Bicycle Bicycle Bicycle! or Cherry Blossom Paradise

Saturday, Day 1: 4:15am wake-up. Make peanut butter and jeam sandwiches for me, Elly, and Karen. Pack last-minute items. Unexpectedly catch a cab right outside my building to Beomgye station (was expecting to have to walk a little to find out). Arrive at Beomgye station at 5:00am, too early. The first train is at 5:21am. That's okay. I take out my crosswords. Karen arrives at our 5:10am set meeting time. Where's Elly? She calls. Almost there. She comes down the stairs to the platform at 5:18am, announcing "I MADE IT! I'M STILL DRUNK!" Everyone stares on. This is hilarious. Elly never gets drunk. It doesn't matter. We're all there for the first train.

We arrive in Seoul at 6:00am. Our bus is set to leave at 6:30am. Plenty of time. We're laughing.

We get on the bus. It is pretty full. The tour actually has three busloads of people all together (about 100 people). Elly and Karen sit together and I sit across the aisle from them. Enter Bernard. As I sit down I'm offering PB&J and orange juice to the girls, and Karen is offering sliced of orange and banana. Bernard comments how organized we are. I say I hope he's not allergic to peanut butter. The bus gets going. Everyone quickly falls asleep. Bernard and I chat away, instant friends. We have very similar senses of humour. We've both stayed at the same hostel in Budapest. We get along great. So great, that the guy in front of us asks us to keep it down. Too much laughing for this hour. Oops.

We arrive in Gyeongju shortly after 10:00am. Maps are distributed, with the instruction to arrive at the hotel by 6:00pm, as the dinner buses depart at 7:00pm. Our names are called in the order we signed up for the tour, to pick our picks. I initially have a pretty lime green bike with a basket picked out...last minute I change my mind and opt for a mountain bike, something I am more used to. And we're off! The first picture I snap is the one above...perfect, smooth hills. I just want to roll down them. And skip and hold hands.



City walls




Karen, Elly, and me in front of Cheom Sung Dae tower

My trusty steed

Gnarly, dude

Elly the trooper, and me

Okay. We actually did skip and hold hands in this field. Elly asked someone to just keep taking pictures of us, as we played Ring Around the Rosie and played about. It's fun having a Korean around!

Cherry blossoms

See how perfect the weather is? (I even got some sun!)

Bomun Lake

Check out these paddle boats!

I finally have evidence of a matching couple! This isn't even a good example, because they are not perfectly matched. Seriously, couples are doing this EVERYWHERE in Korea. MATCHING OUTFITS. The matchier, the better.

Arriving at the hotel at 6:45pm...we underestimated the final (intensely uphill) stretch of the bike ride, and took a wrong turn that cost us another twenty minutes. Oops. Karen is standing at the entrance of our six person room. Yes. That's right. Six. Not to worry, there is a pile of blankets and pillows in the corner! (And the floors are heated.)

Delicious ssam bop dinner (a bit of meat with many veggie and seafood sides...similar to Korean BBQ without the BBQ...basically wrapping stuff up in lettuce leaves and sesame leaves), followed by a night stroll.

Anapji Pond

The bus brings us back to our hotel, and I fall asleep immediately, 11:00pm. Day 1, success.

Sunday, Day 2: wake up at 5:00am for sunrise hike. The hotel lobby is deserted, except for me, Elly, Karen, and Bernard. Has everyone else left already? The doors are locked. Nope. No one has left. We have to unlock the doors to leave. Only the four of us did the sunrise hike, of all the people on the tour! I couldn't get over it!

5:40am departure

Exercise and fuel stop: hoola hoops, orange slices, and pineapple juice

Two hours later...at the top!

Elly, Karen, me, Bernard...the hiking and biking champs

High on life...ahhh

Gyeongju is known for its breads, and right next to this little temple was a bakery. You'll never guess which type of bun I bought...a red bean filled one!! Actually, the smallest box was a box of 20. I didn't want 20 buns. The lady was nice enough to sell me five (three traditional buns and two mini pancake sandwich style) for a good price. I thank Elly for negotiating that.

Our second day of biking was very flat, through the rice fields!

We happened upon some workers, who offered us soju (Korean vodka). Shots at 11am? Heck yes!

Ring around the sun???

The pretty bike

We had an AMAZING Korean buffet lunch. Oh my goodness, wow. SO MUCH DELICIOUS FOOD! Well-deserved after our hiking and biking adventures. Said our goodbyes, swapped information, and left on the buses at 4:00pm. Got into Seoul by 9:00pm. Asleep at home by 10:30pm. Dead on my feet on Monday. Totally worth it. Refreshing!!!

Happy Black day

Valentine's day = February 14 = girls give gifts to boys
White day = March 14 = boys give gifts to girls
Black day = April 14 = people who don't get gifts eat black noodles aka singles day haha

I took some pictures on my walk home last night...it's really lovely here in springtime! I'M SO EXCITED TO BIKE IN GYEONGJU THIS WEEKEND!!! Gyeongju is way on the other side of the country, and quite south. It takes about four hours by bus to get there. Amazing how four hours will take you to the other side of the country!!

Have I ever mentioned how much Tuesdays rock??

In the mornings I teach arts and crafts to all the six-year olds (that's Venus and Jupiter class). After lunch, I teach arts and crafts to Pluto class. Then I only have TWO elementary classes for the remainder of the day (other days I have four or five elementary classes). On top of that, one of the elementary classes is my FAVOURITE group - perfect little angels that ALWAYS do their homework, and actually LOVE learning and apply all the lessons to how they speak - and the other elementary class is a group of six-year olds that I get to do yoga with on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Let's recap: (arts and crafts) x 2 + angel group + yoga = TUESDAYS ARE AWESOME!

Funky chicken, arts and crafts

I would like to share what a responsible Canadian I am. Last week I mailed my application to receive a special ballot for the upcoming Federal election. My voting package arrived yesterday (I was notified via email late last week that it was on its way, complete with tracking number), and I've sent my ballot back to Ottawa.

Also, I think I could eat kimchi jigae every day (with a side of some sort of red bean delight, of course). Kimchi jigae is kimchi stew. Kimchi is spicy fermented cabbage. The stew is spicy, and also has tofu and little bits of pork in it. It's a beautiful thing.

Happy birthday, Matthew!

Choose Your Own Adventure...

I chose to be hooked up to the IV. It was either that, or a shot in the bum. Let me backtrack...

Last Wednesday night I slept terribly. I had a killer sore throat and couldn't breathe out my nose. Thursday I could barely speak (thank goodness most of my students respected that and were extra quiet so I could whisper to them). I asked to leave early, as I have the last two periods off on Thursdays, but my supervisor said I had to go to the doctor if I left. So I did. I didn't have to wait very long to see him. Apparently my symptoms are very common for Korean springtime, and it's just a bad cold. Anyways, then I was given the option of the IV or the shot in the bum. Both were new to me, so I opted for the IV. I didn't realize that this would be performed in the waiting room. The poor boy sitting with his dad must have been traumatized..."look what they do to the foreign people!" Looking back, I sure hope the shot in the bum wouldn't have happened in the waiting room...hmmm.

Elly, my lovely Korean friend and coworker, was such a dear. She met me at the doctor after work (I think the receptionist was relieved to have a translator), came with me to the pharmacy to pick up my meds, took me home, and brought me Korean porridge. So sweet and thoughtful and unnecessary, but oh so appreciated. THANK YOU ELLY!! My sore throat is definitely gone, but I'm still quite congestioned. I guess it's that time of year.

Some artwork I found this weekend...

I had a pretty quiet and restful weekend, for obvious reasons. Saturday was BEAUTIFUL and I went for a long walk, then met up with my friend Neil. We spent a lot of time in Central Park, and walked around some too. We ended up at a rooftop BBQ with some of Neil's friends (some of whom I knew as well). Great food, new and familiar faces, a really pleasant day. I always end up hanging out with the boys. I guess that's just what I do!Actually, I felt at my healthiest after taking a sip of someone's home-brewed pepper soju - soju is Korean vodka. It certainly cleared my sinuses RIGHT up. I've been making sure to eat lots of kimchi at lunch this week as well. I usually pass on it, but again, it clears everything.

Rooftop view - Anyang at night

There was a failed attempt, asking one of the building workers to turn the lights on the roof. We improvised with candles.

On Sunday I decided to check out MY rooftop, since I hadn't yet. Nice view and nice places to sit. It was a very hazy and windy day.

I found another reading and writing spot along the river too! It kind of juts out right to the water.

Then I headed to my favourite coffee spot - Zoo Coffee - and ordered from the "I'm Korean" menu, as I usually do: honey and red ginseng tea. Mmmm. Then I meandered past one of my favourite shops - a new piercing and tattoo parlour that just opened. I happened to go inside on their second day, and have been browsing ever since. They have really nice earrings. I finally got a couple pairs of studs on Sunday. Plus I like talking to the shop owners. They are two really nice girls that I want to be friends with. Perhaps I will ask for their phone numbers...they always seem to want to chat. It would be cool to hang out with them...!

I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS WEEKEND!! Elly, Karen, and I are going on a bike trip in Gyeongju, a province south of here. The cherry blossoms are in bloom at this time of year and are supposed to be especially beautiful in the south. A weekend of hiking and biking and temples awaits!!! We'll have a very early start on Saturday, however, as the tour bus leaves Seoul at 6:30am. We're going to take the 5:20am metro out of here first thing that morning, to give us plenty of time.

I AM SO EXCITED FOR NEXT TUESDAY! Hunter and I are going to a concert in Hongdae: The Radio Dept. WEE!

Let me tell you about the gym. There are three Indonesian men that are always there when Karen and I are there. Karen started talking to them, and so I occasionally speak to them as well. Suddenly, within the last couple weeks, they have become very friendly. B is the ring leader, suggesting we all go for drinks sometime. He'll come up beside me while I'm lifting weights and start to dance. Then today he and R were showing me some other weights. It was all in good fun...it just felt like they were checking out my butt! hahaha It just amuses me.

This gal is out. Bed time! xo

Fairytales and Princesses

I must say that having my students call me "Goldilocks" and "Cinderella" this week is a step up from last week's "as fat as Leah teacher". haha Oh, Korea. I thank you for your mild mild spring. It's been 16-18 degrees and sunny all week, and will be the same on the weekend! (Though, it is supposed to rain tomorrow. Meh, it's a work day for me.) I thank you for all the people that have no shame in shouting and pointing "Waygookin!" when they see me. This is the Korean word for "foreigner". Men, women, and children do this on a regular basis. I thank you for the giggly school girls and boys who say, "HELLO!" when they see you. There was a group of three especially giddy girls that greeted me as I left the gym today. They got so bashful when I replied. As we carried on, one said, "very pretty". Aww. Now who's the bashful one? Most of all, I thank Korea for introducing me to (one of) the love(s) of my life, red bean: red bean porridge, red bean paste, everything red bean. I seriously cannot get enough of my fishie-shaped pancakes filled with red bean. There are some red bean popsicles that I am keen to try. And on the weekend I tried this ice cream sandwich...it was fish-shaped, with vanilla ice cream and, you guessed it, red bean. YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My Venus kids are hilarious. The arts and crafts and science activities for April were late arriving this month, so the kids' schedule had to get moved around. Venus class was mad at me on Monday when science wasn't available. They were doubly angry yesterday when arts and crafts wasn't available. "I'm sorry, Venus class! The mail is slow!" "Leah Teacher, it's NOT okay!", shout nine little students, not quite in unison. I was almost their hero this morning as I announced that science had arrived and we could do it for our first period. I totally blew it. I called them "Mercury class", and they HATE when I do that. I quickly learnt that my first few days as Venus teacher, after addressing Mercury for half a year. Yes, I was very fast to correct and catch myself. However, I slipped up today. Ouch. Oh dear. I will definitely post a photo of Pluto's craft for this week. They had to make Africans...?????? Knowing that teacher's college (I've officially accepted Ottawa) is in the not-so-distant future has provoked many feelings this past weekend. I feel relief, to FINALLY know what the next chapter of my adventure holds. I feel nostalgic, as I really do love living here. There are many things I still want to do, and suddenly five months doesn't seem enough time! I will definitely take advantage of my time here and enjoy it. I feel ready to go back to school. I've been out for three years now and I am really looking forward to the craziness that readings and assignments and exams bring (I say that now). It's exciting to know I am getting closer and closer to where I ultimately want to be. I feel...matured? As much as I love my nomadic lifestyle, I am eager to be part of something not-so temporary. To get really personal, if the right person comes along, I will be in a place where I know I'll be more willing to, um, accommodate. I absolutely REFUSE to say "settle down". That makes my stomach flop, and not in a good way. Haha Someday? I was so exhausted from all the excitement of the week that I went to bed at 11 last Friday night. Saturday morning I was up and went for my first outdoor run here. It was great! I ran along the river. Lots of people are always out and about on the pathways there. Hunter and I had a fantastic evening celebrating Ottawa. We ened up at Slang, described as "clubby bar", and were surrounded by Koreans. It was awesome and hilarious and all of them wanted to dance with us and be our friends. B-list celebs right here. Oh ya. Sunday was lovely. I packed up some almonds, strawberries, and crosswords, and sat in the sun. Met up with Melissa for coffee, then we took a nice walk along the river. Somehow, pretty much EVERY weekend I end up at Uniqlo, a Gap/Old Navy-esque store, though I don't always buy things. So we went there together too. Sunday was a VERY early night to bed. And here I am, on WEDNESDAY evening already! It scares me how fast time flies! Pictures soon! Thanks again for all the love, support, and good vibes re: teacher's college!! xo

THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOL'S JOKE

I GOT INTO OTTAWA!!!

This was my first choice for teacher's college programs!!!!! Junior/intermediate (grades 4-10), science as my teachable. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

I found out during one of my breaks at work today. I checked my email and started screaming and dancing around the staff room. It will take a long time to get me down from this high. I'm not sure I was expecting to react so excitedly...it must be right!

In other news, I wore my hair in a braid today. Coworkers and students alike all seemed to comment (positively). Perhaps because I wear my hair down/loose EVERY SINGLE DAY?

I love my Friday walk home through the evening market. Every vendor always seems to give me extra stuff when I buy from them, and offers many samples after-the-fact, too. It's so great!

Happy Friday!