peaceful place that is!  The videos at the museums talk about what a wonderful wildlife preserve it is, abundant with plant and animal life.  Yeah, that’s because there isn’t much human activity there because there are still mines that they are trying to find buried on the land!  I was even able to see over into North Korea and see their flag waving in the wind!  It was really surreal.

Ribbons for the families separated by the DMZ 

Getting ready to go down into the 3rd Tunnel that the North dug to the South

Me with a DMZ soldier at the Dora Observatory, where I was able to see over into North Korea

Seoul Tower (aka Namsan Tower)

Part of Gyeongbokgung Palace

The pavillions at Gyeongbokgung

Just outside the gates of Gyeongbokgung

And last weekend I went to Pohang, a little city on the beach about an hour away from Daegu, to do some sunbathing.  I overdid it on the tanning though, and ended up getting some pretty bad sunburn, something which Koreans are not really accustomed to seeing, as they wear sunscreen at the slightest chance of being exposed to the sun.  So I got some stares, laughs, gasps and comments from many people.  But despite the sunburn, I was able to go out on Friday night to one of the best hangouts in Pohang, Tilt Bar.  The foreigner community there was absolutely AWESOME!  Such a good group of people. I can’t wait to go back for some beach volleyball this summer.  🙂

I am still loving teaching here.  I love the variety that this job offers.  Even though I might be teaching the same lesson, each class reacts to it differently.  And I love that when I’m not ready to teach at 8:30 A.M., I am greeted by, “Oh, good morning teacher!” with such wide smiles and bright eyes, that I can’t help but get excited about being there.  It brightens my day immediately and completely.  They have such positive attitudes!  We started speaking tests this week, and my students even told my co-teacher that they had FUN preparing and doing the speaking test!!  It doesn’t get much better than that!

We also had Sports Day last week, where the students got a whole day off of school to participate in fun events on the track and field.  And as I walked around, I felt like a celebrity because all the students, with their smartphones, would shout, “Oh teacher! Picture!!”  I now know what it feels like to live in Hollywood. 😉

I have one more month until summer break starts.  And then I will have a 13 day vacation!!  I can’t wait to start planning my next itinerary.

Until then,

Erin