dragon caves + attack of the gorillas

Alicia, Martha and I went on a little excursion to the island of Odongdo which is located just off of the coast of Yeosu. We took a cab for $6 and walked the pretty walkway to get there, grabbing some street food along the way. I'm not sure what they are officially called but they were very similar to mini donuts with a red bean paste in the middle! They were really sweet and fresh and I don't think I'll be able to pass them up whenever I spot them.

Our plan for the day was to have a picnic next to the Cave of Dragon. Yes, that's right, a dragon's cave. How cool is that? We walked along the green pathways and I could imagine how much prettier they will be in the spring and summer when everything blossoms. (Already forming plans to return.)

After climbing down a set of stairs that swung to the right around the edge of the cliff we could see other people gathering to see the cave. We climbed down some more rocks to get a closer look! I kept trying to spot Toothless or Daenerys but unfortunately I didn't have much luck.

We climbed back up over the rocks and found a flat rock to settle on for our picnic. The day was overcast but we enjoyed the view as we ate our miss mash meal of chicken wraps, jap chae and oranges. The ocean is a comfort to me no matter where I am in the world and while I can't say I've ever had a picnic next to a dragon cave in Newfoundland, it still felt like home.

A bamboo tunnel

 Lots of little lookouts around the island.

There is a barefoot shiatsu path which is apparently great for your overall well being. 

There was a sign about reflexology at the bottom. Maybe I'll give it a try in warmer weather.

We were eager to get moving again because of the slight chill in the air and decided to wander around the island a little bit more. Maybe it's just because it's my first time going somewhere fairly touristy here in Korea, but I don't think I've ever seen so many selfie sticks in all of my life! My roomie recently bought one and it really came in handy. It was her first time testing it out and we didn't have to feel awkward about using it AT ALL. There was literally one in every group of people that we passed. I think I'm now converted: I am a fan of the selfie stick in Asia. Who needs to bother a random stranger to take a semi-decent picture? Not us!

It can be a safety hazard though, so watch out for flying sticks to the face. They pop out of nowhere. We found this to be the case later in the tighter quarters of the Aquarium, but I'll get to that after I introduce you to this special feature on Odongdo, the "Penis Tree":

They actually have signs that point the way to this phallus shaped tree. They've got quite the sense of humour here!

Moving on...



After leaving the island, the girls lead me over to get a closer look of the 2012 Expo site and on the way we saw the Hanwha Aqua Planet! Once inside we found that it was an aquarium as assumed, but also the location for the "Alive Museum" where they have trick art displays for posing. I have always wanted to do one of those!

We decided to do both!

We had so much fun looking at the beautiful fish and penguins in the aquarium, reading the poor English translation signage and going around the art displays at the Alive Museum taking silly pictures together.

  Watching sharks and sting rays swim overhead? The tunnel was definitely one of the coolest parts. 

Then we went to the Alive Museum and I played some mean tricks...

But also helped a friend in need:

I 

I grew really tall:

We even got captured by King Kong and Hulk:

Luckily we escaped and later on Martha and I had supper and watched a movie (My Neighbour Torturo from Studio Ghibli) in the safety of our apartment. It was much needed way to unwind after all the exploring we did this weekend!!

hiking + karaoke

Martha invited me along for a hike Sunday afternoon. Next thing we knew our Headmaster and his sons were joining us too and it was nice to spend some time getting to know all of them a little more.

It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day with its sunny but crisp five degree January weather. The view at the top was worth the burning in my legs and my lack of mobility that will surely set in tomorrow! I was surprised at the number of people also on the trail, as well as the age range. Grannies were taking on the hill in better time!

Afterwards we ate at a little cafe that was called Paris Bakery, but it didn't have foods that I would imagine finding in a French bakery, haha. It still all looked very delicious. I ordered a sweet and soft honey walnut bread that had cream cheese inside and a green tea that looked like it was made with fresh green leaves and a type of grain thrown in the mix.

Last night we went to a noraebang which is a big thing here in Korea. It literally means "song room" and you sing karaoke in a private room that you rent with your friends! Our room had a sparkly grey wrap around sofa with a table in the middle, disco lights and tambourines! Classy. It was such a laugh. We even sang a ton of Disney songs. I didn't pick a single one of them myself so it was like they understood me so well already.

This weekend successfully introduced me to some of the cultural experiences I'd been looking forward to trying in SK. Definitely a great start this trip!

yeosu

I've made it to my first weekend here in Yeosu! After another series of delayed and rescheduled flights and a four hour journey by bus, I finally arrived in my new city 11pm Tuesday night. I almost cried tears of pure joy when I saw that my bags graced the baggage carousel at the airport in Seoul. It's an actual miracle. My school's headmaster and his daughter picked me up and treated me to a late night waffle before bringing me to my apartment. (Did I mention it's a fifth floor walk-up?) I met my roommate, Martha, settled away some of my things and tried to get some sleep!

[Yeosu is pretty in the evening]

Somehow I got into a normal pattern. School-wise, I've spent the last few days observing another teacher doing the classes I will be taking over next week. Luckily they have a curriculum with workbooks and helpful online videos to guide the class so it shouldn't take too long to get into the swing of things.

*Fingers crossed*

[Martha and I]

Other than that, my roommate has been super helpful filling me in on things and taking me to some shops and food places nearby. We walked to E-mart a couple of nights ago, which is a lot like Walmart but with multiple levels and reminds me more of the downtown Dominion store in SJ with the cart conveyer belts. We did a quick walk through, looking for essentials to get me started. Most important on my list was food, and that presented its own kinds of challenges, simply being that I don't know what most of anything is. Thankfully some of the packaging includes a few English words or pictures to help you along. For the most part though? Guessing and hoping for the best seems to be the deal around here!

Tonight on the way home after classes we made a little stop to the local dollar store and it was surprisingly great! Better than I was expecting actually! I'll probably go by again tomorrow. Friday night is the night everyone goes out, so I got to meet a handful of other ex-pats/foreign teachers at a bar/lounge that is just a block away. It was a perfectly chill night as most are off adventuring over the winter break and will return in February. The owner, Mr. Lee was so kind, and provided all kinds of snacks for us to munch on, different chips and candy, pot stickers, french fries, chopped persimmon and Korean pear. It was a pretty sweet welcome.

Sure, there have been some frustrations, not limited to just trying to get across Canada, but my first few days here in Korea have been as good as I could have hoped. I like my roomie, the teachers I work with have been very helpful and the city is not too overwhelming.

It's nothing like home, but hopefully I can make it feel like home. So far, these girls have made me feel incredibly welcome here!

[Kacey and Rachel]

ready, set, go?

Every time before I'm about to set off on another trip I have a moment where I think to myself, "No, let's turn around and forget all about this silly idea. Why am I doing this again?"

It's a mixture of excitement fully disguised by the fear of the unknown and the impending and inevitable travel stress. This moment usually hits me on the way to the airport where I am exhausted from packing decisions and finally sitting still, looking around the car at my family--a family who hate for me to go, yet are still the ones waking up at 3am to drive me to the airport anyway.

This morning I was on the way to the airport to start the first leg of my journey to South Korea. My sister, Elizabeth came along for the ride with my parents and not long into it, she reached across the seat and held my hand. She doesn't know it but that was it; she set a sting in my eyes and an ache in my heart for leaving, silently asked a question of why I would even entertain the thought of it.

I got a second chance, in a way. On the way to the airport we discovered a little too late to turn back that my flight seemed to be delayed. I got there, checked in at the self help kiosk and there it was; instead of a 7am departure, it was a 12:50pm one instead, one that would make me miss my connecting flight to Korea. After a literal two hour conversation on the phone in my stressed, sleep deprived state (because I had hoped to be half way to Toronto and fully unconscious at that point), the kind agent worked out the option of rebooking my flight for tomorrow morning, leaving at 5am, stopping in Montreal, Vancouver and on the Seoul. Not as ideal as my original flight plan but doable, and still with a few kinks as it is the weekend and I'm hoping that somebody on the receiving end will get my messages that I will not be arriving on time after all; hoping that somebody will actually be there when I land in Korea to take me to the bus station and tell me where the heck I'm going! But I am still going despite all of these extra unknowns.

Despite the setback, I am thankful for the chance to have another big homemade waffle breakfast by my momma and to sit with family, thankful for extra sleep that may hopefully make my fight with jet lag a little easier once I'm there, and thankful for more time to squeeze in a FaceTime with Robyn.

This is not how I figured my journey to teach English in South Korea would begin, but maybe somebody knew that I secretly wasn't quite ready to go yet. It was so secret that I didn't even know it. I've been working towards this goal here and there over the last six months, but actually acquiring a job and getting everything in order in the last few weeks and over Christmas has been a whirl wind.

And, because the flight wasn't officially booked until about three nights ago, it wasn't really until last night when I finished packing and in the moments on the way to the airport that I actually accepted that I was leaving. I've just been saying yes to everything, hoping it will all come together the way it needs to. I didn't feel right announcing it until I knew for certain so a lot of people won't even know that I'm going until I'm gone, but maybe that's for the best anyway. A year is a long time.

I hope to keep everyone updated once I finally arrive and get a little more settled. It's a 12 and a half hour difference from here to there which makes it pretty easy to calculate the time difference from home. So any forms of contact while I'm navigating this new thing by myself will definitely help me feel better!

Even when I have worries about what to expect in these experiences, I push myself to do it anyway. What have I got to lose in trying something new, really?

Wish me luck!