Me and America THANKS YOU!!!

So it's done. I purchased my ticket for my flight home back to the states for the holidays. I have a great deal of support in raising money for the ticket, so I'd like to thank those who donated....whether it was a little bit, or a lot.

Cousin Mark McEntee - Looks like we've got plenty of catchup time back in the US!

Kerry Gallagher - my Burma roomie, and fellow southern gal (in Thailand AND America!)

LK - One of my tripod legs, and fellow ADPi

Mike Avila - friend of my dad's and also hooked me this blog up to be in a magazine

Poppa Dukes - yeah, he wants me home :)

Jordan Ashworth - an old friend from good ol' Longwood! 

Lynn Vicente - She knows how much my parents want to see me 

Courtland Long - is there anything this broad WON'T do for me?!?!

Lil B**** - I couldn't have a better lil than her :)

Amy Bogozi - she knows the meaning behind "We live for each other"

Katie and Danny (and probably Rambo too) - They just want someone to pet sit :-p

Todd - Looks like another night of "engagement drinks" are in our future!

Leo - the BFF. 

Daw - a fellow wildcat getting me back to my roots.

Beaz -what would I do without this girl keeping me sane on ALL topics under the sun

My Godparents: Uncle Joe and Aunt Cathy

My "non cousin" Bobby and his wife, Claire - can't wait to see ALL my family again!

Matty B! - hopefully I'll get up to Boston to cause a much needed ruckus :)

Thanks again to all of you, I am so lucky to have such great friends/family/supporters to help get me home for the holidays I have been missing out on.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, NYE....here I come. Start the countdown, as I land on Nov 21st...America, be ready! :)

Ghamsamnidah,
Apes

My Dancers

Over the weekend my 3rd Grade students from Jinan Girls Middle School competed in a dance competition....and they WON FIRST PLACE!!! WOOO HOOO!!!

Today at school, they performed for us.

**Sorry about the missing sound?!?!?

Ghamsamnidah,
Apes

Why maybe Korea isn't right for me...

Yes, I know that Korea hasn't exactly been my favorite place. I thought it was because of the weather (I learned I don't like the cold) but after reading a post by one of my fellow travelers and friend, Shelby, I would have to say that she hit the nail on the nose on her post "First World just ain't my thing".

Now, many people LOVE Korea. Great, for them. But for me, it was a year that I can look back on and think "I am happy I did it" but def not "I want to do it again". Why? Well....after living in Thailand and Myanmar, everything was RAW. As in, no AC (also, no cold weather), no kitchens (I LOVE the feeling of "I miss cooking"), and living out of my backpack. When I was in SE Asia, I didn't collect as much as I did....because honestly, when it's hot out the last thing you want to do is spend all day shopping in a hot market, or think "Man, I'mma have to carry that with the rest of my stuff". I enjoyed the simple-ness of the life there. Yes, I hated carrying my own TP and Hand Sanitizer, I hated when I had to take bucket showers, but I loved so much more of life over there....no TV? Ok, I'll go outside. No internet? Fine, I'll have facetime with the locals and other foreigners.

The experiences have been different, and I will say - I loved being in a 3rd world country. Even with the problems I encountered, I feel I was the most relaxed, and most simplistically happy then I am in a 1st world country.

Don't get me wrong, I still am going to Europe for a few months, and I am sure I will enjoy my time immensely, but there will always be a part of me that longs for my 3rd world lifestyle....maybe that means I will have to just go back for an extended stay.

Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)

My students are performers!

Check out a mash up of videos I took when my Elementary students were performing for the families.

Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)

Buddha's Birthday = HELLO NAMISEOM!!

For Buddha's birthday, we got Friday off of school. WOO HOOO, a sanctioned 3 day weekend! So my friend from Seoul, Jessica, and I decided to do a day trip to Namiseom Island (남이섬).

Here's a little about the island:

"Namiseom Island was formed as a result of the construction of the Cheongpyeong Dam. It is a half moon shaped (462,809㎡) isle, and on it is the grave of General Nami, who led a great victory against the rebels in the 13th year of the 7th king of the Joseon Dynasty, King Sejo (reign 1455 ~ 1468). Namiseom Island is 63 km away from Seoul in the direction of Chuncheon, and is famous for its beautiful tree lined roads. The island is 30 minutes away from Chuncheon and an hour away from suburbs of Seoul. Since it is not far from Seoul, many couples and families come to visit.

A special feature of Namiseom Island is that there are no telephone poles. This is because all electric wires were built underground to keep the natural feeling of the landscape. The complex is 553,560 square yards with chestnut trees and poplar trees around the isle. In the middle of the isle, there is a grass field about 316,320 square yards. It is composed of education and training facilities, camping sites, swimming pools and water-sports facilities for motorboats and water skiing. There is also a theme park with merry-go-rounds, a shooting range, roller skating rink, and there are lodging facilities such as resort villas and bungalows."

Also - IT IS ITS OWN COUNTRY! That's right, it's owned by a man who loves trash, so he makes art and decorations using bicycle parts, recycled bottles, and etc. There was also a movie filmed here, Winter Sonata.

Passing through Immigration

The brown coins are the currency

Anyways...so Jessica and I take the subway to the ferry port, and once we get there we get in line for....the ferry? NO WAY! THE ZIPLINE! That's right. You can ZIPLINE to the island!!! Wait, so you mean I can zipline, all "mission impossible style"? Well, DUH that's what we opted for. We hopped into line, and then we were told the zipline was full until 4pm. WTF, mate?!?! It was only 12:00pm at the time. While there was a BBQ and jazz fest happening on the mainland, we couldn't wait 4 HOURS to get to the island. So as we contemplated what to do, the ticket man piped up and we had this exchange:

Ticketman: I have idea for you.
Me: Ok, what's your idea?
Ticketman: You zipline 10 minutes from now.
Me: You mean we wait 10 minutes, and then our turn?
Ticketman: Yes. We had cancel.
Me: OK! Sign us up!

And that's how we went from a 4 hour wait to a 10 minute wait (we thanked Buddha for this one).

So, after our 10 minute wait, we headed up the elevator to the top of the zipline. Beside the zipline was a bungee jump, and I got scared looking at it. As we got higher and higher, I worried that I would be too scared to zipline, after the debacle of a time I had trying to bungee.

At the top, we got our instructions, and then waited out turn. The guys strapped us in, I got butterflies, and then the doors opened and we were off. "AHHHHHHHHH....ohhhh, this is soooo coooool" was what came out of my mouth. Needless to say, it was WAY better than bungee jumping. Here are some pix from the 'line...

Practicing

See ya later, Korea!

I'm on my way, Nami Island!

Landing Time

Once we landed, the first thing on our mind was FOOD! So we hopped into a chicken place, and had a bbq chicken/soup/rice meal. Then it was time to explore the island. Here are some pictures of the recycled trash I mentioned above, along with general pictures from the island.

Looking out over the water, between the "Soju Walls"

Scariest statue ever...a woman breastfeeding her son.

Recycling old shoes to use as planters.

I love this pond...and the "fish" seem easy to care for.

"Rockfish"

Wishing Gourds on trees all over the island

The newest actors in Winter Sonata...I think we can pull it off!

The "streets" were lined with trees, with no telephone or electricity lines anywhere!

Bottom of glass Soju bottles cut off and hung like a chandelier.

Soju Bottles, Makgeolli Bottles, and a Bike Wheel.

Walls of melted Soju bottles

Once we had explored the island for hours, it was finally time to head back to the mainland, Korea. So, we start walking to the ferry (no zipline back..boo!!) and we see a line that looks to be about 2-3 hours long, going halfway through the island. Hmm...I wonder what that's for? Then we see it, ON AN ENGLISH SIGN "Line for Ferry" Ugh. REALLY? So, instead of getting in line, we go get coffee. Yeah, not the smartest idea. So we relax over some coffee and see the "Museum of Music" where they did NOT play any music!

We decide ok, let's make sure we don't need a ticket to the ferry, and then get in line. So Jessica asks the Namiseom Cop (crowd control) about a ticket and here's what transpires:

Jessica: "We ziplined onto the island, do we need a ticket to get on the ferry"
Cop: No ticket
Jessica: So. we don't need a ticket?
Cop: No.
Jessica: We just get in this.....liiinnee???
Cop: (looks around) 2 of you?
Me: Yes, just the 2 of us.
Cop: Come here
Me: Jess (as she had started walking away), let's go!
Cop: (leads us to the front of the herd - it wasn't really a LINE per say) Here.
Me: Ok, thanks!

Yup, we got to the front of the "line". No 3 hour wait for us. (Thanks again Buddha!)
We hopped on the next ferry, and within a few minutes we were walking back to the subway station.

Oh Buddha, you were really looking out for us. Thanks! Oh, wait...you're not done yet? Ok. Well, it's YOUR birthday...do as you wish!

So Jessica and I grab the train, and as we get on, we realize that it's not a subway train, but a REAL "tickets with assigned seats" train. Since we were already on, we plopped down on the floor in the "bike room" with some other Koreans. We had about 10 stops to go, so we were just happy to sit down this time. Then the train started going, past stop 1, past stop 2, and so on. Wow, we are going to make it home earlier than we thought!

Then it happened...the ticket man came through. He called out for tickets (or so I assume, as it was in Korean) and everyone in our room pulled out paper tickets. He glanced at them, said "OK" and Jessica and I shot each other nervous looks since we didn't have tickets. Then he left. Hmm, he'll probably come back to check ours. Yup, here he comes....right through the room. He doesn't stop for us. SWEET! So, we stay on the train till the next stop...which was the end of the line for the train, and the closest transfer to Jessica's house. PERFECT!

Buddha was looking out for us all day. No lines for us, and making our travel easier. It probably helped that we were the only foreigners around that day, but hey - sometimes it's good to be a foreigner :)

Ghamsamnidah,
Apes 

PS: Here's my zipling video!

My town has a gym...

...FINALLY something to do during the week!!!

About a month ago, we received huge news. A GYM HAS OPENED UP! Of course, I headed right over to see what it contained and let me tell you...I was PLEASANTLY surprised.

Floor 1: Lobby, locker rooms (with Sauna), showers, and a Lapped Pool! A POOL! A POOL!! Ok, I don't swim all that much, but it was exciting to have that option now!

Floor 2: WHAT?!?!?! TWO FLOORS!?!?! YES! The weight/cardio area hosts 5 treadmills (each with its own tv screen), weight machines, free weights, etc. The side room was padded to allow for yoga, stretching, non-weights workouts, cool downs. There is even an outside area to workout as well.

Needless to say, I bought a 2 month membership, and have frequented it at least 3 times a week (if not more). My legs are happy to be moving again....I have actually started to not mind the treadmill (I watch downloaded TV shows on my tablet while I run), and on Fridays I usually do a long treadmill workout followed by some body circuit training or swimming (while the pool is empty). When I swim, I almost ALWAYS see some of my students, and they LOVE to show off their swimming skills to me. Of course, my swimming isn't the best, so I am always impressed.

Since I haven't been to a Jimjibang (bathhouse) yet, I was surprised to see how naked the Koreans get. They are all very reserved in their dress (except their booty shorts), but once they get in the locker room, they strut around in their birthday suits. From the little kids changing into swimsuits to the old women hanging out in the sauna. I feel like I'm part of an all female nudist colony when I'm there!

Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)


**My friend Adam made me a 4 week workout plan, and it was TOUGH but I finished it. It's perfect for me (it's a 3 day a week workout) and doesn't require a lot of equipment, so I can do the exercises while I travel as well!!

Where to next?

A lot of people have been asking me where I am going next. And honestly, I have NO IDEA.

I would LOVE to be settled down with someone and starting a life somewhere permanent with them, but seeing as I am not meeting anyone, I am content to keep exploring, traveling, learning, until I do. You may ask, "Well, why don't you come back and then meet someone?" The answer to that is Easy "Well, if I come back and meet someone, how do I know they will want to travel like I do? How do I know if I will enjoy traveling with them?" I would rather meet someone on my travels, share some "worldly" experiences with them, and then decide together where to put down some roots....and until that happens, I am stuck living across the globe. Not too bad of a default, huh?

So, my ideas for my next location (as of now) are possibly:

Malaysia - YES, I'd be going BACK to SE Asia, but honestly...I loved it there. While I do want to explore as much of the world as I can, I can't help but look back to SE Asia, where I was constantly happy, living out of a backpack (a big backpack that is). I have only been to Malaysia for a few days (VISA run) and I liked it. So, that's on the list.

Indonesia - as I have already expressed to some of my closest friends, I'd like to spend my next birthday in Bali. What better way to celebrate being 25 (for the 5th time) than with your favorite people in BALI!!! Soo...to make it even easier for me to be in Bali, why not just work in Indonesia? Some cities don't have alcohol, which I think would be a different experience to try out. I would DEF be FIT finally!

Sicily - Yes, Europe. My dream has been to do English camps through Europe, but I wouldn't mind a little stint in Sicily. Random country, I know. The reason for this is that my dad has a connection to a Sicilian school (from a co-worker) so I am looking into that as well.

Most people ask why I don't do South America - and that's another easy answer. I'm not ready. I don't want to do South America until I am ready to be back in the states. It will be my last stop....and it looks like I'm not coming back permanently JUST yet.

So...who knows where I'll be this time next year. I could be anywhere....and it's not a problem I mind having. :)

Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)

I parted the sea!!

You ever hear the story of  Moses parting the sea?  Whelp, now you can hear the story of Apes parting the sea. That's right, I work miracles. Well, maybe that's a stretch, but here's the story....

In the wee hours of the morning, Apes left her home of Jinan and headed on a new adventure. She was off to an area of South Korea called Jindo, to see the phenomenon of the parting sea.

Ok, enough of that...

Yes, this is about to happen!

 Here's the story behind the Jindo Sea Parting: 

"According to the local legend, a long time ago, there were many tigers on Jindo Island. When tigers began appearing frequently in the village, the people fled to Modo Island accidentally leaving behind an old woman named Ppong. The old lady longed to be reunited with her family and prayed for help night and day to the Dragon King of the Sea. Then, one night, the Dragon King appeared to her in a dream and told her to cross the sea by walking on the rainbow that he will provide for her. When she awoke the next morning, she ran to the sea and saw the sea part."

Ppong and the Tiger

I arrived in Jindo around 3pm and our 4 buses unloaded at the Sea Parting Festival. We put on rain boots as we knew we were walking into the sea.

New boots, or rubber socks?

 Once outfitted in our sea walking clothes, we watched traditional Korean dances,  played with Jindo puppies, had some Korean food (I finally tried the penis fish**!), took tons of photos, and ran into friends from other trips I had been on, and then it was time.

Penis Fish!

We started walking from the main land toward the island of Modo (no, not Mordor!), wading through the water. The water never reached our knees, and soon enough it was getting more shallow. As we walked, the sea started to part. By the time we were a little over half way to the island,  it was completely parted. We were in the middle of the sea,  with water on both sides of us,  but sea rocks in front and behind us, connecting the mainland to Modo Island.

A parade had started on the island, and flag carriers and a band of drums came barreling through the path. Everyone was singing and dancing and enjoying the special event. 

The Koreans all pulled out buckets and shovels and started digging in the mud. They pulled out clams, squids, and even starfish.  I got a starfish myself (it was already dead) and got a few shells.  We followed the parade back to the mainland, and as we were on our way back, the tide came in and the sea started to rejoin, and the water was ROUGH! It was coming in quick, and we had to hurry back! Once back, we reunited with our friends, and within a few minutes the sea was back to normal, with no sight of any "parting" taken place. 

Ghamsamnidah,

Apes

**The rest of my pictures wouldn't load for some reason, so check them out in my South Korea album.

Butterfly Festival

Yeah, Yeah. Butterflies. Wow. Exciting. Etc. No, I don't get super hyped over them either, but hey, it was included in my sea parting festival in Jindo and that was something I wasn't missing...so I went to the Butterfly Festival as well.

In Hapyeong, our 4 buses pulled up to the Butterfly Festival at about 11am. We had a full day ahead of us, and our first "event" was "freeing the butterflies!" We got out containers of butterflies, spread into the field of yellow flowers, and all at once we released our butterflies. We had to more or less shake the butterflies out, but it was still pretty awesome.

Afterwards, we headed to see the children catching the boars (we weren't allowed to..LAME) and then explored the rest of the festival.

We had festival food (ice cream, slushies, even kebabs!!), took tons of silly pix, and participated in everything we could!

I went Mudfish Catching - I get into a huge mud pit (reminded me of Oozeball back at Longwood) and dug my hands into the murky water looking for fish. A korean man saw me working hard, and gave me one. When I tried to show my friends, it flopped out back into the mud. This happened 2 more times. Then, I reached my hands back into the mud, ready to give up...when I felt it. A little slither under my hand. So I mashed my hand down further, and was able to scoop up the little fish. I slammed it to the sidewalk so I wouldn't lose it like I lost the others, and was beyond pleased with myself. I felt like a cat who brings a dead bird to its owner. "LOOK WHAT I CAUGHT!"

After I was cleaned up from my ONE fish catching, it was off to make weed flutes, and see the baby animals. Ducks, goats, cows...all the normal animals you would see at a carnival back home! Then we smoked some edamame over a fire we made, and it was tasty!

Here are some of my pictures from the festival...

Butterfly Mountain?

Apes and her Butterflies!

"RELEASE THE HOUNDS!...err....BUTTERFLIES!!!"

Butterflies are born to fly free

Why are the bugs so big?!!?

Just a little Vadering going on.

I CAUGHT SOMETHING!

Mudfishing

 

3 tries, but finally produced a fish!

Just cooking up an Edamame snack.

The group I spend the day with.

 Ghamsamnidah,
Apes :)