Belgium...home base

My whole reason for my trip to Europe was to see my trael buddy, Elen. She lives in Belgium, and I was able to use her house as a home base. I couldgo anywhere from where she is, so I took day trips, weekend trips, etc from her location.

While I was there the first time, I did a hop on bus tour. Here is some of the info I learned from this tour:
- Brussels is known for having a large number of museums - 10 museums are within 100 meters from the Grand Palace.
- There are over 100 museums in Belgium
- It is the Art nu'voue (sp?) capitol of the world.
- Brussels is only 162 sq.meters
- The mayor is called a "burgermeister"
- 2012 was the year of gastronomy....there was a campaign called "Brusselicious"
- Brussels has its own copy of the Parisian SacreCure (sp?)
- The Atomonium is Brussels symbol (like the Eiffel Tower is to Paris) and in 1954 it was presented at the World's Fair. It hs 9 spheres and is the model of an Atom magnified 165 times.
- Basilica of Sacred Heart is the largest Basilica in the world.
- There are over 5,000 diplomated in Belgium (used to be the old capital of the EU)
- There are 45 cartoon murals in Brussels (its known for its cartoons, smurfs and Tin Tin included)
- The Mannekin Piss is the famous statue in Brussels...a statue of a little boy peeing. Sometimes he is dressed up (I saw him dressed in khakis, polo, and baseball hat). There are various stories as to how this statue came about. One story is that during one of the wars, he put out a fire by peeing on it, another story is that he was a lost child and when his father found him, he was peeing.
- The Congo used to be a Belgium colony

While I was in Brussels, I took trips to Brugges, Ghent, and Antwerp...

Brugges
- Tower of Our Lady is the tallest building in Brugge
- Brugge was famous for its linen
- The oldest building here is 600 years old

While I was in Brugge, I spent the morning seeing the town via a day tour, and then did a canal cruise. The city has canals all throughout it, and we were able to see much of the city. Then I had an afternoon beer tasting with a few people on my tour. Then, it was time for Ghent for the afternoon.

Ghent
- 1000 years old
- The biggest painting in Ghent has a panel that has been stolen. It is somewhere in Ghent, but no one knows where. Due to this, even the copies have the panel removed.
- The dragon is the symbol of Ghent
- Ghent and Brugges used to be enemies
- The 3 towers of Ghent are 1) St. Baso Cathedral, 2) Belfry - made in 1613, 3)St. Nicholas Church
- You can see all 3 towers from the main square

We did not stay long in Ghent. Just long enough to see the 3 towers, and walk to the bridge overlooking the harbor.

Antwerp
Another day, I headed to Antwerp with a girl I had met the week before. We hopped on the train and headed to the city. Once in, we grabbed a bus tour, and saw the main sites. The Grand Central Station is apparently the most beautiful station in Europe (I would have to agree with this!). It even has a zoo attached to it. Antwerp is known for its diamonds, and you can even visit diamond workshops to see how they are cut.

We grabbed lunch in one of the squares, and came upon a FABULOUS special; bread, soup, salad, fries, and the main course for only 12euros! We couldnt believe it! It was very delicious (I got the pork skewers as my main course) and then we got free shots of Ameretto after our meal.

Afterwards we headed to the main port, which was were all the business used to happen (it was a trading port back in the old days). We got to see tons of ships still there, and then we headed back to the main station to head back to Brussels.

While in Brussels I made sure to try the popular foods:
- Beer; there is over 2000 belgium beers I believe. I went to Delirium Cafe where they have that many on the menu. It is a Guiness Book of World Reords spot, as in 2004 it was named as the cafe with the most beers being on hand to be served.
- Waffles; there are 3 different kinds (I tried all 3). The first is the regular Brussels Waffle. Nothing TOO special about it, but it was good. Then is the Lietse (sp?) Waffle...MY FAVORITE!! When you bite into it, there are little pockets of sugar.MMMMM. The last is the Tourist Waffle. It is a normal belgium waffle, with toppings. I had one with strawberries, chocolate, and whipped cream.
- Chocolate; YES. YES it is worth the hype. A few of us made up a "chocolate crawl" and hit a whole street of chocolate shops. We had 2 chocolates in each shop.  By the end, we were all chocolated out (for the next hour). Pralines originally come from Belgium, so I made sure to try various ones. The chocolate here is soft and rich. I love it. The place I like the best is Leonidas (Elen recommended it to me, and I agree with her recommendation).
- Fries; yes french fries. They actually come from Belgium, and come in a paper cone. There are fry stands EVERYWHERE, and you can choose from a variety of different sauces for the fries. Most Belgiums put mayo on their fries. I tried them with Andalouse sauce, and then later with ketchup and mayo.
- Mussels; apprently Mussels in Brussels is a very traditional dish. Since it can be pricey in the returants, Elen made some for me at her house, and yes they were delicious.

Whelp, now that I've spent a ton of time in Belgium, its time to move on....

Dag,
Apes :)

Neuschwanstein Castle....of dreams

Ever wonder where Walt Disney got his inspiration for the Disney Princes Castle? Well, from a castle outside of München, Germany. Since I had been to Disney Paris a few weeks ago, I decided to visit the inspiration of Mr. Disey himself.

So, Tuesday morning I got up and headed on the tour. I met my group around 930am, and we headed off....on a 2 hour train ride to the town that the castle is located in. Once at the town, we hiked up a VERYsteep mountain for about 30 minutes and then we were at the top! The castle was GORGEOUS. It was also unfinished....here's some info:

The castle was built by King Ludwig, who was declared insane, and died 6 months after moving into the castle. The mystery of his death is still unsolved, but he died when he was 40. I couldnt take pictures inside, but I got a few outside of the castle. Inside the castle I saw the servants chambers, the kings quarters (and his privte altar which had a crucifix made of ivory), and the singers hall. In the singers hall there is a HUGEmural of the royal forest. You can see that this is where Mr. Disney got his idea for Bambi...the forest looked EXACTLY like the one Bambi lives in....from the trees, to Bambi's dad, and even the birds. Throughout the whole castle was the same animal....SWANS. Yup, Mad Ludwig loved swans. There were swan vases, paintings, curtains, even swan DOORKNOBS! It was pretty ridiculous.

Berlin - on a BOAT!

So for 2 weeks of my Euro trip I was to be joined with none other than MEGAN BEAZLEY!! So Wednesday after Oktoberfest, I was off to Berlin to meet her at our hostel.

After almost missing my bus out (as in the bus was pulling out of the station when I flagged it down) I arrived on the other side of Germany, Berlin! I cabbed it to my hostel to meet up with Beaz. We stayed at Eastern Comfort, and it was a Boat Hostel. Yes, we slept on a boat. Once I arrived, I went down to the room and was reunited with my main girl!

Reunited and it feels so good!!

We spent the day wandering out, grabbing dinner (she had her first Kebab), and then relaxed the night away. She was jet-lagged, and I was just plain tired. We planned the next day what we wanted to do, then we made sure we were up and ready when the sun came.

One we got up, we had breakfast and then ventured over to the Brandenburg Gate to meet our free walking tour. We spent about 2-3 hours walking the main streets of Germany, and here's some of what we learned/saw:

- The statue on top of the Brandenburg Gate is Arenia, who is the goddess of peace. Her name was changed after the war to Victoria, who is the goddess of victory. The statue is facing Paritz Platz and is viewed as having "Victory over Paris"
- The Victory Column was erected for the Unification War

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

- The Holocaust Memorial is called "The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe". The location (in the middle of the city) is so that people are forced to remember the past during their daily lives. It is made up of 2711 blocks all the same size and height and it is open to interpretation. The artist has never said what the memorial actually represents.
- Hitler died by a cyanide and gunshot suicide
- In 1953 36,000 people protested FOR democracy and lost to communism.

Inside the Memorial

- On the East side of the wall of Germany no one was allowed to get close. If you were found getting too close, you were arrested. There was a "death strip" in between the walls and the soldiers were told to "kill on command" if you tried to cross to the wall leading to West Germany.

Checkpoint Charlie

- Checkpoint Charlie was the 3rd checkpoint to get into Berlin. (Checkpoint Alpha was the 1st, then you passed Checkpoint Bravo, and THEN Checkpoint Charlie). The Soviets and Americans both shared Checkpoint Charlie.
- At the modern day Checkpoint Charlie there is a poster of an American soldier facing the soviet side, and a Soviet soldier facing the American side.
- Gendamenmart (the Square of Tolerance) has a French Cathedral and a German Cathedral facing each other. Both are identical, but the German cathedral is 1 foot taller.
- The Opera House in the "book burning square" was the 1st free standing opera house in Europe, and was COMPLETELY destroyed by they allied forces twice.
- In the Book Burning Square 20,000 books that didn't preach about Naziism were burned in public.
- "Bibliotek" is the memorial for the book burning. It is a hole in the ground full of empty bookshelves (you have to look through glass on the ground to see it). The quote on the memorial is Israeli "When you burn books, you burn people"
- Friedrisch the Great was the first every to be called Great while he was still alive.

TV Tower

- The TV Tower in Germany was built to prove the Germans could build a tall building without the help from the western world. At the time, it was the tallest building in Europe.
- The East German leaders took down all crosses in Europe, but when the sun his the TV Tower, it makes a cross.
- The TV tower is also called "Pope's Last Revenge" and "Pope's Last Erection"
- At the Protest in Liupsy the people chanted "We are the people". When the police came, it ended politely. Each week the protest gets larger and larger. This gave way to East Germans being allowed into West Germany, with a long list of stipulations.
- At a press conference, a memo was read (without preparation) and when the speaker gets asked about East and West Germany, he reads a line out loud "Restrictions lifted" and adds "as of now" on his own. The people storm the wall and the peacefully break the wall and the Fall of the Berlin Wall takes place.

After the tour, since we enjoyed our guide so much, we decided to do his afternoon tour. He then took us on his "Alternative Tour" which was about the artwork (graffiti) around Berlin. We learned that a lot of the graffiti is actually advertisements for artists in the area. We got to learn some of the meanings behind some of the work around the city, and I will say that now when I see graffiti, it just doesn't compare to Berlin graffiti.

After our 2nd tour, we had dinner with 2 of the girls from our tours (schnitzel!) and then met up with some other tour friends at the pub crawl. We hopped to 5 different bars - and at each bar you got a free shot of Jager with your drink. Yes, ANY drink. I ordered a cup of water at one point, and it came with Jager! Yes, I was LOVING Berlin. At the end of the night, Beaz and I headed to the area by the East Side Gallery (where we were staying) which looks like a big graffiti park, but in reality it is a big bar area. We explored a few of the bars there, with one of the pub crawl guides, and then made it back home around 5am (I'm assuming that's what time it was).

Once we woke back up, it was time to pack up and check out....and head to our next destination, PRAGUE!

Guten Tag,
Apes :)

Dachau - the very first Concentration Camp

After recovering from our time at Oktoberfest, we (Elen, Andres, and I) decided to visit a concentration camp. So we went to Dachau, but little did we know that it was the VERY FIRST concentration camp. It's the one that started it all. We had a great guide, he was SO knowledgeable, and I couldn't write down everything he said fast enough. But, here is what I did happen to write down:

- The gate at each concentration camp has " Arbeit Macht Frei" on it. It means "work will set you free". Obviously it was a lie, you worked until you were dead.
- Each camp had "Coppolas" and "Block Elders" who were other prisoners that were put in charge of the prisoners in their areas.
- Dachau was 40 acres large.
- Each camp had a "roll call square" where the prisoners would line up twice a day and would be counted by block elders. Sick and dead bodies had to be brought to the roll call as well. Sometimes the roll call would take 22 hours.
- If you were able to escape, it was still 300km to Switzerland. So you were usually recaptured. Once recaptured, you were hanged.
- The say 3 things would be taken from you as soon as you entered: 1) Personal Goods, 2) Civil Rights, 3) Humanity
- Extermination Camps were only in the East, and they were to get rid of the Intellectuals.
- T4 program is where handicaps were sent to die. There were 250,000 people in the T4 program. Mothers protested the program and the program ended.
- The registration process had 4 steps: 1) Line up, 2) Strip naked, 3) Shaved their head, 4) Shower
- The registration table was manned by other prisoners. Since they spoke other languages, they could give tips to the incoming prisoners without the soldiers understanding what they were saying (for example, "learn to count to 25 in German)
- As a form of punishment the prisoners would be whipped 25 times. At each whip, the prisoner had to count off in German. If they said the wrong number, it would start over. If they didn't know German, they would be whipped to death.
- If you were sent to the Infirmary you were given 1/2 rations, and no medical attention.
- Around the perimeter of the camp there was grass, followed by a dry ditch, electric fence, a canal, and SS stations. They soldiers were ordered to kill on sight, so if you stepped on the grass, you were shot at.
- Guards would throw prisoners caps while they were walking, and when the prisoners would go to get the cap from the grass, they would be shot with the excuse "they were running toward the fence"
- Whenever a soldier shot a prisoner "trying to escape" they were given a day off work.
- Barrack X was a "killing via cyanide" barracks. It took 15-20 minutes for the prisoners to die once the cyanide was released.
- There is no evidence that Barrack X was used at Dachau because everyone at the camp died, and the SS doesn't have a statute of limitations (so no one will come forward to confess crimes).
- Germans no longer use the German word for "shower" due to the "shower rooms" from the concentration camps.
- In the barracks the prisoners were separated by nationalities to inflame hatred, but it backfired and the prisoners banded together.
- Prisoners at Dachau could send letters and receive packages.
- Children went with moms to the gas chambers.
- At one point, the soldiers made a brothel on camp with prisoners from women's camp in order to encourage men to work harder. The men refused to go to the brothel so the SS closed it down.
- The memorial at Dachau has the colors/symbols from the nationalities represented on the uniforms. The exceptions are Pink, Green, and Black. The pink represents homosexuals (homosexuality was illegal at the time the memorial was built). The green represented common criminals (which were usually the coppolas and block elders at the camp. The black represented gypsy's and are still discriminated against.
- The "electric fence" statue at Dachau is also in Israel. It depicts what the artist said the prisoners bodies looked like when they threw themselves against the fence to commit suicide.
- At each concentration camp there are the "Ashes of Unknown Concentration Camp Survivor" because German law states that once a cemetery, it will ALWAYS be a cemetery. With the ashes at each camp, the camps can never be torn down and history can never be forgotten.

Being at the camp was definitely eye opening. Walking around, I still couldn't grasp what the prisoners went through, and until I went to Auschwitz, I couldn't grasp the size of the camp.

- Apes  

Oktoberfest!!

Yup, I went to Oktoberfest. The REAL one, in Munich, Germany. And it was great.

Saturday morning we (Elen, Andres, and I) arrived in Munich. We hopped off the bus and made our way to our home for the next few days...Elen's friend Joules. Once at Joules' apartment, he fixed up a traditional Bavarian breakfast: Vealwurst with sweet mustard, Bretzels, and BEER! Then, after we were rested up (sleeping on a bus isn't exactly refreshing), it was off to the VIESEN!!!

As we walked over to the festival grounds, we found a little shop that was selling Dirndl's for not TOO expensive, so of course, we went in so I could get Oktoberfes-ed out! While I picked out my attire for the day, they gave us free beers (yeah, I was LOVING the oktoberfset spirit). Once I picked out a red/black/white one, it was time to go.

Once at the fairgrounds, I was QUITE surprised at what Oktoberfest really was (and VERY happy that I was wearing my Dirndl, so I fit right in). I always thought it was just people in their oktoberfest clothes (dirndls and lederhosen) sitting at picnic tables drinking huge beers, kinda like this:

And while essentially, yes, that DOES happen....that's not what it is really. Oktoberfest is like a huge state fair! There are rides, games, souvenirs, and carnival food (well, Germany style). And THEN there are HUGE tents...and that's where Oktoberfest REALLY is. Yup, that's where you sit at the tables and drinks liters of beers. But there is a catch....you MUST be sitting at a table in order to get a beer. But, in order to be at a table, you have to get there early or else the tables will fill up. But with like 20 huge tents, there are PLENTY of seats....you just have to pick the right tent.

...and luckily, we picked the right tent! Joules had some friends at one of the tents, so once we made it through the line, we were able to squeeze into one of the outside tables, and then the BEER WAS DELIVERED! The beers were about 10€ each (well, less then that, but then you tip, so it still came out to 10€) for a liter. You just got to sit and drink, and the servers would walk around with full beers and if they saw you were emnpty, they'd plop one down, and take your money. NO WAITING! It was great! Check me out:

Once it started getting late in the evening, we braved the inside of the tent. And boy, was I impressed! It was EXACTLY like the Festhaus at Busch Gardens....tons of tables lined up, everyone still dressed up, a stage with the Bavarian band in the middle, the only difference was that everyone was dancing on the tables!

We stayed until the tent closed (of course) - which was about 11pm. Then it was off to visit a friend of Joules who was celebrating a birthday. So off we went (me, still in my Drindl) and there it was...my first time at REAL oktoberfest...I couldn't wait to go back again (and I would, in about 2 weeks, with Megan Beazley in tow).

Guten Tag,
Apes :)

Paris, FRANCE (not Texas)

So....it was time. 70 days in Europe. First stop...PARIS!!!!

On the flight (which I was NOT late for) I could tell I was headed to France - there was a woman walking around in between meals with a basket of baguettes to pass out. Each meal came with bread and GOOD cheese. Yup, I was heading to Paris. And eventhough I flew on 911, all went well and after 11 hours, I landed safely. 

As I waited at the starbucks to meet up with my host, I had my first impressions of Paris.
- Parisians are beautiful.
- Paris is GORGEOUS.
- Paris is also cold.

Once I met up with my LOVELY Parisian host, Samy, I got settled while he cooked me a homeade meal: wine and cheese to start, then quiche and a mozzarella salad. And for dessert a chocolate fudgy cake. Yup, I was in heaven.

Thursday was my first day to explore. I went to La Madeline Cathedral, El Concorde, the Gardens, Musee del Louvre (I didn't go in, but I saw it from the outside), Musee D'Orssey,  and the Arc de Triomphe. I spent all day at the sites, loving the scenes in Paris, and using my few French phrases that I knew. Even being alone in the city was completely magical.

That night Elen got into town, and Friday I FINALLY made one of my childhood dreams come true...I WENT TO DISNEYLAND! Me and her headed out Friday morning, taking the subway to the park. We spent the day with our minnie mouse ears acting like a kid. Riding rides, meeting the characters, and having a wonderful time at the park.

When we got home from Disney, we were at a birthday party for SAMY!!! His apartment was filled with friends (all willing to speak English to me), champagne, wine, and snacks. Being at a French houseparty was great, TONS of wine...but the REAL drink of choice with Parisians is champagne. Those bottles are the first to go, and even when they are gone, Parisians still hunt the house for more.

Saturday we didn't even wake up until 430pm, so we had dinner and then got ready for the next party. Some people from Fridays party was there, so it was nice to see some familiar faces. I met a few Americans, and we ate and drank and danced into the wee hours of the morning. I even met the man who brought Chipotle to Paris. He said if I came into the shop the next day, he would even make me a special burrito!! Once we left the party, Elen and I stayed up until the sun came up catching up and talking.

Sunday Samy took me on a last day tour of his city. We rode his scooter all over town, from the church on the top of the hill (Sacre Coure) to watch street performers with the GORGEOUS backdrop of the city. We stopped for lunch and I tried Escargo for my first time...and LOVED it. I also had duck and potatoes for lunch, and even tried ordering a carafe of water in French. I ended up asking for a carafe of milk, but luckily SAMY clarified it witht the waiter so we didn't end up with the milk. I got to the Eiffel Tower when it was still light out, but by the time I got to the top it was dark, so I got to see all the lights of Paris.

Then it was time to head back to Elen, and for us to get on the road to Belgium.

But all in all, I would have to say that Paris is one of the prettiest places I've seen. Every street was full of Parisian style, and I constantly found myself in awe. I definitely found myself wanting to stay longer, but it was time to go. I LOVED my time in the city, and most of it was due to having an awesome host, SAMY.

Aur Voir,
Apes :)

Goodbye to Jinan

I'm sitting on a bus to Seoul, on my way out of Jinan for my last time. My bags are under the bus, my Ipod is in, and my Lonely Planey (Estern Europe) is in my bakpack, not yet dog-eared. Iam fullof  emotions...

I am sad to leave, which is a little surprising since I didn't enjoy Korea when I first was getting settled in my tiny town. But, now that a year has come and gone, I had come to consider my small town a home, and got used to the Korean style of living. Ive left other countries before, and other schools. However, this is the first time I have left a school (well, 4 schools!!) that I taught at for a year....and it is a lot more sad than leaving after a semester! The kids at y varios schools have all said their goodbye, some with hugs, some with gifts, some even with phone calls. All said it with "miss you Teacher!"

My town has had its ups and downs, but of course, what place doesn't? My trio has slowly dwindled...first Sam went back to Australia, and now Iam headed on to a new adventure myself. Now, it is just Jaclyn left. Luckily she will have my replacement and the other forigners in town to keep her sane.

But...I can only be sad for so long, because at the end of this bus trip Iwill be in Seoul. I will have a "last night out" with my friends from all over Korea, some from Jeonju, some from weekend tours, and some from my travels in the Philippines. How can I NOT be excited for that???

...and then once all my friends head back to their towns for another week of teaching, I will get ready for my next adventure. EUROPE!!!!! Iwill spend 70 days traveling through the various countries, sometimes couchsurfing, sometimes backpacking, but most of the time I will be visiting with friends I've made along my travels. Iwill get to explore Europe with local "guides" ineach place.

As Dr.Seuss said "Oh the places you'll go!"

Ghamsamnidah,
Apes

Goodbye Korean Students and Teachers

So this week marks the end of my contract in Korea, which also means it marks the completion of a FULL year in Korea.

There were times where I was fed up with students (who wouldn't have it happen at some point) but this week definitely showed me that my students actually WILL miss me.

Monday/Tuesday: Girl's Middle School (6 classes)
My grade 1 classes all wrote letters to me about how much they would miss me. Since their English isn't that great, it was really sweet of them. Most of the letters where about my pretty hair (which is now purple) and apologies for them talking in class.

My grade 3 classes BOTH surprised me with parties!
3.2 class (I had first). When I walked into the class, they pulled ribbon poppers, and had a cake with lit candles for me. They they had a spread of food for a party, and tons of messages on the board for me.
3.1 class had blown up balloons for my entrance and as I "walked the catwalk" into the class they sang "Over the Rainbow" to me and had a spread of food for another surprise party. Yeah, it was pretty awesome.

Wednesday: Elementary School
Since I teach grades 3-4 together, and grades 5-6 together, the teachers took a picture of me with the classes, and then they printed them off and gave them to me before I left. My Grade 5 students gave me a picture of their class, with a note from each of them written in the border.

Thursday: Elementary School
For grades 3-5 we had a movie/snack party, and the students gave me tons of snacks. My grade 4's (which have slowly made me like Thursdays a little bit) gave me goodbye notes and some gifts. One girl (the quietest in the class) spent the first 20 minutes of class writing a letter to me. She had made a draft in her notebook, and she copied it over VERY NEATLY to stationary to give to me before I left. My grade 6 students (which I'm NOT the fondest of) just watched movies in class, but the one GOOD student remembered that I liked coconut chips, and brought me a bag of them, with a goodbye letter.

Philippines....woooooo

So, summer break came and went. And it came awfully slow and went awfully fast!

I decided to head over to Boracay Island in the Philippines. I have heard great things about it from the other teachers (and from Filipinos) so I decided to just pack up and go. So I booked my tickets....and headed to Seoul the night before to stay with a friend.

Once in Seoul, she decided to treat me to flavored soju...and once we woke up the next morning, I had missed my flight and she was late to her English Camp. NOT a good start to the holiday. So, after going the wrong way on the subway for an hour, I spent $100 on a cab to the airport, at which none of my tickets could transfer to a later flight, so I had to pay for ALL new tickets. Not fun.

After my crazy trip (rebooked flights, sleeping in airports, assigned seats that didn't exist, ferries, etc)...I arrived Saturday morning at the hostel.

I MADE IT TO THE ISLAND!!!

Upon my arrival, I immediately met up with 2 of my korean friends (Will and Amelia) and started my adventures.

Day 1 (Saturday): Island Hopping! The 3 of us headed to our own boat and went out to Crocodile Island for snorkeling (and getting stung by jellyfish). Afterwards, we were taking to Puka Beach where the sand is made of puka shells and its quite and UBER relaxing.

Island Hopping Buddies

The blue starfish were my favorite things underwater!

Once we finished our day of island-ing, we grabbed some grub, then laid on the beach till the PUB CRAWL! Amelia and I suited up in our yellow pub crawl shirts and headed to the first bar. There we met a bunch of other pub crawlers, and our night began! We spent the night making friends, and taking tons of photos.

We're ready for fun!

My Pub Crawl #1 group :)

Day 2 (Sunday): Helmet Diving! Amelia and Will left in the morning, so I was left to my own devices to find something to do. Luckily, there was a couple at the reception desk about to go helmet diving, so I joined in, and we convinced another guy (Andrew) to join us.

What is helmet diving?? It's when you go underwater with no snorkel, no scuba gear, JUST a helmet filled with air. You're tethered to the boat, so you can't go far. You can't go far anyways, because it is HARD to walk underwater!

Me and my helmet divers!

These are what we wear

The group!

Apes just fish-watching in her helmet.

Helmet diving was neat. I've been snorkeling AND scuba diving, so it was a different experience to have. It was weird actually having nothing on your face directly, just the helmet covering your whole head. I kept forgetting I could look up and down, I just kept looking forward at the fish. The guys in charge gave us some bread to feed the fish as well, so that was cool watching them come to us for food.

Afterwards, we grabbed lunch then Andrew and I walked down to station 3 to see what it was all about (we were staying in Station 2, with the most activity). We found lots of seafood buffets (which we tried out later in the week). That night there was a party at a bar called "Juice" and it was "coyote" themed. Needless to say, we suited up, and went out. Later in the evening, a bunch of other people from our Hostel (Frendz) came and we ended up partying in a huge group. 

Day 3 (Monday): Ariel's Point! Before even hitting the island, I had already heard about Ariel's Point. It's a cliff diving site with GREAT food, and an endless bar. So of course, I was planning on going. I convinced my helmet diving friends to come along, and then recruited one of my pub crawl buddies (Josh) from Saturday night to join. We boarded the boat, then set sail to the Point! On the boat, we had some beers and a good time. Once at the Point, we had to trek through caves to get to the top. Then, it was JUMPING TIME! There are 3 levels you can jump at: 5meters, 8meters, and 15meters. I got nervous at the 5meters, and couldn't do it at first. Everyone was watching and there was too much pressure!! Once we got served food (the best Filipino food I had on the whole island), I snuck away and jumped 4 TIMES! One of the girls (Marquia) caught me, and she came down and they brought us canoes. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, canoeing, and just enjoying life. But then...it was time to go. BOOOO.

Heading to the boat.

Ariel's Point!

Caves to get in

Scaredy Cat...not being very adventurous

Canoe Time!

Once back on land, we got ready for the Pub Crawl. Yup - I went again! The helmet diving group wanted to go, so of COURSE I had to join them. And it wasn't hard to convince my fellow pub-crawler, Josh to do it again.

Some of the girls.

Some of the #2 pub crawlers.

Day #4-5 (Tuesday/Wednesday): I'm in a MOVIE! On Tuesday, no one wanted to do ANYTHING! Most people were exhausted from the pub crawl, but I was exhausted from the last 3 days! So, I met up with the helmet divers for lunch, and then on my way to the beach chairs, I ended up in a movie! I mean, of COURSE I ended up in a movie, right?

So here's how it happened.

"Ahh, I'm exhausted from lunch, I'm ready to nap on the beach chairs" I think as I walk towards our chairs. But wait, what is this crowd of people standing around? Hmm, weird. Oh wait! I know those 2 guys in the middle, I'll go ask them. So I walk up to the 2 guys that stay in my guesthouse and ask them what's going on.
"Oh, we're in a movie."
"A movie?" I ask. 
"Yeah, just stand here, and you'll be in it to."
"Ah, ok cool."
So I stand around chatting for a while, and then the director comes up and asks if I'm one of "RJs Girls". I tell him I don't know RJ, and then "RJ" appears.
"You wanna be in movie?"
"Sure. I've got no other plans today."
"Ok, sign and print your name here, we will have 2 scenes today."
"Ok." So I sign and print my name. Then I'm tired of standing so I tell him I'm going back to shower and get my bathing suit on. He tells me to return around 3pm.

....and that's how my movie career started. I was in 3 scenes over 2 days:
Scene 1: I lay on the beach bed with my friend. We "pretend" to nap. The stars are beside us having their scene. I napped for real so I have NO idea what the scene entailed.
Scene 2: I chat with my friend on the beach chairs. Then I stand up and SAY (yes, I got a line!) "I'm getting in the water" and then I run to the beach.
Scene 3: My "island boyfriend" (he's had a different girl in each scene!) and I are walking to a fire show. Then the main characters ask us to take their picture by a sandcastle. My bf takes the picture, then we continue walking to the fire show and take a seat. I also get fire on me because the director didn't plan a direct path.

So there ya go....Apes is an Actor. Look for me on the big screen at the movie: "Status. It's Complicated." 

The comedian getting dolled up beside me.

The island boys...look for them on the big screen!

My view from my position on set.

The rest of Day #4-5 (Tuesday - Wednesday): So, after filming each day (and getting paid) I met up for dinner. Tuesday I went out with my helmet divers (it was their last night) to a seafood buffet - crabs, oysters, mussels, It was PHENOMENAL!! Then we went to a hashish lounge on the beach and watched the fire shows. Then, that became the ONLY night I went to bed before the sun rose...I was passed out by 11pm. 

My first plate.

Yeah, it was pretty cool.

My favorite fire dancer...she wore a tie because it was classy.

Wednesday before the shoot, Andrew and I made the hike up to Puka Beach. It was about an hours walk, and it happened to be the hottest and sunniest day all week. Of course. Once we finally made it to the beach, we immediately ran into the water, and then napped on the sand (by sand, I mean the puka shells that made up the sand). After we were well rested, we took a tri-bike back and then I got ready for the next 2 scenes of the movie.

I made it to Puka Beach!

Adventures to Puka Beach.

After the movie, I had Mexican food and margaritas with my co-star, Ludmila. Then I headed out to see my buddies at the bars. 2 of the pub crawl guys had said they went out Tuesday and didn't see me, so it wasn't fun. So I had to make sure to see them tonight. I finally found them at the late night bar (Summers) and we hung out outside with a tower of cocktails. We saw plenty of my hostel friends come and go, and they always stopped to chat.

Day #6 (Thursday): Scuba Diving! My island boyfriend (Dalan) from the movie was a dive instructor so when I mentioned diving, he said he'd take me. So Thursday afternoon we met up and he took me to..MY FIRST SHIPWRECK!!! I went down 28meters (about 100feet) and got to go around and INSIDE the ship. I explored the cargo room, then engine room, and even took a rest on the mast. The fish were SO big, and being inside the ship wasn't scary at all! I DEF want to do another shipwreck dive. The only problem is that I still have problems equalizing between meter 2-5. But once I am set, I am good to go. I need to work on this!

Here I go.

Rocking out on my first shipwreck dive.

Lionfish.

Going down?

This fish was SO bright!

Taking a rest on the top of the ship. NBD

Dalan and Me!

I TOUCHED THE BUTT!!

Great time!

After an AWESOME Indian dinner with some newcomers to Frendz, it was time for my 3rd and last pub crawl. I hustled back to Frendz, saw Josh and he greeted me with "Where's your shirt!! It's our last PUB CRAWL!" Silly Josh, I was getting a new one that night :)

That nights pub crawl was the biggest one yet. There were a bunch of us repeating from other days, and a TON of new people in general.

Day #7 (Friday): Pair sailing! Friday morning I met up with Ludmila, and we went off to go Pairsailing!!! We got to the boat, waited out turn, and up we went!

Apes in the air!!!

Air Selfie

I'm on top of the world.

 It was a little scary being up only held by a parachute. I think Bungee Jumping gave me a fear of heights. But, it was still a great experience. I'm happy I went with Mila, as she was hilarious up in the air.

That night we went out for food and drinks, and while I was PLANNING on making it an early night, all my friends persuaded me that it would be easier to stay up till my ride came (4am) then to wake up on time. Of course, I decided they were right. So we stayed up till it was time for me to go. I was able to have one last night out with my group, and made it back with time to spare for my pickup.

...and then in a flash, I was on the ferry leaving the island. My Philippines holiday was over. I enjoyed meeting everyone I did, and I think I did about everything I could do on the island. I miss it already, and would go back ASAP, but there's still more places that need me to visit.

Till next time Philippines...

Salamat,
Apes :)

Mudfest.2013

Mud = water + dirt
Festival = party

Put the 2 together and you get a party in the mud, or in Korea - MUDFEST!!! That's right, Korea has a whole 10 (yes, TEN!!) days dedicated to mud. What does it involve? Well, take a seat and let me tell ya how my experience went down...

Friday night: I was thrown on a bus with 15 strangers. I would also be sharing a room with them for the night (as my friends weren't coming until Saturday). I should have remembered that "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet" because after about 3.5 minute of being on the bus with them, I had opened my first beer (in over a month and a half), had a seat buddy (and we named ourselves "the Ambers"), learned who everyone on the bus was, and even found a fellow Redskins fan. Well, that didn't take long. We made the MAYBE 2 hour trip to the BEACH...ahhhh the beach...and unloaded into the rooms we were sharing. Then, we hit THE BEACH! It was across the street, so once we stopped for beers, and fireworks, we grabbed our seats on the beach wall and thoroughly enjoyed the sand, the salt water, the smell of fireworks, and the 소맥주 (soju+beer).

We were joined by other "strangers" that were walking past and wanted to hang out. Since the Festival didn't start until Satuday, it was low key and people were just getting their bearings for the next day. Eventually we started trickling back in pairs and small groups to the pension, I think I was one of the last ones left (big surprise).

Saturday: We all moved out bags to the new pension (where they were staying in a room fit for 15) and then headed to the beach for food and to wait for our Mudfest tickets to arrive (as they were on the same bus as my friends). Once we got pizza, our morning beers (orrrr Vitamin Water filled with Soju) we headed to meet my friends, and pick up our tickets. Once my group appeared (Tom, Vicky, Allie, and Grant) we headed straight to the beach. Yes...the beach. Korean style. 

Korean Style - no bikinis anywhere

The water was rough, but that didn't stop us! We made our way past the maze of mudfest-ers and got right in. Well, "got right in" isn't exactly what I did. If you've ever seen me get in a pool, or the ocean, you know it was a long process. 

Ok Ok, I know you're thinking "WHERE'S THE MUD??" But here....it's coming.

Before getting to the "mud area" we had to shower....with mud, duh! So we "mudded up" (aka, Vicky throwing mud on me) and headed into the arena.

Vicky's right hand is in the mud shower, getting ready to throw at me

Ok, we are muddy and ready!!!

Circle of Friends.

 What happens in the "Mud Area"?? Well, you can do an obstacle course (yup, we did), you can do a mud slide (line was too long), you can mud wrestle, go to jail (of course we did), take more "mud showers" (Vicky always started this!), and then end up in the Bathtub to clean off. Here's how our time went...(in pictures)

I'm sure Vicky was throwing mud at us.

The guard was NOT going to let us out!

This is how muddy you can get.

Giant bathtub to clean off.

There ya go...that's what it's all about.

Afterwards, we went back to our rooms for REAL showers and to get ready to meet up for dinner before fireworks and drinks on the beach again.

After I was showered off, I came downstairs and EVERYONE was there - my mud group, and the Jeonju kids. We had drinks on the porch and then once it started to get dark, we headed to the beach....where everyone lost everyone. Most of my night was wandering to find them, and running into a few people here and there. I ran into Tom and he was like "Oh! Everyone is over there!" and then I never saw HIM again. I was able to reunite with the Jeonju group, just in time for the fireworks.

My best pictures of the fireworks

After the fireworks, we stayed at the beach and watched the dance parties starting to happen, and then a few of us went to play the carnival games (I ended up with a blue penguin that I named Percy) and then we ended up at a club. There was 5 of us trying to get in, and the first guy went right in with no problem. Then we tried to go in, but they were charging us 20,000\. Negative, dudes. So back out we went....to the beach! And this is where we stayed while I waited for the sun to come up. BUT, as I started to pass out, I was told "April, you can't sleep here!" While I thought this was silly, as it was a beach, I went along and we headed back to the pension....or so we thought. I knew where the pension was, but apparently the guy I was with thought it was total wrong way. So we ended up at the town square, where the only 2 other people on the street, WERE PART OF OUR JEONJU GROUP! So, once we ate my ice cream and chocolates (yes, we stopped during our walk) we headed back in the direction I knew the pension was, and we made it home safe and sound around 5am-ish.

Sunday: Leaving day...how sad. Once we all woke up (I ended up staying with the Jeonju group since I had never put my bag in my friends room) we headed down to the porch to figure things out. Not sure what we had to figure out, except who wanted a beer.

Front Porch Sittin'

I shared a beer with one of the Jeonju guys, and then who comes strolling down the street but none other than Rachel from Seoul. So she ditches her friends, goes to grab a beer and then hangs with us for the rest of the day.

She - she got a beer and joined the fun.

We eventually made it to the beach to play and hang till our bus at 3pm arrived....

We've been in Korea too long - hanging on the beach, no bathing suits in site

 

Sexiest Korean Men on the beach

Unfortunately, after the volleyball, storytelling, and goofing off, it was time to get to the bus. While the weekend at the beach was over...the weekend was not! We still had a bus ride to Jeonju!!!

They had me sitting in the back of the bus like the cool kids....I've fooled them good :)

The ride was louder than the ride TO the beach, but it also seemed quicker. Probably because I didn't want the weekend to end.

Once we were back in Jeonju, a few of us decided to hit up hamburgers for dinner before I finally headed back to Jinan.

So there we go...I survived Mudfest. I made friends, got muddy, saw old friends, stayed up late, saw fireworks, and had a grand ol' time.

In fact - we had so much fun, that we are all getting together this Friday to have a night out in Jeonju!!

Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)