Here's my video from bungee jumping (well, my mash up from a few videos of the experience). If you haven't read my post on it, you can read it here.
Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)
Apes :)
Monday, April 29, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Happy 25th Birthday to me!
All week my students greeted me with "Happy Birthday" and "Congratulations". I was showered with notes from them, candy, and even a few gifts. Needless to say, I felt loved by those rugrats.
On the day of my actual birthday I went out for Korean BBQ with Sam and Jaclyn, and we enjoyed the DELICIOUS food. Aftewards, Jaclyn came back to my apartment for some birthday cake - Green Tea cake from Paris Baguette!!
Then the weekend came...Saturday we had planned on going to the zoo, but when I woke up it was SNOWING! Yes. Snow. In April. WTF?!?!?! It was mixed with gross rain, so the zoo was out of the picture. Instead, we decided to take in a movie. After the movie, Jaclyn, Sam, and I met Vicky and Tom (from 청주) and we went to a bakery where we decorated CUPCAKES!!! WOOO HOOO! We got multiple cupcakes and covered them with flavored icing. Then we topped them off with fruit, cookies, sprinkles, and candles. Yup, I was a happy birthday girl.
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| Apes and Birthday Cupcakes! |
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| A variety of cupcakes we decorated! |
Dinner: Cheese Galbi!!!
Drinks: Flavored Makgeolli House
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| Flavored Makgeolli: Kiwi, Pomegranate, and Peach |
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| 번데기 |
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| Here I go!!! |
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| CRUNCH! Not very tasty... |
Needless to say, once I finally made it home on Sunday I was asleep on the couch within minutes :)
Another birthday down....I wonder which country I'll celebrate my next birthday in.
Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)
Cherry Blossoms (and sightseeing) at the old capitol!!
Excerpt from wikipedia: Gyeongju = the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC – 935 AD) which ruled about two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula between the 7th and 9th centuries...Gyeongju is often referred to as "the museum without walls".
More importantly, it's where I spent last weekend! They are known for the cherry blossom festival, and biking the area is considered one of the "top things to do in South Korea". Whelp, check that off my list, because bike the area is what I did!
Saturday morning the group (Adventure Korea) arrived in Gyeongju and took a few hours to nap. After all, it was about 5am and we had been on a bus from Seoul since 11:30pm.
Around 9am the group that filled 2 travel buses woke, and zombie-walked down to fill up on coffee and muffins to fuel us for the day. Originally, we were supposed to bike all day on Saturday, but Mother Nature had other plans. She made it rainy, cold, and windy...so the biking was out of the question. Instead, we boarded the bus, ready for a day of sightseeing.
Stop 1: Gyeongju National Museum
Here we spent the good part of our morning exploring the history of the Silla Period. We saw tons of artifcats, and read plenty of Korean history. But the highlight (in all April fashion) was of course, the CHILDREN'S MUSEUM!!! Here I was able to hands-on fun activities. Check me out, hard at work:
Stop 2: Seokguram Grotto (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Deemed National Treasure No. 24 by the South Korean government
After a quick stop for a buffet lunch (that included SUSHI and SPAGHETTI), and a pit stop for umbrellas, we headed to the Seokguram Grotto. It is a National Heritage Site, and this was one of the spots I was quite excited to visit. However, when we got there (it was high up a mountain) the rain and wind were so rough that umbrellas were breaking, and our clothes were getting soaked all the way through. Add that to the SUPER thick fog which prevented seeing your hand in front of your face, and it wasn't exactly something I was enjoying. So while a couple of brave souls paid the admission price and hiked up to the top, a group of us headed back to the bus, dejected. Looks like I will have to make a trip back!
Stop 3: Bulguksa Temple (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Encompasses seven National treasures of South Korea, including Dabotap and Seokgatap stone pagodas, Cheongun-gyo (Blue Cloud Bridge), and two gilt-bronze statues of Buddha. The temple is classified as Historic and Scenic Site No. 1 by the South Korean government.
Next stop...Bulguksa Temple! This temple was HUGE. I wouldn't even classify it as a temple, but instead as a tiny village with lots of temples! We spent about 2 hours walking around and taking pictures. Here is a tiny bit of what I saw....
On the walk from here to the hotel (it was a 7 minute walk and the rain had let up) we ended up going through a GORGEOUS park of Cherry Blossoms...look how amazing it was...
Once back at the hotel, we had time to enjoy whatever we decided. I had dinner with some new friends, then we shared a few drinks before bed.
Sunday we got up, grabbed a quick breakfast of muffins and yogurt, and then it was BIKING TIME!!! We got biking maps of the area, and we all split off into different groups and biked around the area to see the blossoms. Here are a few pictures during the day:
After a day of sightseeing and being all paparazzi on those cherry blossoms, it was time to head home...we had 3 buses to get on before we could walk through the doors in our apartments, and we were exhausted!
Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)
More importantly, it's where I spent last weekend! They are known for the cherry blossom festival, and biking the area is considered one of the "top things to do in South Korea". Whelp, check that off my list, because bike the area is what I did!
Saturday morning the group (Adventure Korea) arrived in Gyeongju and took a few hours to nap. After all, it was about 5am and we had been on a bus from Seoul since 11:30pm.
Around 9am the group that filled 2 travel buses woke, and zombie-walked down to fill up on coffee and muffins to fuel us for the day. Originally, we were supposed to bike all day on Saturday, but Mother Nature had other plans. She made it rainy, cold, and windy...so the biking was out of the question. Instead, we boarded the bus, ready for a day of sightseeing.
Stop 1: Gyeongju National Museum
Here we spent the good part of our morning exploring the history of the Silla Period. We saw tons of artifcats, and read plenty of Korean history. But the highlight (in all April fashion) was of course, the CHILDREN'S MUSEUM!!! Here I was able to hands-on fun activities. Check me out, hard at work:
 |
| Imprinting |
 |
| Water Art! |
 |
| Building my own Silla Period temple |
Deemed National Treasure No. 24 by the South Korean government
After a quick stop for a buffet lunch (that included SUSHI and SPAGHETTI), and a pit stop for umbrellas, we headed to the Seokguram Grotto. It is a National Heritage Site, and this was one of the spots I was quite excited to visit. However, when we got there (it was high up a mountain) the rain and wind were so rough that umbrellas were breaking, and our clothes were getting soaked all the way through. Add that to the SUPER thick fog which prevented seeing your hand in front of your face, and it wasn't exactly something I was enjoying. So while a couple of brave souls paid the admission price and hiked up to the top, a group of us headed back to the bus, dejected. Looks like I will have to make a trip back!
Stop 3: Bulguksa Temple (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Encompasses seven National treasures of South Korea, including Dabotap and Seokgatap stone pagodas, Cheongun-gyo (Blue Cloud Bridge), and two gilt-bronze statues of Buddha. The temple is classified as Historic and Scenic Site No. 1 by the South Korean government.
Next stop...Bulguksa Temple! This temple was HUGE. I wouldn't even classify it as a temple, but instead as a tiny village with lots of temples! We spent about 2 hours walking around and taking pictures. Here is a tiny bit of what I saw....
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| Bulguksa Temple (Temple of the Buddha Land) |
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| Dabotap (pagoda of many treasures) is on the back of the 10won coins |
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| Rock Formations EVERYWHERE for good luck! |
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| Even rock formations on the doors!! |
On the walk from here to the hotel (it was a 7 minute walk and the rain had let up) we ended up going through a GORGEOUS park of Cherry Blossoms...look how amazing it was...
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| Cherry Blossom Park |
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| Close up of the Blossoms |
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| A treeful! |
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| In the midst of the Blossoms! |
Sunday we got up, grabbed a quick breakfast of muffins and yogurt, and then it was BIKING TIME!!! We got biking maps of the area, and we all split off into different groups and biked around the area to see the blossoms. Here are a few pictures during the day:
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| My Biking buddies! I'm not in the pic...I was taking the picture :) |
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| I stopped to take a pic of us on bikes in the mirror. |
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| Blossoms surrounding the area. |
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| This reminds me of the Tidal Basin in DC! |
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| Colors are NOT photoshopped!!!! |
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| YAY BLOSSOMS!!! |
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| Yellows, and Pinks, and Blues, and Apes! |
Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)
Monday, April 8, 2013
A little trip to the DMZ
If you don't know - the DMZ is the Demilitarized Zone on the border between North and South Korea. And if you have been reading the news lately, you know North Korea has issued more crazy threats...and if you are in Korea as I type this, you know it isn't anything that us "South Koreans" are too worried about. But, that's for another post. For now, let's get into what it was like on my visit!
DMZ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Demilitarized_Zone
Saturday morning, Kristina and I headed to the bus terminal to meet the rest of Adventure Korea and do our overnight tour of the DMZ. Once on the bus, we were told that we would no longer be bungee jumping that evening, we would be doing it FIRST! We were on our way! Here's my post on that part of the trip. After we all tried our hand (or feet, hahaha) and the jump it was time to get back to the bus and go get some food.
Most of us were too riled up from the jumping to be very hungry, so I think it was more of a "snack stop" than anything. But then, our first DMZ spot: Goseokjeong Pavilion on the
Hantangang River. There was a huge statue of the Korean "Robin Hood" and then a BEAUTIFUL spot over the water to see.
After we explored the Pavilion and took photos on the river, we headed inside to the small museum they had on North Korea. There we could see the clothing, food, drink, and education of the North Koreans. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but it was still pretty cool to see some of the items they had there.
Then it was time for our next stop - The 2nd Infiltration Tunnel!!!! This is usally the highlight for most people (me included) and we donned our hard hats and headed in. The tunnel was bigger than I expected (a LOT bigger than the Vietnamese Tunnels) I was able to stand up for most of the walk, and when I wasn't I was only slightly touching my head to the "ceiling". Inside of the tunnel was an orange glow, and all the walls were wet with trickling water and algae. There was a big area in the tunnel, where there was a wishing well, soldier replicas, and a TV that was showing some of the tunnels and how they were made. We also got to stand in a spot that was BOTH North AND South Korea.
Here are some tunnel tidbits:
- The 2nd tunnel was discovered in 1975
- There are only 4 tunnels that have been discovered, but there are suspected to be 20
- The tunnels only run North to South - there are no branches East/West
After the tunnels, we headed to the next stop - the Cheorwon Peace Observatory. Here we watched a short video on North Korea. Then we headed to the binoculars to see DEEEP into North Korea. We were able to see the 3 Sisters Mountain, the Blood Mountain, North Korean outposts, the Demarcation line, and the old Propaganda Village. It was interesting to learn that since there is no human residency in the DMZ, the wildlife has become abundant, and it is as if they have their own wildlife reserve. Egrets, Tigers, Bear, Leopards, Deer, etc. all inhabit this area.
You can also see the difference in the North and South areas by the mountain line. When looking at North Korea, there are no trees on the mountains. They were all cut down to spot the refugees more easily.
I was able to take some photos through the binoculars, here they are:
Then it was time to head to the old railway station - Woljeong-ri Station. This station had a train that ran from North to South Korea - and one of the cars was still in tact.
A cool note: Kristina's family was originally from North Korea. When the war was breaking out, her family (grandparents) jumped on the train to head to South Korea. During the night, her dad's sister fell asleep on the roof (it was so packed that people were EVERYWHERE) and she ended up falling off. Her uncle ended up jumping off the train to find her - and when they did, she was with an American soldier who was helping bandage her up from her fall.
Time for our last stop of the day before dinner! It was the Old Labor Party Building. Not much left to see, but here is a picture of the bare bones of it. You might not be able to see from the picture, but the front steps are caved in, from when a military tank drove up the stairs, to the front doors.
After a LONG day of history and "sightseeing" it was time to finally head to our home for the night - a pension right in the DMZ! Can't get crazier than that, right? WRONG (it gets crazier in a little)!
We all had dinner, and started a campfire for marshmellows and drinks. While we were busy getting acquanted and making new friends, our guide had a different idea.
"Everybody write your name on this paper" (post it note)
Of couse, we all do.
"Now we will go to Baenmago ji and leave our paper under the rocks"
Let me just say a few things: it is probably 11pm. Which means it is pitch black out. We are in the DMZ, when we alreay knew tensions were high on the border (we hadn't heard that NKorea had declared war while we were galavanting around the border). Baenmago ji is also know as the "White Horse War Memorial" where it memorializes over 18,000 soldiers that died during the war. Ok...back to the story.
So we walk (in the dark) to the site, and gather around our guide to find out where to go next. He tells us....
"Ok, now we go one at a time to the top, and leave your name under the rocks."
Um, ALONE?!?!?!
"You will get to the rocks, and then leave your name, then walk past 2 mirrors, and make a circle around the statue, then come back"
Wait, THIS IS STILL ALONE???
"If anyone talks to you, do not answer. If you hear 'what is your name?' 'where are you from?' just DONT ANSWER"
Ok...RE-WIND.
I of course raised my hand (stupid since we were in the dark) but whatever. I still asked my question and it was "WHO IS GOING TO TALK TO US IN THE DARK IN THE DMZ WHILE WE ARE ALONE?!?!?!?!" and this was OBV after we weren't exactly the quietest GETTING to the site.
It seem we didn't have a choice though...so a Canadian named Allie braved it up saying "she wanted to get it over with". While she went up the only path (we thought) our guide had 2 guys go up 2 other paths (that were hidden). When she came back she started with "I felt like I was being followed the whole time!" Ok, we get your joke now, Mr. Tour Guide! Nice Try! We all ended going up, most of us with someone else, now that the scariness was ALMOST gone. At the top they claimed there was a bear, and a few of the others from the group hid in the bushes on the way back down to scare us. Oh, Vey! We were happy once we FINALLY got back to our pension for the night!
Once we had toasted marshmellows, had some drinks, and even had midnight snacks of BBQ duck, and smoked duck over the fire, it was time to fade into sleep....so we thought.
A few of us had discussed sleeping in the bomb shelter, so of course, we did. In all, there were 5 of us (in the shelter for 400). We made our own leadership as well:
Samantha- she was the president since she was the one who convinced us to sleep there.
Me - I was VP because once Samantha was impeached I could be in charge.
Patrick - Head of security, he was STOKED about the bomb shelter, so he was in charge of making sure ONE door was open if the other was locked.
Kristina - she was the "historian" because she had the camera. Her response was "You're making me the historian because you just want me to take pix" she was correct, but we didn't change her title.
Tom - the Consumer. He won this title because he carried the beer, and brough the Ipod for music.
After we got in and the area was secured by head of security, we set up our area and got to work. We veto'd the Presidents idea of a Bomb Shelter Harlem Shake, and after she passed out, I was put in charge. Well, needless to say - that means I made sure everyone had a fair share of alcohol, and that it was all finished before we fell asleep.
Once we finally DID fall asleep - we woke up around 7am FREEZING (no head) and raced back into the main building for warmth and a little nap before breakfast.
Then we started our day with a walk to Baenmago ji to look for our names we placed from the night before. We had a Korean soldier give us some info on it, and we got to see the memorial during the day - which was a LOT less scary!
Then it was time for some free time: bike riding around the area before we headed back home.
I've heard now that the DMZ is closed, with the border become more tense due to the North Korean threats. I will say I am happy I got a tour before it closed, because it was DEFINITELY a site to see and experience!
Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)
DMZ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Demilitarized_Zone
Saturday morning, Kristina and I headed to the bus terminal to meet the rest of Adventure Korea and do our overnight tour of the DMZ. Once on the bus, we were told that we would no longer be bungee jumping that evening, we would be doing it FIRST! We were on our way! Here's my post on that part of the trip. After we all tried our hand (or feet, hahaha) and the jump it was time to get back to the bus and go get some food.
Most of us were too riled up from the jumping to be very hungry, so I think it was more of a "snack stop" than anything. But then, our first DMZ spot: Goseokjeong Pavilion on the
Hantangang River. There was a huge statue of the Korean "Robin Hood" and then a BEAUTIFUL spot over the water to see.
 |
| Apes and Korean Robin Hood |
 |
| On the Hantangang River |
 |
| View from Goseokjeong Pavilion |
After we explored the Pavilion and took photos on the river, we headed inside to the small museum they had on North Korea. There we could see the clothing, food, drink, and education of the North Koreans. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but it was still pretty cool to see some of the items they had there.
Then it was time for our next stop - The 2nd Infiltration Tunnel!!!! This is usally the highlight for most people (me included) and we donned our hard hats and headed in. The tunnel was bigger than I expected (a LOT bigger than the Vietnamese Tunnels) I was able to stand up for most of the walk, and when I wasn't I was only slightly touching my head to the "ceiling". Inside of the tunnel was an orange glow, and all the walls were wet with trickling water and algae. There was a big area in the tunnel, where there was a wishing well, soldier replicas, and a TV that was showing some of the tunnels and how they were made. We also got to stand in a spot that was BOTH North AND South Korea.
Here are some tunnel tidbits:
- The 2nd tunnel was discovered in 1975
- There are only 4 tunnels that have been discovered, but there are suspected to be 20
- The tunnels only run North to South - there are no branches East/West
 |
| Entrance to the 2nd Infiltration Tunnel |
 |
| North AND South Korea!! |
 |
| Tunneling through.... |
 |
| Me and Kristina - I hope we make it out!! |
After the tunnels, we headed to the next stop - the Cheorwon Peace Observatory. Here we watched a short video on North Korea. Then we headed to the binoculars to see DEEEP into North Korea. We were able to see the 3 Sisters Mountain, the Blood Mountain, North Korean outposts, the Demarcation line, and the old Propaganda Village. It was interesting to learn that since there is no human residency in the DMZ, the wildlife has become abundant, and it is as if they have their own wildlife reserve. Egrets, Tigers, Bear, Leopards, Deer, etc. all inhabit this area.
You can also see the difference in the North and South areas by the mountain line. When looking at North Korea, there are no trees on the mountains. They were all cut down to spot the refugees more easily.
I was able to take some photos through the binoculars, here they are:
 |
| Wildlife Preserved |
 |
| Outpost |
 |
| 3 Sisters Mountain in the background |
 |
| Demarcation Line, lined with Outposts |
Time for our last stop of the day before dinner! It was the Old Labor Party Building. Not much left to see, but here is a picture of the bare bones of it. You might not be able to see from the picture, but the front steps are caved in, from when a military tank drove up the stairs, to the front doors.
 |
| Labor Party Bulding - riddled with gunshot holes |
We all had dinner, and started a campfire for marshmellows and drinks. While we were busy getting acquanted and making new friends, our guide had a different idea.
"Everybody write your name on this paper" (post it note)
Of couse, we all do.
"Now we will go to Baenmago ji and leave our paper under the rocks"
Let me just say a few things: it is probably 11pm. Which means it is pitch black out. We are in the DMZ, when we alreay knew tensions were high on the border (we hadn't heard that NKorea had declared war while we were galavanting around the border). Baenmago ji is also know as the "White Horse War Memorial" where it memorializes over 18,000 soldiers that died during the war. Ok...back to the story.
So we walk (in the dark) to the site, and gather around our guide to find out where to go next. He tells us....
"Ok, now we go one at a time to the top, and leave your name under the rocks."
Um, ALONE?!?!?!
"You will get to the rocks, and then leave your name, then walk past 2 mirrors, and make a circle around the statue, then come back"
Wait, THIS IS STILL ALONE???
"If anyone talks to you, do not answer. If you hear 'what is your name?' 'where are you from?' just DONT ANSWER"
Ok...RE-WIND.
I of course raised my hand (stupid since we were in the dark) but whatever. I still asked my question and it was "WHO IS GOING TO TALK TO US IN THE DARK IN THE DMZ WHILE WE ARE ALONE?!?!?!?!" and this was OBV after we weren't exactly the quietest GETTING to the site.
It seem we didn't have a choice though...so a Canadian named Allie braved it up saying "she wanted to get it over with". While she went up the only path (we thought) our guide had 2 guys go up 2 other paths (that were hidden). When she came back she started with "I felt like I was being followed the whole time!" Ok, we get your joke now, Mr. Tour Guide! Nice Try! We all ended going up, most of us with someone else, now that the scariness was ALMOST gone. At the top they claimed there was a bear, and a few of the others from the group hid in the bushes on the way back down to scare us. Oh, Vey! We were happy once we FINALLY got back to our pension for the night!
 |
| Baenmago ji at night! |
 |
| Smoked Duck! |
A few of us had discussed sleeping in the bomb shelter, so of course, we did. In all, there were 5 of us (in the shelter for 400). We made our own leadership as well:
Samantha- she was the president since she was the one who convinced us to sleep there.
Me - I was VP because once Samantha was impeached I could be in charge.
Patrick - Head of security, he was STOKED about the bomb shelter, so he was in charge of making sure ONE door was open if the other was locked.
Kristina - she was the "historian" because she had the camera. Her response was "You're making me the historian because you just want me to take pix" she was correct, but we didn't change her title.
Tom - the Consumer. He won this title because he carried the beer, and brough the Ipod for music.
 |
| Supplies...there were rows of boxes! |
 |
| Bomb Shelter built for 400 people |
 |
| 3 of the 5 getting settled for the night |
After we got in and the area was secured by head of security, we set up our area and got to work. We veto'd the Presidents idea of a Bomb Shelter Harlem Shake, and after she passed out, I was put in charge. Well, needless to say - that means I made sure everyone had a fair share of alcohol, and that it was all finished before we fell asleep.
Once we finally DID fall asleep - we woke up around 7am FREEZING (no head) and raced back into the main building for warmth and a little nap before breakfast.
Then we started our day with a walk to Baenmago ji to look for our names we placed from the night before. We had a Korean soldier give us some info on it, and we got to see the memorial during the day - which was a LOT less scary!
 |
| 18,000 rocks to represent the soldiers that died |
 |
| Baenmago ji (White Horse War Memorial) |
Then it was time for some free time: bike riding around the area before we headed back home.
I've heard now that the DMZ is closed, with the border become more tense due to the North Korean threats. I will say I am happy I got a tour before it closed, because it was DEFINITELY a site to see and experience!
Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)
 |
| Just a little gem of a picture: South Korean soldier saluting during the jumping picture :) |
Message from the Embassy
Many of my friends and family are worried about me being in South Korea right now. So here's an email I received from the Embassy. I hope this calms everyone's fears for the moment!
Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)
There is also a little joke going around my area (from the Koreans): if anything WERE to happen to South Korea, my area is safe, as Kim Jong-un's grandparents are buried here.
Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)
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