CHINA

My first vacation choice is always beachside.  However, since Meagan had China as a top choice country to visit before leaving Korea, we booked flights to China. We got a great deal on the tickets but they were non-refundable/non-transferable so, when Meagan couldn’t get her Chinese visa, we were stuck with tickets. NOTE: If you apply for a Chinese visa from Korea, you must have at LEAST 6 months left on your E2 Korean visa in order to be approved for a Chinese visa. AND a dual entry visa is impossible (again leaving from Korea) if it’s your first trip– so, that left out Mongolia as I had originally planned to do a week there before making it back to China for my return flight.

I arrived in Beijing and made my way to the hostel I had booked for the first week. It was so horrible that I checked out the next morning, deciding that finding a new hostel with availability would be difficult the first day in. Plus, I would lose the first night anyway, so I toughed it out. Besides the horrible customer service, this place had basically turned into a love motel instead of a hostel. Apparently, after talking with the French guy who used to manage the place, it was doing very well as a hostel, but upper management decided to fire him to save costs. Yea, it was clear that the French guy was making it a great place prior to his being let go.

ANYWAY, enough about that. The second day I found Drum Tower Hostel on hostelworld.com (my favorite site to book hostels by the way) for a great price, and in a good location. The staff were great, friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, I became ill due to the air pollution and spent a full 24 hrs in bed with an extremely dry nose/throat, a low-grade fever and an overall fatigue. The air is so dry that my nose literally bleed on and off the entire time I was in Beijing.

I must admit, it’s hard for me to find many positive things to say about Beijing. It’s dirty, the people are really selfish and they fry everything. It’s not uncommon to see people hawking up the contents of their nose and throat and spitting it– anywhere– the bus, the street, the subway, the bathroom, a restaurant floor… yea- GROSS.  Now, if you know me, you know I am not a big complainer. I try to see the positive side of everything. Here are some good things I can say: the food is good and the portions are plenty. Haggling is a blast there as there are vendors galor. Most of them will play along with you and have a fun banter but if you’re the angry negotiating type, it won’t fair well for you. RELAX with it. Here is a rule of thumb: Plan to pay abut 1/3 of what they start at. As with any negotiations, think about what a good deal is for you, consider what you could pay for it in your country and know that it is made in a factory with cheap labor in China… If they don’t make a profit, they won’t sell it to you and the vendor two doors down will have the exact same thing!

Shopping at the Silk Market was definitely the highlight as I was able to (fairly) easily find my size clothes. Clearly, the markets have a lot of bigger-than-Asian-size tourists. I bought 6 pair of jeans, 3 pair of shoes, a coat, a belt, 20 pair of underwear, 2 shirts and some socks. Yea, I re-stocked!

Instead of giving you a play by play, like I usually do, I am basically going to give you the important pointers of Beijing:

*Leaving from Korea, you must have at LEAST 6 months left on your contract and ARC card.
*Single entry visa only if it’s your first time
*If you’re American, a visa is 200,000won (about $200) and can only be obtained from a travel agency (cannot apply directly to the Chinese Embassy)
*Tickets are usually reasonable though– around 300,000won round trip.
*Beijing is SUPER DIRTY– TAKE and USE a MASK
*I stayed at the Drum Tower Hostel– SUPER cheap if you book through hostelworld.com and great accommodations/location/
*If you want to see the Great Wall– of course– It’s much cheaper to go on your own, but you have to be good at negotiations, otherwise, they stick it to ya!
*Mutianyu is the best part of The Great Wall as far as (lack of) tourists but still able to scale by the average person. Simatai is the prettiest but will take you a 4-hr hike in and out! *

*USE THE SUBWAY… taxis and buses don’t have/use English.

I also visited two different cities in the middle/eastern part of China, Shanghai and Nanjing. I have friends who live in each of those cities. Shanghai was the best of the three, in my opinion and I could find a few people who spoke a little English here and there.

I caught an acrobatics show, which China is famous for, so I would definitely recommend finding one in the city you’ll be in.

I know this blog is a little less detailed than I usually give, but hey. I have tried and tried to come up with some exciting, positive things to say, and after a couple months, I am simply ready to put this blog out there. If you have specific questions, please leave a comment and I will get back with you.

Losing Friends: the nature of working in Korea

If you come to Korea to make new friends, seek new adventures, save money and travel, you have definitely made the right decision. Korea provides all that. One thing to consider, that you may not bargain for, is that your new friends will be saying “see ya later” in a short time. That is, if you plan to stay beyond your first contract year.

Anytime you live abroad, friendship seem to grow closer and at a faster pace than in our home countries. This largely has to do with the situation/stress of the experience. Ask any military personnel. S/He will likely tell you that they form bonds quickly with other soldiers while deployed. Now, there are many more factors for soldiers– like defending one another’s life– that should not be discounted. In some ways, the bonds are similar here. We lookout for one another. We share our woes, victories, frustrations and surprises with one another. We look to others for advice and feedback about our situations. We develop friendships that can’t be easily explained to people who haven’t experienced the “abroad experience.”

Most English teachers here in Korea sign a one year contract, albeit renewable upon mutual agreement. Thus, by the nature of the setup, many people must make a decision each year whether to stay or to move on to the next adventure in their life. For people like me who moved here planning to stay a few years, it would be natural to assume that we would be forced to say good-bye to friends who choose to move on.

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The hard part comes when the person has left a permanent mark on your heart. The kind of friendship that you can’t imagine your life being the same without them in it. I have been privileged to experience a few of these friendships in my short time here.  Each time a friend leaves, it’s as if I grieve the loss of a friend. It’s strange to me how that happens. I literally feel like they are taking a piece of me with them. I guess, emotionally, they are.

Recently, three of my closest non-Korean friends have moved on to their next chapter of life. I am excited about the adventures and endevours they are embarking on. I am grateful for the laughs, tears, experiences and joys we shared together. They have taught me a lot about enjoying the moment– EVERY MOMENT. So, if you are in Korea (or anywhere in the world, for that matter) and you find yourself grieving the loss of a friend’s physical [in the sense of distance]  closeness, just know that they must move on in their own destiny. Be grateful for the time you had with one another. Cherish who they are and what they were able to teach you and share with you while you were together. Know that this world is TOO SMALL for your paths NOT to cross again.

If you’re reading this, and I have had the privilege of calling you friend, yet you have moved away from Korea, know that I am thankful for you. Please keep in touch. I am waiting for the day our paths cross again! MUAH!

Oh, and for those of you who are still in Korea, I haven’t forgotten you either. I will cherish our moments together, knowing that one day, by the nature of working here, our paths will likely separate. It’s ok, I can enjoy the moments! MUAH!

2011 ~ A Year in the Life of ~ ME!

A decade ago, I would write a Christmas “newsletter” of sorts, to my friends/family/loved ones in order to give them an update on me and wish them holiday cheer. With the astronomical advances in technology, even an email seems out dated. Thus, I have decided to make a VLOG.

What’s a “vlog” you ask?

A VLOG is a Video Blog. I am not really a vlogger (n. a person who communicates through vlogs; video rants, or mostly makes up their blogs with videos) but decided to make a video commemorating my year. I am learning some new video editing software that I bought— in the interim while I hold out hopes of getting a MACbook.

Of course, I will link the video, but for those of you who still like to READ~ here are the highlights:

~Visited 7 countries (other than Korea) this year: Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia. (Yes, I blogged about each one.)

~In great health with no major surgeries, issues or incidents.

~Many “firsts” again this year: paragliding, hitch hiking, attended a Korean wedding, attended a traditional 1st birthday, swam with sea turtles, ice skating, webisodes, etc.

~I made new friends and grew closer with my existing friends. That, in itself, is enough to call the year a success!

So, what’s to come in 2012? You’ll just have to stay tuned to my blog,  my personal Youtube channel & my webisode Youtube channel, and of course my facebook page! <3

Emergency Situation

I consider myself to be quite calm in most chaotic/emergency situations. This comes from several years experience working in chaotic environments. I didn’t imagine I would have to experience MY OWN emergency situation while in Korea.  Here’s what went down:

Christmas weekend, I decided to go to Ulsan (my Korean hometown) to spend the holiday with two close friends. I arrived at the bus station in the early afternoon, around 1pm. Due to the holidays (and not being able to reserve tickets online) I was stuck with a seat in the very back row and had 45 minutes to kill until the bus left. I hadn’t eaten lunch yet, but there was a long line at the fast food chain in the bus station. I noticed a blood bank and thought I would inquire about the requirements. Now, I had donated blood a few times in the States, and was on the emergency donor list when I lived in Haiti. When I returned to the States in 2000, I tried to donate again, but the Red Cross denied my donation because of the malaria area/risk. I assumed I couldn’t donate anymore, but a former student of mine told  me  several months ago that I might be able to donate in Korea. Worth a shot… long explanation short, I had passed the quarantine period and am able to donate in Korea. So, I gave blood. It was my Christmas gift to Korea. When I finished, I had to get going in order to make my bus.  —-No Lunch—- but thought to myself, “I’ll pick something up at the midway point. No big deal.”

I make the normal small talk with the people beside me and we’re off and running on the bus. About 30 minutes into the ride, I feel a bit thirsty, which then almost immediately turns into nausea, which then shortly turns into my vomiting into a black plastic bag. The only thing in my stomach was the four (dixie) cups of grape juice I consumed at the blood bank. I’m now sitting on a bus, with a bag of puke, with no water and no rest stop for another 2 hours or so. [There IS water at the front of the bus, but I was unaware of it at that time.] I clean myself up with the wet wipes I carry in my purse, and try to get some rest. —Very strange, because I have NEVER been car sick in my life. I wrote it off as being in the back, elevated seats of the bus, on a very jerky ride through Seoul holiday traffic. —

Another 20 minutes or so, and I woke up out of my light sleep needing to vomit again. I had already tied the previous bag and couldn’t get the knot undone fast enough. I vomited in the open part. Unfortunately, before I could get that portion squared away, I suddenly felt the world spinning around me and now recognized the feeling of impending blackout.  Now, having previously held an EMT (Emergency Medical Training) license, I was conscious of what I needed to prepare for the EMTs I would surely soon be meeting. I tried  communicating with the man (whom I had small talk with earlier) beside me. I gestured that my head was spinning and I was going to pass out. I spoke to him in Korean, telling him that I couldn’t see and I needed help. I rambled through my purse, trying furiously to race against the clock of consciousness, to find my emergency card, my health insurance card and my id. All I could think to myself was, “DON’T PASS OUT! You have to find these cards!” A bright, white light was ever creeping in and I noticed the glow of the red seats in the bus. I tried to focus, squinting and fighting a bit in order to fight the light trying to win the battle against me. I then got my phone and sent a message “SOs….blackout.” The message was broadcast in a class/group chat I had set up with my students. We use it for quick communication to all class members. Unfortunately, they were in class and not able to do my next command “call.”

It felt like an eternity passed. You know, that slow-motion-yet-mind-racing-a-mile-a-minute feeling you get just before a car accident? That was the feeling. In truth, only about 90 seconds had passed. I couldn’t wait for the call any longer. I was thinking, “I’ve got to get someone on the phone. I can’t die on this bus today.” I called the person at the top of my call log (who speaks both English and Korean). It happened to be my student. The phone rings twice, he picks up and whispers, “I’m in class. Wait” and hangs up the phone. –I pass out–

I doubt I was “under” for long, as I came-to “fighting” again. I feel the paleness in my face. The perspiration on my upper lip. I text again “i have an emergency.” (I have no idea how there were no typos in this text.) It’s now break time for my students and Leo calls to investigate the matter. I can’t really make full, intelligible sentences, but I manage to convey that I am in trouble. He instructs me to put someone on the phone. The only candidate is this guy –who has gone from a small talk / stranger, to a man who I’m relying on to “take care of me” in my time of need.

Things go white again and I am really struggling to stay conscious. I keep chastising myself about not speaking better Korean and not to lose control of myself.  It was a very scary feeling, especially for someone who doesn’t get drunk because I don’t like the feeling of being out of control of my own body.  My body settles down, I go to sleep.  At the rest stop, I get something to eat, more juice, another plastic bag– just in case– and some crackers. The man asks someone up front to switch seats with me. Although not feeling 100%, I was much better for the remaining 2-hour ride to Ulsan.

Here are some “lessons learned” from this experience:

1-LEARN MORE KOREAN

 2-KEEP THE EMERGENCY CARD HANDY  

3- HAVE A FRIEND (who speaks Korean and English) ON SPEED DIAL

Medical emergencies are not easy for an untrained eye to spot. I was fully aware of what was happening, but those around me had NO CLUE what to do. I am not convinced they even realized I had an emergency.

In Korea, people often “ignore” situations because they don’t want to cause someone to lose face. I think this is further exaggerated by the fact that I am a foreigner and the language barrier intimates the best of us. So, what would YOU do if you were in my situation? I hope that you at least have an emergency card (2:05) to present should you find yourself in the unfortunate event of an emergency situation here in Korea. I don’t know if I handled it “perfectly,”  but I am confident that I handled it the best I could have, given the circumstances.

Hopefully none of you reading this will ever need this info, but in case you do, I hope that you have learned from my experience. Let’s continue enjoying this great country in health and prosperity. ^^

SIDE NOTE: This is my theory on what happened (medically).  Since I didn’t eat, and I lost a fair amount of blood, I was automatically weaker than normal. Sitting in the extreme back caused me to become car sick and when I vomited the contents of my stomach, I subsequently also vomited the only nutrients keeping my blood sugar in line. Thus, my body had a bit of an issue regulating things, and caused me to pass out. SO, NO MATTER HOW BUSY YOU ARE, TAKE TIME TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.

Creative juices flowin…

I’ve been in Korea a few months over two years now.  I have tried various hobbies and things to keep myself busy. If you know me personally, you know that I am a very active person. I have tried many new things that I have enjoyed, but haven’t stuck with too many of them. Mostly for convience sake.

Fortunately, I have been able to stay with blogging and have increased my latest creative outlet: making videos. I love to be creative, but don’t play an instrument, and frankly don’t have a desire to learn one either. Making videos has proven to be an exciting way to release my creative juices and, most recently, has become an avenue for practicing my Korean skills.

Many foreigners tell me I speak a lot of Korean. I guess, if we were comparing myself to the average foreigner here, that would be true. However, I am not into comparing myself to others. I am not in a competition, nor has that ever proven to be productive. For truly, if I look to my fellow man to be ”the standard,” I am looking in the WRONG DIRECTION.

I have had my Youtube channel for a while now, pretty much since I came to Korea. I have had many ideas and even uploaded and published about 50 videos. I have been wanting to do more with my channel this year and looking forward. So, I finally recruited a friend to make a video [that has been scripted and waiting to find the right person] for about 7 months. Here it is:  

When this video was shared on Facebook, a guy named Loren saw it and contacted me. He was so excited about that video and suggested we do one together, stating that he has been wanting to do a video like that for a while. We chatted eachother up, and a NEW (CREATIVE) “BABY” was born! We have the same vision for these videos and so we decided to make a joint Youtube channel. We will each maintain our current, individual channels and continue posting on them, but we have committed to publishing at least one webisode each week.

We are doing this for fun, to make others laugh, to practice our Korean, and to enjoy/celebrate the culture we live in. Please check it out and join the fun!

Bali

In between semesters I usually get a few days vacation. This past semester I had a total of 2 weeks off, including the Chuseok holiday (see my summer 2011 blog for that story).  Once I had all my visa issues squared away, I realized I would be free to actually do some leisure travel during this time off, rather than try to go back to the States and sort out paperwork as I thought may have been required.  Destination: BALI, Indonesia.

As you may recall, I had planned to visit the Indonesian islands when I did my Southeast Asia trip back in March, but that didn’t happen. Honestly, the tickets were more than I would’ve liked to spend, but I knew any tickets would be a bit pricey due to lack of advanced purchase. Anyway, I arrived in Bali mid-afternoon on the 15th of September.  That day in particular, begins the low season for travel in Bali. Good news there! I made my way to Sanur, where I would couchsurf for 3 nights with Ginny, a well-traveled British woman who works from her home in Bali and was able to show me around the entire time. We ate at street restaurants which serve AMAZINGLY delicious food for around $1.50 US per person. What!?!? She also introduced me to some of her friends. They were all interesting people who, despite having a decade or so on me, were very friendly and welcoming. I visited the beach, took in a couple $6 (for an hour) massages each day, walked around Sanur and booked transportation to the islands as a mid-way stop between my only other set plans- to end up in Ubud on the 21st.

The main objectives for this trip were to: relax, snorkel, lay on the beach, and try to make new friends. I was starting off well… Next up, I made my way, by speedboat (Scoot is the only responsible way to go, by the way.) to Nusa Lembongan. Now, because of my itinerary, I didn’t book transportation back. BUT I highly recommend doing so, mainland, as the prices are considerably higher once you’re on the islands– that’s just economics for ya though. I went to this island based on a recommendation from a friend. She also did a solo trip to Bali and most of the photos I “liked” on her Facebook photo album were on this island.  When you arrive, plan to get wet– no boats actually doc to dry land.. you must do a short wade/walk to the beach. This company will take one bag per person for you, included in the price– pack light!! I found accommodations after landing on the island. I literally got on the back of a guy’s motorcycle, backpack in tow, and he drove me to a nearby hotel where he checked me in, showed me the room and took my payment. No prices for the rooms are posted and you can negotiate a bit, so be sure to check out prices before you go (LonelyPlanet has nice references). Since I had a set price in mind, I told him that price and he said I could pay that much. I was satisfied with paying the 210,000 Rupiah (approximately $25 US) only because of convenience in location, an inexpensive restaurant, and nice courtyard. The cleanliness left a bit to be desired. [I had two cockroaches in my bathroom and some dirty pillowcases.]  This island is well known for its seaweed farming community and its sunsets.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the energy to explore the island but enjoyed a relaxing time on the beach, in my hotel room and around the docking area. If I had an opportunity to do it again, I would’ve stayed another night. Time just didn’t allow for it this trip, though.

The next morning, I made my way, by speedboat (booked in Sanur through Scoot), to the Gili Islands. These islands had been calling my name ever since I began looking into the Indonesian islands. They take some planning to get to, so make sure to plan it into your trip. Boats only leave in the morning, and even by fastboat, take a couple hours to get to. I stayed on the largest, and I guess the biggest party island, Gili Trawangan. Next time, I will stay on Gili Air. I liked Gili T, but traveling alone, I could have done without the frequent attempts the men made at grabbing me, while spitting lines like, “Hey baby, can I love you tonight?” SERIOUSLY, dude! PLEASE tell me that hasn’t worked for you in the past! Not to mention that there are no police on this island and apparently, getting high– in the form of marijuana and/or mushroom juice– is acceptable. Not my thing. I felt reasonably safe, but I wouldn’t recommend traveling her alone as a single woman. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM on Gili T! On many positive notes, though, the hotel/hostel scene is quite nice. Owners were friendly and laid back, in true island form, and it was fairly easy to score good accommodations for a nice price. Now, you should also keep in mind that Gili T has two (weekday) party nights and it WILL be noisey until around 4 or 5am.

It didn’t bother me too much though, I was able to get a good night’s rest and make it out to the sunrise (just a couple minutes’ walk from my hotel). I think only 3 people (me and two others) on the whole island made it up for the sunrise. It was worth it though. I think the sunsets on this island were better than the sunrise, but both were pretty cool.

That same day, I booked a snorkeling tour. About 13 of us (yes, the others were all in pairs) went by boat, island hopping and snorkeling in prescribed places. There were amazing coral reefs and we even got to swim with sea turtles! That was the highlight for me. I have never seen a sea turtle in the wild before and it was really cool that I got to see 4 or 5 of them in various places. I love that my camera can go underwater… makes for some great snorkeling photos. We stopped for lunch on Gili Air. It seems to be a much more laid back island (which is also what I read prior to going to Indonesia) which is why I will give it a go next time.  Oh, one more thing worth mentioning about Gili T: there are no cars on the island. It gives a cool vibe, but be prepared to walk or rent a bicycle. There are horse/carriages there but they are a bit pricey for the size of the island. Also, like all the islands (off the mainland of Bali), credit cards, when accepted, are charged a standard 3-5% fee from the vendor.

On to the fastboat of near-death… I shopped around and ended up booking a fastboat through my hotel, to Padangbai because I would then go on to Ubud. I would NOT recommend Wahana Speedboat… I’ll let the video speak for itself. I would recommend Gili Cat. I met a few couples who took Gili Cat into the island and describe much safer, cleaner, organized and overall better service/facilities with them. Transportation onto Ubud is standard service for all reputable fast boats as well. Thus, I was able to make it to Ubud to meet Tineke, my second (for this trip) couchsurfing host.

Tineke is a woman, around my age, who has a generous heart and was a wonderful host. She works with, rescues and educates the general public about street dogs in Bali.  Ubud is a rice farming community rich in culture.   Tineke showed me around, and when she was busy, made every effort to see to it that I was taken care of. For example, she would call a driver to meet me and take me to where I wanted to go. This was an enormous help because I didn’t have to deal with the hassle of trying to explain where I wanted to go, not getting taken advantage of, etc. She was a huge help! She had two rescued dogs and they all treated me like family while I stayed in their traditional Balinese village home. What an experience!

While in Ubud, I visited a monkey forest, watched a traditional dance performance, visited a temple, ate some amazing food, and had a luxurious experience at Nur Salon. I got a 90 min massage, followed by a papaya exfoliating scrub, a rinse, a yogurt rub down, then concluded with a 20 minute soak in a warm bath of water and flower pedals.

All for only 396,000 Rupiah ($50 US) A-MAZ-ING!

After some hardcore shopping and negotiations, it was time to say “see ya later” to Tineke, the dogs and Bali. I had a bit of an adventure in the airport but I will make it a short story. I Arrived at the International section, needed to go to the Domestic section because a connecting flight to Jakarta. That connector also caused an extra tax at the airport (you pay a departure tax at both the domestic and the international levels, not included in your ticket price). The short of it is that the flight to Jakarta was delayed by 75 minutes, but due to so many people catching connecting flights on that plane, the connecting flights held the planes for us and I made it to Seoul only 1 hr later than scheduled. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do any Duty Free shopping, but was happy to exchange that for not having to hangout in an airport for a night.

Please check out my youtube page as there are multiple videos not posted in this blog from my Bali trip! Thanks for reading and thanks for watching!! 

Bali was great! I was very satisfied with my 9 day trip! I will say this, though. PACK LIGHT– you can buy almost everything you need when you get there and with all the “wading in the water” you’ll be doing, you’ll be happy you did!

~Budget breakdown: ~ (all prices are in estimated US $ based on exchange rate at the time of travel: $10 US = 75,000 Indonesian Rupiah) $1,850

Airfare: $1,198    Transportation: $210    Food: $155    Activities: $115   Shopping: $77    Accommodations: $95 (5 nights- couchsurfing;  3 nights- hotel)

Summer Fun 2011

The summer of 2010 was an amazing summer of laughs, great friendships, and lots of late nights. Since a couple of my dearest friends left Korea this year, I wondered if this summer could be any better than last year. So- I challenged myself to have a better summer… a tough challenge, but was I successful?

Summer began with a birthday celebration of an unusual sort. My friend, Suzi, wanted to go to a trick art museum instead of doing the traditional celebratory things. I thought it was a fantastic idea! Me, two of her other friends, and Suzi made a 2 hr subway ride to the outskirts of Seoul to visit a temporary Trick Art Museum.  If you’ve never heard of, or experienced, trick art, the concept is that the art “tricks” one’s eyes with optical illusions. I will let the photos speak for themselves.

The language club I am apart of (LanguageCast) took a summer (weekend) trip to Gapyeong. We went to the Garden of the Morning Calm. The scenery was as if I were standing on a movie set. It was really cool. The 40 or so of us who went, stayed in pension houses (where you basically rent out a house). We basically had one compound to ourselves. Crazy fun in the pool ensued, followed by a barbeque and games inside the pension houses.

This summer, as a random side note, I also learned to cook my favorite Korean dish–soybean soup– when I visited one of my friends and his family in the southern part of the country. We enjoyed a Buddhist park/temple/walking path, lots of laughs and some great food. This is a (nationally) famous dish called 빔빔밥 (bimbimbap), which means “mixture.” As you can see, it has lots of vegetables, rice and an egg. Yes, it tastes as good as it looks– DELICIOUS! The next day, we took a trip to their parents’ house and then waded in a small stream. Here are the highlights. 

Every weekend of June, July, August and the first two of September, I did something. Whether it be travel to another part of Korea, visit a museum, a famous site, or meet up with friends. It was an eventful summer.  One weekend, I traveled to the NE part of Korea to a coastal city called, Seokcho. I was fortunate enough to go out on a scuba divers’ boat with 6 other divers and the boat driver. I realized, once on the open water, that I forgot my sunscreen. MISTAKE! To make matters worse, the boat broke down (engine failure) and we were stuck– literally– in the middle of nowhere, open water, in a raft. Well, the short of it was that help came and pulled us back to shore, but not before the boat’s tie-down (what we happened to be being pulled by) broke. It was an adventure to say the least, but hey, they caught an octopus– which we ate for dinner– and other sea urchins… salty, but tolerable.

For Chuseok, I had 5 friends (from my former city– Ulsan) over and we had lots of fun playing my Korean Monopoly game. I also made my annual visit to Gyeongbukgong Palace (my 3rd visit) and did the “touristy thing” with Meagan. We also watched a performance FROM the SECOND ROW~ which was great as well. To top it off we got to meet the cast and as yet another bonus, we were gifted with the soundtrack because of some “issues” with ticketing.

Overall, I can definitely say that this summer was a SUCCESS! Can’t wait to see what adventures next summer has in store… my life just gets better and better!